Newbie Questions (future buyer)

[Pylon]

Hello!
First off I would like to say these forums have a plethora of information; however, I think I have only gained more questions to be asked from them. So, here they are, my story and series of questions.

I originally wanted a small ten gallon Nano lagoon that can be seen in the video series on youtube made by http://www.ipsf.com/

After the last month or reading, researching, and looking into what I would want (fish and coral wise) I went to my LFS to do some pricing and looking around some. (Sidenote: He was over priced on some of his hardware, fish seemed reasonably priced) I decided that I want to go for a 29 gallon nano reef tank.
Here are my questions. (please keep in mind I am a full time student and have very little to no income. This tank will come from what is left over in grant money)

1.)
I live up in the mountains and I am unsure of how well my well water is. My LFS sells salt water for .65 cents a gallon. Is that really worth it? I don't know how well his water is and if possible I would much rather buy some instant ocean and mix up the water myself. (again, I don't know how well my well water is, I could probably by a gallon of spring water for water changes instead.)

2.)
Is the stock lighting in a the Nano Cube good enough to have soft coral, and possibly an anemone?

3.)
any Info on cheap, but reliable heaters, timers? Any other stuff that doesn't come with the cube that I will need.

4.)
Any good advice on the clean up crews?
I live this package, but I am not crazy about hermits.
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=420+2791+1368&pcatid=1368

5.)
My LFS said with the live sand that comes in the bag w/ water it'll be okay to add fish instantly after the fish.
Is this a sale pitch to get my to buy more on the spot?

6) Final question, for now.
Currently after I purchase the tank I will be placing it next to my flat screen television, 6-8 inches away. Now I know salt doesn't evaporate, but is there any hazards that could come from this? The stand the TV is on is very stable and I plan to buy the stand that comes with the Bio Cube. I'm not worring about anything tipping over, just any hazards that may come from the two being so close to each other.

Thanks! I hope for a reply and I will add any more questions that'll come up!

[tims28gnano]

first

[welcome]

Reading here is the best start!

as you see, I have a 28gallon HQI I highly recomend it. I was on DR fosters site yesterday and noticed that they have $5 shipping right now! I would take advantage of that. They have my tank with free stand for $400 something and my tank with the power compact lights for like $250. If power compacts are enough light for you than this is the way to go!

[Aristarchus]

The stock lighting should be enough for softies and an anemone I would imagine. But I would opt for the HQI lighting so you don't limit yourself in the future. If you last longer than a month in this hobby you will probably become so addicted that you will want to grow some LPS/SPS. Trust us, it will possess you! I have 2 simple 10 dollar timers and they work great. There are some pretty fancy ones that you can actually program multiple outlets but they are rather expensive. If you buy anything electrical, I would suggest a GFCI. They can save not only the fish in your tank, but your family too.

[tims28gnano]

When I set up my tank, my sfirst order was:
tank and stand - - - order on phone and INSIST they repackage the stand! It WILL come damaged if they don't put it into one of their boxes!
2 heaters around 20 bucks each, one for the tank and one for warming water change water
live sand
live rock
hydrometer
power stip with built in timer
salt
test kits
- - - that might be all!
set up the tank and let the live rock and sand sit for about a month before adding anything.

for the record, if my LFS sold salt water for .69 cents, I would NEVER make my own!!!

also, I keep it cool in my house so for the winter I put both heaters in my tank, maybe I should buy another heater!

also, water drops DO get on the wall from the back of my tank, I leave the top to the skimmer off when working in the tank or something - - - - I wipe the lid and stuff with a wet paper towel to keep up on any salt creep!

good luck!

[tims28gnano]

yes, I installed a GFI outlet for my tank too. i was not planning on keeping these, but I got a leng sy cap and an acro frag from a friend and have really enjoyed watching them frow! - - so, i agree with arist, keep your options open for the future. But then again, if you get the one with the power compacts not cuz money is tight, it might actually SAVE you money for when you have it and want a 150 gallon! - - -lol

my tank is only turning one year old now and im thinking about giving it to my 2 year old! lol

[Pylon]

Couple Things.
my LFS isn't really local, it's 45 minutes away, and it's 69 cents a gallon. I wouldn't wanna drive that far one way to get a couple of gallons, spend maybe 2 dollars and drive all the way back,. So if I could make it myself that would be preferable.
As far is the 5 dollar shipping. I saw that, it was amazing, but I wont have the money from my grant for another month or two, so hopefully that'll come around again for the holidays! Oh, and I did read somewhere about them repackaging it. Evidently there are a few post that recommended that.
As far as the heaters, getting two may be the way to go for me as well. We will see!
Also, I do have some GFI outlets; however, I do think the outlets are in my bathroom.

Thanks!
I hope to learn more about this hobby everyday!
p.s.
Tim, I am sure I saw your tank on youtube before I found this site :)

[cjj14u]

I will defer to the real experts here on the board but I would say that adding fish right away if you are using the "live sand with the water in the bag" is absolutely a ploy to get you to buy more up front! I would be VERY leary of a LFS that makes that recommendation.....
Just my 2 cents...

