Nano Nano: NaNO? NaYes? Why or Why Not?

[Texas Reefer]

I have a 14 gallon biocube that I modded to include a sump, so it probably has closer to 20 gallons in it. It's easier to keep than my 140, I think, because I don't expect as much from it. I don't put much sps in it. I know that it is healthiest with only 3 fish in it. With my nano, I maintain, I do not chase numbers. It works well with 2 clowns and a yellow watchman, a pom pom crab, a hermit crab, a tiger conch, a couple of margarita snails, and for coral I have a bta, a large trumpet and toadstool, a couple of acans, and some zoas. I don't dose. I think water changes replenish what's taken up. I will not add anything that will throw this balance off.

 

[hart24601]

Once you get some knowledge under your belt, and perhaps the experience to not be temped to overcomplicate things, I find nanos the easiest and most rewarding of reefs, including picos. Can keep almost anything you want, even some easier acros. Plenty example of nano and pico that have been going for years with stony corals.

 

[12gallonsofhex]

Love how you matched the canopy/stand to your home!

Thanks! My wife helped me with the colors. I can build pretty well, but my sense of color is horrible.

 

[12gallonsofhex]

Nano Aquariums can really turn into a piece of art. I have had my RS Max Nano for a little over a year. I travel, so I had to make sure it could go on Autopilot for 3 days a week. Two of the game changers for me was a 5 Gallon ATO and Alkatronic/Dosetronic for stability. The last piece of the puzzle will be the Mastertronic for Nitrate/Phosphate. Along with Red Sea creating a Reef Led that removes a lot of the guesswork and creates a light that the coral will thrive in. We are getting very close with technology to allow all reefers to choose what type of coral and size of tank they want to keep and having success without constant lo$$es causing them to leave the hobby. I’m excited for sure!

Beautiful set up!

 

[Seanislav]

I have had a nano in the 30 gallon range for closing in on 10 years, and I believe it's more difficult to maintain than my 300 gallon system. It's an AIO, so there's not much room for a skimmer (the one I had that was designed for it was a joke) or any other peripherals that don't require canopy removal. We have cats, so it has to be covered, and I'm gone a lot...and the algae growth shows it.

 

[Midrats]

1) Affordable
2) Easy to move
3) A large water change is a snap
4) Little tanks are fascinating
5) Easy to move

 

[James M]

Imo nanos are easier when you don’t chase numbers. If you stick to a water change routine you will have no problems

 

[jeffthomas]

1. What are the biggest challenges you faced when maintaining a nano aquarium?
Stability or lack of stability due to limited water volume. Swings happen faster so have to stay on top of parameters. ATO and regular water changes are a must for me.
2. Would you say a nano reef is harder or easier to maintain than a larger tank of say, 25g or more?
Easier because water changes are a breeze. I do not dread them so I actually do them weekly.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I have 3 tanks, 7gallon 13.5 evo and a 23 gal.
All have no sump or skimmers. The 3.5 year old 7 gal i find the easiest to keep and do the least of work on, just feed fish top up and clean the glass once a week. I do a 20% water change on it once every 8 weeks or so.

My 1.5 year old 13.5 was/is a nem and clown tank, of which I feel I should have stuck with hammers and torch as they don't move. I do 6 weekly water change, but I had zero phosphates in it so do them even less at the moment and dose phosphates.

now my 3.5 year old 23 gallon has been harder work, although the results were better when things were running well. On this tank I have an ato which I run kalkwasser in, this helps keep the levels up, I don't do often changes on this as I had the same issue of zero phosphates, then cyano, then dino. This was it at its prime over a year ago.
Current tank shot

 

[Proteus Meep]

My 55 litre Nano...AI Prime with a Seachem Tidal HOB filter with just a piece of Poly-Bio-Marine's Polyfilter in it and weekly 10% water changes with H2ocean pro salt, an ATO for stable salinity and a doser for Alkalinity

I prefer to keep a nano as there is something friendlier more... intimate..compared to a larger setup i find neither sides of the size spectrum more difficult than the other they just need to be run in different ways

 

[Crabs McJones]

Let's get a NANO! It'll be fun they said! Easy water changes! It's CUTE!!! Ummmm No.......Ummm YES?

For all of you that currently have a Nano aquarium or have kept a Nano in the past please answer the following questions:


1. What are the biggest challenges you faced when maintaining a nano aquarium?

2. Would you say a nano reef is harder or easier to maintain than a larger tank of say, 25g or more?


Today's graphic comes to us inspired by Mork of Planet Ork. (extra cred for all you who get it)

Kept a nano, liked it, but didn't have the time. When my girls get bigger i'll get them their own nano, so they'll be able to help me care for it. But for now we keep just the big tank.
Bonus points for Robin Williams

 

[clark griswold]

I’m currently running an IM Nuvo 20.

I like and dislike it. It is/was both easy and hard.

What I dislike the most was swings in the first year and just that it’s too small to keep the bigger fish I want.

After the first year it really stabilized and adding an auto water change via DOS made a huge difference. Haven’t lost any livestock in quite awhile. It’s kind of auto pilot with minimal maintenance and testing needed. But the first year was a real struggle.

