Hi there; and thanks in advance for reading!
I just purchased a tank on ebay, and before you cringe, I researched this tank prior, but in the shops it sells for $500 plus. I put a bid on thinking I would never get it... but I did - for $82.00. The tank is a AquarWorld T450 -V3 Marine Delux. It has a 60L water capacity (sorry I am Aussie - not sure of gallons, but think it is around 15G if 4L to a Gal approx)...
Growning up as a teenager, mum and dad had a massive and very impressive marine tank, and I always have toyed with the idea, but dont have the space for something like that in my house. I do have some experience, so not a complete novice, but far from an expert, and so much technology has changed and practices / concepts improved too since then I'm sure.
So I guess what I would like to know is - well pretty much everything lol!
The tank itself comes with two high intensity bulbs, two fluros (one blue, one white), some moon lighting LED's, a weir filter set up at the rear with a medium box (sponge, carbon, noodles), a UV sterilizer and a protein skimmer. It only has one power head to run the filtration to assist water to return from the bottom of the weir I guess.
So after getting it out of the box and rinsing it - where to from here?
I was thinking along the lines of popping in some substrate and sea water first. As for substrate, I really like the idea of sand or fine crushed coral. Is there is a risk with fish waste (urea) breaking down the crushed coral to carbonic acid to drop pH though? Is Sand easy to clean with a "gravel vaccuum"? How much substrate should I use? I dont like the look of loads of substrate in a small tank. I like white though.
As for water - I live ~15mins from the ocean, and not that far from the Great Barrier Reef, so our ocean water is prestine - but I worry about introducing flora that the ocean can handle, that could cause a problem in my tiny tank? Or is adding "mature" water a good thing? Is mix up sea water just as good? There are massive price variances - are any really that much better than the others or just some prettier packaging / trading on name etc?
So once I have my substrate and sea water in, I turn on the tank... and let it run.
Should I use lighting in this time? For how long? All the lights or some? My parents just had metal hallide suspended from the ceiling which was on a 10hr on / 14hr off cycle... I have never had so many different lights so not sure when to use what... (Obviously "moon lights" are for evening - but is it for all night or just to simulate dusk?)
When do I put base rock and live rock in? For a 60L, how much do I use? Obviously you build up the feature with cheaper base, then place the live rock around it - or do people just usually buy a big piece of live, a few smaller bits and find they dont need base rock with a Nano tank?
Cycling - do I do this before or after my live rock? Can I "cure" the live rock while I cycle my tank? How long on average should cycling take? Do people believe in adding accelerator solutions, such as bacterial cultures etc to speed up cycling or do these make little difference? What about adding a cheap little fish / wild caught tiny toad fish or something to spead up the amonia cycle?
Should I be feeding the live rock during cycling? And if so - what?
Do I add calcium to the water now while I have live rock?
I think the only thing I would like is an extra power head to increase surface water movement. What pump heads are best? They vary in price here in Australia so much even for same LPH output; form $10 to 150. There are little attachments you can get to fit onto the head that are pressure driven to simulate wave movement and vary flow direction of water coming from the power head... Is water current vital? What output (LPH / GPH) would you suggest as I am very scared of making it too turbulant and any little fish or two I have wont be able to swim / feed.
SO now I have substrate, water, rock and power head, and watching and waiting...
Once my amonia is undetectable, my nitrifying bacteria are working and my nitrites are gone and my nitrates are there...... can I start adding some corals / inverts or do I have to wait til amonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0? Will nitrate ever be 0 in a cycled tank - I cant remember?
I would like primarily a reef tank, with the token nemo and Anemone, with lots of soft and hard corals and a shrip, maybe a little star, and maybe a seahorse. Another fish I may consider is a Mandarin Fish or a tiny blue tang (we get them from 1/2 inch long from the local reef - and if he got too big I could change him at my marine fish store).
I know many post advisers have said NOOOOO to anemones in Nanos due to their mobility and growth rate, but here in Aus we have anemones that grow larger than 2" in diameter. I cant recall what they are called - but we had them when I was young - they grow with a "stalk", are white to pale pink and had 1/2 tenticals with brilliant purple tips - and the clown would rub himself in the mucus secreted by the anemone. As a kid, our tank was primarily fish, with a few corals and things.. so I have little idea about that side of things
It may be hard getting advice also from the other side of the world too on corals as we may have different species in regards to what is common and not so common etc. I dont know - maybe I am wrong. For example, South pacific / Fiji premium live rock here is pretty cheap, I nearly died when someone was quoting prices in another forum, but then other things are so cheap in USA...
Is there any rule / rate to how much to put in; should it be piece of coral at a time, or doesnt really matter. Is there anything I need to be mindful of when positioning, such as the higher up the live rock I place it - the more current (powerhead), light and thus heat the piece will be exposed to... How do you know what to put where? Canyou keep soft and hard corals together? Most importanly, what sort of bioload does corals / polyps etc have on filtration?
DO people supplement their Reef tank with electrolyes / feeds? I knwo calcium is a must, but anything else like "coral feed" etc?
Thank you so much for reading. I would appreciate any advice /suggestion you may have before I embark on this adventure. I would rather take a little longer to read up / research and talk to experienced people like yourselves and do it right the first time than have a sad expensive experience!
