Choosing the perfect setup

[Spamwich]

I ment to send this post about a month ago when I found the site, but everytime I come back I end up spending all of my time looking at all the pictures of everyone's tanks. So finally I need to do it. I'm looking for everyone's opinions on what the perfect nano reef setup would be. Obviously since everyone here has a lot of experience with nanos, you can all save me the time, money, and frustration on buying or doing something majorly wrong.

 

So here's what I'm considering in a nano:

 

Aquarium: Anywhere between 5 - 20 gallons. Rectangular. Exactly what brand and model do you suggest? From what I've already read, more and more people are liking the Via Aqua's, but I couldn't find anything else about them other than what's in the forum. I'd prefer an acrylic tank, unless you have some good arguments to bring me over to the glass side.

 

Lighting: Somewhere between 3 and 5 watts/gallon. (You could help me decide exactly what I want based on what you suggest that I put in the reef). 1 - 10k and 1 - actinic.

 

Filtration: I'm thinking a good amount of live rock and regular water changes. I would also consider a refugium but don't know anything about them or how they work, so advise on that would be very helpful (I've looking around in the Refugium section of this forum but haven't gotten any straight answers). I was also considering setting up an overflow into a sump (as large as possible) in order to stabilize the tank and decrease my chances of throwing water quality off and killing everything.

 

Live sand: Exactly how much would I want in any particular tank? Obviously I can't have my 4 inch sandbed in such a small tank.

 

Water flow: I've seen and heard of all different types of pumps to use. If you could tell me exactly what model and how to use it to best suit the tank, that would be perfect. I want decent circulation, but I don't want to over do it and have a big whirlpool.

 

I've seen a lot of sweet looking nanos on this site, and I want to know how to get pointed in the right direction. I would rather spend more money now and get the best stuff that I can for the long run, rather than finding out that what I bought was completely wrong and useless. Obviously the success of the reef itself doesn't rely fully on the hardware used, but by getting everything set before I try to get life into the tank, I can save myself a lot of money and stress.

 

Initially I'm thinking about starting simple and only putting some xenia, GSPs, a percula (it seems like that's the choice clown for nanos, unless I'm mistaken), and eventually after a while going for some mushrooms and zoos.

 

Again, I'm writing here because I know that you have much more experience in this area than I do, and I want all different opinions so I can best decide what to go ahead with. If you could tell me the exact models you suggest and their estimated prices (or I could find those on my own) you would help me out a lot! I'm just trying to find out as much as I can before I go and commit myself to a new setup.

 

Thanks. And I realize that this post is asking a lot from you so all of the advise you can give me is very appreciated!

 

P.S. If anyone in San Diego feels like sharing their success in frag form with a newbie, let me know I know I saw some postings for a bbq where some of that was going on.

[Raise]

Good Post, I think you have the right attitude to start a succesful reef nano.

 

I vote against acrylic. I have worked ina aquarium maint. for a while now, and NO MATTER WHAT, ever acrylic tank gets scratches. Regardless of how anal you are about the tank it just happens.. I will personally never own an acrylic tank of any size. I just think that glass has improved so much that its hard to deny.

 

If you decide to go with glass you'll be able to get a cheaper tank....for example: My 5.5 All Glass Aquarium tank was $10. I think the 10g is only a couple bucks more.

 

For choosing the size its really a matter of personal preference and placement. If you're gonna have this tank in your living room than you are obviously gonna want a larger tank than say if you were putting it next to your computer. Like some, my nano is on my desk next to the 'pooter. I really love the AGA 5.5 though.

 

Water Flow: I think its general rule of thumb that you want 10x your tank volume. First off you'll want to get a Hang On back (HOB) filter. There are tons of brands... I have a "Marineland" Penguin Mini. Some people choose to not run the filter media and just use the device solely for water flow/circulation. I prefer to use the filter/carbon about 85-90% of the time. Ever few days I take it out, rinse it, and let the tank run without for a couple days.

Powerheads: Some great little powerheads are the micro jets. Their flow is adjustable, so you can really fine to the amount of flow so you dont cause a sandstorm or anything..there are also small RIos which are decent.

 

Have you decided on lighting yet? Id go for a Metal Halide/ PC combo so you could have a really killer setup. Good luck and ask if you have more questions.

