Starting a nano reef.........(advice please!)

reefman13

reefman13

New member
I am already well into the process of my 215 gallon system. However browsing this forum has made my decide that I am going to start a nano reef.

Previously I had looked at the 24 gallon aqua pod. I would like a little more room than that. Here are a couple questions I would like to have answered:

>What is the largest tank size considered nano?
>Had a 37H gallon tank, stand and hood in mind with a 10 gallon sump- what do people have in their sumps?
>People who use overflows: which one? Return pump?
>My 215 is going to have a 125 BB display. With sand in the refuge. I was going to do CC in my 37, do's and don'ts?
>Skimmer/Power Filter/Canister Filter- which one?
>Heaters?
>Planing on a mixed reef- light wattage minimum (I am NOT putting a chiller on this tank)?
>Fish- 1.Vanuatu lemon peel and half black angel hybrid; 2.Mitratus butterflyfish; 3.Marshall Island Helfrichi firefish pair; 4.Ocellaris Clownfish Pair--------------LMK what you guys think of my fish choices. If something is not reef compatible, state it please;)
>Inverts- 1.Haitian Reef Anemone; 2.Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab Pair; 3.Blue Linckia Sea Star; 4.Tongan Fighting Conch; 5.Indonesian Turban Snail Pair; 6.Bumble Bee Shrimp Pair; 7.Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp-------------Again, LMK what you think, if something is not compatible, state it and if possible suggest a replacement;)


In advance I thank everyone for there input.
 
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What is the largest tank size considered nano? This is much debated, but most people say 30-40 gals.
Had a 37H gallon tank, stand and hood in mind with a 10 gallon sump- what do people have in their sumps? I use a 10 gal for my sump fuge on my 26g bowfront.
People who use overflows: which one? Return pump? I use an overflow box, my tank came predrilled for an overflow. I'm using a ViaAqua return pump from the Drs.
>My 215 is going to have a 125 BB display. With sand in the refuge. I was going to do CC in my 37, do's and don'ts? No No NO to the CC...its nothing but a nitrate factory. Use live sand, much better, will help keep nitrates down instead of causing them to rise.
>Skimmer/Power Filter/Canister Filter- which one? Protein skimmer all the way. I swear by Remora's (have a regular Remora on my 26 and a Pro for my 105) but I have heard good stuff about the Tunze
>Heaters? Titanium heaters, wattage depends on your needs. I have a 100w thats only on at night for my tank, keeps my temps right at 80.
>Planing on a mixed reef- light wattage minimum (I am NOT putting a chiller on this tank)? Depends on the types of corals you want to keep. You can have a nice softie tank that won't need too strong of lighting, or if you're looking to do clams/sps you'll need more. It will also depend on the tank you use.
>Fish- 1.Vanuatu lemon peel and half black angel hybrid; 2.Mitratus butterflyfish; 3.Marshall Island Helfrichi firefish pair; 4.Ocellaris Clownfish Pair--------------LMK what you guys think of my fish choices. If something is not reef compatible, state it please. Not sure how a butterfly will work in a nano...but everything else sounds ok if its a larger nano and you have a decent sump system. I would check to make sure that angel is reef safe, I know some are known to nip corals/eat inverts.
>Inverts- 1.Haitian Reef Anemone (dont bother); 2.Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab Pair; 3.Blue Linckia Sea Star (will probably starve); 4.Tongan Fighting Conch (again, may starve after a few months); 5.Indonesian Turban Snail Pair; 6.Bumble Bee Shrimp Pair; 7.Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp-------------Again, LMK what you think, if something is not compatible, state it and if possible suggest a replacement. I would stick with turbos and one species of hermit (they tend to fight). I have about 20 blue legs in my tank and I love them...they are great at eating any uneaten food and cleaning my rock. I also have 3 turbos that are great, all over the glass and rock. I've heard good things about nerite & cerith snails too...I plan on adding some of them to my tank in the next few weeks.

Thats all I have for now...hope that helps a little. :)
 
In a 24, I'd say 3 fish, 4 at the tops if you stay small.

No to the blue linckia--and for other stars, your tank needs to mature many months before introduction.
Also 24g probably a bit too small for pygmy angels, once they start growing. have one now in QT in my 20lQT,does okay--wouldn't want that for the long term.

I have an osc. pair in my 12g jbj, they do great--but aggessive to passive fishlike goby. Firefish pair would be good.
NO on the butterflyfish, OR any butterfly fish--I think any of them need 50g MINIMUM, and--no guarantee any of them won't eat your coral.
I think a tongan conch would dookay, but would also wait a few months for tank to mature.
 
