Advice Needed (Nano setup)

[sotsreef]

Hi all, my names John and I am 15 years old and am interested in getting into the hobby. I am planning on getting a 7.5 gallon Nano cube from my lfs. Here are a few questions I have.

1) I am going to be purchasing the tank which is around $45 (just the tank). I will also be getting live sand and rock, I also am aware that I will need a media basket, heater, pump, and a light. Do you think I can stay under $300 for equipment??

2) Will it be possible to have a pair of occelaris clownfish in the tank together with a shrimp and some snails, or will I only be able to have 1fish, or none :0 If so would an upgrade to a 10 gallon be a better option to hold the pair.

3) I have just moved to my new house and it is right near my lfs. I am only here in my house temporarily for around 6 months, then I am doing a local move(5-15minutes away). Would this be a problem if I needed to move the already established tank?? If so should I wait to get a tank. I just really want to jump into the hobby because I have waited over a year to get started! Any constructive critisism/advise would be helpful!

Happy Reefing!

 

[chefjpaul]

Hi all, my names John and I am 15 years old and am interested in getting into the hobby. I am planning on getting a 7.5 gallon Nano cube from my lfs. Here are a few questions I have.

1) I am going to be purchasing the tank which is around $45 (just the tank). I will also be getting live sand and rock, I also am aware that I will need a media basket, heater, pump, and a light. Do you think I can stay under $300 for equipment??

2) Will it be possible to have a pair of occelaris clownfish in the tank together with a shrimp and some snails, or will I only be able to have 1fish, or none :0 If so would an upgrade to a 10 gallon be a better option to hold the pair.

3) I have just moved to my new house and it is right near my lfs. I am only here in my house temporarily for around 6 months, then I am doing a local move(5-15minutes away). Would this be a problem if I needed to move the already established tank?? If so should I wait to get a tank. I just really want to jump into the hobby because I have waited over a year to get started! Any constructive critisism/advise would be helpful!

Happy Reefing!

Welcome John!

Here is what I would suggest.

Read, read, read as much as you can.

Save up and buy the tank you want, say the 10 gallon. Why not.
Slowly buy your equipment and stock up on the things you will need and want.
Look for used equipment on the sale threads here.

While you are waiting, get a bucket and your rocks and cure them while you wait and learn. This will help in the long run.

Then move, set it up.
It wouldn't hurt to move a small tank, but being new or old always will have a few issues you probably want to avoid.

My 2 cents.

 

[sotsreef]

Welcome John!

Here is what I would suggest.

Read, read, read as much as you can.

Save up and buy the tank you want, say the 10 gallon. Why not.
Slowly buy your equipment and stock up on the things you will need and want.
Look for used equipment on the sale threads here.

While you are waiting, get a bucket and your rocks and cure them while you wait and learn. This will help in the long run.

Then move, set it up.
It wouldn't hurt to move a small tank, but being new or old always will have a few issues you probably want to avoid.

My 2 cents.

Thanks so much for the feedback. Great to hear some advice, I will take this into account. I am on the lookout for used equipment on my local reef club website. Thanks again,
John

 

[chefjpaul]

Where are you located?

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.84/

 

[NS Mike D]

corals make the hobby a lot more expensive. 2 ocelaris clowns are a great start to the hobby and in a small tank you most certainly can do it with minimal expense.

light, pump and heater are needed. if you don't plan on growing corals (or if you do, then low requirement corals like zoas) can keep the cost of your lights down.

you will need to consider water for water changes. you can buy water or make it yourself. if you make it your self, you will need to buy salt, have a container with a heater and pump to mix it 24 hours in advance, and have an RODI (reverse osmosis de-ionize) unit. I can buy salt water from my lfs for $10 for 5 gallons. however, like most hobbyists here, I bought a RODI filtration system and now buy salt and make my own water. you will need rodi water to top off the tank due to evaporation.

you don't need a media basket, water changes should be sufficient for a small nano tank. however they are inexpensive and starting with carbon will help keep the tank clean - just need to put it in good flow

you should also budget a basic saltwater test kit. APIs should be fine to start with. If you start adding corals, you will likely need to upgrade to test for things like calcium, alk and more precise testing of NO3 and PO4.


ask your lfs to put together a set up list for you in your budget and post it here for us to confirm the validity of their choices.


ps my sons are now 18 and 21 but they never showed much interest in my hobby. this is a great hobby to do with mom and dad. there is planning, understanding the bio chemistry, the beauty of colors and geometry of nature, the symbiotic relationships, the ups and downs, and going snorkeling/scuba diving on vacation to see this stuff in the wild. Enjoy - I bet your parents will be very pleased to see the patience you develop in this hobby.

 

[sotsreef]

Where are you located?

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.84/

I just moved into the Atlanta area.

