How many of you guys are keeping nano tanks?

[Daniel@R2R]

How many of you are keeping nano tanks? Post a pic and maybe a link to your build thread! What made you decide to start a nano?

Don't have a nano build thread yet? Here's a link to the nano forum so you can get yours going!

Here's @pongpit's awesome SPS nano reef spotlight from the R2R article archives: R2R Reef Spotlight: PongPit's Amazing SPS Nano Reef

 

[tinyfellows]

Just started my first reef tank 6 weeks ago and I went with a nano (20 gallon Waterbox) because my wife and I live in a tiny home on wheels so we have limited space https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/waterbox-20-first-reef-build.879535/

 

[homer1475]

Forgot one option in the poll....

Started with a nano, but upgraded to bigger.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Forgot one option in the poll....

Started with a nano, but upgraded to bigger.

Fixed it!

 

[homer1475]

Fixed it!

I knew you could do it!

Thanks, and voted.

 

[Nano sapiens]

12g mixed reef (14 years running in August):

Nano Build - Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef

Jul 2023 (15th Year): Humble beginnings (Aug 2008): Simple little 12g Cadlights AIO nano...pump, heater, DIY 'Complete Spectrum' wide-spread LED array, live rock/live sand (no mechanical/chemical filtration), DIY gravity-fed ATOs, 5% weekly water changes...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[MillennialReefer]

Nano`s are great for those with a limited space or don't want to get into the complicated aspect of keeping a medium or large reef. I find that when I kept a Nano my maintenance was a weekly 5 gallon water change and filter pad replacement that was it. If problems occurred a water change would usually fix the issue and since it was only a 20 gallon system its quick to make new SW. Plus you get a wider lens on the micro fauna and small fish interacting with the environment. Such as small gobies and blennies. I would definitely setup a Nano reef, just need some planning.

 

[Nano sapiens]

A couple other reasons for setting up a nano:

1. For those no longer quite so young or those that are partially disabled, the smaller volume water changes are a lot less physically demanding,
2. Much smaller environmental impact
3. Reduced cost compare to large systems (both to set up and maintain)

 

[Sharkbait19]

I had started out reefing with a Fluval 13.5. A super inexpensive and convenient build! I had it running for about a year and a half until the soft corals started to overgrow, and then the chemical warfare began. My clownfish decided to go completely nuts and went on a killing spree, so I needed a larger tank for that reason too (though I'm not certain I want her in any tank at all...).

I now own a 40 breeder tank, and it is so far going well. It will definitely be a long time before it looks nice and full again though...
As far as maintenance goes on this tank, I've found that water changes themselves take twice as long and are much more difficult to do. However, I have found that when something bad does happen, it usually has less of an effect than it may in a small water volume.

The old fluval tank now serves as a quarantine tank for new arrivals (I technically own two quarantine tanks but one has been serving as a clownfish prison). Currently it is housing a hawkfish and a coral beauty angel who is clearly cramped for space and wants to get the heck out of there lol.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have 3 nano's, a 5, a 15, and a 32 gallon.
My only regret about not having a larger tank is that my fish selection is very limited, and there are some fish I will never get to keep.
Otherwise, the minimal cost, risk, and work involved with nano's all fit my lifestyle perfectly, big tanks are not for everyone.

 

[Roscovitch]

Love my little RS Nano Max. 50% water change once a month and it keeps itself. I have the big ones too though

 

[jazzfisher]

Nano x2, 30L & 14 P.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

I have the fluval evo 13.5, great nano tank. It fits perfectly for my room because I have limited space. I would rather have had a larger tank, but I already have a huge freshwater tank. So I got no space for another huge fish tank. But nanos will always be the cheapest and best option for limited space and money in my opinion. Here is a pic of my nano ->

 

[chimbo84]

I just tore down my Fluval Evo to build out my 120gal. While I do appreciate the larger water volume and ability to have tangs, I do miss the ease and proximity to my desk while I am working. I may set it up again as a softy tank.

