Is nano an easy way back into the hobby?

[chasesng]

Dear MRers

Got out of the hobby 2-3 yrs ago. Was sad but wife and i were mostly tired of the hassle w water changes.

Made the mistake last month of firing up an old JBJ 14g (or is it 12g) with some tropical fish. Now thats got us wondering if we could do salt water in that size tank. FWLR and some very basic corals....probably nothing more adventurous than a frogspawn and couple shrooms.

My questions to you "nanoers" are:

1-could i get away with 30% water change every 3-4 weeks? that would mean only 4 gallons so i could buy distilled water at walmart. ( i really disliked the whole RODI thing).
2-do those little skimmers used on nanos really work? or are they just a gimmick? are there any good "little" ones for a 14g?
3-seems like lot of folks have problem with overheating due to lighting. suggestions or comments in that regard? im not handy at all and cant imagine doing my own overall of the lighting in the hood.
4-bio load? 2 maybe 3 fish with a shrimp and snail or 2?
5-how much LR in a 14g? 10lbs enuf?

thanks all...steve

 

[TRIGGERMAN]

It can be done but it's harder to maintain a smaller tank than a larger one. As soon as 1 fish poops your nitrates are going up. The fish you will put in there would be more like 1 or 2 very very small ones a shrimp and a small CUC of snails hermits no more than a few of each would be fine. Corals are doable with stock lighting some softies, mushrooms, leathers, sponges some lps but don't get crazy. Water changes every 3-4 weeks will not be even close to a good idea especially in the beginning of a new set up. Like I said your nitrates will raise fast in a tank that size..probably more like twice a week is better if not then once a week. It's also important to replace trace elements which come in through the salt in the new water you add.

As far as the heat issue you can leave the flip open if your tank has one not sure the layout of your nano cube hood but my 29 biocube had a lid in the back when I used the stock hood and I kept it open for ventilation.
10 lbs of LR should be good it all depends on the weight of the pieces some are dense and others are more porous. Try to just make a decent layout play around with the rocks a little and decide on a design you like. Worst case scenario more rock can always be added later on.

Any other questions feel free to post. We are here to help.

 

[guarda]

I had a 12 gallon with a little over 5 gallons total water after all the live rock and corals were in. As Triggerman said, any little change was amplified very quickly. My current 20+5 gallon in sump is much more manageable. Any swings take a bit longer and I can react accordingly before disaster strikes. Hope this helps.

 

[Reeftanker3295]

Bigger is better.

 

[ryangrieder]

Get a 29g biocube or JBJ. Filter built in, easy to maintain, and nice looking. I love mine and never have to do maintenance on it.

 

[Mattl22]

I found once I got my 75 set up to be just. About the same work load as my 34


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[Imbarrie]

I would go with at least a 20 gal with a sump. Water changes are easier and still minimal. But your skimmer options are better.


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[Donewiththisplace]

If you got the room go with a 28 JBJ or the like. It allows for a little bit more of a bio load and a little easier on balancing the parameters.

Also, the CF Quad or the LED lessens the amount of heat transfer and still allows for the keeping of some decent corals.

All that and it is a complete unit...no external equipment to worry about.

I personally dont run a skimmer...and 25% water changes are done about every 2-3 weeks. Tank is healthy and clean.

​

 

[nminunni]

i run a 20g and have been running only a hob filter for the last 2 years or so with purigen and carbon.

I change 1 gallon of water, usually each week.

my biggest crashes were due to a faulty heater that got temps up to 90 and when i moved.

you can do it. simpler is better

 

[NJMcGruff]

Just go with the biggest tank you can afford. More water is always better. I wish I went that way from the start.

 

[chasesng]

I"m headed towards 20 gal AIO. Maybe a little bigger but absolutely no bigger than mid 30's. I just hate messing around with the RODI...buckets, filters, hoses everywhere, tying up a bathroom faucet...no way i'm popping a hole in one of my pipes.

But they do look purdy.

 

[skene]

I kept a 6g nano cube running for over a year before I swapped everything into a 29g and now a 40g.
The 6g was not difficult to keep up with if you keep it very simple. Just get enough LR and don't go overboard with fish. You can do minimal waterchanges, however I don't know what your intentions of water would be. Would you be doing straight tap water, filtered water... if RODI is not your intentions. Minimum get yourself the Tap water filter which will reduce some of the pollutants that are in tap water.

Have fun, take your time and don't let anyone discourage you on what you want to accomplish.

 

[Donewiththisplace]

I"m headed towards 20 gal AIO. Maybe a little bigger but absolutely no bigger than mid 30's. I just hate messing around with the RODI...buckets, filters, hoses everywhere, tying up a bathroom faucet...no way i'm popping a hole in one of my pipes.

But they do look purdy.

Been using galloned spring water....no problems as of yet.

Or if your that concerned with it....Target brand water is RO.

 

[Quang]

I kept a 6g nano cube running for over a year before I swapped everything into a 29g and now a 40g.
The 6g was not difficult to keep up with if you keep it very simple. Just get enough LR and don't go overboard with fish. You can do minimal waterchanges, however I don't know what your intentions of water would be. Would you be doing straight tap water, filtered water... if RODI is not your intentions. Minimum get yourself the Tap water filter which will reduce some of the pollutants that are in tap water.

Have fun, take your time and don't let anyone discourage you on what you want to accomplish.

+1

they're easy if kept simple. i've always owned nanos so my opinion is a bit skewed. RO/DI would be the best choice but i've used distilled bottled water for my water changes and top-off -- make sure copper piping is not used during the distillation process though (i called the company to make sure).

 

[noobzy]

I just hate messing around with the RODI...buckets, filters, hoses everywhere, tying up a bathroom faucet...no way i'm popping a hole in one of my pipes.

Does it need to be that bad? I have an attachment to my kitchen sink that is easily switched to RODI or back, and that's pretty much it... the tubing and additional ball valve took maybe 20 minutes to install, and it's all hidden, out of the way.

Whatever you decide for water, keeping a nano has been relatively painless for me (first tank, 10g). Stock skimmer is definitely a gimmik, and the biggest positive change I noticed was when I introduced an ATO. Absolutely necessary on a tank that small.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I use the petco water for water changes and distilled water for top off. Nano tanks are great if you want an all in one tank that is slightly larger the solana is great.