# New Nano reef, point me in the right direction.



## RaptorsFan (Sep 18, 2015)

Good Day Everybody;

We are looking at setting up a nano reef (IM30L, 40, or something we find used on kijiji or marketplace) and I have 0 experience with salt water or reefs. My end goal is to keep at least one clown fish (possibly a pair) and a few other friendly species of fish. As for corals, something like a frogspawn or whatever else my wife likes but will work in a nano tank. My hope is to have a full plan on what I'm going to do by the time Black Friday comes along so I can take advantage of the deals. 

My first question is, how far do you think a stock AIO aquarium will take me? I plan on starting with a good LED light as it is not included with the Nuvo. After that investment I would like to keep the upgrades to the stock equipment at a minimum while I make sure this is for me. Will the need to upgrade the stock parts come from what I want to put in the tank? So as long as I keep the parameters of my tank in mind with my purchases I should be okay running stock? 

Second set of questions is around the order of operations and my learning curve. Will the cycle of the tank give me enough time to learn the basic ins and outs of caring for the aquarium? Things like mixing and holding salt water, testing the water parameters, top ups, and water changes. And once the cycle is complete should I add the fish then corals or other way around?

Any suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated.


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## Cichlidrookie (Apr 6, 2014)

Hey

I was in the same boat as you last year around this time. I get most of my information on Nanoreef.com

There are tons on info on this forum as well for overall SW set ups, but I like nanoreef because they have BUILD threads for specific AIO systems, like Fluval Spec V or IM Nuvo and IM Fusions etc etc.

The good thing about specific BUILD threads is that you can see specific upgrades people have done to make the tank work better.

My personal preference would be the IM Fusion 20. Goobafish has one that is really nice.

You can also go to youTube and check out videos BRStv is good and so is CoralFish12g and melevsreef.

Good luck and my best advise is TAKE YOUR TIME, get dry rock that way you know there are no pests.....


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## RaptorsFan (Sep 18, 2015)

Thank you Cichlidrookie. The dry rock tip has been noted. 

I've been all over these sites, and I think its the fact that nobody runs their aio's stock that's making me ask the question of what can I do with the stock parts. But it is helping me choose what LED to get.

TY.


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## CoralConnoisseur (Mar 5, 2014)

My buddie was running a Nuvo 16 with 2 par 38 leds over it. Extreme amount of light.
I think they are somewhat of a budget option compared to a Kessel or something similar, but non dimmable.
The pump was slightly upgraded aswell. I have all the gear here at my place now, I will have to pull the pump out of the tank later to see how far upgraded it is.


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## goobafish (Jan 27, 2015)

RaptorsFan said:


> Thank you Cichlidrookie. The dry rock tip has been noted.
> 
> I've been all over these sites, and I think its the fact that nobody runs their aio's stock that's making me ask the question of what can I do with the stock parts. But it is helping me choose what LED to get.
> 
> TY.


I started it stock with even the IM LEDs. My build thread is mostly pictures, but I do discuss the equipment changes. I started it as soon as I started swapping out the stock parts, and I explain why: http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=149682.

This one starts at the beginning and has a fair amount of detail on equipment:
http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/357084-goobas-im-nuvo-20-pic-heavy/

Bottom line is AIO tanks aren't meant to accommodate things like SPS gardens or mandarins without modification, and as you get into the hobby your wants will change.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I've kept quite a few AIO tanks and am now slowly phasing them out for a big tank. I have sold my 10g Fusion, and am debating what to do with the 20g.


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## wchen9 (Jan 23, 2014)

Figure out what types of coral you want in addition to the frogspawn, it will help determine your lighting and flow requirements to see if you need to replace the return pump or add an additional powerhead.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Welcome and glad that you are reaching out to the SW community for advice 
A couple of heavyweights on our forum have already responded to your question and for what it's worth, my two cents is this: 
Research the heck out of the internet or any sources for build threads, reviews, youtube etc. A big US based forum called Reef Central can also offer other perspectives. 
My first reef tank was a 20 gallon and I learned a whole lot with that little set up 
I eventually tore it down and went the way of most of my esteemed friends and got a larger tank but all depends on what you want the tank to be, how much space you have and how much $ you want to spend. Not to scare you but upgraded equipment for SW is much more $ than FW 
In my opinion, don't be cheap with your skinner (if you get one, because some feel it is not needed on smaller tanks and water changes will suffice) and also lighting. Can't grow corals with low end lighting - again depends on what kind of corals you are looking to grow.
Best of luck !