Cheers!
Brad
I just purchased a tank on ebay, and before you cringe, I researched this tank prior, but in the shops it sells for $500 plus. I put a bid on thinking I would never get it... but I did - for $82.00. The tank is a AquarWorld T450 -V3 Marine Delux. It has a 60L water capacity (sorry I am Aussie - not sure of gallons, but think it is around 15G if 4L to a Gal approx)...
Growning up as a teenager, mum and dad had a massive and very impressive marine tank, and I always have toyed with the idea, but dont have the space for something like that in my house. I do have some experience, so not a complete novice, but far from an expert, and so much technology has changed and practices / concepts improved too since then I'm sure.
So I guess what I would like to know is - well pretty much everything lol!
The tank itself comes with two high intensity bulbs, two fluros (one blue, one white), some moon lighting LED's, a weir filter set up at the rear with a medium box (sponge, carbon, noodles), a UV sterilizer and a protein skimmer. It only has one power head to run the filtration to assist water to return from the bottom of the weir I guess.
So after getting it out of the box and rinsing it - where to from here?
I was thinking along the lines of popping in some substrate and sea water first. As for substrate, I really like the idea of sand or fine crushed coral. Is there is a risk with fish waste (urea) breaking down the crushed coral to carbonic acid to drop pH though? Is Sand easy to clean with a "gravel vaccuum"? How much substrate should I use? I dont like the look of loads of substrate in a small tank. I like white though.
As for water - I live ~15mins from the ocean, and not that far from the Great Barrier Reef, so our ocean water is prestine - but I worry about introducing flora that the ocean can handle, that could cause a problem in my tiny tank? Or is adding "mature" water a good thing? Is mix up sea water just as good? There are massive price variances - are any really that much better than the others or just some prettier packaging / trading on name etc?
So once I have my substrate and sea water in, I turn on the tank... and let it run.
Should I use lighting in this time? For how long? All the lights or some? My parents just had metal hallide suspended from the ceiling which was on a 10hr on / 14hr off cycle... I have never had so many different lights so not sure when to use what... (Obviously "moon lights" are for evening - but is it for all night or just to simulate dusk?)
When do I put base rock and live rock in? For a 60L, how much do I use? Obviously you build up the feature with cheaper base, then place the live rock around it - or do people just usually buy a big piece of live, a few smaller bits and find they dont need base rock with a Nano tank?
Cycling - do I do this before or after my live rock? Can I "cure" the live rock while I cycle my tank? How long on average should cycling take? Do people believe in adding accelerator solutions, such as bacterial cultures etc to speed up cycling or do these make little difference? What about adding a cheap little fish / wild caught tiny toad fish or something to spead up the amonia cycle?
Should I be feeding the live rock during cycling? And if so - what?
Do I add calcium to the water now while I have live rock?
I think the only thing I would like is an extra power head to increase surface water movement. What pump heads are best? They vary in price here in Australia so much even for same LPH output; form $10 to 150. There are little attachments you can get to fit onto the head that are pressure driven to simulate wave movement and vary flow direction of water coming from the power head... Is water current vital? What output (LPH / GPH) would you suggest as I am very scared of making it too turbulant and any little fish or two I have wont be able to swim / feed.
SO now I have substrate, water, rock and power head, and watching and waiting...
Once my amonia is undetectable, my nitrifying bacteria are working and my nitrites are gone and my nitrates are there...... can I start adding some corals / inverts or do I have to wait til amonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0? Will nitrate ever be 0 in a cycled tank - I cant remember?
I would like primarily a reef tank, with the token nemo and Anemone, with lots of soft and hard corals and a shrip, maybe a little star, and maybe a seahorse. Another fish I may consider is a Mandarin Fish or a tiny blue tang (we get them from 1/2 inch long from the local reef - and if he got too big I could change him at my marine fish store).
I know many post advisers have said NOOOOO to anemones in Nanos due to their mobility and growth rate, but here in Aus we have anemones that grow larger than 2" in diameter. I cant recall what they are called - but we had them when I was young - they grow with a "stalk", are white to pale pink and had 1/2 tenticals with brilliant purple tips - and the clown would rub himself in the mucus secreted by the anemone. As a kid, our tank was primarily fish, with a few corals and things.. so I have little idea about that side of things
It may be hard getting advice also from the other side of the world too on corals as we may have different species in regards to what is common and not so common etc. I dont know - maybe I am wrong. For example, South pacific / Fiji premium live rock here is pretty cheap, I nearly died when someone was quoting prices in another forum, but then other things are so cheap in USA...
Is there any rule / rate to how much to put in; should it be piece of coral at a time, or doesnt really matter. Is there anything I need to be mindful of when positioning, such as the higher up the live rock I place it - the more current (powerhead), light and thus heat the piece will be exposed to... How do you know what to put where? Canyou keep soft and hard corals together? Most importanly, what sort of bioload does corals / polyps etc have on filtration?
DO people supplement their Reef tank with electrolyes / feeds? I knwo calcium is a must, but anything else like "coral feed" etc?
Thank you so much for reading. I would appreciate any advice /suggestion you may have before I embark on this adventure. I would rather take a little longer to read up / research and talk to experienced people like yourselves and do it right the first time than have a sad expensive experience!
Cheers!
Brad