via aqua nano

[Red]

well i'm following suit :P

setting myself a via aqua nano tank up. the tanks going to be run for 7 months no less no more :P as i will then be moving house again.

i have bought hte tank which comes with two 18w bulbs in an over head luminaire style one actinic one white. it also comes with an undergravel filter i won't be using this but the pump that comes with it will e used to provide flow behind the rock.

MODS:

An ehiem liberty 150 hang on filter running carbon one side alfogrog in the middle and phosphate remover in the other side. 570 l/ph


A double Interpet T5 Compact 36w Starter Unit giviing me a total of 108watts of lighting :P

An extra 1200 l/ph maxijet power head. to provide extra flore around the rocks

10-15KG of live rock depends on the aquascaping.

a very fine layer of aragonite sand just enought o cover the glass bottom.


STOCK

x1 tiny yellow tang or powder blure we have one at work thats about 1" would be fine in my nano.

x1 orchid dotty back or black capped gramma

x1 flymo blenny

lots of defferent coloured zoo's going for a colour approach

a white polyped finger coral

several acro's purples and greens
pink hystrix
two plating monti's green and red


will be dosing with Kalk via a bottle once a week, adding buffers to the water etc also will be adding liquid calcium once per night.

water changes once evry 2/3 days 5-10% since if u noticed i won't be running a skimmer.

any suggestions or ideas let me know pictures too follow shortly

[zimreef]

Sounds good - obviously thought it through & look forward to the pics. I say sounds good, but what about your fish stock? Pretty sure Blackcap Grammas grow to 5-6" so not really suitable for a nano, and guess you'd anticipated this response but a nano is certainly no place for a tang of any size.

Why not stock fish appropriate to the size tank you're running - there are plenty!

John

[Red]

tehehe, the question is IS ANY FISH REALLY SUITABLE FOR A TANK?

u cannot clearly pick out one species of fish and say that this species is not suited for a nano, take the clown fish for example. in the wild these guys host in anenomes yet many people clearly keep them in tanks without. Another example, green chromis live in vast shoals in the wild and swim in large spaces of water yet people still keep the solitary or in small numbers int he aquaria.

My nano is 60litres not tiny still no were near the same size of the sea :P or eaven the area in which many fish call there territory in the sea, but whats better for the fish? i take a small powder blue or yellwo tang home no bigger than an inch and a half in size, this tang lives and grows in my tank happily for 6/7 months then when i have to close my tank down i take it too our display tank at work whihc is much bigger :) as for the black cap, its gunna take well over 2 years for it too reach its adult size, once again this fish is going to be no bigger than an inch and a half.

[cajen]

Ah, yes, but size is not the only criterion. There are plenty of smaller fish (e.g. many gobies / blennies) which even in the wild never stray far from one spot. That's why a pistol shrimp / goby pair are ideal in a nano, while a tang of whatever size needs a lot of swimming space.

[Red]

compared too the size of my tang it will have just as much swimming space as one in a larger tank do not worry it will be fine :)

a pistol shrimp and goby may possibly be going in there

[zimreef]

tehehe, the question is IS ANY FISH REALLY SUITABLE FOR A TANK?

Tehehe - the answer to that is "YES". There are a number of fish that will act "naturally" in the confines of an aquarium - pretty much any fish that is by nature sedentary, or that doesn't venture too far from its "home" is ideal for a nano.

For example numerous small gobies that perch on corals, or those that share a burrow with pistol shrimps, neither of which swim too far at any time.

Tangs that have been moved from a small to a large tank do exhibit completely different behaviour, though I guess the fact that you can move the fish on to a larger tank is material evidence in your defence :D.

The fact that other people keep clownfish without anemones (another discussion entirely though), or shoaling fish singly, or fish in tanks that are too small doesn't mean it's "right" though!

John

[Red]

i'm not saying its right am i? but its all a part of fish keeping. like i say again.

whats better i take this fish home over it a good healthy life for the next 6 months, or some newb marine aquarist buys itand kills it within a week?

[TheShark]

let me just say ive had my Sailfin Tang in my tank now for over a month and it is very happy... my tank is only 3ft x 1ft x 1ft.. the tang is also only about 1,5"!! if the tang is the only real large dominant fish in the tank i dont see why it wouldnt have enough space! but when it grows large, in fareness to the fish i would move it to a larger tank..