An introduction with questions, kind of long-winded.

[FreshStartMarine]

Hello to all.

 

I'm Brad. I used to be a fairly serious SA cichlid keeper. I ran a 200-gallon planted discus setup for about seven years with good success(no small feat here, our local water is closer to Tanganyika than the Rio Xingu), along with a hodgepodge of other tanks. A buddy of mine had bought a 75-gallon tank at a yard sale or something, and tried with great frustration to set up a marine tank(his first-ever aquarium). He ended up getting totally discouraged and after playing with it for a few months, he offered to give it to me. The tank almost became a sump for my discus tank, but after looking over all of the nearly-new saltwater hardware he had, I decided I'd take a crack at a marine tank.

 

That tank only ran for about 6 months(as a FOWLR setup) before a friend of mine accidentally broke it in my living room(go ahead, ask me what 75 gallons and about $2500 spilled all over my floor looked like...). Anyway, shortly after that, I met my former girlfriend, and fish keeping kind of fell out of my life.

 

I got together with my current girlfriend about eight years ago, and always meant to get around to setting up another tank. Then she got pregnant, and that plan hit the back-burner. That was six years ago.

 

Anyway, my little girl was over playing with a friend, and her friend's family keeps a freshwater tank in their living room. Nothing spectacular, just a handful of LFS three-dollar specials jumbled together. So, being six, now my daughter has been bugging us ever since about having an aquarium.

 

I was in a pet store a couple of days ago picking up some dog food, and decided to take a look around their fish room. Given that the Christmas season is beginning to sneak up on us, and I've got some extra cash socked away above and beyond my regular Christmas fund, I decided that I'd set up a smaller aquarium for our family as a pseudo-Christmas present. I bought an Innovative Marine Nuvo 16 kit(the price was right and the aesthetics appealed to me).

 

I decided that I wanted to try a true, honest-to-God reef tank, because I know that my daughter will lose most of her interest in it a few weeks after we have it, and that while my girlfriend will love looking at it, the thought of learning about aquarium water chemistry and all of our related sciences will bore her to tears. I also know that if I go to freshwater, my interest lies heavily in larger fish, and I don't have the space to set up a couple hundred gallons around my current place. Any time I see a saltwater tank, however, I find I'm more drawn to the small things(a pistol shrimp/goby combination, for example).

 

My plan is to set this thing up in the next couple of weeks(we're in the midst of a couple big projects at work, so I won't get much time for a bit), throw in some rock to get things moving, add a cleanup crew to do some of the work for me, and then, just before or just after Christmas, take my family to the LFS and see if we can't stock it a little bit. Some questions, as they relate to that:

 

1) What's the deal with live sand? When I made my previous FOWLR tank, I just used plain old aragonite sand(I don't even remember seeing "live" stuff available at that time). I don't intend to use it unless it's generally agreed that tanks really benefit from it.

 

2) Protein skimmers: do you use them on your nano set-ups? I had one on my old FOWLR tank, but I don't recall seeing it collect much sludge. Admittedly, I am absolutely neurotic about twice-weekly water changes. Given that information, would you suggest adding one, or do a lot of you skip them?

 

3) I have to jump on this one now, because I know my daughter is going to ask. In the course of wandering around the LFS, I noticed that they had a tank filled with seahorses. I also recall hearing that they are supposed to be an absolute nightmare to keep(hatching nauplii daily, feeding 4x daily, requiring a species tank, and various other complaints). The guy I dealt with at the LFS told me his were eating frozen mysis twice daily and doing well, but he did strike me as a little slimy. Anyone care to share their experiences keeping these things?

 

4) Aside from seahorses, which may be a game-changer(I'll have to do some more homework), I'm not sure what to consider a reasonable fish load(I've never done a tank this small before). Does a pistol shrimp/goby combo, a solo ocellaris clown(or maybe a pair), and a small reef-safe wrasse seem unreasonable in a 15-gallon on a twice-weekly 25-30% water change regime?