 

Ray

[Spamwich]

Thanks Ray,

 

I've heard that about acrylic. I had always heard that with acrylic you could see clearer, insulate better, and was just stronger than glass was. Is scratching the only problem with the acrylic? I'd like to think that I could get away with setting up the rockwork very carefully in the beginning and never have to worry about something falling down and scratching the acrylic... but from what you said, it sounds like even that won't work. What's really important to me is that glass would look just as good, and if not better than another option (acrylic) would be.

 

You said that you have a 5.5 AGA. I'm really up for any size between 5 and 20 gallons. I wanted to get a feel from other nano reefers what the most popular option was to use and from there decide where to put it. Obviously I want it somewhere that I'll be able to see it often, whether that's being in the living room, or in the office would depend on the size. I'm really up for anything as long as I've heard all the other alternatives and have decided that I like that certain one the best. The only criterion that I had was that the shape would be rectangular. I've had a 5g hex (a long time ago) that I didn't like, as well as a 26g flat-back hex that I don't like. I'm leaning towards the rectangle, but was also considering a cube shape or maybe (but not as likely) a minibow. What's the best and why?

 

One of the problems that I had with having such a small tank was the increased risk of bad water quality. What's a good solution to this for a nano? I've read about how people have sumps or refugiums and sumps with refugiums inside... what do you think about that?

 

Thanks for the information about the water flow, that helps out a lot. I'd rather keep away from any HO filters if I could and rather go with a sump that I can hide underneith some sort of a stand. I just want to keep it as clean looking as possible.

 

As for the lighting, I was thinking about doing PC. You recommend the Metal Halide? How much do you think that would cost? What type of combo would you do with the halide and the pc? (Depending on the tank size)

 

What did you think about the xenia/GSP/percula combo? I know it's probably done a lot, but I want to start out with something easy, but that will still look good. Then again I'm not really sure if doing that would be an easy thing in a nano. Is it?

 

Thanks for the quick response. I'm sure I'll be posting here again.

 

Mike

[WorldNation]

you cna get 10 gallon all glass tanks for 10 bux at either petco or petsmart.

[Raise]

Glass nowadays is as clear as clear can be. Back in the day glass used to have a green tint to it, im sure you've seen that glass before. Acrylic bows aswell, my friend has 65 which is made from acrylic and the thing is bowing like hell. Im not sure if itd be as notable in a smaller tank. It all boils down on how well the tank was made and how the seams are. I just think glass is better,cheaper and just as good visibly as acrylic. If you compare 5yr old glass tank with a 5yr old Acrylic tank I would almost be willing to bet that the glass looks better....... its ALOT harder to scratch. Im sure there are folks out there who have perfect acrylic tanks, but they must not have kids or curious visitors. If you plan on having a magflaot for cleaning your glass, forget it.... youll have to take that thing outta the tank everytime your done using it. Why? Because if a grain of sand or whatever gets in there and someone runs the magnet, bam, whattya know i nice Scratch. Acrylic is nice, but just higher maintanance which in my opinion isnt worth it.

 

 

If you plan on going with a sump thats a good thing. THis will give you more space to work with your equipment: return pump and skimmer mainly.

As far as lighting goes, just PC is great. On my 5.5 I have a custom made DaveEspi hood with 2x28w Pcs and thats more than enough light for the tank. I am supporting plenty of soft and hard coral life. So MH isnt required but you know how things are in america, bigger is better and such. So, if you thought that you might ever wanna upgrade in the future (which is highly likely) than you may aswell go with it in the beginning.. Overall, id guessingly say that a nice Pc/Mh combo would probably run $200-$300. But im sure it could be done cheaper. But PC alone is a good choice also....

 

Xenia/GSp and Perc is a good start. Thats a road that alot of people have taken. Myself included You could also add onto that list of easy to care for corals: Zoanthids and Mushrooms (Ricordea are the coolest). Keeping corals isnt hard. Its for sure not a plug and play thing, setting up a reef. But if you use common sense and dedication everything will go smoothly. Unless you plan on visiting the fish store every week or so you may want to also invest in test kits: 3 basics are Calcium, pH and Alk/Dkh. Salifert makes good kits but they are pricey. Another thing in america "You get what you pay for".

