who's first tank was a nano?

The Reefer91 · #1 03/22/2006, 08:38 PM

i'm going to be starting a 20g nano in April, so i'm wondering what i'm getting myself into

if i could see some pics for inspiration, it would help get my courage up.

thanks everyone

BMcCoy · #2 03/22/2006, 08:39 PM

Mine is actually a 2.5g. According to everyone, I started the difficult way. I knew that going in though.

Ben

Fishfreak218 · #3 03/22/2006, 08:41 PM

oh! i did i did... well kinda..i set-up a 30g. cube as my first REEF tank..i had Freshwater tanks and FOWLR tanks before... about 4 months into my 30g. cube i set-up a 2.5g Pico reef.. which then about 2 weeks ago.. maybe 3 weeks ago.. i transfered everything into a 1.8g Hex...... srry..i dont have any pics... the 30g. reef had been up for about 8 months.... then i broke it down... for a few reasons....(im re-setting it up though

).... and now im getting a 90g.

:P

Aquariumist · #4 03/22/2006, 09:01 PM

me too. I started with a 16 gallon cue 4 years ago, and i havent swithcd to a larger tank yet.

The Reefer91 · #5 03/22/2006, 09:01 PM

yeah, mine is gonna be a FOWLR for the first year. everything in it is gonan be reef safe, just want to get my feet wet first.

i may try and setup a 3g rubbermaid sump that drains into the tank.

banditfl · #6 03/22/2006, 09:12 PM

My first saltwater expirence was a 6 gallon ViaAqua setup as a reef tank. This is also been the tank with the least of amount of problems. Now setup for 2y 3mos. and still growing strong.

Here is an older photo:

I will post an update photo soon

The Reefer91 · #7 03/22/2006, 09:20 PM

cool tank

bendavis · #8 03/22/2006, 09:44 PM

the 29g was our first salt tank, i really wouldnt call it a reef tank until the 4th or 5th month we had it going though. we slowly added xenia, a kenya tree, polyps and such. now it is a thriving reef, complete with marble GBTA and clones. but i still dont, and probably never will, consider it a nano.

Brian5280 · #9 03/22/2006, 10:16 PM

My first aquarium was a 12g nano cube DX. I didn't change anything and here it is at over a year old. I spend about 15 minutes a week cleaning it. I feed the fish and the sun coral 2 or 3 times a week and that's about it.

louist · #10 03/22/2006, 10:30 PM

My first is my current 34 litre (~10g) nano.

The Reefer91 · #11 03/22/2006, 10:33 PM

i love the tank brian

i'm considering articficial coral, but i'm not sure i should spend the money on fakes when i can wait till i get a better light. now i have a question. should i buy seperate pieces and get a PC light the next month, and let the tank cycle with room lights? or should i spend extra on a fluerescent hood?

The Reefer91 · #12 03/22/2006, 10:36 PM

louist, awesome nano. god i love how they look. there is something really interesting about small tanks.

OrangeKoi · #13 03/23/2006, 02:17 AM

I'm in my second tank by 3 days. My first was 2.5. Now I keep the mighty hermit "Dinosaur" in that one.

I figure it's a good place to learn. Small tanks don't cost as much as big tanks, so if I make a mistake maybe it won't hurt so much, and maybe, just maybe I'll be able to learn faster too.

The Reefer91 · #14 03/23/2006, 12:42 PM

orange koi, what type of filtration do you use? i was thinking about getting a Hagen aquaclear 20, a 3g refugium that drains to the tank, and possibly the aquamedic minifloater skimmer.

i know it's a small skimmer(and it's airstone driven) but it's all my budget will allow, as i am 14 and this is my first tank.

coyoteseven · #15 03/23/2006, 01:51 PM

My first SW tank would be considered a nano and was back in 1971 when I saw an ad in some magazine for a pair of mated dwarf seahorses for $3.