 

[Karen00]

I read somewhere that a pico is 5g and under and a nano is 6g to 30g so I guess I'm a pico person. I would like to be a "go large or go home" type of person (aaah to swim in your own tank) but my house disagrees with this philosophy. LOL. Mine is going on about 9 months and I'm just starting to see the uglies fade so I can take pics now. Haha.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Have had this 5-gallon Fluval Spec running for about 3 years. Have been experimenting with various macro algaes and corals. Started out with pygmy seahorses, got tired of the upkeep. Had a crocea in there for close to a year when the tank crashed and took it with it.

Tank was left empty but running for a long while. Now it is home to five Bruun's cleaner shrimp and some Galaxaura macros. I'm considering introducing a beaded mat anemone (Heteractis aurora) and seeing how the shrimp react.

 

[X-37B]

I have had all types of systems over the years.
I picked up this 20g aio nano cube some time back for next to nothing.
It sat next to my frag system for awhile and then I decided to fire it up.
It will be 3 months old tomorrow.
Very simple system to maintain.
I dose trace and 2 part by hand once a day.
2g wc once a month and change out the small filter floss square and thats it.
Has been very stable with corals already encrusting and growing.
This tank also got me to change my 45 frag system to 3 16hds from halides. I run 2 on this nano. Very nice lights, imo.
The looks from both systems has determined my new 80gs fate as it will be 2 gen 5 radions with 1 16hd over the 30g remote fuge.
Honestly the nano is super simple to run and requires very little maintenance.

 

[ClownSchool]

How many of you are keeping nano tanks? Post a pic and maybe a link to your build thread! What made you decide to start a nano?

Don't have a nano build thread yet? Here's a link to the nano forum so you can get yours going!

Here's @pongpit's awesome SPS nano reef spotlight from the R2R article archives: R2R Reef Spotlight: PongPit's Amazing SPS Nano Reef

June will be one year since upgrading from a Biocube 16 into a 55 gallon.
mThis was one of my last pictures of my nano.

 

[mindme]

Most of my tanks have been nano. My first tank was a JBJ 16 gallon. I upgraded out of it into a 75gallon, but had to move across country, so I sold the 75g and moved.

Due to being pretty mobile over the next 10 years, my tanks stayed in the nano range. Even at one point a 3g pico.

20g standard tank turned into a 24gallon AIO cube. For a few years those were my main tanks. I settled down a bit and bought a 180g tank. So everything in it went into the 180g. I have a 29g I keep in my bedroom, it's hold some pulsating xenia, RBTA's and a pair of clownfish that are extremely territorial.

The 24 gallon has been empty for the past year. I was thinking of turning it into a paludarium(my old 3g pico tank is now) and getting poison dart frogs. But after the maintenance pains of the 3g, I decided against it. So instead I've recently decided to improve it and I plan to move everything in the 29g into it.

I removed the acrylic wall in the back, drilled the back of it and added an eshopps overflow box, and 2 return lines drilled with loclines and RFG's on them. My hope is to be able to get enough flow back into the tank with those things so that I don't need to use powerheads in a tank with anemones.

The difficult part has been the sump, which is where I am now. My sca-301 skimmer arrived today, so I can try to get things to fit. The issue is my cabinet is too small for even a standard 10g tank, and I'm scared to put one together myself for fear of leaks. So I ordered a 6g cube tank, and now I'm trying to make it work. My biggest worries being - having enough space to take the water coming back into the sump, and also the area being able to hold enough water that I'm not having to top it off everyday...or even more often.

The 29g will get turned into a softie tank. Or hell, maybe dart frogs. Current plan is softies.

 

[blaxsun]

Started with a 12-gallon IM Cylinder Atoll, upgraded to a pair of 25-gallon IM Fusion Lagoons and then to a Red Sea 750XXL. Sold the Lagoons - still have the Atoll.

I would probably never go back to another AIO nano - I just abhor the maintenance and proportionately more expensive equipment options.