Nano Help for Salt Newbie

[stagger19]

Hi, I just upgraded my 12 gallon eclipse 1 tank to a 55 gal tank. So Im thinking of diving into a nano salt with the 12 gal. Is there any sites that can help me get started, I dont know much about salt water tanks.

Also, can the biowheel be used with the salt water tanks for Bio filtration?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[lordroad]

Do you plan to make your tank a reef tank? If so, you'll need to overdrive your eclipse hood with some lights with at least 3 watts per gallon.

Regarding the biowheel. I use the biowheel on my ten gallon and so far it has not added to any nitrate buildups.

Since you're doing a nano tank, try to obtain a copy of the conscientious marine aquarist, I believe there is nano info in there. However, any saltwater book is valuable because you learn the basics and learn how things work... much different than freshwater. I got my books from the public library, so you can save some bucks by doing that. However, the conscietious marine aquarist book is a great resource to have and it's very fun to read.

With your nano you will want to use live rock as your filtration. That and a strong current and weekly water changes will do the trick.

I lurk at nanoreef.com but MFT has helped me out the most, by far. Just look through the archives of the nano and saltwater general section; many of my initial questions had been answered there. There are also several excellent threads about starting out. Check out OCCfan's thread about his nano, that should cover about everything.

 

[1979camaro]

new marine aquarium by Paletta is also very very good and strongly reccomended

aside from that, lordroad covered it all pretty well...i personally wouldn't run the biowheel however

 

[stagger19]

Hey thanks for the quick reply.

If I choose not to do a reef tank, what would be my other options?

 

[lordroad]

It's called FOWLR... fish only with live rock. And believe me, you'll get a lot of great stuff growing on your rock that is nearly as cool as corals. You could do this with your current lighting too.

I started saltwater with a freshwater mindset and it was tough at first getting started. There's a lot of new vocab and it's kinda intimidating at first, especially when a lot of the books and forums don't actually tell you what things actually mean, but refer to them as if you already know. Google was actually my best tool in learning what to expect, and my friend had already started a FOWLR nano and he gave me some great starter tips.

 

[1979camaro]

we can generally clear up definition things here too...the only thing is a reply may not be immediate. generally with a FOWLR you also add invertebrates such as crabs, snails, and shrimp. a FOWLR is a good introduction to the nano world imo...you will likely find that you have less of an algae battle because the lighting level is low plus fish are much less sensitive to water quality changes than coral so you will be able to get your feet wet without diving in head first

 

[stagger19]

Thanks, yeah I think I will go with the FOWLR. Sounds like a good starting point.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[OCCFan023]

I think youll have a awsome time setting up the tank, learning about it, and the final project. I was in your exact position and am so glad I decided to take the plunge. Just dont skimp on the research and you should be fine. Good Luck!

 

[stagger19]

Hey thanks for all the help, I have a much better understanding of whats involved now.

I guess the only other question is wit the bio wheel, should I use the carbon cartriges and the bio wheel, or should I let the live rock and sand be my filter?

 

[1979camaro]

i would just go for LR

 

[OCCFan023]

you could take all the media out of the biowheel filter, and use it for water movement if you really want to, but for filter purposes id use the live rock and sand as your filter and not the biowheel

 

[1979camaro]

the biowheel is built into the eclipse 12 system so it is definitely not removable. basically, iirc, the pump sucks water up through a trough which spins the biowheel, over a filter pad, and then it spills back into the tank. there is certainly no reason not to run the pump...i would remove the biowheel and any media and just let it move your water. total, you are going to need ~120gph through that little twelve so that would take care of probably 60 of that...a couple powerheads and you are golden

 

[stagger19]

Thanks again for the info. The filter in the eclipse 1 hood claims to be 150 GPH. So i will run that alone ( No bio wheel or filter media) for some movement, and get a power head or 2 to move the water at the lower depths were the live rock will be.

Thanks again.....

 

[Grymatta]

I'm curious...if you start out with a FOWLR and have like 1 or 2 fish...after a while..like maybe 1 year...could you then convert that to a nano reef tank?

 

[1979camaro]

sure could...just need to upgrade lights

 

[Grymatta]

ahh thanks.

I'm thinking of getting the Nano Cube 12 gal Deluxe model...its got the twin 25W CF lights in the hood. Supposed to help out with the nano reefs...

my plan might be to start out with living rocks, living sand, and one or two fish. If all goes well, maybe convert it to a reef tank, in a few monthes..

 

[1979camaro]

a lot of people really like those JBJs (no personal experience...yet) and they seem to be a good starting platform for a nano-reef

 

[Grymatta]

yeah they seem self-contained and easy to run? plus they look good.

so..it would be ok to set up a nano-reef in a 12 gal jbl nano cube? I see ppl on the forum who've set up nano reefs with 10 gals..

 

[1979camaro]

sure would...the nano cube dx is probably the most popular nano-reef platform right now because it is self contained and as you said "looks good"...if you do decide to go this way let me know how it goes b/c i want to set up something similar in my classroom

 

[Grymatta]

im really interested in buying one of these right now..and might have the funds to do so within this week. The only bad thing I've heard is that its hard to clean the filter and pump because its in the back??

I really love the idea of a nano reef tank..however I've never done SW before. Is it possible to do a SW nano reef first time out? Or should I start FOWLR and expand from there?