How to startup a Nano tank?

[unwired]

Now that all the various parts of my Nano tank are on oder I thought I'd ask some fairly basic questions.

I was a bit surprised not to find a sticky for these so if the info is somewhere out there please feel free to offer up some URLs.

Question #1 - Startup of a Nano system
Does the startup of a Nano differ in any way from larger marine tanks & if so how? (Personally, I had a 150G tank 15 years back)

Question # 2 - Is there any difference in procedure at all for using RO water vs. distilled water? (i.e. are there any noticeable differences in how the chemical levels shift over time etc...)

Question #3 - Acclimation
Read the suggestions from any fish store about drip acclimation and you'll soon figure out that you might need a good 2-3 gallons of water or more to get your new fish or inverts ready to go into your tank. What if you don't have 3 gallons to spare?

Thanks.

 

[reefman5511]

Start up of a nano is no different than any other tank - you're just working on a smaller scale.
Ideally you want RO/DI water. You are still adding certain nutrients if you use DI water. However there is no difference in procedures.
I've never used 3 gallons of water to acclimate a fish or invert. A lot depends on the size of the specimen & how much water is in the bag from the lfs. You can always remove some of the water from the bag to reduce its' volume before you start acclimating. That way you won't need as much water to acclimate. When was the last time a lfs gave you a bag that would hold 3+ gallons?

 

[davenia7]

Question #1: Yes and no... nano needs a lot more testing bc as soon as your parameters are off... the whole tank is off.
Question #2: I agree with reefman.
Question #3: With drip acclimation... you need to drip long enough to double the water in the bag... usually like an hour if done slow enough... this consists of like 2 cups of water from your tank... the amount your LFS gave you to begin with.