 

I feel like im missing something, keep asking

 

~Ray

[Chamkeeper]

The nicest small tank is surely the 7g Minibow (All-Glass). It is glass and looks great anywhere. Drop 3 or 4 13W PCs on it and lots of soft corals will thrive.

[Deimos]

The perfect setup....well...for me the best way to define that is by how much money you want to spend. The "perfect" setup would be a tank in the million+ gallon range...lol..but as that usually isn't the case...work within a budget..get the largest size tank that you can afford to do "right" (i.e. without cutting ANY corners) the first time..as nothing is worse than sinking a sizable chunk of ones income and time into something and then coming out with an inferior looking end product and having to do things all over again from scratch.

 

That said..I'm in the glass camp as well..for durability and scratch-resistance reasons. You can be as careful as hell in placement and setup and still wind up with an acrylic tank scratched all to hell..and you will INVARIABLY have rock tumbles/accidents as you work at getting the ever-elusive "perfect rockwork".

 

Onto refugium/sump....if you have the cash..by all means...if it were between setting up this and having a protein skimmer, cashwise, I'd go with the skimmer. Fuges are nice little touches..but IMO not as necessary as a good skimmer. The other consideration for having any external water reservoir, be it a sump or a fuge, is to get the tank drilled!! You'll regret not doing this in the beginning if you're going "balls-out" with the nano. The biggest problem that I've found with my nano is getting the proper amount and right "kind" of flow. Its something that definately could have been solved if I'd plumbed in some nice wide-bore returns and had the forethought to set it up with a sump. Live and learn..I'll drill the next one for sure.

 

Lighting....oh man..don't make me say THIS again..lol..."don't reef without metal halides" is the mantra myself and many others live by. Lighting is the one area you should always "overdo". If and when I setup another nano..I'll be dropping a 250w MH pendant over it...(the 400 PFO MH I have right now was a steal...thats why its there...its a bit of overkill in my book..lol) and calling it a day for the lighting. One bulb...one fixture...clean..simple.

 

As far as livestock goes...your initial setup is a good place to start...but the SPS bug will bite sooner or later (it happens to us all..lol) and you'll be dropping in Monti's and Acro's left and right..another reason I say to not skimp on the lighting. Also..you may want to reconsider the Xenia...it grows like a weed in some systems and is damn near impossible to remove once you "graduate" up to hard corals. Seriously..I've scrubbed it off rocks with wire brushes only to have the last few remaining cells start another colony. Its the aptaisia of corals.

 

Anyway..other than that stuff..sound great to me!

 

Any other questions??

[Spamwich]

Thanks for the responses. I guess I'll forget thinking about acrylic and just stick with glass because that seems like the general consensus here. What are the brands and models for these? I know I've seen a lot of people talking about Via Aqua, I've seen Eclipses a lot, anything else out there? I'm sure there is. It seems like a lot of people like the minibow... how come? As I said earlier I'm leaning towards a rectangular tank, but maybe I could look at some others.

 

As for the lighting. Exactly what type of MH should I get? The way I always like to buy things is to buy something that will work for this tank, but will easily be used when I outgrow it. So what I would want to buy would be something that would work on a 100g+ tank, but also on this nano as well. Is that possible? It sounds a little crazy, I know. For PC's... is there a certain brand to keep in mind?

 

I had read somewhere in this forum that you weren't supposed to skim nanos. Is that wrong? Right now I have a spair BAK-PAK2R that I'm not using. Could anyone see a way of putting that to use in a nano? Maybe in combination with a sump so I wouldn't have it hanging off the back of the tank? Which reminds me, I would need help on exactly how to set up a sump. Meaning how to/where/how big to drill into the tank, how big the sump should be, where would I buy it (I've seen all different cheap methods of doing it, but what are some other options), and exactly what I would need in order to overflow from the tank into the sump and pump it back into the tank.

 

If you can include as many brands and models as possible, it would help me out a lot in going out and finding asmuch as I can about them as well. Again, thanks for all the help, and I'm sure I'll be posting back here soon.

[Deimos]

Plumbing..ugh..I may write on that in the morning..but it gets a tad complex for 2am..lol

 

Lighting...I believe the spec on a 250w MH bulb is that it will adequately light any area up to 2'X2'X2'...which is great on a nano...and will work well on a larger tank if you get a couple of more of them.

[Belle]

Could you reply about the plumbing? I'm interested in that too.