Old dog asking for new tricks...

[unwired]

Hi,

I thought I'd post this in the beginners area as I'm considering my first attempt at a nano/pico reef. Having gotten that out of the way, I feel that I'm somewhat well versed in keeping reef aquariums in general though I'd like to find out 'what's changed'.

My father and I had two tanks about 18yrs ago, one live rock 35gal and a 150 Gallon saltwater tank with Picaso trigger, yellow tang, angels etc..
If you had anything to do with tanks back then you'd remember 3 stage sand filters, bio balls and Protein skimmers that were 3 feet tall.

My first order of business is to try to learn about todays technology in contrast to what I knew back then without sitting thru hours of reading on topics I'm already somewhat familiar with only to glean some of the finer points. ( hope this doesn't come off as an unwilling ness to go out and do the research, but rather that I'd like to use my time and planning more efficiently by asking for advice from todays experts).

Currently, I'm thinking about a desktop tank no bigger than 3 gallons and I'd like to have some live coral and rocks (mushrooms etc..) as well as one or two small fish.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. (esp. that which helps me spend less on parts & more on fish).

 

[Trogdor]

Well lighting it probably the biggest thing that has changed in 20 years. I would aim for either a 24 watt power compact or metal halide setup. I'm not really into the pico tanks so I can't help too much on other equipment. Sorry...hope this helps a little

 

[unwired]

sound's like a good place to start.

Back when I had a tank last we hung a huge metal halide pendant over our 35 gallon reef. It was high up so we really didn't have to worry about the heat it created or get special chillers for the water.

Any opinions about PC lights vs halides?

I know nothing about the life span of either type of bulb in relation to eachother. I had heard that many of the PC bulbs were rated for 24months. As this was generally an expensive part of the system I'd prefer to get what lasts longest and works somewhat within the wavelengths we need.

I am aware that I'll need a pretty small setup as my maximum tank length currently sits at 15" (top of my file cabinet).

I've been thinking about using some of the plexi I have sitting around and conjuring thoughts about the tank that ninjafish built. I don't need it to be 360deg viewable but I think that it's likely no more expensive for me to work with the plexi than to go and buy some unit I'll need to bastardize anyhow.

I did have one concern as I'd like to have fish in the tank. Jumpers.
Does anyone have any opinions regarding open vs closed top tanks?

Thanks.

 

[skipm]

:welcome to the board first off.
Since you are planning a 3 gallon tank I would go with a 1 fish max, something like a small shrimp goby with its partner pistol shrimp or a clown goby would be good choices. You could also add one or two inverts like sexy shrimp, peppermint shrimp, etc. to have more movement in the tank. The most common chopice for lighting a tank like this is with PCs but if you want to keep SPS corals then a 70 watt MH would also work well provided that you are able to keep temps. down. One way to accomplish this is with an open top that allows for evaporation but you have to keep only fish that are not jumpers. I think the first thing to do is decide if you want higher light corals or not and if you don't then the PCs will work well for you. I would try to go with 2 bulbs, one actinic and one daylight so you can simulate a dawn/dusk cycle by having the actinics on by themselves before and after the daylight bulb. Once you find a tank thatwill suit the space you have give us the dimensions and we can help out more with the lighting.

 

[unwired]

I'm still thinking about the DIY thing as I expect that the plexi I have, plus whatever more I need to get, would still come out cheaper than buying a tank.

I've been contemplating three setups.
1. 9 x 9 x 16high (5.61Gal)
2. 12 x 12 x12 (7.48Gal) - same as ninja I believe
3. 15L x 9Deep x 15High ( 8.77Gal) - width of file cabinet I have

Being over the original 3 gal I thought of hopefully it will afford me a few fish (perhaps a clown & anemone, flame angel etc...) and a snail or two. I'd still prefer fish to shrimp.

On to filtration...
Is this something I should also consider homebrewing?

I'd prefer not to spend $100+ on a filter for this size tank. Is there a real benefit to getting something like ninja's eheim or a Magnum HOT 250 (or any other variety you might like)?


Thanks.