 

I'll do a build journal when I get around to setting this thing up, so that I can document some successes and mistakes for others. For now, however, I've got some questions that need answering. I've got some homework to do.

 

Thanks for your help.

[NorthGaHillbilly]

Hello to all.

 

I'm Brad. ...

 

1) What's the deal with live sand? When I made my previous FOWLR tank, I just used plain old aragonite sand(I don't even remember seeing "live" stuff available at that time). I don't intend to use it unless it's generally agreed that tanks really benefit from it.

 

2) Protein skimmers: do you use them on your nano set-ups? I had one on my old FOWLR tank, but I don't recall seeing it collect much sludge. Admittedly, I am absolutely neurotic about twice-weekly water changes. Given that information, would you suggest adding one, or do a lot of you skip them?

 

3) I have to jump on this one now, because I know my daughter is going to ask. In the course of wandering around the LFS, I noticed that they had a tank filled with seahorses. I also recall hearing that they are supposed to be an absolute nightmare to keep(hatching nauplii daily, feeding 4x daily, requiring a species tank, and various other complaints). The guy I dealt with at the LFS told me his were eating frozen mysis twice daily and doing well, but he did strike me as a little slimy. Anyone care to share their experiences keeping these things?

 

4) Aside from seahorses, which may be a game-changer(I'll have to do some more homework), I'm not sure what to consider a reasonable fish load(I've never done a tank this small before). Does a pistol shrimp/goby combo, a solo ocellaris clown(or maybe a pair), and a small reef-safe wrasse seem unreasonable in a 15-gallon on a twice-weekly 25-30% water change regime?

 

I'll do a build journal when I get around to setting this thing up, so that I can document some successes and mistakes for others. For now, however, I've got some questions that need answering. I've got some homework to do.

 

Thanks for your help.

All the following statements are my opinion, not gospel.

 

1- Live sand is a marketing ploy, your sand will become alive with bacteria seeded from your rock, or from a small scoop of sand from an established system

 

2- I personally am a fan of skimmers, and wouldnt want to run a tank without one. But were on the opposite ends of the spectrum as far as WCs go, Ill go several weeks without a WC. With frequent changes you probably will be fine without one

 

3- Horses really need their own setup, low flow, no corals that can sting them bad... the list goes on. Steer her twords nemo on this one

 

4- You should be fine with the fish you listed, a pretty reasonable load ever without a skimmer

 

One thing I would suggest, if your already comfortable with plumbing a sump, I would REALLY get a small sump going from the get go. You might end up spending more at first, but itll save you a ton of trouble and let you have a slick looking tank.

 

If you can keep discus, you will have no problem with a reef, my mom moved on from SW to discus, and I feel spoiled with how little work my tank takes compared to hers.

 

Welcome to NR!

[Mariaface]

1. Don't worry about it. All sand you get will eventually become 'live', all it is is inoculated sand that'll carry the same bacteria your live rock will. Unless you get it from an established tank. Then it'll likely also bring critters. Could be a great thing, could be a bad thing.

 

2. If you're going to be regular about water changes, you should be good without a skimmer! Unless you're metrokat and you feed like it's going out of style. Then a skimmer would help, yes. Her tank's amazing.

 

3. Definitely avoid seahorses unless you're ready for a lot of frustration and can start with completely dry, dead rock and sand. They're so much work. So much work.

 

4. That seems fair, but watch out with the water changes. If all your parameters aren't mixing exactly the same, 30% can cause a nice shock to corals (should you decide to have them).

 

+1 on the sump idea!

[NorthGaHillbilly]

1. Don't worry about it. All sand you get will eventually become 'live', all it is is inoculated sand that'll carry the same bacteria your live rock will. Unless you get it from an established tank. Then it'll likely also bring critters. Could be a great thing, could be a bad thing.

 

2. If you're going to be regular about water changes, you should be good without a skimmer! Unless you're metrokat and you feed like it's going out of style. Then a skimmer would help, yes. Her tank's amazing.