On recommedation of a neighborhood LFS a woman ran out of her renovated garage, my mother bought me a 10g aquarium with an incandescent hood, some salt (IO if I remember right), a floating hydrometer, air pump, corner box filter and a couple of plastic plants (for hitching posts).

Of course, since I knew absolutely nothing about SW aquariums and info was even harder to find for an 11 year old kid in those dark, pre internet days... the tank only lasted about 6 months. It was over 10 years later before I got back into the hobby with FW tanks again, then SW about 3 years ago.

deacon hemp · #16 03/23/2006, 02:18 PM

My first tank was an 18 gal cube in 2001,the guy at the lfs looked at me with a crazy look on his face when i told him a 175 mh pendant was going over top of it!He said it couldnt be done,and that my tanks water would most likely boil! LOL

I told him about nano-reef.com and then he fired up a nano.

The Reefer91 · #17 03/23/2006, 03:09 PM

i'd love a MH light over my 20g, but alas, you need money for things like that

guess i'm stuck with PC

impur · #18 03/23/2006, 03:33 PM

My first tank was a 10gal

That lasted about a year, then i upgraded to my current 29gal

ACBlinky · #19 03/23/2006, 08:34 PM

You can absolutely start with a nano, many of us did. My first SW tank was a 14g reef. After four months we had a problem with the stand, and I took the opportunity to upgrade to a 30g. The 30g is about ten months old now, and I've since started a 5.5g pico and a 65g, both reefs - this hobby is addicting

Bobalouy · #20 03/23/2006, 08:52 PM

Heres my first tank after a year, 12g Nano cube DX

vest0830 · #21 03/23/2006, 10:22 PM

my first was a 5g. i screwed that up a couple of times before I finally got it right. Then I got a 38g. now im moving BOTH into one 20g tall tank this weekend. rather than having 2 tanks moderatly full...I will have one tank thats really really full.

hooterhead · #22 03/23/2006, 10:24 PM

my first tank was a 5 gal. housed only my gold stripe maroon whom i still have today (5 years later). Who knows what he was subjected to in those first few months. and my first reef was 2 gal.

OrangeKoi · #23 03/24/2006, 12:33 AM

Hello Reefer91. I'm going on the advise of my LFS and from what I've read.

I'm really new at SW too.

I have a DIY modified ac70 refugium loaded with filtration dirt and crushed coral. I had bought some plant but it didn't do well in the cloud of daebree.(hmmm, how do you spell that)I will be replacing that soon(grape a-something). I have a new plant that will go in there after it gets bigger or I buy more.

That has also got an activated carbon filter,(I do think the whisper 40 will fit better than the one I'm currently using and I will switch soon.) and a particular kind of filter that prevents lots of things from going through including protien and any heavy minerals. Here is a picture of the package:

That takes care of any need for removing protein. You can cut them as you like. And it seems to work well. I will just have to run the filter without the poly pad in the future when I need to add calcium for a short period of time. Oh, and I can get two pads that fit perfectly out of the Poly Filter. I prefer to have fewer pieces of equipment, ie. lower power bills so I can buy those cool MH one of these days

Yes, you can use those poly Filters on the nano filter too. I guess you can get about five or six out of it for those. That is what I have on my 2.5 gallon that holds Dino the hermit crab and a starthingy

thst someone gave to me. The hermit is a pacer and tromps all over my 5.5 gallon so I keep him in time out. I let him filter/tromp the sand in the 5.5 (after I acclimate him thoroughly of course) on occaision. He has a little live sand in the 2.5 so I add a little food for him. (two or three sinking balls a day; Minute,tiny, tiny food drops.)

I don't know how large a tank you can use the polyfilter pads before you start to need a protien skimmer. I guess if you get a very bad algea bloom that would be a sign? Am I right there people?

The Reefer91 · #24 03/24/2006, 08:14 AM

ok, yeah. i'll be using a HOB skimmer of some kind(maybe coralife or CPR) and a powerfilter my friend is giving to me. plus, i'll have a drain into tank refugium that will be about 3g