first livestock, major sadness

[johnrags1234]

hey everyone WOW what a mixed day ive been having. IM realy excited b/c i just picked up my snails and hermits! i got some bumbles bees and astreas, and 3 scarlet hermits. Im acllimating them as i write this (very slow acclimation!). But what a ######ty day ive had. i went to my lfs and asked the man for help when he was done w/ whatever he was doing. I told him i needed some cleanup critters and he asked what size tank i have, i said i have a 2.5 and he said You mean 2.5 GALLONS? I said yep, and he went into this lecture about how "We at bargain basement only recomend 30 gallon and larger tanks" and blah blah blah like i had NO idea what i was doing so i said alright i can order whatever i need online. Wait. where are you going is the next thing i heard and i was like im leaving he finally sold me my critters. last time im ever going there, ill just order from online so im not humiliated to my face anymore.sorry about this post, its kinda long but im IN SOME MAJOR NEED OF ENCOURAGEMENT! anyone have anything positive to say??? Thanks

[NaNO ReeFiN]

LOL, I got the same lecture from a guy at Petco when I told him that the 10 gal. tank I was buying was gonna be used for a nano reef. Later on that day, I brought in a photo of my 7 gal. Alife tank and was like, "Wassup Foo?!" *Okay I didn't say that, but it was something similar to that...* and he was surprised that I was able to keep a nano reef that small.

[JSinger884]

2.5 Gallons is any amazing challenge, and you should be proud that you are willing to undertake it. Dont worry about what anyone else says, and good luck with your tank. I hope that was an encouraging.

[Goofnut]

Yeah, instead of just boycotting him.... make him feel like the moron. Show him pictures of your tank and direct him to sites like this one -with information on nanos. Maybe you'll find a new nano recruit who will spread the gospel to all of the "old" reefkeepers who scoff at us for even attempting what we are. I get sick of the "holier than thou" attitude from those people!

 

I can, however, understand his attempt to "inform" you, if that's what it was. If done properly, he could have been saving some critters from certain death had you been a clueless idiot. It sounds, however, that in your case he did not do it properly -otherwise you wouldn't have taken offense. SO, give him credit for his attempt but use some constructive criticism to set him straight

[Sahin]

I got a similar lecture from one LFS when I was setting up my 24G.

 

Basically I think that being an LFS these days and virtually everyone having access to the Internet, they must know about successful nanoreefs. OK so 2.5G is really small but alot of the rest of us with bigger nano tanks still get this lecture. I think they just want you to setup a larger tank mainly because you'll buy more stuff and larger equipment from them and thus spend more money at the LFS. Perhaps if they gave advice about how not to mess up with the nano would be more appropriate, and then I'd be willing to accept that they are giving the info/advice to save lives of corals and other creatures.

 

Well, 2.5G is very small and there is VERY little room for errors, but basically if you've done your research and know what exactly you are doing then I think its ok to go ahead with such a project since it can be successful.

[tinyreef]

i know exactly how you feel. back a couple of years if you even mentioned small reefs (and i'm talking <55g!) you got your @ss flamed majorly. "keeping such a small system is reckless and irresponsible" "you'll just be rotating livestock as they die in the system" "impossible to keep in such a small system" "can't be done" blah blah blah.

 

nano reefs were taboo. nevermind many people had been keeping them successfully for many years even at that point. the minority's voice was just too small compared to the then majority's righteous attitude.

 

now they're an accepted niche of the hobby. just like the wet/dry, dsb, and pc's the hobby evolves and changes. that's why i take the view that there's not one great answer that fits all systems. but there are dinosaurs still out there. like nano reefin & goofnut says, when you're setup and stable order some double prints for that guy's butt to open his mind up a bit.

[jollybluepunk]

whoa...my experience is way different from your guys...it was my lfs that got me into this whole nano thing in the first place...on their cash register counter is a nano with a pair of true percs that's been there for a while (2 years?)...so i got their recommendations and they even pointed out to me a couple of fish that would do ok in a small capacity...

 

...now if i can only get my hands on some coral...

 

...damn hawaii agriculture law coral nazis...

[printerdown01]

I agree with all these guys! BRING IN PICS!!! and while your at it let him know that you belong to a network for nano-reefs with 1,774 members ! It should be enough whipe the smile of any capatalists face when they realize that they are missing a peice of that pie! hehe!

*Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there who believe that there is only one way to do something... The face of reefing has changed sooo much in the last 5 yeas, much less 10 (when 55 was ACTUALLY considered the minimum for reefs)... <-- hehe, even back then I had a 30 lol, oh well (well then I bought a 55 as quickly as I could). It is weird when that when people push the envelope for reefing others get upset with them, and start spatting off all the "rules" in order to grow this you need X # or watts/gallon (although they don't even know what TYPE of lights they are talking about), or this or that requires X # of gallons in order to have an ample food supply... It is pretty rediculous!! The fact is if you want to do something badly enough there will ALMOST always be a way to do it!

