I'm new to nano's and all my reef friends say stay away from them

[Mechanic85]

So this is my first reef tank and I've gone with a 15 gal collum, and all my reef buddies are telling me to stay away from small systems. Now I understand the concern of when things happen in a small system they happen really fast, but I see so many sucsessful nano's done I want to give it a shot.

So like I said I've gone with a 15 gal 13x13x20, I've got about 15-20 lbs of live rock and about the same in live sand. I've gone with a fluval sea nano led 24000k and 3 true luman 3w 12000k shimmer strips all on ramp timers for a 12 hr light spectrum at about 6 hrs of peak lighting, for water flow I've got 2 power heads and a aquaclear 70 refugium mod, I've also ran a bio cube nano skimmer in the fuge ( I know not many people like this skimmer but it seems to work well for the price), and of course a heater... It's been up for about 2 months, I do a 1 gal water change every Friday and test the water once a week as well as well as adding my supplements if needed.

So as far as livestock I'm trying to go slow so I started with a cuc of 4 margarite snails and 4 or 5 hermits, though I've lost a few do to others stealing their shells, even with plenty of extras in the tank, I have a misc poly, a green and orange zoa, a pair of mushrooms and last Friday added a tube worm.

I'll try to post some pics as well, any suggestions would be helpful

[Leatherneck3755]

Welcome to nano-reef!!!!!!! Send pics as soon as you can. Love to see em!

[k4ndyk1ng]

same, so will everyone

[michaelrzachmann]

dont listen to them... my tank is not nearly as nice as a lot of tanks on here but i enjoy the shit out of my tank. Its a lot more upkeep than my freshwater tank but it is nowhere near as difficult as i thought it would be (people told me the same thing and tried to warn me) with just some weekly maintinence like you said. good luck and welcome to the greatest addiction

[Nano sapiens]

Welcome. Sounds like your friends either have some old knowledge or have read some of the 'small tanks are impossible' type comments still out on the Internet and in some books. Nanos can be challenging, but certianly doable.

 

Looks like you've got quite a bit of flow which is great for most SPS, but you'll need to watch any LPS, if you get any. Even more so for most 'Shrooms since they expand and do best in low to moderate flow areas (depending on type)..

 

Part of the 'art' of reef keeping is developing a thorough understanding of the organism's preferences and which can adapt to your particular tank conditions...and where to place them within your system.

[tibbsy07]

The big tank thing is a throwback to a time when salt water tanks were extremely difficult to keep. Learning good tank maintenance and husbandry is going to save you, no matter what size tank. Be patient. Take it slow. And, seriously, learn to do something correctly (or at least have a good idea) before you attempt it. Welcome to NR - there are some great people here and a wealth of knowledge

[Mechanic85]

Thanks everyone, I'll get so e pic posted soon, I'm trying form my mobile phone and it's telling g me my file size is to big, so I'll try from my laptop later today

[CurtBoswell]

Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong but aren't margarite snails more of a cold water species?

[Mechanic85]

So here are 2 pics one of the tank, one of the hang on fuge... In the tank pic you can see the skimmer that I have since moved into the fuge

[PiscesFish]

I'm not sure to say either welcome or congrats so let's go with both!

 

Don't worry too much about the size of your tank. It's pretty doable like said earlier and there's even been successes with pico tanks. Plus, with a bigger tank, the more that it would cost anyways so having a 15 gallon doesn't sound too bad. Once you get the hang of the 15 gallon and start growing out corals and everything, that could be your excuse for an upgrade!

[k4ndyk1ng]

Nice tank man and good luck and happy reefing

[Mechanic85]

I forgot to mention the little clownfish, who is actually hosting in my poly

[PiscesFish]

Paly, short for palythoas. They will look the same as zoas but zoas (zoanthids) will have smaller polyps than palys do.

 

Sorry for that correction

 

But cute clownfish!

[cindyp]

welcome! i started with a 3g pico that

i evacuated my plants and tetras to keep

due to a calamity with my Jar of Death as a noob.

 

and it actually thrived and did well, with one

pom pom crab loss (i'm not sure i'll ever buy

a crab again, tbh) and some hair algae nuisance.

 

six months later, i've upgraded to an 8g nano.

 

look, i couldn't be more noob than the noobiest.

as long as you are willing to read up and research,

and start with easy corals like softies (my mushrooms

are a favorite! xenias grow like mad and green star polyps

are pretty and easy too), and are willing to do more water

changes, topping off, etc. you're good.

 

you can even get an auto top off, which i haven't gotten

yet for my 8g.

 

you can check out my 8g startup thread--still new.

(link in signature.) i'm just waiting till october to pick

some fishies out. probably a goby and a stubby clown.

dont listen to them... my tank is not nearly as nice as a lot of tanks on here but i enjoy the shit out of my tank.

 

 

ME TOO with my tank!

[tibbsy07]

 

Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong but aren't margarite snails more of a cold water species?

I don't know about cold water, but definitely not tropical water. I learned this the hard way...

[Mechanic85]

Well I'm hoping to keep some sps and lps, I'm starting with some softies one bc of the how easy they are to care for and I love the colors of the zoas and palys, my biggest concen was if I have enough light for the stonies?

[cindyp]

SPS is for more experienced hobbyists.

and they need special lights and levels in

the water. i'd ease my way into that. i think

it'd be super challenging as a beginner with

a nano tank, too. good luck!

[Mechanic85]

So everything I've read and I was told by my lfs, who have been doing this for over 20 years said that margarita snails where a good sub for turbos in a nano... Mine have been in for a month and seem to be happy and growing well

[cju84]

tank looks great. love the rock formation!

[Genie382]

Welcome! I've been keeping a nano for almost 2 months now and while a bit more challenging (and much more expensive!) than FW, I can say it's totally doable. Now my tank may not be the prettiest on the block, but every time I look and see my corals thriving or my inverts moving about I know it's because of the care I put into the tank. Sides the smaller you go, the quicker you can justify an upgrade

[Tamberav]

Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong but aren't margarite snails more of a cold water species?

 

Correct, they can survive at higher temps but life span will be shortened. I had some in my tank for about.... 6-9 months, lost a few but some survived. When temps pushed 80ish they would show stress. The survivors now live at a chilly 55 degrees

 

 

So everything I've read and I was told by my lfs, who have been doing this for over 20 years said that margarita snails where a good sub for turbos in a nano... Mine have been in for a month and seem to be happy and growing well

[Mechanic85]

What small snails would be good then for my cuc?

And thank for all the input everyone

[cindyp]

my cerith snails were great.

[Tamberav]

What small snails would be good then for my cuc?

And thank for all the input everyone

 

Cernith snails, dwarf cernith snails and some nassarius snails.

 

Nassarius snails don't eat algae but they will clean up any left over food missed by the clown.

 

Some people also like small hermits, they can be a nuisance but I usually have a few because they are fun to watch.