NEW NUVO 8, assistance?

[BlueKoran91]

Ok, I recently acquired a Nuvo 8 gallon tank. I have hawaiian black live sand in and and I am currently in the setting up phase. I am a beginner and this is my second tank ( my other tank is a 10 gallon half moon with 2 fire fish and a coral beauty) I am looking for some stocking advice for my 8 gallon. I would like to put some corals in the tank, right now I have blue and white LEDs. Also some liverock and of course fish. ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ADVICE??
-Thanks-166761667716678

[alton]

Looks like you may want to find that perfect center piece of live rock? After tank cycles maybe try some softies to see how well your LED fixture works. Just make sure your live rock sits on the glass not the sand. One rule of thumb is the smaller the tank the less stable and the more it has to be watched and cared for. I have seen some very nice tanks this size, good luck with your setup.

[BlueKoran91]

Alton,
Thank you I will try to get a hold of some softies and test out my lighting, and thank you for the advice on the rocks :)

[RayAllen]

Congrats, I thought about buying a Nuvo. Love the modern look, but I wound up making my 40g setup look modern.

Anyhow, Id stay clear of SPS. IMO they need more room to grow and are not suited for nanos

If it were mine I would go with colorful zoas and rics.

[BlueKoran91]

Cool....I'd love to see your setup. Anyway, don't laugh but what is SMS and IMO?

[RayAllen]

You really are new to this. Id suggest to buy a book on Aquarium reefs. It will come in handy. The internet is a great source but a book IMO (in my opinion) is invaluable.

Types of corals

SPS (small polyp stony)- Hard stony corals that have small soft polyps which extend from its skeleton. We like to call them colored sticks. Considered by most as the hardest corals to keep. Birdsnest, cap coral etc..
LPS (large Polyp stony)- These corals also have a hard skeleton, but its soft tissure or polyps are much larger and usually hide the skeleton completely. Easy to medium to care for. Candy Cane, acans etc.
Softies and leathers- These corals have no skeleton at all and are usually are the easiest to care for. Zoas, Mushrooms, xenia, rics are a few to name.

Good luck, post your progress and learn as much as you can before you start to stock your tank.

[BlueKoran91]

Yes I really am new to this but I want to learn!! There is just so much out there :) thank you for breaking it down for me

[BlueKoran91]

Anyone have any livestock suggestions??

[Mr Cob]

Great looking tank, this hobby is very addicting.

Here arer some useful links on acronyms since we use so many...

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?...light=acronyms (http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?35451-Need-To-Know...-ACRONYMS&highlight=acronyms)

http://www.maast.org/entry.php?63-Marine-Aquarium-Acronyms-and-Abbreviations

[Ms_Big_Pun]

Anyone have any livestock suggestions??
I have a 20 gallon Zoa tank (which that 12 gallons makes a big difference) and I have 2 sexy shrimp, a hector goby, a harlequin shrimp, a dragon face pipefish and a small wrasse that I cannot remember the name of.
I really like my hector goby because he doesn't throw sand around like some other gobies do and is small. You can also ad a firefish. You are really limited though as to what you can add. I feel really really limited with my 20 gallon, and I can only imagine what having the 8 gallon feels like.

[BlueKoran91]

Having an 8 gallon is awesome but very frustrating seeing the fish you want knowing it won't work in the tank lol

[Ms_Big_Pun]

Having an 8 gallon is awesome but very frustrating seeing the fish you want knowing it won't work in the tank lol

yeah, I love my little tank. Chris (Big_Pun) and I have a 150 gallon system, so it's nice that I have some of my favorite fish in there. Eventually we will have a bigger fowlr system so I can really get what I want. My zoa tank isn't really for the fish, but more so to get really nice zoas. I like my zoos and Chris is the SPS guy in the relationship

[BlueKoran91]

Haha sounds like a match made in heaven. I got addicted for sure and I eventually want a nice size tank. But for now my 8 and 10 gallon will do

[rrasco]

That is a nice little nano. How much do those run? Would be perfect for my desk at work. I've been eying the fluval edges for years because of this.

[BlueKoran91]

This one runs about 199

[BlueKoran91]

Just got some live rock from Elegant Reef...it's comin along quite nicely I think :)

[Ms_Big_Pun]

Nice solid pieces of rock. I like larger solid pieces that way you can glue down frags and have lots of area for growth

[BlueKoran91]

I haven't attempted frags yet. To be honest I'm a little nervous to. I have no idea where to even start lol

[BlueKoran91]

Just got a feather duster today :)

[Ms_Big_Pun]

I haven't attempted frags yet. To be honest I'm a little nervous to. I have no idea where to even start lol

It takes a lot of time for some people to figure out where what is going to go permanently. I move stuff around constantly. I finally made myself commit to gluing some stuff down the other day in the 20 gallon and 75% of frags aren't glued in the big tank. Take it slow. You will aquire stuff either through people or from the LFS and you may put them on your sand bed, place it on a secure space on the rock and when you have decided you like it there, then you can semi-permanently attach frags with glue and epoxy. I think in one of these threads, Chris posted a video on how to glue frags down. Most people will use frag plugs or rubble rock when they frag up their coral. Most of my Zoas are on frag plugs that I've glued down to the rock.

[BlueKoran91]

I have a part of my GSP that my crabs sort of separated from the rock for me lol so I'm going to try to put it in my 8 gallon and see what happens :) thanks for all your help

[BlueKoran91]

Got some candy canes and a leather toadstool and some clowns :D

[sdunn90fowlr]

Looks good! Lots of coralline on those rocks.

[BlueKoran91]

Thank you :)

[BlueKoran91]

Finally got a nice stand!!