Nano Virgin

[Guipitang]

I am finally venturing into Saltwater. I have almost 99% decided on a 24g Nano. I have had freshwater for years and have found them to be boring as far as most of the fish selections go, so I am taking the plunge, making the commitment and am willing to learn. I am going to be purchasing the tank at the end of July, so between now and then, ANY advice, reading suggestions, where to shop etc., will be greatly appreciated. I am so very glad to have found this forum. :bigsmile:

[subsailor]

Check out the link on the left hand side that says "Our sponsors" They are all very good reputable companies to shop at.

[beerguy]

I would personally go with the 29g biocube. Im only saying this as a master of the obvious in that it has five more gallons of poop diluting power, but its usually only ten more bucks than the 24g aquapod and that in my opinion is a better deal. With that said, I own the 24g and I like it. Its a nice aquarium, but recently I had to replace my multiple year old lights and had to basically break the cover of my hood off. All the screws are 'stainless' but thats no competition for years of saltwater abuse. They all corroded and basically disintegrated when I touched them with a screw driver, and what ones didnt disintegrate just stripped and I had to take a pair of bolt cutters to break the plastic pieces around the screw so I could get the lid off. It was a pain and a half. But either way good luck and the best advice I can give is do frequent, gradual water changes instead of big ones (25%) at the end of each month. fish loves it.

[TinyTanker]

whatever tank you go with make sure you have metal hallide for lighting you will thank yourself for the extra bucks in the growth and color POP

Good Luck, and then make friends with people with other tanks, cause a nano you can fill up quickly on "that looks like its crowding your Tank:"

[ACE]

If your looking for a great place to shop in your neck of the woods, try talking to Carlos and "MissT" over at River City Aquatics.

[Guipitang]

Thanks everyone! Great Advice. And, just so we go ahead and get this out of the way. I am not going to ever ask if I can put a moray eel in a 6g...lmao! Nor, am I going to put a skate in with my seahorses, or starfish in with urchins. Keep it coming....this has been a great way to motivate me!

[glennr1978]

How 'bout a tang in a 10g?

[TinyTanker]

Horizon Aquatics with Steve he has a huge supply of setup and ready to go Nanos with all the needs. Remember, a complete setup is better because there is no break in time. He will also inform you on what you need to do.

[zcatzmeow]

Welcome to the darkside :ph34r:

I have a similar background, kept saltwater for years and just got a nano started this July.

- ask lots of questions
- MAAST, Reef Central, and Nano-Reef are my fav places for info (although, personally, the nano-reef boards are way to harsh for my liking)
- 28 gallon JBJ HQI, with actinic upgrade :thumbs_up: . It only took a couple months for me to come to the conclusion the biocube didn't have enough light for the corals and colors I wanted to see.
- hide your credit cards :lauging: 'tis expensive and addicting in saltwater land

[VoodooMach]

I've got a bc14 and had a 20long running for the longest time...

I must say my favorite nano-ish tank is still the Solana with MH....

The rimless look is sick.....

If you've got the funds, I would just get the solana since its what 34gallons? You'll end up being able to better stack your corals and have more swimming levels for all types of nano fish... I'd get one because you could end up sticking in a flame angel haha.

One thing though with the MH is... you're gonna most likely need a chiller.

Needless to say... I'm gonna keep one nano around in addition to my 144RR half circle just so I can keep my pair of yashias and their shrimp visible.

[VoodooMach]

Welcome to the darkside :ph34r:

I have a similar background, kept saltwater for years and just got a nano started this July.

- ask lots of questions
- MAAST, Reef Central, and Nano-Reef are my fav places for info (although, personally, the nano-reef boards are way to harsh for my liking)
- 28 gallon JBJ HQI, with actinic upgrade :thumbs_up: . It only took a couple months for me to come to the conclusion the biocube didn't have enough light for the corals and colors I wanted to see.
- hide your credit cards :lauging: 'tis expensive and addicting in saltwater land

that's an understatement hahaha.

[TinyTanker]

I dont think a NANO will ever need a chiller, Rather a cheaper way to chill the water are the blue Reusable Ice packs for coolers, and depending on how well it does you can gauge what size you put in the overflow area. Steve at Horizon Aquatics has the full setup with a good deal on coral attachments. Its nice and a comfortable way to acquire the complete setup and have a great place with good advice. Try to convince him you want his mettallic mushroms. LOL

[zcatzmeow]

I dont think a NANO will ever need a chiller, Rather a cheaper way to chill the water are the blue Reusable Ice packs for coolers, and depending on how well it does you can gauge what size you put in the overflow area. Steve at Horizon Aquatics has the full setup with a good deal on coral attachments. Its nice and a comfortable way to acquire the complete setup and have a great place with good advice. Try to convince him you want his mettallic mushroms. LOL

Hmmm...I never thought about the reusable ice packs. Wouldn't that keep your water temp in constant state of flux?

I can only speak for my nano experience and say that with my JBJ HQI it was not possible to run it without a chiller. I keep my AC pretty low in my house and tank temperature kept creeping up above 84 and upwards towards 86 sometimes.

I'm pretty sure JBJ realized that even with their extra fans and extra vented top that the halide would be challenge to keep. Their 2008 stand was designed specifically to house a chiller. So now I run a chiller on my system and the water is nice and cool.....but, that darn chiller creates so much heat that my office is now too hot, LOL :bigsmile: I've had to add a ceiling fan and a stand-alone fan just to keep the room comfortable. :lauging: