Pico

[newb111]

i am wondering if it is ideal to go into the saltwater hobby starting off with a pico. Maybe 2.5 to 3 gallons. Is this recomended or is it harder than something like a nanocube.

 

Thx

Newb111

[Fishfreak218]

harder to do .. start off with a nice 20g. tank.. i love 20L (i used to hate them) but then again i love the Aquapods and Nanocubes.. (even though people say there a good starter tank.. i think i will be getting one as my 3rd reef tank..loololol)

anyway dont start off with a pico.. if i did.. my tank would have crashed...lol.. i started with a 30g. Oceanic Cube.. i also have a pico now

[1fish2fish]

Definitely harder to do.

 

I kept fish only with live rock (FOWLR) tanks on and off for about 15 years before the reef bug bit me. FOWLR tanks tend to be a little more forgiving. My first reef tank was my 1 gallon, and it's been going strong for two years now, but in all honesty I don't think i could have done it without my experience with my fish and live rock tanks. It also helps that I've been working in the aquaculture industry for a little over 12 years now (2 degrees in the same and about to finish a third 8X). Even with my experience I spent alot of time reading and planning.

 

If you truely feel the need to go reef, go a little larger and make sure you do your research. Educate yourself. This board is a great place to start. Check out other peoples setups and plan your tank out with as much detail as possible. It will make a huge difference in the level of success you achieve.

 

Some quick guidlines for success:

1) Go light on the stocking. make sure your corals have space to grow and spread out.

2) If you must add fish then once again, go light and add fish that are suited to a smaller tank (beware the wrath of the tang police and the MGPA (mandarin goby prtection agency)). I personally don't recomend mixing fish and corals in anything smaller than 5 gallons (even 5 is pusing it IMO), but that's just my feeling on it. Fish need to be fed and so you are constantly adding extra nutrients to the system. The constant water changes wil yoyo your water quality, and long term success requires stability.

3) Start out slow. If you just cram all your corals in the first week you are headed for failure. Slow and steady will win the race in terms of long term stability and success

4) Do your research on compatibility. eg. galaxia is a beatiful coral (IMO), but it will stretch out it's sweeper tentacles and sting everything within about 8 to 10 inches on all sides. 2.5 gallon tank with galaxie = 2.5 gallon galaxia tank.

 

Most importantly...

5) Read, read read.

6) Ask questions. That's what the message board is all about, but use the search function on the message board before posting questions. Many of the questions you will have have already been answered.

[newb111]

In fact, i have been lurking on this site for a little over 1 month now and have learned more from others experiences than i could have ever learned any other way. I havent even started up my 12 gallon Nano cube dx because i dont want to mess it up even once. (and some $$$ issues) Research is my main priority before Anything else. I dont want to screw it up even the first time. I am doing all this research so there will be now uh-ohs in the long run. I was just curious as to a comparrison of difficulty of a pico to a nano. Maybe in a couple of years i will have one. If there is one thing that i have learnded more than anything elses, its patience. I am the type to rush things so if i hadent found this miracle website, i would have been set up for a crash course in under 2 months.

Thanks again for your support and help.

Official Newb