Entertaining starting a nano

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necigrad

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Feb 7, 2007
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Las Vegas, NV
I'd really like to convert my AquaPod to reef (or FOWLR, at least to start), but it's too much at the moment. I've been thinking about buying this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3730+15494&pcatid=15494

I figure that I can buy that, a bit of live sand, and 2-3 pounds of live rock. By the time that's cycled I could buy a few small critters. Sometime later I could get a coral every once in a while, maybe one of the exceptionally small fish (1 goby perhaps).

The first question would be if this is a practical idea on a small budget (no numbers, just "not much"). Second is will that stocking concept work. Third would water flow be a problem. And lastly, is the 5 watts per gallon enough light for pretty much anything, most, or it's not really adaquate.

As always I appreciate the help.

EDIT: One other factor I forgot about. Temperature. Being in Vegas I keep the AC at 80* in the summer. That effectivly has the air temperate at that 20/7 then. Is that a problem?
 
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RiVerfishgirl

RiVerfishgirl

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Heather
Sounds fine, and the temperature shouldn't be a HUGE problem but you will probably want to point a fan at your tank.

You wouldn't be able to keep much stuff in it, but it would be enough for some simple polyps, a tiny fish and a few tiny inverts.

You will strictly have to watch water parameters in a tank that size, but the good thing is water changes will be unbelievably easy and you can just buy bottles of distilled water.
 
RiVerfishgirl

RiVerfishgirl

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Neither would I, but I would be lying if I said it can't be done.

I didn't really like worrying about maintaining the parameters on my 20 with two fish, much less a 3g, but I know people that have beautiful 3g nanos with a tiny fish *shrug*. They just test the water religiously every day or more, lol.

If it were me I would just do corals and a few small inverts, then again I think I'm done with little tanks. Not enough room to do much with for me.
 
JohnLin

JohnLin

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A nice school of sea monkeys will be great in that size of a tank.
hehehe...

In all seriousness, cannot think of a fish in the aquarium trade that will do well in that tank.

Maybe a juvenile neon goby then give it back to the LFS once it gets bigger
 
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necigrad

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So this idea would work, ao long as I don't have fish? After the tank is settled it won't get daily testing, so if it's going to be too touchy it might be a bad idea. If I do it I'd like to swing weekly maintance, plus feeding and water top off.

With the corals, will it support several (at least 3-5)? If I do this I don't want a tank that's somewhat unintersting. Live rock one coral, and some snails/crabs won't do it for me. I know it's not going to be a dramatic tank, but it would be nice to have something in the bedroom. A side benefit will be if I can convert my 'Pod to a nano later I'll have some experience, and a bit to stock it with, then have the 3G for an empty standby fresh/saltwater QT tank.

If I do this it's going in the bedroom, either on my computer desk, or maybe on a nightstand. Probably the desk though.
 
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necigrad

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Also, would replacing the filter that comes with this tank with an AC and filling it with live rubble help? And can someone toss up a suggestion on stocking? Since I don't really know anything about SW yet that would give me an idea of what I'm looking at. Just looking for an idea or two, not too much or in depth as right now this is just an idea.
 
tranceFusion

tranceFusion

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i think one of your biggest issues is going to be evaporation. i think you need to factor some sort of automatic top off into the cost/effort. The salinity will swing badly in a 3g.

Second, it will be even more important that you are putting good water in. You will need to factor an RO/DI unit or purchasing RO/DI water from a LFS (not all have it).

Go to nano-reef.com forums. There are people there with 3g. See what they have done.

Lastly, I don't think you are going to be able to keep hard corals with the lighting you have, but I am not expert.
 
RiVerfishgirl

RiVerfishgirl

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No, you can't do a fish in a such a small tank if you're not willing to test water parameters every single day. In that case inverts would also be kind of iffy since they require proper calcium levels and iodine to molt properly.

You will need to test pH and salinity every day no matter what you keep.
An ATO would benefit you since a little evaporation in a 3g will cause more of a swing than in a larger tank.

Since you want as low maintenance as possible about the most you'll be able to do are some hardy polyps. You can still have a really beautiful little tank filled with polyps and you won't have to worry about fish or other stuff dying.
Things like tree polyps and green star polyps do best in stable reef tanks just like any other coral but they're not real picky about water quality. Mushrooms do well almost anywhere as well and there's several different colors and varieties.

Second, it will be even more important that you are putting good water in. You will need to factor an RO/DI unit or purchasing RO/DI water from a LFS (not all have it).
Click to expand...
Every grocery store that I know of carries distilled water which is just fine. That's what I used on my 20 long and even on our 90g FOWLR before we got an RO/DI unit. Distilled water is 99cents per gallon at the most usually and 3g tanks don't require much.
 
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necigrad

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Polyps and mushrooms would be fine with me, but I'd really like something moving too. Inverts will require daily testing? I'm not trying to "dodge" work, it's just that I know me. It WON'T get done daily, or even every other day. Not on a regular basis at least. Without inverts, will there be an algae problem?

I'll have to think about the evaporation thing. I'm certain I could make something up on the cheap, but if I did that I'd probably say "I might as well build a fuge, and if that's the case, why not just do something bigger?". The "Well, to upgrade to THIS is only this much more, and from there to THAT is only this much more, and..." syndrome. OF course, I might wind up as the only person with a 3 gallon tank and a 10 gallon sump/fuge or something.

****, now I'm thinking again. Maybe I should look at lights, see if I can find something suitable cheap for a 5 gallon or so. There's a place in town that does $1/gallon tanks. Would that open up my options?
 
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