Nano reef tank

Thanks for your advice. Do you have a picture of your FW tank?

 

I think I'm going to have to go with a freshwater setup with live plants. It seems reef tanks might be too much work than I want right now.

 

Yo, wazzup neighbor? Cool tank. Cool truck. Maybe see ya round da hood. lol.

 

Well now your talking about a whole other area of aquariums. Live planted tanks take more equipment. You need a CO2 system to keep most plants healthy. Plus, depending on the fish you keep, they may chew on the plants and kill them. Just my .02
I'll have to look for a decent pic of my tank.
Here's one from about a month after I set it up. Its poor quality and its not the final setup, but you get they idea.


Some pictures of a few of the fish

 

That is really nice. Are those real rock? I'm just starting to research live plants. My LFS did not mention the need for any CO2 containers or such. Myabe no plants.

 

Nano tanks are cool but they will cost you. Don't let the small size fool you. The smaller the tank the harder it is to maintain. Can be done but with more work than say a 40, 60, 100+ gallons. If you want a easy pet...try a snake. Bye far the easiest animal to take care of and believe me when I say easiest...I own a zoo here. PM if you have questions about pets...


I own currently

4 dogs
3 cats
1 parrot
4000 gal+ koi pond
Reptiles ( 8ft + boas and Green Tree Python)
2 red ear sliders turtles...in the pond

I have owned in the past

Saltwater Reef tank 60 gal
Freshwater planted tanks (10, 12, 40 and 60)
Lizards (Leopard Geckos - caring and breeding)
Corn Snakes


My most recent tanks...best fish tanks I have owned...easy and plants grew as you can see...

Before


After


Those were freshwater shrimp tanks which had Tiger and Cherry Shrimp

 

That is alot of work! I'm beginning to realize that a nano might not be the best right now. But was suggested a planted fish tank, I'm thinking a 12-15gal now. As another member mentioned, I need a CO2 system, can you tell me one that might be good for me?

 

I never used CO2 for my tanks. I rarely used plant food. I changed water about every 2 weeks and filled up whatever was necessary. For a smaller tank and especally for first. Do it simple It might cost you about 200 + for equipment but it will be less than a Nano...and more forgiving. I used plants that needed little care like Java Moss and Java ferns. I also had Peacock moss in there as well. Both tanks you see have a basically the same thing...so I know my set ups work. The tank on the left is a 12 gallon Cube and the one on the right is a 10 gallon regular. That is the cheapest way to go... PM me if you want more information. Good luck.

 

Yes, real rock. Its called lace rock. You can find it at just about any local fish store. Good luck with your tank! if you're looking for some good info about setting up your tank try http://www.cichlid-forum.com. Check out the library section. Its a Cichlid website but It'll help you out with any freshwater setup.

 

derick i expected more from you. u newb

for a nano tank you need
1. live rock
2. live sand
3. lighting t-5 high output and will take care of any corals ur gonna get
4. skimmer get the best thing u can get to fit in the nano
5. you do not need a refugium for such a small tank(i know many people running a nano tank without a refugium)
6. go buy the tank and put water rock and sand and let it cycle

 

and go here for more information about salt water tanks http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/index.php

 

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm settling on Bananahands recommendation. A basic tank with some kid items, sundken ship or such, with a few easy plants like sdtree recommended. There is time for him and I to move up to nicer SW tanks in a year or two. Thanks for all your help. Now I just need to decide what else to get him for his B day, I was prepared to spend $450, now I'm going be ~$150 at the most.

 

I have had 6-7 salt tanks since college, 55gal-160gal. There is absolutley nothing else more beautiful than a nice salt set-up. It does not have to be big or expensive. You can buy some used equipment cheap & make it work. Most important thing is TAKE YOUR TIME.

I used reefcentral.com as a good resource. GREAT forums. My old roomate in college was a microbioligist who bread clownfish, so I had some good intel.

If you keep it simple, it will be easier to maintain. One of my favorite tanks I had was a 40gal, 1"dsb, 3 pieces of lr, 50-50 actintic lights, otb penguin 300. fluval type cannister filter w/ a 25watt uv. Had a picasso trigger, dwarf lion, snowflake moray, & flame angle for ls. I picked up a mexican anenome snorkeling in rocky point. I kept it going for 3 years.

GOOD LUCK