Why don't you have a NANO REEF in addition to your larger reef tanks?

Why don't you have a NANO REEF in addition to your larger reef tank?

  • Money

    Votes: 53 10.5%
  • Space

    Votes: 48 9.5%
  • Time

    Votes: 104 20.6%
  • Other Limitations

    Votes: 46 9.1%
  • I DO HAVE ONE!

    Votes: 253 50.2%

  • Total voters
    504

Calm Blue Ocean

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 17, 2020
Messages
1,371
Reaction score
2,127
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I love my nano tank. It's my low stress easy tank. I have it on my desk right next to where I work. Unlike my big tank of many disasters, this is a place of peace. Full of softies with a couple LPS and SPS for fun. A goby/pistol shrimp pair, a porcelain crab, and a pom pom crab round out the inhabitants. Really fun little tank.
 

ClownSchool

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 3, 2021
Messages
602
Reaction score
726
Location
US
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have started several new nano tank projects in my reefing career but they haven't lasted very long. My nano tanks were always in addition to the larger reef tank I already had and for me that was probably the main reason for me always taking them down after a while. Basically one was enough! But what about for you? Let's talk about it!

Why don't you have a NANO REEF in addition to your larger reef tank? What are the reasons?

If you do then tell us about it and why it's easy or hard!

image via @Tigahboy
IMG_20191024_210050_644.jpg
I have two…a 14 gallon that started me in the hobby and a 10 gallon.
 

Treefer32

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
1,385
Reaction score
975
Location
Fargo, ND
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would love a 35 - 45 gallon nano in my home office. I work from home 80-95% of the time and would love to have little critters to share the space with. I'm apalled that starting a nano costs nearly as much as starting my 340 gallon in wall display. Granted I got good deals on the tank, and reused old equipment. The truth, looks like it runs $1200-2000 to start a 35-45 gallon nano with stand and lights. That doesn't include livestock. I would expect them to cost $500-800. Not up to $2k. There's definitely a price point where nano's cost more in ratio to the cost of a larger sized reef system.
 

Dryanimtt

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 25, 2020
Messages
326
Reaction score
231
Location
Nova
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I did have one in addition to my main tank but came to be too much and had to take it down. Didn't have enough time to deal with the weekly needs of it or even bi weekly
 

Alex Cataldo

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 25, 2020
Messages
311
Reaction score
143
Location
Verona, Wisconsin
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Honestly I think that for most people a nano tank is just too much work, especially in addition to a larger system. I recently had a smaller system crash because of an alk spike that wouldn’t of happened in a large tank. Small tanks/systems just tend to get really annoying.
 

bigjgmac

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 16, 2020
Messages
168
Reaction score
175
Location
NE TN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have started several new nano tank projects in my reefing career but they haven't lasted very long. My nano tanks were always in addition to the larger reef tank I already had and for me that was probably the main reason for me always taking them down after a while. Basically one was enough! But what about for you? Let's talk about it!

Why don't you have a NANO REEF in addition to your larger reef tank? What are the reasons?

If you do then tell us about it and why it's easy or hard!

image via @Tigahboy
IMG_20191024_210050_644.jpg
One tank is all that I can handle. I cannot imagine adding a second one.
 

LPS Bum

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 22, 2021
Messages
570
Reaction score
828
Location
Colorado
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Too bad it wouldn't allow me to select money, space and time...

I've never really understood the allure of a nano reef. Less room for corals, can't keep tangs or other larger fish, more issues with water quality and stability, etc. If you only have the space or budget for a nano then sure, it makes sense. But if you can upgrade to a medium or large reef, why not do so?
 

TWiSTEDSOCiETY

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 14, 2021
Messages
24
Reaction score
19
Location
Orfordville
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have one. I think when we initially start off in the hobby we eventually upgrade a lot of our equipment, test kits, pumps and you name it. So really it didn't cost me anything to add a nano reef tank to my office other than the cost of the tank itself. I have a 30g nano innovative marine. have a 5 gallon bucket with a Tunze ATO, automatic feeder, and still rocking the innovative marine skimmer that came with the tank. Have 3 clowns, mangrove tree and an anemone the clowns were hosting in when I bought them.