Well I am going to do a 37H with canopy and stand with a 10 gallon inside. So its a little bigger than a 24. I am going to go with 4 fish. Looked through a couple of profiles and not many have stated that they don't like to nip at corals. But is a half balck hybrid and those are reef safe.........so I am debating; take the chance, don't take the chance........

Butterfly was a mistake, forgot that they aren't reef compatible, and that they need at least 75 gallons.

Figured I am going to do a pair of Picasso perculas in my 125 so I am not going to put another pair in my 37. So that takes me down to just the Fire Fish pair.

Maybe a wrasse................hmmmmmmm............

I was also thinking of turbos..........I think I'll do about 2 or 3. Crabs I am going to stick with the yellow tips, however I am going to do 10 or 15 of them.

I will looking into protein skimmers tonight, as well as heaters, lights and HOB refugiums to hang on the sump. I will also prepare a new list with the advice so far.

What about a sand sifting star? Would he be okay?


Thanks for the help so far. But that doesn't mean I don't want more:D
 
Small flasher wrasses are nice, and would do well in the 37. They are colorful and are easily aquired. I would get this book: Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species (The Pocketexpert Guide Series for Aquarists and Underwater Naturalists, 1) by Scott W. Michael (amazon.com) its a great tool. I also have the inverts one, and its my go to guide before I add any corals to my tank. :)

What about a pair of black & white clowns?
 
Sugarfox- that book has now been added to my upcoming May birthday list (my b-day is the 30th):D

Some new ideas on fish:
>1. Zebra Barred Dartfish
>2. Dragon Face pipefish (I know they are reef safe, but how will they do with other PEACFUL fish?)
>3. Juvenile Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse- X2 (will they fight for a little and then become a pair?)
>4. Wild Caught- Ocellaris Clownfish (decided to get them because I always have little kids over at my house when my parents host parties, so little kids will make the realation to Finding Nemo, and I also love Clown fishes, they are one of my 3 favorites (tangs, clows, and angels)
>5. Court Jester Goby/Rainford's Goby


Invert update:
>1. Will be doing 18 hermits, undecided on the kind, blues probably as more people have had experiance with them than the other kind.
>2. Will be looking more into turbo snails and turban snails. maybe two of each.
>3. I would like to have an anem. in the tank for the clowns, is that a 'DO NOT DO' or just a hassle?
>4. Kinda on the edge between the Blood Red Fire Shrimp and the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. Anyone else have a different one that they would recomend post it;)


My ideas so far for equipment:
>1. As far as lighting goes, I was thinking about the IceCap 250 HQI All Aluminum Pendant. It also takes 400 watt bulbs, but I would be using a 14K 250watt MH bulb by Phoenix. And the IceCap 250 HQI ballast.
>2. 4" computer fans in the hood to move the light heat away from the tank- X2
>3. Coralife 36 Inch Aqualight With 2- 96 watt Actinic (for simulating sunset and sunrise.
>4. For a skimmer I am considering either the Tunze Nano DOC Protein Skimmer 9002 or AquaC Remora Hang-On Protein Skimmer w/ Drain Fitting + Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump.
>5. For return I am going to have two mag 5's. I will have them pluged into a wavemaker that will let them run for about 5 seconds each.
>6. As stated earlier I will have a ten gallon sump with I will add baffles to, myself. And in between them- a sponge.
>7. A medium CPR AquaFuge 2 Hang-on Refugium, for cheato and stuff like that.
>8. WON Pro-Heat IC Heater 100 W 11 inch- Titanium heater BTW
>9. Kent Marine Phosban reactor w/phosban and carbon.
>10. Mag-Float 30 Magnet Cleaner- cleaning the glass
>11. Coralife Digital Thermometer

Then there will be other miscellaneous stuff that will be used on both tanks.


For corals, I was wanting to be able to do pretty much anything......
>1. SPS- acros and millipora's
>2. LPS- Frog spaun, hammer, acan, a plate coral, and some open and closed brain corals
>2. Softie- Zoas (lots of 'em)


So what do you guys think of this stuff?
 
I like your new lists! Much more feasible! :) I dont have much experience with the first two fish, so no help there from me. I would recommend only 1 wrasse for a tank your size, there will not be enough room for both of them, if they are both male (forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe these change like clowns.) Why wild caught vs tank raised ocellaris? Rainsford Goby's are great, I wish I saw them more in my lfs...I have only seen 3. You may want to check to see if the Dartfish & the goby are compatible.

Turbos & turbans are the same snail, I'm just used to calling them turbos :) Check out nerite and/or cerith snails too!

Anemone's need very pristine water quality, I wouldn't add one for at least 6 months, if not longer, to make sure its stable. There's a lot of other corals that look like anemones, but aren't as picky, don't move around on their own, and won't sting like one either. If you're looking for a coral for the clown to host, there's a lot of different options.

