LR and Rule of how many lbs.

[jaydm93teg]

whats the rule of thumb for how many pounds per gallon??

I bought a 14 gallon nano and was wondering what the general rule was?

I have like 40 lbs. in my 29 gallon but know i could still use plenty more.

alos how many fish am i looking at being available to put in a 14 gallon nano??

4 at the very very most??

 

[xyzpdq0121]

The "rule of thumb" is about 1.5 lbs per gallon for a reef tank. Less for a FOWLR.

With a nano, I would limit it to about 3-4 fish. One medium sized fish like a clown or a royal and two or three smaller fish. But people have different opinions and it totally depends on if you are going to run a skimmer on it or not.

 

[jaydm93teg]

yea im going to buy a skimmer the one that they sell for the nano tank. So could i do 2 maroon and gold clowns and then maybe like 1 other type i would love to have an angel of some sort but am pretty sure there arent any small enought o keep in that type of tank.

 

[jaydm93teg]

also can i used just regular playground sand as long as i let it cycle longer and make sure all my water params are fine before i starting adding the LR and all the other stuff??

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Some people have used some sort of playground sand but as far as I understand, alot of it contains silicates and that will lead to algae. So my opinion is always stay with sand you know.

As far as the two clowns. Ya you should be able to keep both of them and maybe one or two SMALL fish if you stay on top of your water changes. An angel is out of the question IMHO. They like a bit of room and they need a good tank to pick at pods and stuff.

 

[jaydm93teg]

good deal. Thanks guys

 

[jaydm93teg]

also i have a big bag of salt and just got this 14 nano so im going to buy non salted RO water and mix it myself. Do you guys have a standard like 1 cup of sea salt per 1 gallon of water to make a correct mixture or do yall just kinda to hit and miss and mix it in the tank. Im talking about mixing in tank just becuase nothing else is in there yet. Also on this nano all the compartments on the back do i need to put anythign in these i mean i knwo they are for like carbon and stuff but will it be fine to get it set up and going with no carbon in it?

 

[ericmcj31]

it's good to use refratometer--but it's 1 cup per 2 gallons of water

 

[ericmcj31]

oh--and mixing it in the tank should be fine if there is nothing else--and I'd run carbon-it helps clean the water up and not "stink"

 

[jaydm93teg]

ok and im new to the nano scene. I know if im looking at the tank from the front the far left chamber has im guessing a pump and what feels like some type of bio sponge type deal and im guessing the middle chamber is over flow and the far right one is im not sure im guessing the filter where should i put the bag of carbon?? ALso how do all these chamber need to be full of water before i go to turn it on?

 

[jaydm93teg]

nevermind i found where the slid in long rectangular thing full of carbon pockets is

 

[liverock27]

You may want to think about using a bag of carbon in the second chamber instead of the stock carbon filter. The carbon filters for your nano are expensive. You can save some money by buying a large thing of carbon and a reusable bag. You will have to replace the carbon every so ofter and this will save you some money after only a few changes. I would also suggest not using the bioballs, but instead putting some of the extra rock in the second chamber where the bioballs are currently. Just break the rock up pretty small so it fits in the chamber and that way you have more area for good bacteria to grow. Good luck with your nano tank.

 

[liverock27]

The way to make sure you have enough water in the tank is that the water level in the chamber with the pump is above the minimum line when the tank is running. I would suggest starting w/the water line at the Maximum line then turning the pump on. Watch to make sure that the water doesn't get low enough to cause the pump to run dry.

 

[jaydm93teg]

cool thanks, also i dont see any bio balls in there at all. The only BIO type thing i see is a thinkg that feels kinda like a think stiff sponge that is sitting in the chamber right kinda next to or on top of the pump. and then the middle chamber im guessing is overflow and there is some type of platic card with slits in it on top of that and then the far right is the chamber that has that slide in carbon filter. Where should i put pieces of rock??