I enjoy reading others account of their new set ups so I decided to contribute one of my own.
In late Jan I began to think about doing a nano. I had seen a cool setup in the LFS using a 7 gal minibow (plus I figured if I could bring home “Nemo” I would lock up that father of the year mug that I am hoping for on fathers day).
I am not looking to pull stuff off the reef and the fish that I want: false clown (Amphiprion ocellaris) is available farm raised. I will also try to only purchase non wild collected items where I can and it makes sense. – I have no problem with others doing otherwise I just want to see if I can keep my footprint to a minimum. I understand that the soft corals that I am thinking about are also available non wild so far so good.
I spent the next 2 weeks reading everything I could get my hands on. Last weekend my wife said “go for it” (I think she gives me the go ahead when she thinks we have the money and she does not want to hear me plan anymore). – I need to remember to hide the receipts.
I went to the LFS at 11:30 - I wanted to pick the owners brain and I wanted him not to be busy. He was great. He was very knowledgeable about the whole thing and his advice was in line with the advice I had read online (always a good thing).
12 Jan I walked out of the store with
7gal All-Glass Aquarium (AGA) minibow with hood
Penguin Mini HOB filter
32 Watt Smartlite Retrofit kit 10K + ultra-actinic side-by-side
SEN mini55 submersible pump (for flow after the LR is in)
Bag of Instant Ocean salt
Hydrometer (Instant Ocean)
20lb Carib-Sea Arag-Alive "live sand"
Visi-Therm Delux heater
Glass thermometer
It turns out the owner has been keeping nano’s for a few years now and he had some good advice.
I am a big believer in reading all of the opinions and information you can find and then finding someone you trust who seems to know what he/she is talking about and then going with their opinions unless you really know why you are disagreeing.
So the long and short of it that I now have my nano equipment.
Next Post: The set up
In late Jan I began to think about doing a nano. I had seen a cool setup in the LFS using a 7 gal minibow (plus I figured if I could bring home “Nemo” I would lock up that father of the year mug that I am hoping for on fathers day).
I am not looking to pull stuff off the reef and the fish that I want: false clown (Amphiprion ocellaris) is available farm raised. I will also try to only purchase non wild collected items where I can and it makes sense. – I have no problem with others doing otherwise I just want to see if I can keep my footprint to a minimum. I understand that the soft corals that I am thinking about are also available non wild so far so good.
I spent the next 2 weeks reading everything I could get my hands on. Last weekend my wife said “go for it” (I think she gives me the go ahead when she thinks we have the money and she does not want to hear me plan anymore). – I need to remember to hide the receipts.
I went to the LFS at 11:30 - I wanted to pick the owners brain and I wanted him not to be busy. He was great. He was very knowledgeable about the whole thing and his advice was in line with the advice I had read online (always a good thing).
12 Jan I walked out of the store with
7gal All-Glass Aquarium (AGA) minibow with hood
Penguin Mini HOB filter
32 Watt Smartlite Retrofit kit 10K + ultra-actinic side-by-side
SEN mini55 submersible pump (for flow after the LR is in)
Bag of Instant Ocean salt
Hydrometer (Instant Ocean)
20lb Carib-Sea Arag-Alive "live sand"
Visi-Therm Delux heater
Glass thermometer
It turns out the owner has been keeping nano’s for a few years now and he had some good advice.
I am a big believer in reading all of the opinions and information you can find and then finding someone you trust who seems to know what he/she is talking about and then going with their opinions unless you really know why you are disagreeing.
So the long and short of it that I now have my nano equipment.
Next Post: The set up