The only hard part is doing water changes and brining a 5 gallon bucket of water with me to work every Wednesday. BTW if you haven't seen Tom Reefer on youtube he is great and has a lot of cool little nano tanks with great information on maintenance of them. Also on the positive is that when I'm off on vacation the office staff don't mind filling up the ATO bucket if it's longer than 5 days.

I also love the tank in my office. It relaxes me during the day and keeps me from missing my large tank at home while I'm at the office.
 
Last edited:

GoReefin

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2020
Messages
888
Reaction score
1,003
Location
California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Funny you should mention that. The glass on the IM EXT tanks is quite different from the AIOs, and we were 50-50 on whether we'd crack the pane. In the end the safer choice was just to sell them.
Understandable! Some use safety glass and would never be able to be drilled.
 

bnord

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 15, 2020
Messages
3,407
Reaction score
15,319
Location
Athens
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Here is as good a place as any to add to the challenges of how little things can go wrong quickly with nano...

have a 15G peninsula WB on my office desk. Have reported on it before as a low maintenance symbiosis tank.
Two small contrasting color clowns (black and white) pistol and goby, sexy and rock anemone, porcelain and anemone, cleaner shrimp, clown goby and stag horn. - scarlet shrimp, proper clean up crew and grown mixed corral with GSP covering back wall. Oh, and a walking dendro
Apart from some hair algae, it was just about 10 months old and thanks to a small piece of KP rock, a real nice balance had settled in

Mechanically had gone through 2 small ATOs and so decided to replace the screen with a glass top

Picked up the glass and told myself I HAD to CLEAN it, but walked by and placed on top of the screen to make sure it fit (it did) and of course immediately life happened and got pulled away. and forgot after that

Next morning there was significant condensation on the tank side glass, enough that it could be seen dripping Into the tank, an iridescent shimmer on the surface, dead crustaceans, and flat gray mat where the GSP lived. Zoas, collapsed and other corals appeared to be fine. Anemones flourshing

Several water changes over the next 18 hours and a Purit bag in the filter and what was left seemed to have recovered.

Interesting that the controlled algae has taken off, (Emeralds and hermits hoping more than I thought?) and am considering a PARTIAL reset and freshwater cleaning of the one piece rockscape.

So, my great big bad at not cleaning the glass and shameful neglect at not removing it until I had. Hard lesson learned.

So, to the thread, Pico/Nano (want to try a vase) are great if you have the time, but remember the size issues and like always, slowly slowly, catch the monkey - check your ADHD at the fish room door.
 

coastalnanoreef

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 24, 2020
Messages
79
Reaction score
73
Location
Hilton Head Island/ Myrtle Beach
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I plan on getting a big tank in the future but I am in college right now. In the meantime I have a innovative marine 30g. At one point within the past year I was running 3 Nano tanks. I had a 30g, 10g, and a 4g. I loved each of the tanks I had. I often found myself tending to one of them more then the others. Or I would put money into a certain one over the other 2. It just got to a point where I realized that I could make 1 killer reef tank or 3 average ones. So I decided to go with just the 30. I am currently building up my stock for the 30g. One day I plan on having a 200+ gallon and a 10g Nano.
 

Attachments

  • 2CF28757-1BCB-4454-8E48-651EA6395563.jpeg
    2CF28757-1BCB-4454-8E48-651EA6395563.jpeg
    142.6 KB · Views: 27

LILBUDDHA

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
1,714
Reaction score
207
Location
Eastern NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It's my only tank now .
Deep Blue 30 shallow cube
 

Attachments

  • 20211201_163737.jpg
    20211201_163737.jpg
    191.1 KB · Views: 29

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 69 37.5%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 62 33.7%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.6%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 15.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top