 

[sotsreef]

corals make the hobby a lot more expensive. 2 ocelaris clowns are a great start to the hobby and in a small tank you most certainly can do it with minimal expense.

light, pump and heater are needed. if you don't plan on growing corals (or if you do, then low requirement corals like zoas) can keep the cost of your lights down.

you will need to consider water for water changes. you can buy water or make it yourself. if you make it your self, you will need to buy salt, have a container with a heater and pump to mix it 24 hours in advance, and have an RODI (reverse osmosis de-ionize) unit. I can buy salt water from my lfs for $10 for 5 gallons. however, like most hobbyists here, I bought a RODI filtration system and now buy salt and make my own water. you will need rodi water to top off the tank due to evaporation.

you don't need a media basket, water changes should be sufficient for a small nano tank. however they are inexpensive and starting with carbon will help keep the tank clean - just need to put it in good flow

you should also budget a basic saltwater test kit. APIs should be fine to start with. If you start adding corals, you will likely need to upgrade to test for things like calcium, alk and more precise testing of NO3 and PO4.


ask your lfs to put together a set up list for you in your budget and post it here for us to confirm the validity of their choices.


ps my sons are now 18 and 21 but they never showed much interest in my hobby. this is a great hobby to do with mom and dad. there is planning, understanding the bio chemistry, the beauty of colors and geometry of nature, the symbiotic relationships, the ups and downs, and going snorkeling/scuba diving on vacation to see this stuff in the wild. Enjoy - I bet your parents will be very pleased to see the patience you develop in this hobby.

Thanks for the great info Mike. I will plan to start by asking around my local reef club for a few free/low-cost used pieces of equipment. If I don’t find everything I plan on asking my lfs for some suggestions which I can post here. Someone in my area already offered me a tank with a heater, and someone else offered some frags. I have done lots of investigation into the species I could get and I am undecided. Should I get a goby and shrimp pair, or two clownfish? I know this is my decision but is one more recommended then the other for beginner tanks? Thanks again, John

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

When I started this hobby while in college, living in a dorm, I stuck to small tanks only (<20 gallons) partly because I had to stay at a certain size per university regulation and partly because I moved twice a year and needed something I could move by myself. It's harder to start such a small tank as your first tank, but trust me you will learn a ton about reefing very quickly.

Ebay was my best friend during this time, I know a lot of folks will tell you to buy good stuff first, but you're young and do not have the necessary cash flow for such. If there's something that you find on Ebay, make a new post on R2R about it and let folks help you out. I started my first reef (an 8 gallon Aqueon Evolve all in one tank) with $150, so staying under the $300 budget you want to stay at can definitely be done

Don't let it stress you out too much, if you need help you can always reach out on here!

 

[sotsreef]

When I started this hobby while in college, living in a dorm, I stuck to small tanks only (<20 gallons) partly because I had to stay at a certain size per university regulation and partly because I moved twice a year and needed something I could move by myself. It's harder to start such a small tank as your first tank, but trust me you will learn a ton about reefing very quickly.

Ebay was my best friend during this time, I know a lot of folks will tell you to buy good stuff first, but you're young and do not have the necessary cash flow for such. If there's something that you find on Ebay, make a new post on R2R about it and let folks help you out. I started my first reef (an 8 gallon Aqueon Evolve all in one tank) with $150, so staying under the $300 budget you want to stay at can definitely be done

Don't let it stress you out too much, if you need help you can always reach out on here!

I will look around eBay and post the deals here to see what you guys think! I know that usually a smaller tank is not recommended for beginners cause water parameters swing so much, but my parents don’t want me getting a big system yet, and I don’t have the cash to do it either(unemployed,15,high school student haha ) Thanks so much for the info Nathaniel!

 

[Dsnakes]

The Innovative Marine Nuvo 10G would be a good option for a starting tank as well if you're looking for an AIO. A little more pricy though, at 1/3 of the budget.

 

[Sorcha2]

20g and under are pretty easy to move. Plants and corals tend to be more difficult to move and more expensive to keep. Fish though tend to be quite easy to move. Just get a couple of food grade buckets from Lowe's you'll use them for more than just moving. You can use them to mix salt water, acclimate creatures, even as temporary quarantine containers, store supplies...Also bubblers are awesome. I would suggest visiting all the LFS you can find so you can get a feel for which ones have the best stuff at the cheapest prices also lots of them have email mailing lists to let you know about sales.

 

[thaitopher]

Hi all, my names John and I am 15 years old and am interested in getting into the hobby. I am planning on getting a 7.5 gallon Nano cube from my lfs. Here are a few questions I have.

1) I am going to be purchasing the tank which is around $45 (just the tank). I will also be getting live sand and rock, I also am aware that I will need a media basket, heater, pump, and a light. Do you think I can stay under $300 for equipment??

2) Will it be possible to have a pair of occelaris clownfish in the tank together with a shrimp and some snails, or will I only be able to have 1fish, or none :0 If so would an upgrade to a 10 gallon be a better option to hold the pair.

3) I have just moved to my new house and it is right near my lfs. I am only here in my house temporarily for around 6 months, then I am doing a local move(5-15minutes away). Would this be a problem if I needed to move the already established tank?? If so should I wait to get a tank. I just really want to jump into the hobby because I have waited over a year to get started! Any constructive critisism/advise would be helpful!

Happy Reefing!

I would strongly advise against putting two clowns in a tank that small. One at most.