Starting A Sw Tank

[ashlerbam]

So I have been looking over nano tanks for a while. It has pulled me in. And I finally have some free money to spend. Not enough to get all the corals I want but I think I will have enough to get some decent equipment.

I live in the US, my budget is about $300 for equipment. I need opinions on what you guys would do with the money. I am limited in space, so no larger then a 10-12g MAX. I have the time to spend on it. And I do not spend much time away from home. And definitely do not have any long vacations planned anytime soon. So a nano/pico SW tank will get the attention it needs.

I was looking at a oceanic biocube 8g. Was thinking that could give me the light/tank/filtration with a little moding that I could get into some Soft/LPS corals. If thats not a good choice. I could definitely get my own small tank and mod it with a LED fixture.

All in all I want to get the starting equipment/liverock/sand for $300, I just need some help spending! Any and all help appreciated!

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of the forum. As you havent bought anything yet the best way to start is to think about what your aims are, so for example, you have already said you would like some coral, both, soft and lps, whuch gives us a good start, however, what fish etc do you have in mind?

So, as you want coral, the first things you need are:

Sufficiant lighting - probably t5
Live rock - the heart and lungs of the tank
Powerheads for flow x 20 per hr
RO water - do you plan on buying a unit or buying from lfs?
Refractometer
Test kits
Sand - aragonite (not the live stuff)
Heater
Good mag cleaner

Now we need to know what fish, if any you want to keep, this will determine the tank size

Seffie x

 

[ashlerbam]

to the salty side of the forum. As you havent bought anything yet the best way to start is to think about what your aims are, so for example, you have already said you would like some coral, both, soft and lps, whuch gives us a good start, however, what fish etc do you have in mind?

So, as you want coral, the first things you need are:

Sufficiant lighting - probably t5
Live rock - the heart and lungs of the tank
Powerheads for flow x 20 per hr
RO water - do you plan on buying a unit or buying from lfs?
Refractometer
Test kits
Sand - aragonite (not the live stuff)
Heater
Good mag cleaner

Now we need to know what fish, if any you want to keep, this will determine the tank size

Seffie x

I am thinking 1, maybe 2 fish max. Gobies, blenny's and damsels, all are interesting to me. The main part of this aquarium is going to be coral/inverts. Also I found a local SW store that sells pre mixed SW with RO for $1 a gallon and its pretty close to me. So instead of the mixing everything myself I thought thats a perfect way to cut cost of more thermometers/heaters/powerheads.

I'm thinking of an all in one tank. Sump designed filter in the back of the tank so all equipment is hidden. I like the clean cut look. I can make it DIY or buy a kit. My delema is the kits available, are the lights good enough for what I am looking to keep?

 

[seffieuk]

I suspect the JBJ 28 gallon is just what you are looking for:

http/www.jbjnanocubes.com/contents/en-us/d792_28-gallon_JBJ-Nano-Cube-HQI.html

I am not advocating you buy from this company, it is just for reference if you live in a very warm part of the States, you would probably need a chiller as there have been heat issues with this tank.

There is another one with t5 lighting

or

Oca/boyu 550

http/www.boyuaquarium.com/En_ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=347

Seffie x

 

[ashlerbam]

I suspect the JBJ 28 gallon is just what you are looking for:

http/www.jbjnanocubes.com/contents/en-us/d792_28-gallon_JBJ-Nano-Cube-HQI.html

I am not advocating you buy from this company, it is just for reference if you live in a very warm part of the States, you would probably need a chiller as there have been heat issues with this tank.

There is another one with t5 lighting

or

Oca/boyu 550

http/www.boyuaquarium.com/En_ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=347

Seffie x

I would like to get something around that size to start.... if I had the space. I just can't fit anything larger then a 12g. Where the tank is going to be placed space is limited.

But I have found one I am very interested in. It's a Cadlight 12g cube. It will come with 48w of Power compact lighting. A 250gph return pump from the in tank filter, and lock line return flow. All for $180 and that includes shipping. Just going to wait till the next payday and purchase it!

 

[seffieuk]

Thats a very small tank, you will be limited to a small goby, some shrimp, a hermit and snails and of course some nice coral - if you were lucky enough to find a an assessor you could probably have that too

Seffie x