Starting off...

[Steve.Hudec]

Hey everyone!

I'm Steve, and this is all new to me. My friend is helping getting me going with a salt-water tank setup. I'm Planning on getting an AP 12G and I'm looking for suggestions and tips to get me going!!
Thanks!!!

 

[Jeepman3sk]

Oh hi Steve this is your friend. I would be glad to help you out. Everyone we need LR and LS for his tank. If anyone has a secret bag of south down hidden we will take it. Also not sure but is there any sand that we can buy at a place like HD that would work? That "LS" from the LFS is really expensive.

 

[mike660r]

Just go to salty critter and get a bag of the seachem sand they have and get a cup or two from an establised tank and add to it. In a 12g tank that will be more than enough to get the sand started.

 

[cmador]

I also just bought an AP 12. There are a lot of mods you can do to these. The first basic ones include replacing the stock pump with a MJ-900, closing off the bottom vents in the filter area and opening up the fan vents on the hood. Heat seems to be the #1 problem in these. Check out NR for details or feel free to PM me. Good Luck.

 

[GSMguy]

you could set up a small tank for a good price more space than a 12g 12 gallon is very restrictive in fish you can add

 

[Jeepman3sk]

What do you suggest sir. Price is a big issue. The AP is a decent price b.c it includes the light and filter etc.

 

[Willie_6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9063328#post9063328 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jeepman3sk
What do you suggest sir. Price is a big issue. The AP is a decent price b.c it includes the light and filter etc.

What about buying something used? From what I understand nanos can be difficult to run due to the fact that there is less water and therefore more swings in water params. Some others can chime in here, but from what I have read that is the case. I am not sure if someone new would be successful starting out with such a small tank.

That is just my opinion and I would never want to deter someone from joining the hobby. I also would never want to set someone up to fail. Let's face it,even small sw tanks are expensive.

 

[mntl]

There are a ton of options for nano's, If i could get some idea of what you want to keep and a basic budget myself and others might be able to post some different options.

p.s. I probably have some aragonite laying around, i will check when i get home.

-John

 

[GSMguy]

a budget would help but i think you can set up a very nice tank for the price of a nano cube but for some the nano cube is perfect just want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck
we all have used stuff for free or trade to help keeep costs down
there are lots of used tanks available in the area

 

[jake koppen]

for my reef tank i bought a bag of filter sand from lighthouse pools ($7.50/ alot! 10lbs or so) and added a pound or 2 of live sand to it. it works great looks great and was cheep

 

[Steve.Hudec]

Thanks everyone for the imput everyone, and please keep it comming. , It's going to take me a while to get this all up and running since im a broke college student. But i'm completely dedicated to getting this going, thanks again!

 

[Willie_6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9070450#post9070450 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve.Hudec
Thanks everyone for the imput everyone, and please keep it comming. , It's going to take me a while to get this all up and running since im a broke college student. But i'm completely dedicated to getting this going, thanks again!

Take your time. You can get things slowly, when you have money. Whenever you get an extra $20 go to the store and buy a heater, powerhead, sand, salt, etc. My point is if your total set up ends up running you $500, it doesn't mean you have to have $500 to start getting stuff. In the meantime do a lot of research and plan out your tank. Good luck!