Nano Craze

[Becca]

So I am new into this hobby and I got a 29g, I did this because I wanted to make sure this is something i could do before I spent thousands of dollars on a large tank just to have it crash and burn.
I have a friend in the saltwater hobby for a long time who told me that if I can master a nano I could certainly handle a big tank.
I also think that if someone goes in blind (meaning not taking the time to read) then they will all most always fail no matter what size tank.

[djbacon]

I'm with becca on this guys - this was my first tank - 4 months into it.

14 gallons and I love it - have only 2 small fish - and a variety of zoas. mushrooms, a brain and candy cane and I really didn't find it that hard. this was a test for me to see if I could handle a bigger tank. I live in a small condo in downtown SF on the 10th floor and simply dont have the option of a big tank right now. Next move I will have the confidence to get a bigger one because I started small.

I find it a little frustrating that the wide majority of folks tell beginners that a nano tank cannot be done as a starter tank.

Im dying to get a bigger tank, but love the ease of my 5 minute weekly 4g water change. I dont need trashcans full of RODI. I have read my butt off and while I think I have probably been pushing the envelope a little with my first coral purchases, i spaced em all out a week apart and only now got a second small goby. I read everything I could get my hands on and think I made smart decisions.

This isnt directed here in a negative way, but after reading 4 other threads about beginners asking questions about starting nanos, I think the good intentioned folks here are scaring some perfectly nice folks out of the hobby. I have the utmost respect for the RS members andtheir contributions - without Prow and Lynn and Craig and ton of others who gave me advice along the way I wouldnt be where I am now, but if I listened to everyone who told me a nano was impossible for a newb. I would still have NO tank and woudl have missed out on this great experience.

just my 2 cents

agreed you cant put a tang or the cast of finding nemo in a small tank, but you can do other stuff plenty well and have a helluva lot of fun.

[grinch]

Guilty as charged. My Christmas gift was an 8 gallon Oceanic Biocube. Great!! Until I learned more. It is in my office, which led to some basic problems, one being no control over room temps. Also, no attention over weekends. These combined with great difficulty in keeping water quality high, have led to some very expensive lessons. In all fairness, my LFS owner told me he only will sell to persons he feels have an understanding of the marine aquarium. In retrospect, a larger volume would be better, and the "plug and play" should be renamed the "plug and PRAY"!! My most recent probelms are overheating (been through 2 heaters already) and nitrate spike in a "cycled tank that has been running for 4 mos. Oh well, good thing it is an obsession!! Otherwise I would have given up and put frogs in the thing.

[BEELZEBOB]

my first reef was and is my 18gallon nano.

im sorry, but having anything bigger is simply not an option. so me starting a 90 is above and beyond what i can afford and move every year.

the most challenging aspect, for me, was maintaing consistant perameters.

thing is, i spent about SIX MONTHS on forums, reading books (Didnt buy, just read in the store) asking questions etc.

i let my tank cycle for 8 weeks. this allowed me to observe the bacteria build up, and then learn how to maintain my perameters. once my perameters were consistant for 2 full weeks, i considered myself ready.

then i added life.

THE disturbing part if the nano trend i see is stubborness and idiots.

individuals who are UNWILLING to research the hobby prior to starting.

im sorry, but not putting in the effort to understand this hobby has doomed more living creatures than anything else. doesnt matter if your tank is 1 gallon or 1000, if you dont know, you need to learn.

the STUBBORN are those who listen to only the cheap options, buy with out research, and then watch something die, get frustrated and quit. (ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS RESEARCH PRIOR TO PURCHASE!)

the IDIOTS are the LFS' that allow people to walk out the store w/ fish LR, corals and a tank etc. puch CC on people as a great substrate, and sell nems to people w/o asking about their tanks. THE IDOITS can be worked out if people would just research.

As far as nanos being too hard for a newb, im sorry but thas a load of BS IMHO.

im a lazy, fat, unmotivated individual with a fist full of bad habits. IF i can research, if i can learn to and consistantly maintain a nano as my FIRST ever reef, anybody can.

you just need to take the time to gain the knowledge of how to do so.

this is like guns, its not a plug and play hobby. you need to understand what can go wrong, why, and how to prevent it.

