Need help buying a new tank - ur the experts - NANO tank?

[Chadler]

Well I finally decided to go with a reef tank and need some help from all you guys that have been there. If I have learned anything - it is to ask for help when buying a new setup.
Especially since most of you guys have done 1000's of hours of research for your own.

A little about me - I am 32, married, and a Disabled Veteran from the 1st Gulf War.
I have had about 10 freshwater setups, from mild to wild. I am aware of the costs and just want to start into saltwater and learn with a smaller tank that is going to be moved in a few years before we buy our "final" house and setup our 150 gallon show tank - furniture style which we plan on spending 5k plus on.

For now - I am looking for a basic starter setup, and have to keep in mind that I will be moving in 2 years.

I need to find a good place to buy stuff online since I am in North Dakota and my LFS kind of sucks.
The LFS has some 55 gal to 90 with rear regular filters with the bio-wheel setups like those used on freshwater and says they work fine for the price.
Info on NANO tanks and where to buy them would be GREAT since I only know about the regular 55gal ones from the LFS right now.

I am mainly worried about the tank, lights and filtration now. I am getting a few books and will be able to read up on the rest and ask questions after that.

I REALLY appreciate all your help and suggestions on this. It will be a great starting point.

Thanks,
Chad

This is in my price range and looks like a good starting point. I like the top enclosed like this so it doesn't show the filters, ect. like the option below. But I am not sure if the lighting will be enough.

IS THERE A CHEAPER PLACE TO PURCHASE THE BELOW TANKS. I will also need all the setup stuff including testors and stuff. So if you guys know a place where there are good discounts stuff I would appreciate it.


This is just a starter tank that will house mostly cheap/affordable reef stuff and 2-3 fish.

http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.m ... ct_Count=2

Althought this seems to be the better option with better lighting.

http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.m ... ct_Count=3

 

[Anonymous]

Chadler
:welcome:

Well, you've asked a ton of questions but I'll try and answer what I can and narrow the focus a bit.

For now - I am looking for a basic starter setup, and have to keep in mind that I will be moving in 2 years.

Moving a reef may be a bit scary, but it can be done sucessfully so don't let that worry you if you wanted to start up with a bigger tank. Marine tanks are a lot more complex than freshwater, and maintaining a balance takes a bit of time and practice.

This board has a ton of great stuff and articles on it, here's a good one to start off with:

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=33928

Learn to use the "Search" feature here, there are great threads all over the place and may help to give you some direction.

My advice is always to start out with as large a tank as you can afford to set up- 55 gallons is a nice size IMO. Why? More water means you have a bigger "oops" factor in terms of maintenance and care and is much more stable than say a nano-something smaller than 20 gallons. Nanos take some skill to maintain sucessfully because of the small volume of water and I donit recommend them for first saltwater tanks. There is an entire forum here devoted to nanos which you may want to surf:

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=55

I need to find a good place to buy stuff online since I am in North Dakota and my LFS kind of sucks.
The LFS has some 55 gal to 90 with rear regular filters with the bio-wheel setups like those used on freshwater and says they work fine for the price.
Info on NANO tanks and where to buy them would be GREAT since I only know about the regular 55gal ones from the LFS right now.

I am mainly worried about the tank, lights and filtration now. I am getting a few books and will be able to read up on the rest and ask questions after that.

Do a search on the words "beginner" and "books" and you'll find some good recommendations. The keys to sucess in this hobby is patience and knowledge. You are off to a great start! Now, that having been said I don't advise you to decide on ANYTHING in terms of equipment until you learn a bit more.

Why? Because the smart way to approach this hobby is to plan exactly what livestock you plan to keep, the "must haves" in terms of fish and build your system around those standards. The idea IMO is to have a tank that thrives, not just survives. I see tons of people who buy "x" lights and "plan to upgrade in the future"...cripes! Why spend money twice if you don't have to?

Now as you will learn, biowheels and regular freshwater filtration systems are not really optimal for reefkeeping, as they promote the nitrate producing bacteria. This is not desirable for a reef setup! Corals don't do well with high nitrate in the tank so the tanks you discussed with the hang-on-back filters are NOT going to produce the results you want. There is nothing wrong with the tanks themselves, just that type of filtration.

Most people use live rock as biofiltration, utilize power heads for water movement-critical in a reef setup and make use of a peice of equipment called a protein skimmer. Limiting excess nutrients (which fuel bad algae and contribiute to overall bad water conditions) is another factor. Excellent fresh water to start with-made by using a filtration system like RO/DI (reverse osmosis deionized) is a must have unless your water is pristine from the tap.

This is just a starter tank that will house mostly cheap/affordable reef stuff and 2-3 fish.

http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.m ... ct_Count=2

Althought this seems to be the better option with better lighting.

http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.m ... ct_Count=3

Always buy the best in terms of equipment you can afford. Sounds dumb but is saves money in the long run. The 24 gallon is a decent size for a starter tank, and if you choose carefully 2 maybe 3 fish are possible. Again, marine setups are not like fresh water in terms of how many fish you can keep in a tank, mostly due to the increased bioload they cause and oxygenation issues. Oh and some marine fish make African cichlids look tame in terms of agression.