Considering Turning Salty..?

[fishmad135]

Okay. Hi

i have been pondering starting a nano reef fish tank for some while now, they seem so exciting compared to plain tropical tanks i am used to and i really do envy the beautiful nano tanks on this forum but, now i have just started looking in depth at the different things i would need and i have found everything seems so complicated..

So, i was wondering if anyone would be nice enough to tell me about some of the essential equipment and stuff like live rock etc, and give me an idea of some good (around 20 gallon) nano tanks that are on the market, because i see so many tanks on the internet and they all sound really good, but you never know wether they are really that brilliant..

btw..i have kept tropical tanks since i was 11 (im 15 nearly 16 now)


Anyway Thankyou for taking time for reading this post, and i would be extremely greatful if you could enlighten me with any knowledge on these fascinating tanks

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side

I started my journey on the salty side with an orca 550, a 26 gallon tank and never looked back from there, I loved the tank but would also say consider tanks around 125 litres like the juwel rio 125 with t5 lighting for example.

Lets think about the basics:

Live rock - the heart and lungs of a reef tank, the filter
Aragonite sand - helps keep ph at the right level and home for many critters
Powerheads - x 25 flow, keeps your live rock and later corals happy
Skimmer - takes out organics from the tank to help stop fouling
Lighting - t5, will allow you to keep softies and some hard corals
a tank of over 20 gallons means you can keep clown fish (we all want to keep clowns) and a couple of other fish.
Test kits, to start, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate
Ro water - water that has been filtered and helps in the fight against nuisance algaes etc
Refractometer - allows you to check the specific gravity of your water, for a reef 1.026

Take a look at the Journels section, read lots, take notes and we are always very happy to help along the way

Seffie x

 

[fishmad135]

Thankyou Seffie
I have just taken a look at the orca 550 you were talking about, does it contain everything i would need equipment wise except for the powerheads?

If i were to get this tank would i be able to have
- 2 clown fish
- 2 cleaner shrimp
- maybe some sort of goby.. (any ideas?)

What coral could i have?

Do i need live sand or can i use coral sand?

thankyou once again..

 

[seffieuk]

Yes and yes

You could keep most softies and several hard corals - if you do go for this tank, dont buy the stand, its awful, buy a sturdy chest of drawers or the like instead.

Take a look at the nano journels, you can read my 550 journel and many others there

Seffie x

 

[steelhealr]

See if this helps:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/84931-24g-nano-cube-dx-nano-reef-setup/

SH