I’ll be upgrading to 200 gallon when the time and budget make sense.

 

[j.falk]

I downgraded from a 34 gallon column tank to a standard 20 high a year ago and I have no regrets. The 20 is less labor intensive than the 34 was and I enjoy it much more. Best decision I ever made when it comes to keeping reef tanks.

All the tanks I had in the past in the order that I had them: 10, 29, 10, 20 Long, 29, 75, 38, 34, 53, and now I only have a single 20 gallon high and love it.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

My 55 litre Nano...AI Prime with a Seachem Tidal HOB filter with just a piece of Poly-Bio-Marine's Polyfilter in it and weekly 10% water changes with H2ocean pro salt and an ATO for stable salinity

I prefer to keep a nano as there is something friendlier more... intimate..compared to a larger setup i find neither sides of the size spectrum more difficult than the other they just need to be run in different ways

Plus cheaper to light, fill with rocks, fish and coral. The evaporation is less, so less top up and smaller water changes. Even if the poop hit the fan and you lost everything. Restocking would be cheaper.

 

[OlderManSea]

I have had two very nano (pico) tanks, a 2.6 gallon bowl that I had for a year and a 5.6 gal Marlineland Portrait that I had for two years. Both were extremely easy to care for and I never, ever had a problem with either. I did essentially 100% water changes each week. The portrait had a glass top that kept top off as a rare event; the bowl required some water addition every couple of days. I ultimately combined the two tanks into a 10 gallon IM 10 which is also running beautifully. Like many others I find the pico's to be much less work than larger tanks (currently a Red Sea 170 liter and a Red Sea 425 liter). Here are some shots of the tanks from early 2018 right before they became the current 10 gallon:

2.6 gallon bowl: FTS from a distance and closer, and close up of the 4 green banded gobies when they were all out waiting to be fed:

Here is the 5.6 gallon. It was the first marine tank I had kept in many years (I was very active in the 60s and 70s (fish only of course). It was a fun tank. I took it down largely because it was tall and narrow so as things grew they crowded the sides. I will likely set it up again as a gorgonian tank:

 

[Huenemedoe]

I have been running a Waterbox 20 AIO for about three months, lots of growth already and I find it rather easy to maintain. I do manual top offs every morning. Swapped the filter sock with a media basket, no sponges, bag of activated carbon and added an inexpensive jbj power head. As with anything stability is key, having a plan and sticking to it helps a lot as well.

Some things that have really helped me along the way:
Cobalt neotherm heater (it swings the least of all heaters IME)
Bi monthly water changes
Stocking really slowly, honestly probably one of the biggest pieces of advice I could give. The only thing I have had issues with is I put two btas and a Trachy in at the same time and all three have been taking a while to adjust. Keep to frags and let them grow as much as possible. Also don’t over do it with the CUC add as needed
Keep that refractometer calibrated
Don’t add supplements or dose, this just works for me I run mostly soft and easy lps but honestly I am terrified to use additives or dose because of easy you can cause things to swing
Always dip your corals
Watching how much you feed
Ask questions on R2R
Enjoy what you have!

 

[A777flygirl]

I started a 20 gallon nano a year ago. The most challenging thing I found was finding space for equipment and deciding what I needed.

 

[exasperatus2002]

Let's get a NANO! It'll be fun they said! Easy water changes! It's CUTE!!! Ummmm No.......Ummm YES?

For all of you that currently have a Nano aquarium or have kept a Nano in the past please answer the following questions:


1. What are the biggest challenges you faced when maintaining a nano aquarium?

2. Would you say a nano reef is harder or easier to maintain than a larger tank of say, 25g or more?


Today's graphic comes to us inspired by Mork of Planet Ork. (extra cred for all you who get it)

I have a 5 gallon nano that will end up as a 15 long at some point. My problem is like any others, cost & availability of what I like versus what I can get..... So far I love my 5 frags.... Want more, have species in mind but cant touch them locally or at a price point that my wife wont freak about since she balances the check book.

 

[Steve Elb]

Let's get a NANO! It'll be fun they said! Easy water changes! It's CUTE!!! Ummmm No.......Ummm YES?

For all of you that currently have a Nano aquarium or have kept a Nano in the past please answer the following questions:


1. What are the biggest challenges you faced when maintaining a nano aquarium?

2. Would you say a nano reef is harder or easier to maintain than a larger tank of say, 25g or more?


Today's graphic comes to us inspired by Mork of Planet Ork. (extra cred for all you who get it)

Had an IM 25 for my first reef tank. It was a great learning experience but a struggle at times to keep parameters in line. I now have a IM 100 and it's much easier to keep. The 25 is broken down but I'm probably going to use it as a frag tank. I have African Cichlids as well. I'm in the middle of setting up a 210 7ft. tank for my Frontosa to be moved into.

 

[McGene]

Had a 125g DT for years. Moved and sold most everything.
Couldn’t stand not having a reef tank so decided on the JBJ45 AIO.
I love the convenience but miss the length of my 6 footer.