How hard is it to raise a nano?

[Phish]

I had a 40 gallon and it was a catastrophie, the salinity went way up, all the time, but what I want to know is; would it be hard to raise an eclipse 12g? When the salinity gets to high what do I do? What kind of test packages should I buy (what should I test to make sure it is operating smoothly) Thanks a lot. If I forgot to list something to watch in the tank, could you please tell me what it is?

Thanks again.

[AWestphal]

When salinity gets too high you had fresh water, no salt. Preferably RO/DI water. Test that are a must for any saltwater tank are as follows...

Salanity (hydrometer)
PH
Alkalinity
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

If corals then Calcium with Magnesium

I would recommend not jumping into it again and doing as much research as possible, here is a good place to start, also considering purchasing a book to help with understanding a saltwater tank.

Just my .02

AJ~

[matrixnyc]

Phish, welcome to Reeflounge.com

The only problem with a nano is that small changes have a drastic affect on the tank. If you do decide to start a nano, keep a close eye on it.

Your levels, temp, water changes have to be very monitored to make sure you do not change conditions in the nano to quickly.

Good Luck

[Phish]

Thanks a lot, you guys are really helpful, I wanted to start a 10 gallon, That way subtle changes would not be drastic, and when It came to water changes, I would only change about a half gallon once a week (is that too much?), to maybe a gallon. and when you do a water change do you put back in reg salt water, or do you put in 'watered down' saltwater (lower salinity). This site is really helpful, my LFS Specializes in salt water, more focused on reef aquarium than anything, they are very knowledgeable but stuck up, If you ask too many question they sart to give b.s. answers and try to walk away.

[Rootsayia]

when you do a water change depending on frequency of WC's you might wanna change 10-20% of the SW. What that does is lower the trates adn help replace trace elements. You wanna add well mixed SW. Not watered down. You should only use RO/DI water when you top off.
Oh BTW some friendly advice, do as much research as you can.
thats one of the single most important things you can do in this hobby.
WELCOME TO THE REEF LOUNGE :D :D

[absolutdain]

Maintaning a nano-reef is not as hard as some make it out to be once you keep an eye on the tank. Small things can make a big difference since there is so little water there is little room for error. I agree to just keep your salinity level accurate with a hydrometer and some ro water.

[Prip17]

The guy at my lfs said that i could get away with a water change 1 every other week would that be ok?

[Phish]

yes, that is more than possible, but I would stick with once a week.
By the way, This is a very old article, I already know enough and have started my tank.

[Prip17]

its very veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryve ryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryve ryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryve ryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryve ryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryve ryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



just kidding

[Apophis924]

the best part about a nano is yes a small quanity of water can go bad fast, BUT you can correct them just as fast, a 5 to ten gallon water change will do wonders for an emergcny stiutation. Thats what i like best bout a nanao. very easy to start over with water paramters.