I have a blood shrimp in my tank, he's awesome. Is not shy at all, and comes right out when I feed the tank for his share of the pellets.

Lighting sounds good, may be overkill with 2x96w, if you have the 250w MH, you will probably only need the 1 96w fixture. I have 150w MH over my tank (Finnex) and it has 36w Actinics, and I think it does a fine job with simulating sunrise/sunset. :)

I'm not a fan of sponges anywhere in the tank, but thats up to you. Just be sure to clean them weekly when you do the water change. Also, why dont you just add the fuge to the sump?

Here's my 10 gal sump/fuge with my Remora on the right side. I'll try and get some better pictures tomorrow...behind the Remora, where the water overflows into it, I set up a piece of egg crate above the water level and put down a filter pad, so the water runs over that. I change that every 2-3 days, as it gets a ton of stuff out of the tank.

<IMG SRC="http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL649/4301915/10713628/247560839.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
 
mags arent made to be shutting on and off, try 1-3hours each to make them last longer, 5 seconds is way to short, youll burn out the pump
 
Nano- I will plan for 2 hour rotations, thanks for the heads up.

Sugar- sponges would be going in between the baffles in my sump. I will then change it to a single bulb 36" fixture. Would love to see some pics of your tank:) What do you think of the performance of your shrimp?

What is the ratio for snails/hermits to gallonage?
 
My tank:

<IMG SRC="http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL649/4301915/10713628/247456755.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">

<IMG SRC="http://pic16.picturetrail.com/VOL649/4301915/10713628/247456754.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting by PictureTrail.com">
(pardon the poor quality - my digital camera is 4 years old!)

I have since added a large tubastrea, and will be pulling out the MJ400 powerheads and replacing them with a Tunze Nanostream (waiting for that tax return!) Its a work in progress, there's so many more corals I want to add.

Shrimp Performance? Haha, he's just neat looking. Eats some of the left over pellets/krill/whatever is being fed. He's not a cleaner shrimp, so never interacts with the fish.

Ratio for hermits, most people will say 1 per gallon. I have 18-20 in my 26 gal tank, and do just fine. I only have 3 turbo snails right now...I lost all of my astrea snails when I had my AP running (they are a waste.) I'm putting in order in at Drs F & S and plan on buying 2 or 3 of each of the nerite, margarita and cerith snails, to see which ones clean the best. I forgot to mention, I also have about 10 nassarius snails, I need about 5-10 more, but my lfs hasnt had them in for awhile. They are great sandbed cleaners. May get some from the Drs too.
 
So I will probably get a scarlet cuz I would love to see him clean a fish:D

I am going to price out some things now on Drs. I am going to look into some tuban snails, 2 cleaner shrimp, and about 8 yellow tipped hermits and 8 blue ones. Would the two different kinds harras each other?
 
Okay revised plan:D

>1. Scarlet Shrimp X2
>2. Indonesian Turban Snail X3
>3. Super Tongan Nassarius Snail X3
>4. Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab X4
>5. Electric Orange Hermit Crab X4
>6. Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab X5
 
I think you should also get some nerite snails. They do a great job of eating away all of the detritus after the cycle and continue to keep it away.
 
I would strongly advise against the dragonface pipefish. Pipefish, like seahorses, are extremely timid creatures. However, it is MUCH more difficult to get them to eat than it is to get seahorses to eat, and that is still a task. They are simply not going to do well in a situation where A) there are other, faster competitors for food and B) there is no significant pod population yet. One day, with a larger tank and a well-established fuge, you may be able to keep one. My .02.
 
Thanks shade. I was waiting for someone to comment on that idea. I guess after a year or two I will add one two my 215 gallon system.

John- Both two of the other speicies of snails eat detrius and keep it away. However people seem to really recomend these snails so I will get a few.



Updated livestock list: (only thing that seems to need adjusting:D)
>1. Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp X1
>2. Indonesian Turban Snail X3
>3. Super Tongan Nassarius Snail X3
>4. Carribean Nerite Snail X4
>5. Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab X4
>6. Electric Orange Hermit Crab X4
>7. Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab X5
>8. Wild Caught- Ocellaris Clownfish X2 (or mated pair)
>9. Zebra Barred Dartfish
>10. Juvenile Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
>11. Court Jester Goby/Rainford's Goby

Corals are the same. As well as the equipment. Only change in that is from the double strip PC to the single.

Comments? Any recomendations on which LR and where to get it? Nano cycleing time?

Thanx
 
sand sifting stars get huge--don't think that would work--i think they need 100g OR MORE for long term not to starve
 
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