New to Nanos... Remove the bio balls? and a few other questions..

[funman1]

I have read tons about large aquariums and have a few big ones.
However I just bought a 12G nano today, and had a few questions for the nano aquarists.

The instructions say for reef tanks, remove the bio balls and ceramic rings.
This makes sense, as you don't use them in large reef tanks.

1) So remove them??

2) So then, is the only filtarion in the nano done with the Sponges, Carbon bag, and Water changes?

I bought 18#'s of sand for the bottom and about 8#'s of LR
3) Is both of that enough?

4) I bought Reef Crystals by Instant Ocean, is this ok for nanos?


I'm making RO/DI water right now to fill it up...

Thanks for your help in advance...
~Steve~

 

[smy168]

1) So remove them??
depends on what you want to try, you can remove the bio stuff and replace with liverock rubble and livesand.

2) So then, is the only filtarion in the nano done with the Sponges, Carbon bag, and Water changes?
10% water changes are always a good thing on a weekly basis.

I bought 18#'s of sand for the bottom and about 8#'s of LR
3) Is both of that enough?
1.5 to 2 lbs. of liverock per gallon

4) I bought Reef Crystals by Instant Ocean, is this ok for nanos?
any salt would work and some are better than others, i use Tropic Marin because of they guarantee no phosphates

I'm making RO/DI water right now to fill it up...
take your time and read these forums.

 

[funman1]

Ok so I will buy more live rock.

Now about the live sand; should I get a cup from someone local for the live sand, or will the sand become live when the LR kicks the tank cycle?

Yeah I have been looking on the forums for about 3 months and posting for about 2. Although I never saw myself going Nano so most my reading has been centered towards larger tanks. So it's kinda like starting all over with the reading since lots of large tank stuff does not apply to nanos.

 

[smy168]

grab a handful from an established tank but the liverock will do it eventually. Personally, I think letting liverock seed the livesand is more natural, if you're cycling anyway then, don't rush not worth the aggravation in such a small system. Are you skimming your tank? If you're running liverock then you should be skimming as well, there's going to be a ton of "die-off" on those rocks and if it just keeps filtering then you'll be damaging the rock .

 

[tripstank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7107096#post7107096 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smy168
grab a handful from an established tank but the liverock will do it eventually. Personally, I think letting liverock seed the livesand is more natural, if you're cycling anyway then, don't rush not worth the aggravation in such a small system. Are you skimming your tank? If you're running liverock then you should be skimming as well, there's going to be a ton of "die-off" on those rocks and if it just keeps filtering then you'll be damaging the rock .

Definetly. I also agree that a Skimmer is a good addition to weekly water changes.

 

[The Marmot]

As far as the bio balls go, the ones that come with the tank probably wont help too much, but I have seen some "Bio Ball Shells" marinedepot.com has them. They open up and you can stuff them with carbon pellets, phosphate pellets, etc. I'm planning an trying these out in my return on my CPR HOB Sump/Fuge

 

[funman1]

I currently have no livestock.
Just about 18#'s of live rock now.

When you say skimmer, are you talking about the surface skimmer that came with it or actually getting a real protien skimmer?

 

[danielwatson]

Yes, definitely remove your balls, you don't want to get shocked