 

3. Definitely avoid seahorses unless you're ready for a lot of frustration and can start with completely dry, dead rock and sand. They're so much work. So much work.

 

4. That seems fair, but watch out with the water changes. If all your parameters aren't mixing exactly the same, 30% can cause a nice shock to corals (should you decide to have them).

 

+1 on the sump idea!

Thats the reason Im so fond of my skimmer, I feed a mess of seafood mush every few days, and the skimmer pulls a ton of nasty gunk Id rather not have in my tank.

[Nano sapiens]

Hello and welcome!

 

At it's basic core, a nano tank can be run very simply. In a small 15g tank, it is very common to just perform weekly (or 2x/week) water changes of around 10% to 20% total. A protein skimmer can be used, of course, but for many it is a bit too much of a hastle with such a small tank and it's limited room.

 

IMO, there is not much 'live' in a bag of live sand that has been in shipping and sitting around on a LFS's shelf. Many people use dry aragonite sand and maybe a fistful of sand from an established tank. Even if just dry sand is used, true 'live rock' will seed the sand over time. There are also products on the market that claim to add benefical bacteria to the tank, but I haven't had a need so I don't have experience with them.

 

Certain species of Sea Horses have been kept in a reef aquarium, but most are best in their own species tank. Others with more Sea Horse experience may give you more info.

 

Fish bio-load is dependent on many factors, but three smallish fish seems reasonable. For example, I keep two adult Ocellaris Clownfish in a 12g with only LR and LS (no chemical filtration) and I perform WC's very regularly and also keep my substrate and tank clear of detritus deposits. For my particular system and setup, this is as far as I'll go.

 

You can take a good look at the 'Featured Aquarium' page to see tanks of a size similar to yours and how they are setup and maintained:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/

 

You'll see that there are different methods used to achieve a successful nano tank, but at their core every system must successfully address the basics for the types of species being kept.

[FreshStartMarine]

NorthGaHillbilly,

 

I don't accept anything as gospel, not even the gospel. I question everything. And I was pretty sure that "live" sand was a marketing gimmick as well(seems odd that something would be sold as "live" sitting stacked airtight and non-moving on the dry goods shelf).

 

Mariaface,

 

I'm a complete Nazi when it comes to water quality, and as a result, pretty cheap when it comes to feeding. My experience with wild-caught discus taught me that things are better off underfed than in polluted water. Now, feeding might become an issue with a six-year-old involved. I think I'll skip the skimmer for now, and maybe reconsider it when the tank is running under a full fish load(depending on what my water is doing).

 

In regards to seahorses, I've heard some nightmare stories. They sure looked cute at the LFS, but I'm not sure they're worth it. They're pricey, and while I'm not opposed to a work commitment or a price investment, I need to be sure that their behaviour is "rewarding enough", so to speak, to warrant that time/money investment. I'll search around the old local fish club and see if anyone keeps them.

 

My plan going forward at this point is to pass on the live sand, revisit the need for a skimmer after I've been at full fish load for awhile, reconsider seahorses after a year of nano-reefing and some in-depth discussions with someone experienced with them, and consider a three- or four-fish limit.

 

As far as sumps go, I won't rule it out at this point. I'm a hardware minimalist, and I'd like to keep the tank as close to factory spec as I can. But I'm doing some digging into dragonets and HOB-conversion refugiums(a potential addition for next Christmas), and so I'll look at a sump again then. I wouldn't mind if this thing stayed relatively "plug and play".

 

And where coral is concerned, I think that I'll set things up as a nano FOWLR for the time being, and look at adding coral in the new year. I don't know a damn thing about it(beyond "ooh, that's pretty!"), and from the little bit of research I've done so far, it seems that lighting and water flow need to be upgraded before adding coral, and I'm a little anxious about dosing such a small volume of water. I'd like to incorporate coral, but I need to do some more homework first.

 

Thanks for the answers and the warm welcome. If first impressions mean anything, I think I'm going to like it here.