[Pylon]

I will defer to the real experts here on the board but I would say that adding fish right away if you are using the "live sand with the water in the bag" is absolutely a ploy to get you to buy more up front! I would be VERY leary of a LFS that makes that recommendation.....
Just my 2 cents...

Thanks, It's funny I was talking to one of the sales guys and he seemed cool with everything I was saying.(stuff I learned form here and other sources) But I got to the owener and he was making the big push. OPnly thing I really agreed with was the bigger tank :)

[Frogmanx82]

Don't get that CUC mix from liveaquaria. There are several things you won't want in a nano. Its too many crabs and shrimp. For a clean up crew you could get a dozen red leg hermits. I like them, others don't. I think they are fun to watch. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems like the blue leg hermits are rougher on snails from the posts I read. My red legs hermits leave the snails alone.

I would not want a tv that close to the tank. The issues with water come when you are messing with the tank. Drops tend to fly around a bit. I'd be a bit concerned.

If you have sand, you should get some nassarius snails. If hair algae becomes an issue, you could get some astrea snails or one mexican turbo. Its hard to have too many snails, but you can probably only support one mexican turbo in a small tank and you have to wait until you get an algae buildup.

Peppermint shrimp eat lots of things you might want in your tank. If you can keep aiptasia out of your tank, there is no reason to get them. A skunk cleaner shrimp is the best one for a nano. They are not so compatible with coral banded shrimp in a nano tank.

Soft corals for the most part don't need much light. Decent stock lighting will be fine, but plan on upgrading when you decide you want to move into lps coral.

69 cents a gallon for salt water made from good quality RODI is a bargain. It costs 35 to 40 cents a gallon just for the salt. Making your own RODI would cost a little less than 40 cents a gallon. Actually I'd like to hear what others say their cost is for RODI. A long drive though tips the scale, you probably should make your own.

The pitch on the live sand is totally irresponsible. I wouldn't trust a word that guy says after saying something like that. He's either lying or just doesn't know any better. Trust what you learn here. LFS sales people are surprisingly unreliable and you can't trust any of them to know what they're talking about. It takes time to find someone you trust.

[mullinsd2]

if your tight on money, check the forsale forums here and check craigslist.

[rbnice1]

Ok....

1. Dont use well water. Use good RO/DI water. You can also use distilled water from walmart for about $.30 a gallon. (Used this on my kids 30 gallon bow front for almost a year before I got the big tank and a RO/DI unit.

2. Depends on the stock lighting, but I would do what ever I could to get a HQI upgrade.

3. Lots of different heaters and timers and other stuff. do some googling. I like the stealth heaters. they are cheap and dont break easy but there are higher end heaters. Timers you can get just regular timers or invest in a aquarium controller with controllable outlets.

4. Try reefcleaners.org. They have great prices and you can order what you want. I dont use any hermits. They kill my snails.

5. You LFS are idiots. Adding Live sand will spead up your cycle but depending on how much dead stuff is in the live sand it could spike amonia really bad. Personally I would just use dry rock and dry sand and find someone near you to borrow a small piece of live rock and a cup or 2 of sand from there tank.

6. As long as you dont splash salt water from your tank all over the TV I dont see how there would be any issues.

[lordofthereef]

People seem to be pushing for the HQI here. Unless you really want to start with SPS, which generally isn't recommend to start with anyway, I wouldn't say you need it. I keep a few LPS with some PC lighting that is comparable to what you would have stock and they do well. Even have a condi anem in there and it is doing great. I thoink you would be fine to stick with stock especially because the lighting upgrade does something like double the price of your tank. When you want to upgrade to a bigger tank, which I am sure you will ;) go for the more powerful lighting. That is the direction I would take if I were new to the hobby.

[Frogmanx82]

Read up on mixing soft coral and anemone. Anemone sting and most people don't mix them with coral. It can be done, you just can't let the anemone wander wherever it wants.

[Pylon]

Thanks guys :)

[webdizzy]

(please keep in mind I am a full time student and have very little to no income. This tank will come from what is left over in grant money)

Would that be federal grant money???

Not to discourage you, but just to be real, if you have "little to no income", this might not be a good time to get into the hobby except to start collecting equipment & such. FWIW. . .

[Frogmanx82]

I have to agree with webdizzy. A reef tank is a money pit. If you don't have extra money, this is not the hobby for you. If the price of a heater is a concern, you would be better off doing a freshwater tank.

[Pylon]

Well, It all depends how much much I get to start off with. If I don't get enough for set up and maintenance until I get another check. I will be looking into something else.
I thank you for your concerns:)

[ChadTheSpike]

Since I didnt see much on the tank/tv question...

I second the 'keep an eye on splashing' statement... it will happen, when I had more thanks (15 at one point) I used to joke that splashing/spillage/leaks kept my floor that much cleaner because of all the forced mopping!!

But also I wanted to add that spray (from bubbles mostly) can build up over time and cause some issues (mostly with painted walls). It is just something to be aware of. I deal with this these days by mounting a piece of clear plexiglass behind my tanks.

Chad