crazygirl Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Hi all- I am just starting out in the wonderful world of nano-reefs and have questions! I am planning on converting (or buying a new) 10 gallon tank and was wondering what the best lighting options might be. I can not hang lights from the ceiling as I rent, so if I could do something in the hood itself that would be great. To be honest, I'm not sure what type of coral, etc. that I want to keep as I need to do more research on these but I would like to match them to the lighting so I don't have any deaths due to that. I had also read that you can cycle a new tank with the live sand/rock, so was wondering if anyone else had done this before and what their outcome or experiences were. One last strange question- Has anyone ever moved a saltwater tank before? I have been told if I am planning on having a saltwater tank and moving in the future to be prepared to sell everything off and start over.... this just doesn't seem right or logical to me... Thanks in advance and sorry for all the questions! min Link to comment
jdepp Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 you don't have to sell everything if you move,just be careful and seperate the live stuff into buckets or rubbermaid containers. also the live rock and sand is a must! in my experience anyway as with most people, as far as lighting you if you plan on keeping clams sps or anemones get metal halide. from the sounds of it you have never had salt water tanks so if i were you i'd get like a 2 by 65 watt compact flourescent lighting and start with soft corals. also you could get a 70w metal halide light for around the same price but you would have to get someone to build you a hood, you're a girl so it should'nt be to hard to find a guy who likes you that you could convince to do it for you or if you're handy with building things then you could do it too! the halide is probably the way to go but then you have issues with heat and topoffs. but this is a factor no matter what it would just be more with mh. try to only use ro/di water or bottled water (not too sure which ones are good you will have to ask around)that way you start things off right, then use atleast 10#'s lr and ls and get some test kits to watch the cycle make sure it cycles before you add any corals. and most important----have fun. happy reefing Link to comment
crazygirl Posted December 8, 2003 Author Share Posted December 8, 2003 You are very correct, never had a saltwater tank before!! So before taking the plunge, want to do a lot of research and make sure I'm doing the right things here!! I can't say that I'm planning on keeping clams, but I go with the thought of bigger is better for the most part with lighing, spend the money now instead of upgrading later on, so I will definately look into what you had suggested!! I was thinking of using bottled water, since it is a small tank and we have soft water here, I don't know how effective a r/o unit would be... Was planning on taking my time with the cycling, hey if it takes 2 months, no big deal IMO. Not wanting to jump feet first and just shove things into my tank! The thing that I'm deciding right now is to either set up the 10 gallon, or else trade off everything in the 55 and go with saltwater in there, the hubby really wants a lion fish and the oscars are not getting along so it's a good time to do it! Thanks again for the help!!! min Link to comment
killrblue Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 You need to watch out for bottled water. Sometimes they have copper or excessive phosphates. RO/DI is the best. Try to see if your local LFS sells them. Some also sell premix saltwater like mine. If your going for a bigger tank you should try to get a unit at home instead of hauling all that water. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Convert the 55 to a fish only for your husband's predator fetish and get the ten gallon reef for yourself. go with the metal halides over the 10 and you will be able to keep whatever you want. might want to toss a 36 watt actinic in there as well. Link to comment
kyman_33 Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 The thing that I'm deciding right now is to either set up the 10 gallon, or else trade off everything in the 55 and go with saltwater in there, the hubby really wants a lion fish and the oscars are not getting along so it's a good time to do it! Oh dear, You said Oscars with an S in your 55 gallon. Not good. You shouldn't even have one oscar in there. The min for an oscar to thrive I would say is a 75 gallon. That is my opinion. 1 Oscar could live (not thrive) in a 55 gallon. More than one= very unhappy fish. The min for 2 in my opinion is a 125 gallon. You should visit www.aquatic-hobbyist.com for more info on oscars and all you other fish questions. You should read a book or two before you get your nano. Books will help a ton. Link to comment
Dingo Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Soft water means that it has little dissolved calcuim in it. That is a good thing for an RO unit. The membranes will last longer than they would with hard water. Link to comment
crazygirl Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 You said Oscars with an S in your 55 gallon. Not good. You shouldn't even have one oscar in there. The min for an oscar to thrive I would say is a 75 gallon. That is my opinion. 1 Oscar could live (not thrive) in a 55 gallon. More than one= very unhappy fish. The min for 2 in my opinion is a 125 gallon. They are breeding, so I would assume that they are a happy couple I have heard different things to be honest on the size of tank for oscars. There are people that believe that one oscar can't be kept in a 55 gallon but others that believe that it is fine to house 3 and 4. It's a very personal issue to a certain extent. I have never had a problem, but on the other hand I have extra filtration and areation in the tank, and I am extremely contientions in water changes and testing for amonia (I can't spell today, my apologies), nitrates and nitrites. In doing this, I have never had a problem with cloudy water or any other issues including territory disputes. Min Link to comment
Crakeur Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Min (whatever that is short for), I had one albino oscar in a 55, along with a huge African Aba Aba Knife. Nice couple. they were massive and very happy. Anything can be done, as long as an exit strategy is in place for when the fish get too big or the tank gets too crowded. Link to comment
crazygirl Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 Min is short for my name (Minde) lol I agree with you completely.. When we got the oscars, we weren't sure how long we were going to be keeping them and the LFS is very good about trade ins, so that isn't a problem at all. We wanted to do a saltwater tank at that time, but didn't have the money to convert the tank.. Now that we do, things might change a bit!! Thanks! Link to comment
Crakeur Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 you have the money to convert them but do you have the funds to continue stocking them. black hole of cash. every time I walk by my tank I can feel my moneyclip being pulled toward the tank. I have taken to putting the money in a lock box that is heavier than the gravitational pull of the tank. I do carry a few sacrificial singles that I feed to the tank whenever I walk past. Link to comment
crazygirl Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 hehehe this tank was the same way when we first got it going... as was the 10 gallon and the 2- 5 gallons lol The 55 would be fish only with live sand and rock with a few critters to keep things stirred up on the bottom, the only fish in there would be a volitan lionfish. I really don't want anything else in there even though my guy wants a tang or surgeon of some sort, but i would rather go VERY slowly since I don't know a lot about salt water and stocking rules. In the nano I'm not sure what I would do for corals and such, but I would love to have a yellowtail damselfish and a flame hawkfish. I have a feeling to go with the nano-reef first as it would be more of a challenge to do everything correctly that way when I set up the 55 I have everything down and then would have a place to put frags if needed. Well, that's long enough for now!! Minde Link to comment
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