Newbie help with nano setup Q's

[ge-off707]

Hello everyone, This is a great site with tons of great info!

So I want to start my first SW tank. I grew up in a family of aquarium lovers. We have had several tanks up at all times. So FW stuff is no problem but the SW is new to me. I have been reading up a lot about it and trying to wrap my head around everything I will need and need to do to develop a successful SW aquarium.

I am on a very tight budget right now because of buying a house but want to get started on my tank. I have a little 5.5G tank that I got for free with a UGF with a powerhead and a probe heater, so a basic FW setup. Is there anyway to start a SW tank with this equipment? I was originally thinking the tank would have coral with a CUC and maybe 1 or 2 small fish. I saw some tanks in the nano area of the forum similar to those but had AIO style overflows and a refugium. If I use the equipment I have, can LR and/or LS with the standard UGF keep the tank up and running? will I have to put a sump or refugium to keep it going?? Should I bump it up to a 10g or 20g? just save up for the 55g?

My buddy has a 20 gal that was FW at one point and he switched over to SW with the same equipment and it has been pretty successful but I dont know if it will last.

My ultimate goal is to move up to a 55+ gal reef tank w/sump but I think this is currently out of my budget. This nano will help me get comfortable with the SW cycling and upkeep until I can afford my big build :) Thanks in advance for the help!

[ge-off707]

Okay so doing a little more research I guess I can not use the under gravel filter because the sand from a saltwater tank will clog it. So I guess that is out. I wish there was an affordable setup with everything I am going to need.

[turretdr]

The smaller the tank, the faster variables change. I recommend going as large as you can afford to go. Check around, often times people are practically giving away 10 -20 gallon tanks. If you think that you can get the 55 in 6 months, then just wait and do a ton of reading in the meantime. Look for a local club, the members are normally very generous and often quite knowledgeable.

There are smaller setups with everything that you need readily available, but you pay through the wazoo for them and most people still end up upgrading some of the features.

[Michael]

as your a complete rookie with salt water systems id advise you to forget the 5.5 gallon, wait until you have more money and you have done some research and get a decent aquarium as your first. if you really want to do the 5.5 gallon then get 7 or 8 pounds of live rock and a small pump for a powerhead and be prepared to replace water almost daily to keep the params in check, i think a very small aquarium like the 5.5 your suggesting is a failure waiting to happen for a complete novice.

really nice to see you here on the forum geoff

[welcome]

[Fluid]

My suggestion:

Roll with it. All I've owned were nano tanks, and they seem a hell of a lot easier to deal with then something massive, on top of that, a lot of us live in apartments, where large tanks make no sense.

Get some nice sand, some live rock, and just let it cycle. As long as you have a decent light above it (not terribly hard to find one), I would run it for a month with just live rock and the light and see how things progress for you. Stay away from fish for now until you get into the routine of always monitoring your water parameters. Nano tanks are just like big tanks, you just have to monitor them constantly. No big deal once you get the routine down. Yes, you will need some kind of filter other than the UGF.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

The UGF will work fine with crushed coral instead of sand, if you want to go that route.

Many nano tanks are run successfully with little or no filtration - you just need to keep an extremely close eye on water quality and do water changes often (like 20 - 30% a week, minimum, as a starting point.) And if you want anything photosynthetic (corals, etc) you'll need a light, as mentioned above - but the good news is that there are a ton of dirt cheap lights that'll do fine over that tank. You shouldn't have to spend more than $50 on it.

The key to being successful in a small tank like what you're proposing is to know the limitations. You won't be successful if you try to stuff SPS and clams and anemones in there. Start with basic, hardy corals and you'll be fine.

[ge-off707]

Thanks for the responses.

After reading some more and looking around at some LFS's today I have decided to hold off until I get more cash flow to start my tank. I dont want to dump a bunch of cash into a 5-20 gallon tank then try to sell it and start my big tank. I will stay on the forums and keep reading so by the time I get my tank I will be very knowledgeable.

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14821444#post14821444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ge-off707
Thanks for the responses.

After reading some more and looking around at some LFS's today I have decided to hold off until I get more cash flow to start my tank. I dont want to dump a bunch of cash into a 5-20 gallon tank then try to sell it and start my big tank. I will stay on the forums and keep reading so by the time I get my tank I will be very knowledgeable.

well done geoff, imo you have the right attitude, the best of luck:)