Which Nano

[cottonj21]

Ive had a Jewel vision 180 for about 5 years (tropical) and fancy trying to do a marine setup

Basically im going to by one of these http/www.aquatic-store.co.uk/marine/brow...no-reef-systems
probably the D&D 90 or the orca 450l (because of the price?) unless theres a major benifit in going larger apart from the obvious stock levels

Is one better than the other ?

Also can anyone tell me how noisy these are ?

thanks

 

[Crazy fishes]

I have the 24g D&D (the 90 liter D&D you are looking at) and for a self contained nano tank it is superb!! The noise generated by it is minimal; mine is in my bedroom and when lights are out if you try really hard you might be able to convince yourself that there is a gentle hum. The filter is a three stage as opposed to the two stage on the orca. This just means you have more options with filtration like some convert the middle chamber into a refugium which is very handy for nitrate and phosphate control. Also the light unit on the D&D I believe is better; 72 watt PC which allows you to keep quite a selection of corals. If I had to choose I personally would choose the D&D everytime, but hopefully someone with the Orca will reply and give their option on that.
Hope this helps

Regards

 

[cottonj21]

Thanks alot,
I almost went for a biorb with marine kit, then i found the Orca but now I think im leaning more towards the D&D unless someone has a good reason to go with the orca instead of the D&D

 

[@ombomb]

personally i think you're much better off just buying a tank and then buying the accessories you want rather than working with the "bare minimum" equipment you get in those.

 

[cottonj21]

I really dont think I know enough about marine aquariums so was going to get this as a starter to get me into it untill I figure things out then eventually I will upgrade and get the best kit available for what i want.
Also as this is going in my front room i light the design and neatness of the all in one units.

cheers

 

[john.o]

I have the 24g D&D and cabinet with the full length door which is very useful for all your accessories {test kits refractometer ect}
I don’t think the Orca TL450 has a cabinet, the d&d also has 3 chambers opposed to 2 on the orca which gives you more options to convert the chambers . Most people seem to cut the black plastic off the back of the tank to expose chamber 2. They then put a small light behind the tank that stops on 24/7 and put cheto in the second chamber which helps nitrate and phosphate control {I wish I did this to my tank before it was full of water live rock ect and put up against a wall lol} you could also put a v2 nano skimmer in chamber 3 all though its not needed its a personal thing and you could put phosphate removers ect in chamber 1 if you wanted to. I also believe the lighting is better on the d&d which will let you keep better selection of corals
The only problems I have had with the d&d are………
I wish I had converted my 2nd chamber.
And water flow -movement you will have to add a 2nd pump {you would also have to do this with the orca} some thing like a HYDOR KORALIA NANO or possibly even a HYDOR KORALIA 1 I have a koralia nano my self.
Apart from this the tank is very good and I would go for the d&d every time

Hope this helps

 

[cottonj21]

Cheers looks like I'm going with the D&D then, will have to read up on what these bits are that your talking about, but will most likely order next week.

Thanks alot

 

[cottonj21]

right been reading for hours now
im going to get the D&D 24g , HYDOR KORALIA NANO, 2v nano skimmer as suggested by john,o
dont understand what you mean in regardes to the light, what benifit does that have ?
also what exactly is cheto

when i buy my stuff should i get sand and rock at the same time as the website im going to use sells that as well http/www.thelivingsea.ashopcommerce.com/

is there anything else i should buy or know about

cheers

 

[Crazy fishes]

Can I make a suggestion? Why not buy the tank +/- the cabinet and then do some reading on the basics of marine aquaria. It seems that there are some things you don't understand and it would be a shame to kill livestock just because you weren't adquately prepared. I am happy to help with the little knowledge I have if there is anything you don't understand or want to clarify. The really important questions at the start are what tank, what other essential equipment, what salt and what salinity am I aiming for and understanding water chemistry is essential. It has been described that in this hobby we are actually water keepers since all our interventions are aimed at the water, not the livestock, but at parameters are maintained at the livestock requirements. You will need water containers for R/O and premixed salt water, hydrometers and test kits. You need to work out the basics before even entertaining the idea of livestock. SH always says do things SLOWLY and he is so right; you can't rush or it will crash and burn in the blink of an eye. There is nothing more frustrating than watching your precious corals, fish and other critters slowly die and not being able to do a thing about it. Lighting is essential for coral it is how they produce 90%+ of their energy and they need a particular frequency, temperature and duration of light. Hence lighting is everything when it comes to corals. Have a read and ask some questions to generate a plan before diving in.

Look forward to hearing how things go in the future

Regards

 

[cottonj21]

Thanks,
Trust me I have spent hours upon hours reading up on this .
We have a small LFS near us that does marine so im going to have a chat with them and they sell everything i need to maintain it.
Don't know about anyone else but I find it hard learning something untill I have it in front of me, so Ive ordered my tank and will take it one step at a time (as you rightly said).

I will keep a journal on this once ive got my tank (might be coming tomorrow)



Also had an idea, ive got an underwater digital camera so i will take an underwater tour of my tank (before I add fish)

Cheers

 

[john.o]

as I have said earlier I have the v2 skimmer my self but if I were you I would not bother getting one just yet. IMO I think at this stage of your tank setup you would be far better off maintaining good water quality through small regular water changes. which IMO is the much better way to go any way with a nano tank as the reduced water volume makes it harder to maintain good water quality and things can go down hill really really fast and small weekly water changes will help combat that problem I personally change 2.5 gallons per week I use RO water from my lfs and red sea coral pro salt and all my water parameters are with in the excepted range.
The ph is a little low and nitrate a little higher than I would like but acceptable as long as it remains stable and that’s why I am now trying to add cheato{ macroalgea} and some sort of light to chamber 2 it acts like a water scrubber and has many benefits for E.g. lowering nitrate helping stabilize ph ect I am only a newbie to live rock and coral keeping my self so perhaps some of the more experienced guys on here SH and the likes could help you out buy telling what all the benefits are of adding a refuge {in chamber 2cheato ect} but erm yer I would defiantly considerate before you fill your tank with RO salt water ect because It would be much easier to do the mod now rather than later {don’t I just no I am now trying to find some way of lighting from inside under water leds ect }
Hope this helps

 

[cottonj21]

well im giving the skimmer a miss for now, chamber 1 with have crushed live rock, chamber 2 is going to have a refugium, chamber 3 is going to have a heater (if needed) possibley some live rock and maybe some sponge to take bits out,
found some guides on the refugium so have ordered this http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...:B:EOIBSA:UK:11
i think i have the right idea, im going to cut the plastic off the back make a box and line it with foil then stick my light in and attach it to the back of the tank.
still waiting for delivery of my tank but i have thursday off so hopefully i can make a start then, been to my lfs and they said they will have some mixed salt ready for then, and 10kilo of live cured rock (£10 kilo sounds a bit steep)

once i have everything i will do a journal

cheers