camilenoel
Community Member
I have an open glass 6g cube that I am thinking about converting into a nano reef with one tiny evil maroon clownfish that needs a home where he can’t kill any other fish that comes his way. I would like to keep this tank simple, low tech and affordable and use as much of what I already have laying around from other projects.
Here are my current plans that I would love an opinion on:
Filtration:
I’m thinking of running a Fluval aquaclear HOB because of how customizable the media chamber is. On might FOWLR tank I run an aquaclear 30 with just bio blocks and chemipure blue and it’s been thriving for almost 3 years now, but any recommendations on filter media specifically for a reef is welcome. As well as possibly adding a small protein skimmer (recommendations welcome)! Has anyone ever run a nano/pico skimmer in an aquaclear or would I have to mount it somewhere else on the tank?
Lighting:
I want to keep this tank as low maintenance as possible and have heard great things about manipulating light spectrum to lean blue to eliminate excess algae while still encouraging coral growth. If you have any affordable recommendations where you can manipulate the light spectrum that would be awesome, as well as spectrum balance recommendations.
Dosing/ATO:
I’ve heard great things about Tropic Marin’s All For Reef as an all in one additive and was thinking of trying that. I’m also considering adding an auto top off at some point and dosing the ato reservoir for consistent and stable water conditions.
Water changes/Parameters:
I’ve been seeing a lot more low/no water change tanks being set up with minimal automation and still keeping it low tech and that’s what I’d like to aim for. My bioload will be very low seeing as I will only have one fish and the corals. So my question is, as long as I’m minimally feeding and monitoring dosing and nutrients, at what point would I need to intervene with a water change? Do I just monitor nitrate and phosphate and water change when they become “too high”? But at what point with the world’s hardiest fish (clown) do I need to water change as long as the corals are looking good? I’ve seen softies and LPS thrive in high nitrate environment and can only imagine with that small of a bioload how long it would actually take to build up without being used.
My biggest hesitation/ worry is that every one of these types of tanks I’ve seen has been an AIO with built in filter boxes so I want to make sure that I’m taking the right steps and looking out for the right things before I dive in!
Thanks!
Here are my current plans that I would love an opinion on:
Filtration:
I’m thinking of running a Fluval aquaclear HOB because of how customizable the media chamber is. On might FOWLR tank I run an aquaclear 30 with just bio blocks and chemipure blue and it’s been thriving for almost 3 years now, but any recommendations on filter media specifically for a reef is welcome. As well as possibly adding a small protein skimmer (recommendations welcome)! Has anyone ever run a nano/pico skimmer in an aquaclear or would I have to mount it somewhere else on the tank?
Lighting:
I want to keep this tank as low maintenance as possible and have heard great things about manipulating light spectrum to lean blue to eliminate excess algae while still encouraging coral growth. If you have any affordable recommendations where you can manipulate the light spectrum that would be awesome, as well as spectrum balance recommendations.
Dosing/ATO:
I’ve heard great things about Tropic Marin’s All For Reef as an all in one additive and was thinking of trying that. I’m also considering adding an auto top off at some point and dosing the ato reservoir for consistent and stable water conditions.
Water changes/Parameters:
I’ve been seeing a lot more low/no water change tanks being set up with minimal automation and still keeping it low tech and that’s what I’d like to aim for. My bioload will be very low seeing as I will only have one fish and the corals. So my question is, as long as I’m minimally feeding and monitoring dosing and nutrients, at what point would I need to intervene with a water change? Do I just monitor nitrate and phosphate and water change when they become “too high”? But at what point with the world’s hardiest fish (clown) do I need to water change as long as the corals are looking good? I’ve seen softies and LPS thrive in high nitrate environment and can only imagine with that small of a bioload how long it would actually take to build up without being used.
My biggest hesitation/ worry is that every one of these types of tanks I’ve seen has been an AIO with built in filter boxes so I want to make sure that I’m taking the right steps and looking out for the right things before I dive in!
Thanks!