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*nano*

hey there as bullet said u have some good go to info as some of the members have commented .. 
I am not gonna tell u to go large , but will ask u to think of the space u are using and match it to what u want , this hobby is very addictive did I say addictive so its nice to purchase some equipment that can poss used on a upgrade build , save u some cash and headaches when u do decide to upgrade it will happen ..it is the nature of the darkside , I understand and can see where u are coming from and its logical to start with a nano and move up .
if a nano is all u think u will ever have then perfect u have your starting point it will suck that after one month in u and wife decide u want something bigger and none of the equipment u have will work on something bigger ,and u wont get top dollar for your products u are selling .
most will tell u to get something huge , my advice is to isolate where tank will be and if u were to upgrade whats the largest u could do in the space u have 
cheers 
tom


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## RaptorsFan (Sep 18, 2015)

Thank you very much everybody. A lot of food for thought here. 

One last question for you all; I was flipping through the IM30L owners manual and it says "Do not place aquarium in direct sunlight or near heater vents."

Is the heater vent an issue with heat or more of a getting water in it precaution? My ideal location is basically right over a vent, I can hack the stand to exhaust the vent out the front but that doesn't help if the issue is getting water into it. Thoughts?


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## duckhams (Oct 13, 2009)

Hey RaptorsFan, good questions! welcome to GTAA! Great to hear new guys asking for advice! We love to help! 
Direct sunlight can cause algae issues/blooms and the heater vent could cause unwanted/uncontrolled temp swings. You probably also don't want direct heat blowing on the silicone seams of the tank as it will heat up/cool down repeatedly and this could cause issues too.

*ROCK:*
As far as equipment/tank setup goes, check out Pukani rock (we stock it), it's really light and easy to work with and will help maximize denitrification in the tank as its very porous. It's best to clean/cook/cure rock outside of the tank allowing any detritus/waste/P04 etc to be completely discarded. Plus you can cure the rock in a bucket/rubbermaid while you setup the rest of the tank equipment.
Lots of small pieces could cause avalanches etc later on, so either get larger pieces or aquascape with acrylic rods and putty for stability.

*SAND:*
Get what you like the look of and research how to properly maintain it. If you don't like the look of it, you won't maintain it anyway, so get what appeals to you and make it work. Smaller grain sizes can blow around and make pump locations tricky and larger sized substrates can collect detritus and increase nitrates. It's swings and roundabouts, so get what you like the look of best.

*LIGHTING:*
Lighting is one of those things we agonize over and you get what you pay for,m so think long term investment. Par38 bulbs, hang-on halides, Kessil A160WE's, AI Prime's, Radion XR15's and many more will all work on a nano. All have different features/control options etc. The best thing to do is go take a look at some tanks running them and see what you like the look of and go from there. I was talking with one of the EcoTech guys at MACNA and he started with a single Radion XR15wPro over a nano and ended up with 3 over a 4ft tank with SPS and still has them dialled down. Look at lighting that could be expandable on to a larger system later on, if thats your plan, and that way you don't limit what you can keep in your current setup either, win win and more cost effective long term.

*FLOW:*
Flow is extremely important. Corals can adjust to all sorts of lighting, but without proper flow they'll die regardless of the lighting. EcoTech Vortech pumps are great because they randomize flow with preset flow patterns and have an included controller (which is great if you dont have a tank controller) and have a nice battery backup available too. However, many pumps can be controlled with an APEX or other tank controller and put on a UPC battery backup for power outages giving you the same type of control. 
The width/length of your tank, rockscape and coral stock list/placement will all help you decide what type of powerhead/flow will work best for your setup.

*WATER (TESTING):*
Take a really good look at investing in an RO/DI unit now, it could save you a lot of trips to the LFS and money down the road. I wish I had bought one early on, it would have saved me a lot of work and hassle. (yes, we stock them, but do your research first!) . 
Nitrate and Phosphate test kits are the two to start with so that you can see when the rock is 'cured'. You will also want Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium test kits as you add corals, as these elements will begin to deplete quickly. Setting a water change schedule ahead of time will help you keep track of your maintenance and monitor P03/N03/Ca/Alk etc easily/more regularly.

*EMERGENCY PROTOCOL:*
In short, DONT PANIC! Plan ahead of time to take a few minutes to think about the problem before reacting to it and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble, stress and potential losses. Most issues can be prevented with careful planning, but problems and emergencies will arise. We've all been there, so don't worry. Hop on the forums, don't panic and attack the issue one step at a time.

This got a little bit out of control, so I'll stop here!  Enjoy the planning and setup, it's a lot of fun. And don't be afraid to ask questions about anything, we've all had success and failures and are here to help!


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I have a Solana 34G all-in-one and i used stock parts. The lighting has been replaced with LED but other then that it was able to keep anemene's, clams, and fish alive and healthy for many years. 

Some all-in-ones are not as good as others... like anything on the market, you just need to know which ones are better.


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