New 12G Nano Cube Deluxe...Getting started...

[ski1297]

I think when they say surface skimmer that just takes water off the top of the tank and thats not a protein skimmer.

[cburns32]

Ok so in you one compartment put the heater, and possibly another pump, in the 2nd put carbon, and 1st put crushed live rock.

[Petunia]

Welcome!!! Nice to have you aboard!!
I have a nine gallon and love it. The only thing I can say is... don't over feed!!! I did this and have learned my lesson. I know only feed once every other day and very little at that. I only have two fish in the tank (now) and everything is going fine. I don't have a skimmer and so far I haven't really needed one. I've resolved a lot of problems with out one. My other suggestion is... do your saltwater changes faithfully each week. Good luck with your new setup and keep us all posted on your progress.

[cburns32]

Thanks, Petunia, could you get a couple pics up and what fish do you have in your aquarium???

[Liza]

most of the sifter gobies will probably get too large for a nano tank. I had a diamond sifter goby that was probably a good 5". There are several gobies that will pair up with a pistol shrimp. One other option is the yellow watchman goby. I also have one of these paired with a tiger pistol shrimp (I love the gobies) and he's adorable. He's in my 44 gallon tank, though. You can't have very many fish in a nano because the bio load will be too high. Two to possibly 3 small fish at most, and you shouldn't add them all at the same time. If you're still thinking about the pair of clowns you would probably want to get a young pair and add them together if you want them to pair up, if you go that way you should probably wait a good 3 months at the earliest until the tank is well cycled. With the goby pistol shrimp pairing they can each be added at any time and will find each other, they aren't picky.

As for pumps, there is no reason why you can't run both the stock pump and a second added pump, but it will take up more room, and unless you do some modifying to the tank one of them would probably have to be in the main tank, so it would look more cluttered, as well. I just took out the stock pump and put in the maxijet 900.

Unless they've changed the deluxe package from last fall (which is certainly possible) there isn't an actual surface skimmer included, what they have is a slitted opening at the top of the back of the tank that opens into the first chamber in the back. The pump in the third chamber jets water out into the main tank, and thus pulls the water back in through that opening in the first chamber, so it sucks in some of the surface water, but it isn't a true protein skimmer.

For a heater I think I have a 50 watt submersible in the 3rd chamber in back. I would think most 50 watt heaters would fit in the compartments, but I haven't checked the actual dimensions (ditto for pumps). Like I had said, I keep the temperature a little higher than most. It's usually at about 81 degrees F, and everybody seems to be ok with it, but each tank is different, so just find out what works for you.

On that same theme, there are a lot of different ways you can put things together in your back chambers, so find what works for you and what you're comfortable with maintaining, and go with that. You can always change things around later if you're not happy with the job it's doing.

I'm sure the nano packs are fine, but as ski1297 said, wait until the tank is well established before adding several things at once. The same goes for your cleaner crew. A few at a time at first. Look into hermit crabs for cleaning, they are great scavengers. Something to consider though is that some are more aggressive than others and more likely to kill another crab if they like his shell better than the one they're currently living in. You should also try to provide them empty shells to upgrade into as they grow. For snails there are a lot of choices. I have 2 sand sifters and the rest are your basic cleaners. There are a lot of choices out there, but keep in mind that it's a small tank, so don't overstock or your snails will starve. I have about 3 or 4 small to medium margarita snails. Turbo snails are also good, but again be aware of their size and how large they grow. If they starve and you don't get them out quick they can really pollute a small sized tank quickly.

[Li-Mike]

I have successfully kept a 16G Nano for about a year now. What I find to be the most important thing for me is be sure to get the best live rock and sand you can find or afford. Use this to cycle your tank and get things going you could even introduce a piece of raw squid or shrimp to get the bio going. Get the sand in (I have a 4 Inch DSB of Live Sand) Get the rock (UnCured) in (Be Sure to get it into the configuration you want and be sure to anchor it (there are many ways to do this) , Get the salinity and temp right, provide hight water flow and I personally Like to Use a Hagen 50 over the back filter as it is quite oversized and I can put a lot of media in and over-filter the tank, and then throw in the catalyst (Shrimp, Squid, or even some frozen Foods) this will start the bio cycle off with a bang and keep all the little tag alongs happy and alive. Keep montiroing the chemistry until you spike and then you will see the levels come down to an acceptable range. Be sure to run the lights on a normal day night cycle and in time you will have an awesome base to work from. Once all is well add some reef safe fish like a chromis or clowns and then establish your cleanup crew. Snails, Crabs, Sand Sifters, Brittles, CLams, Feathers etc. Once you have them happy and doing well then start with your basic Poly corals and keep them low in the tank. Start Supplementing the system with Combo Vitae and then slowly add more Corals in the Soft, Polyp, and Mushroom space and then if you are willing to invest in better lighting you can go up to SPS.

I personally do not use a protein skimmer as I feel the right bio diversity can take care of things better than any technology we can come up with. Being newer to this like you you can contact me any time with questions, I may not have the answers but I am sure there will be things we have in common. Best of luck and take your time.

[Liza]

sounds good, one thing, though- with the lighting you have in the stock 12 gallon deluxe you probably can't keep a clam. There are a lot of different methods for setting up a new tank and orders for adding animals, whoever you talk to will have a slightly different idea of how to do things, but most work and the important thing is the going slow part.

[ski1297]

Originally Posted by cburns32

Ok so in you one compartment put the heater, and possibly another pump, in the 2nd put carbon, and 1st put crushed live rock.

All you want in the filter is carbon and the heater. You want to put the live rock in your tank. You are going to need about 12-18lbs of live rock. The live rock will work as the filter for your tank thats why you want to take out the bio-balls. Some people do not run a filter at all filters some time do more bad than good in a reef tank. All I have for my tank is 40lbs of live rock and a protein skimmer.

[cburns32]

OK, thanks alot everyone...Any more additional advice or suggestions are welcome...The **** thing is on backorder so I have to wait 'til like 24th until they ship it, then another week until it arrives. So any ideas on what to buy before I get the tank...or should I just wait until I have the tank?

[cburns32]

Any suggestions on a pistol shrimp and high finned goby...heard they are great, hardy reef inhabitants...

[ski1297]

I would wait to get any thing then you can look at getting a heater that could fit in your filter box.

[ski1297]

I like pistol shrimp I want to do a nano with one.

[cburns32]

Yeah I heard they work well in a nano reef paird with a goby...and I'll wait until I get the tank to start buying equipment. Thanks again.

[ski1297]

To help you save money it is very good to ask before you buy.

[cburns32]

Aight thanks alot...