[koffee]

I'm sure someone has mentioned the big companies too, and not just bad LFS. Take a look at the front of the box for the Marineland 12G Saltwater kit sometime, for example. I cringe everytime I see how many fish are picture. A school of 7 chromis in a 12G?!?!? That would be bad enough even without the other fish in the tank. And let's not forget the corals pictured, keeping in mind the light, filtration, and circulation offered. Then there are all the Nemo-themed 1 and 2 gallon tanks.

But even if the companies, the LFS, and the hobbiests do their best to educate, there are still idiots with money to burn that will buy a brand new nano with a couple of tangs, large angel, and assorted other fish.

Of course I made mistakes and did things I probably shouldn't have... but I am trying my best to learn and improve.

[BEELZEBOB]

i mean, no matter what, its the HOBBIESTS responsibility to put forth the effort to research.

no one else is to blame than the person spending the money.

its not like the needed information isnt readily available.

[Becca]

Originally Posted by BEELZEBOB

i mean, no matter what, its the HOBBIESTS responsibility to put forth the effort to research.

no one else is to blame than the person spending the money.

its not like the needed information isnt readily available.

I could not agree more, its totally up to the consumer to read and research before they buy. I have read so many message boards and books and talked to some many people before I bought i though my head was going to burst.
Everyone told me not to go with a nano cuase i would want something bigger before the 1st month was out and they are right I want a 200 gal tank but for right now I am happy with what i have!

I really think no matter what size tank you have some people are going to think you can just add water, rock, fish etc.... and let it go NO matter what size tank you have from a 1 gal to a 500 gal thats nothing but trouble.

So please stop putting the NANO tanks down they make a great starter tank.
People just need to be responsable.

[Wolfgang8810]

I agree with everyone here and My first tank was a 24 gallon aquapod. Its been up and running for 6 months and I love it. Yes i had some mishaps and have lost some pretty pricey things but all in all i really gained alot formt his and now im teetering on the bring of converting my 56 gallon FW tank into a SW tank. I am currently keeping an ocellaris and black ocellaris cown, 6 line wrasse, and a green chromis. Sure i have upgraded to a 150 watt MH and am now into SPS and LPS but after the first cycle my tank has had 0 nitrates because from the verry beginning Big Al and istorc have been telling me to GO SLOW! and i have. I am very greatful for the members here at RS and i attribute my success to the knowledge of all of you.

[chromiumlux]

Let us remember from whence we came.
" Mommy! my goldfish is floating on top of the water".
So, at that moment most of us in this hobby began trying to understand where we went wrong and, as a result of gained knowledge, we graduated to bigger and better tanks and ideas. This too, pushed the big companies in directions that were never dreamed of as far as equipment for nurturing any type of water environment. We sometimes fell down along the way, but there was always someone to help us up. Think about this before you close your mind to new ideas. If you havent noticed, bigger and better is not the norm in our society any longer. Take for instance the computer you are sitting at reading this post right now. Back in the day the components to run it would probably fill your entire house.
I've done the 250g in the early eighties. Back then a 3g pico or a 14g biocube or even a 28g cube were unheard of as far as reefkeeping was concerned.
I agree that one must research everything one can get their hands on, but knowledge is not everything in this hobby. You can become a walking encyclopedia of useless information unless you implement your ideas and experiment with them. It is then that true knowledge and understanding of what you are doing comes to fruition.
Now, I do agree that trying to keep 6 fish in a 10g nano is not a good thing,however, there will always be inexperience in this hobby. I consider myself a lowly novice and I do not offer advice unless I,ve experienced what I'm talking about and that advice may not work for you.
Don't get me wrong. I plan to have a large reef again some day. Why? Because I love this hobby, not because I want to be some self professed guru or king of the block.

[lcstorc]

I see three real problems 2 of which can be overcome with attention and knowledge.
The first has already been mentioned about the pictures on the boxes of totally inappropriat inhabitants for the smaller tanks. If the manufacturers would be more responsible about what can actually be kept in these tanks it would greatly improve the success of nanos.
The second has also been mentioned repeatedly. There is nothing than can replace research. If you have done your research before you buy then you are startiing way ahead of the game.
The most difficult thing about a nano though is the constant attention needed to the paramaters. It is just so easy for a small problem to become a big problem with the reduced water volume.
After saying that I have seen some incredibly beautiful nanos. Some by newbies and some by people who have been around.
Generally what I tell newbies with nanos is that they are more difficult and require more maintenance but it can certainly be done and done very well.
Even I have a nano so how can I be against them.