DIY micro/mason jar reef tank

[geddavis]

I was looking into making a micro reef tank around a gallon. I know there are a lot of problems to solve to do this, however I am a passionate reefer and as I leave for school abroad I want to continue this hobby in a scaled down form. My idea is a 1 gallon jar a 5 gallon heater (the smallest I could find) a 20 gph power head and a homage led on a timer. I want to have a super easy reef with a invert or 2 and some hardy soft corals eg zoas gsp and Zeina. My plan is to have a system that needs at most one water change a month. For nutrient export and import I will have a ball of cheato and feed the tank a tiny bit of farmed copepods once a month. I would also have a small pore sponge on the inlet of the power head. I plan on doing some minimal dosing. I just want to know what you think because I want to make sure I can successfully keep these amazing animals and keep them happy. Also if you have ideas for stocking I would love to hear them.

 

[sstanley223]

I was looking into making a micro reef tank around a gallon. I know there are a lot of problems to solve to do this, however I am a passionate reefer and as I leave for school abroad I want to continue this hobby in a scaled down form. My idea is a 1 gallon jar a 5 gallon heater (the smallest I could find) a 20 gph power head and a homage led on a timer. I want to have a super easy reef with a invert or 2 and some hardy soft corals eg zoas gsp and Zeina. My plan is to have a system that needs at most one water change a month. For nutrient export and import I will have a ball of cheato and feed the tank a tiny bit of farmed copepods once a month. I would also have a small pore sponge on the inlet of the power head. I plan on doing some minimal dosing. I just want to know what you think because I want to make sure I can successfully keep these amazing animals and keep them happy. Also if you have ideas for stocking I would love to hear them.

Reminded me of these...

 

[Katrina71]

@brandon429

 

[ryeguyy84]

I'd skip the chaeto and just do a weekly water change. The smallest I kept was a 5 gallon and I just changed 2 Solo cups worth weekly. No other kind of export.

Don't forget about top off, these small tanks will have big swings.

I kept, mushrooms, zoa's and a dunkin

 

[IgnatiusRath]

Some cool ideas for a micro tank in this build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sub-gallon-stacking-system-123g-pico.476004/