[Goofnut]

My first experience with nanos was definately different from johnrags, but not everyone's is. I went into Petland to take a look at some bala sharks, etc. for my FW tanks and wound up with a whole new perspective. They had several nanos and small FO tanks in there and that's what led me to this site and others. Not every fish store I have gone into has such an affinity for nanos, which is why I think we need to educate them. I just joined the DFWMAS and I'm hoping to convert a couple of the old timers

[Dave ESPI]

yaeh.... I usualy HOPE fer the retards to say something like that to me... hen I just go LATIN on theur dumbasses and throw all sortsa big words and key phrases at them... thye just stand there and go "Huh?" Next time just try this,,,

say : "FU*^% You MAN !" and throw them the F- Bomb launched with a middle finger.... You will feal much better :woot:

 

 

 

here is one of my 2.5 nanos

[johnrags1234]

thanks everyone so much for the encouregement. I dont think ill go back there but i am going to mail some pics when my tank looks kick a$$ then ill tell him to look at this site to see what hes missin'. Damn fool he was selling catalina gobies that where in with blue damsels (major temp. problem IMO), and when i asked him what he fed his lions he said there diet consists of only goldfish b/c they are very healthy for larger marine predetors (Hello liver problems?) BTW i just got back from my uncles house and his 80 gallon looks a little under the weather, it has some major algea that are smothering some sps's I think he just needs to toss in some snails, and the like hel figure it out though soon hes a smart guy

[harbingerofthefish]

I kinda got the same response from one of LFS's when I was staring at the neon gobies they had just gotten in. When the girl working there started asking me what other fish I had and I told her none, that the goby would be the only one, I got the curious look. With the mention of a 5 gal, the look got worse. Kind of weird from a store that has an Eclipse 12 fully loaded as a display tank.

[Kapelakin]

Yeah, find a different store. Pop in some time when your tank"s been setup for a few months. Bring pics. This LFS is obviously behind the times, and needs to catch up.

 

Look for a store with a display nano setup and doing well. They'll be more helpful and supportive.

 

The owner of the LFS I go to occasionally just sort of looks at me sideways, knowing that I have a 20 gallon tank with 45 pounds of sand in it, but he doesn't go off, since I've made it clear that I've done my research. Now that my tank's balanced out and doing well, I need to take some pics and pay him a visit...

[mxpro32]

when i first set up my 5 gallon all of the employees of my lfs told me it wouldnt work. they looked at me like i was being irresponsible for trying. the owner did nothing but help me, but he is a smart guy and probably has knowledge of small tanks. then i went to fresno to some fish stores and they literally called me crazy when i told them i had a five gallon tank. it was so sweet to have my false perc and all my corals thriving and to go back and rub it in there faces (not really i was polite but smug) everything is still thriving today.

[spoondigity]

I am lucky here in Atlanta I guess. Two different shops have been relatively positive about it. It kind of seems to depend on the individual you speak to in the store though. One of the shops has a 5 gallon with two anenomes and a blenny on display so none of the employees there can really say much when I tell them I have a 10.

[The Unit]

My LFS sells nano reef kits!!! 7 gal with 32w smartlight and heater...its is way to much but people buy it

[yrureefing]

My lfs is pretty cool about nanoreefs. But when I told the guy I cycled with lr he looked at me and said "the ONLY way to cycle a tank is to use a damsel". How crazy is that.

[NaNO ReeFiN]

I actually got started into nano reefs because one of my LFS had a 6 gal. nano sitting on their counter... It seems that almost every LFS I go to has a nano reef now.

[cmoreash]

My LFS has a cool 27g tank on display. They think my 29g tank is way cool, they are into nanos. Some people are a little sketchy on stuff, but most of the employees are pretty cool. Some LFSs even sell those nano kits.

[MKramer]

When I first got into the idea of making a nano, I went around LFSes oogling the corals and fish. One of them, Neptune's Reef, had a nice 12g nano running and it looked incredible. I asked the lady about it, got a few tips, and went on my merry way, looking forward to creating something like it.

 

Four months later, I go back to pick up some equipment, and the same lady asked me what kind of tank it was for. I said "a 10g reef," and she proceeded to lecture me that such a thing wasn't possible, and that I'd just be killing anything I put in it. At that point I noticed they no longer had their nano.

 

I shrugged it off and left. But I suspect they didn't keep very good care of theirs (not surprising, from a store who always has dead fish floating in the tanks, and whose main reef display tank is always under the possession of some form of algae or cynobacteria).

 

Not everyone know what they're doing. It can take a while to learn to filter those people from the real gems who can help you. But you'll get better at it, and just start laughing at those who don't know what they're talking about. Or get supremely frustrated with them, because you know they're giving that same bad advise to people who don't know any better.

[cuttlefish]

Dude it's still there they just moved it.

[Xanareef]

Do you even want to tell this guy about the Coffee Pot Nano?

 

I'm trying to find the link to it now