Notorious
03/23/2013, 12:43 AM
First a short(hopefully) introduction so you guys know where I am coming from...
My name is Reggie and I have been keeping fish for about 8 years(Im 18). I started with freshwater but quickly(too quickly) moved into saltwater. I kept a 10 gallon nano "reef" for about 8 months-1 years and loved it despite the fact I did almost everything wrong(I was 11 sue me). it is hard to maintain a reef tank with birthday and christmas money you get twice a year :strange:. Well now I am 18 and have been keeping cichlids for the last 4 years or so and have loved them. But I am in college and have to downsize to a smaller tank. I could sell my fish tank but not having fish... I may just break into a rash I love keeping fish too much. I know reef tanks are work( a lot of work) but man did I love waking up and staring at my little slice of the ocean on my desk.
So now that I am older and wiser I realize 2 things...
1) saltwater tanks are expensive no matter what size you get
2)you have to take things SLOWLY
2.5)Don't skimp on the important stuff
Armed with that I am currently THINKING about jumping back in. Of coarse I have to do some serious research(any good books or articles I should check out?) So far I know fish wise I want to get a pair of clowns(ocellaris, false percula, something small dosent matter) and a watchman goby/pistol shrimp combo. I am thinking a 24 gallon nano cube should be large enough? I am going with the 24 this time because as I have learned larger tanks are easier to maintain. I also know I want yellow polyps, green star polyps, mushroom polyps, frogspawn and candy cane coral for sure. I don't recall these corals needing high lighting(Metal Hilides) but I could be wrong. And I don't think skimmers are necessary for nano tanks but I know they help a lot so skimmer suggestions too. For heat I was thinking of using a low watt titanium heater. I used these for my cichlids and they worked well. They have a controller and I rarely hear cases of malfunctions. So I think what I will do is organize the questions in a list so they will be easy to answer.
-Is the lighting that comes with the jbj 24 gallon(model im looking at enough)? If I recall they are not so what should I upgrade too for the coral I want?
-is the tank big enough for the fish mentioned?(pair of clowns, watchman goby and pistol shrimp)
-Are the corals good beginner corals? suggestions?
-what is a good skimmer I can use on this tank?
-Do you guys recommend a refugium? How would I go about one for a nano setup?
-what kind of substrate do you recommend? live sand?
-what salt brand do you recommend?
-I have read the powerhead that comes with the 24 jbj is not strong enough? what size powerhead do you recommend?
I think that is it for now. Oh and as I research and search the board I may find answer to some of these questions but I figure I would post. I have already poked around quite a bit. I currently have my 125 up and running so I have cycled water/media, etc to start up a new tank. If I feel a reef tank isn't for me I am just going to keep african cichlids :)
Comments welcomed....
My name is Reggie and I have been keeping fish for about 8 years(Im 18). I started with freshwater but quickly(too quickly) moved into saltwater. I kept a 10 gallon nano "reef" for about 8 months-1 years and loved it despite the fact I did almost everything wrong(I was 11 sue me). it is hard to maintain a reef tank with birthday and christmas money you get twice a year :strange:. Well now I am 18 and have been keeping cichlids for the last 4 years or so and have loved them. But I am in college and have to downsize to a smaller tank. I could sell my fish tank but not having fish... I may just break into a rash I love keeping fish too much. I know reef tanks are work( a lot of work) but man did I love waking up and staring at my little slice of the ocean on my desk.
So now that I am older and wiser I realize 2 things...
1) saltwater tanks are expensive no matter what size you get
2)you have to take things SLOWLY
2.5)Don't skimp on the important stuff
Armed with that I am currently THINKING about jumping back in. Of coarse I have to do some serious research(any good books or articles I should check out?) So far I know fish wise I want to get a pair of clowns(ocellaris, false percula, something small dosent matter) and a watchman goby/pistol shrimp combo. I am thinking a 24 gallon nano cube should be large enough? I am going with the 24 this time because as I have learned larger tanks are easier to maintain. I also know I want yellow polyps, green star polyps, mushroom polyps, frogspawn and candy cane coral for sure. I don't recall these corals needing high lighting(Metal Hilides) but I could be wrong. And I don't think skimmers are necessary for nano tanks but I know they help a lot so skimmer suggestions too. For heat I was thinking of using a low watt titanium heater. I used these for my cichlids and they worked well. They have a controller and I rarely hear cases of malfunctions. So I think what I will do is organize the questions in a list so they will be easy to answer.
-Is the lighting that comes with the jbj 24 gallon(model im looking at enough)? If I recall they are not so what should I upgrade too for the coral I want?
-is the tank big enough for the fish mentioned?(pair of clowns, watchman goby and pistol shrimp)
-Are the corals good beginner corals? suggestions?
-what is a good skimmer I can use on this tank?
-Do you guys recommend a refugium? How would I go about one for a nano setup?
-what kind of substrate do you recommend? live sand?
-what salt brand do you recommend?
-I have read the powerhead that comes with the 24 jbj is not strong enough? what size powerhead do you recommend?
I think that is it for now. Oh and as I research and search the board I may find answer to some of these questions but I figure I would post. I have already poked around quite a bit. I currently have my 125 up and running so I have cycled water/media, etc to start up a new tank. If I feel a reef tank isn't for me I am just going to keep african cichlids :)
Comments welcomed....