Nano Reef

[Humatrigger32]

What are your thoughts on a nano reef, under 20 gallons with no fish? Would it be tough to keep perameters? I'm thinking a small frag tank that fits under my current tank in the stand.

 

[betareef]

Depends on what types of corals and amount of filtration and water changes. I have leathers, acans, star polyps, all doing well in a 55 litre tank with a couple of fish. That's under 15 gallons isn't it?

 

[Dkmoo]

No fish your biggest long term challenge is nutrient supply so will need to feed the corals.

If you have the DT nearby why not plumb it to share the water? That way you increase water volume overall and have higher chance of stability than even your current DT

 

[Humatrigger32]

No fish your biggest long term challenge is nutrient supply so will need to feed the corals.

If you have the DT nearby why not plumb it to share the water? That way you increase water volume overall and have higher chance of stability than even your current DT

It's an AIO.

 

[NanoMixer]

What are your thoughts on a nano reef, under 20 gallons with no fish? Would it be tough to keep perameters? I'm thinking a small frag tank that fits under my current tank in the stand.

M

 

[NanoMixer]

Ok just ignore my previous reply my phone was being wild and I couldn’t delete it. What CUC would you have? I have 20g with BTA hosting an ocellaris, Bali slimer, giant Zoa colony that is actively trying to take over everything, green hairy mushroom, Hawaiian feather duster, Kenya tree, a few types of macro algae (old man shaving brush, halimeda money plant, some chaeto that the urchin carries around). Everything likes the tank “dirty.” I don’t mean like out of control nitrates and phosphates (I keep it at 100:1 ratio, try for 3-5ppm nitrate and .03 phosphate), but like letting all the worms live in the sand, some algae on the glass, allowing all of the microfauna to thrive…you have to let the tiny ecosystem develop, which is hard to do without the key component of animals. No doubt you could do it in a “pretty” tank that’s spotless with no fish, I just imagine it’ll be a lot more difficult for coral to thrive without everything else. I don’t use filtration, I just strap some carbon in a bag to a powerhead about once a month with one of my hair ties to reduce the chemical warfare.

 

[slogan315]

For many reasons ( nutrients, maintenance, testing, matching parameters for moving corals, etc.) I would find a way to plumb the frag tank to the display. Even if that means drilling a hole somewhere…

But if you are set on 2 separate systems, I second the biggest issue is lack of nutrients. I kept a coral only nano for a while, feeding reef roids every few days. And supplemented liquid nitrates and phosphates as needed. Some things grew, some just “survived”, and some died. When I ended up with 2 extra clowns and added them to the tank, the corals really came to life. Fish poop and Kalkawasser are unicorn juice.

 

[Tahoe61]

What are your thoughts on a nano reef, under 20 gallons with no fish? Would it be tough to keep perameters? I'm thinking a small frag tank that fits under my current tank in the stand.

You could stick a smaller variety of Brittle Star or Hermit Crabs in a 20 gal. Feed them as you normally would. You could also use some display water in your water changes.
Test and use Two Parts.
You don't have to have fish in a nano frag tank.

 

[hart24601]

In general it’s very easy. I actually prefer nanos now and they are the only tanks I will keep. You can just add a pinch of pellets a day for nutrients if needed and for cuc feeding. I don’t like sps in them since they outgrow the space quickly and have to watch out for lps sweepers are the big things.