Marine Reef
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
 |
 Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook NEW US $12.95 |
 Plastic Hose Clamp Aquarium Pond 3 4 inch Reef Marine US $1.00 |
 Plastic Hose Clamp Aquarium Pond 1 inch Reef Marine US $1.00 |
Marine Nano Reef tanks?
Hi! I have a tropical tank and its going pretty well. But I am getting interest in Nano reef tanks. What are some things I should know before starting a nano reef tank?
Are they hard to keep?
Keeping a nano-reef aquarium is not difficult as it sounds. I have a 10 gallon reef that runs excellent and basically maintains itself now. I will go over everything you will need as simple as possible as nano reef keeping is very fascinating if you succeed.
Equipment - a tank, live rock, live sand, skilter, salt mix, water, proper lighting (if u add corals), and powerheads.
Cycling - I dont know if you have started it yet or not, but the cycling process is very important. It is generally easy, you set up the tank, then add your saltwater. To make saltwater u just put freshwater (prefably RO or distilld water) into a bucket, add the declorinater, and add the given amount of salt on the package of your salt. I would prefer Red Sea Salt. After that, you pour the water into the tank, and let it get the specific gravity to 1.023, and make sure your ammonia is at 0. Once that is done, you can add the live rock and live sand. Wait 2-3 weeks until your water is perfect, including nitrate, ammonia, specific gravity, pH, temperature (78 F), and all that good stuff. Once your water is good, you will need a good "cleanup crew". These include snails and hermits. Keep one snail per 1-2 gallons, and one crab per 3-5 gallons.
Corals - After 2 weeks of having your "cleanup crew" it would be best to add corals next if you are interested in corals. For a nano tank, polyps, and mushrooms are excellent starters and if you do your research you can get into more. For corals though, u need good lighting. Im not sure what size tank you have, but on my 10 gallon i have a 96 watt Coral Life, 4 bulb lighting system. Mine is very nice, but one of the most expensive parts of my aquarium, if you use a stock hood you cannot keep corals. My hood was on sale for 96$.
Fish/ Inverts - After keeping your corals for 2-4 weeks its time to add some more livestock! In my 10 gallon i keep one false percula clown, 1 firefish, and a banded coral shrimp. In my opinion i think i should have stayed with one fish and the shrimp, that is because the fish produce to much waste, making maintaining my water specimens harder. Do not listen to an inch per gallon with a reef, you will ruin everything. Also, make sure you choose smaller fish that will do good in a small tank, a few favorites are smaller clowns, firefish, gobies, blennies, and maybe a cardinal fish.
_______________________________________________
Filtration - Your live rock and sand is your main filtration believe it or not. A hang on back typical filter is good as i have one. I would suggest getting a skilter filter, 35$, pumps 250 gph. The skilter filter provides extra filtration and a protein skimmer in one.
Water Flow - Again, depending on what size tank you have is how much water flow you need. Also, certain corals require certain water flow, so be carefull where you place them in your tank.
Maintenance - maintaining a reef tank is quite easy. After you add your cleanup crew, always remember to perform 15% water changes every 1-2 weeks. A good way to remember is to do it every 10th, 20th, and 30th of every month. That is VITAL TO REEF SURVIVAL. If you add corals, just be precautous of your water parameters, especially your alkalinity and calcium, you can buy part a & b supplements at your local fish store. Also, with corals, it may be good to add coral accel every week or so. Talk to your local fish store when it comes to corals. Feed your fish 1-2 times a day, depending on what you feed them, (i.e. live brine or flakes). Leave your light on 8-10 hours a day, depending on your light intensity, and clean out your filter every month or so. To do water changes, you obviously need to add fresh saltwater in replace of the water your taking out, and if your water evaporates, add freshwater to top it off because only the water evaporated, not the salt.
I hope this helped alot.
Red Sea Max Marine Reef Aquariums