Nano reefs

[fishbone]

I've heard a fair amount of criticism in regards to nano reefs. I was contemplating a 10 gallon as a possible distant future project. What is the general sentiment as far as nano reefs goes? What are the disadvantages and strong reasons not to go this route? Unfortunately I'd be too busy to care for anything bigger than 10, 20 gallon at most, not to mention space issues. Any critters that would live happily in such a set-up?

[fishbguy]

i'm not sure about the pro's and con's but i was going to start a 16 gallon nano, no corals tho. just some fish and crabs and snails. for fish tho, i was looking into firefish, clowngobies, false percula clowns (1 in a 20 gallon, none in a 10) zebra goby for the 20, and a few other small fish. live aquaria has a section on nano fish that you could look at as well.

[Reefneck]

BAd, BAD idea! Smaller is harder to maintain. One small mistake spells BIG problems. Evaporation can kill the entire tank in less than 2 days if not kept up with. Temp fluctuations can & will kill a tank in a hurry if small. a 10 or even 15 gallon tank would REQUIRE water changes weekly! Where as with a 55 or larger, Once a month will do. If you have no experince with saltwater fishkeeping you should never start with anything less than 50 gallons total water volume!

[Bear]

I have cared for tanks of volume from 10-125....

Small is def much more care intensive than large that is for sure. I can leave my 125 for about a week, no top off no nothing. It will really need top off at the end of the week, but then thats it. Even feeding wise I can ignore for periods at a time.

With a 10 you have to on top of everything every day. If I wasn't such a busy person at certain times during the year I would love keeping one, but seeing as I have other things to do that could keep me away from the tank for more than a day at a time its not an option.

Do yourself a favor and don't start a smaller tank, if your going to do it go with something like a 40 or better yet a 50....or a 60

If you can't go bigger, look into FW planted tanks. Take a look at onemore20's planted tank, it looks amazing!

[Fishfirst]

larger tank = big time saver, and big money saver/gallon

[Ice]

I totally agree with Reefneck, Bear & Fishfirst.

Can it be done ? Yes

Good for a beginner ? Absolutley Not !!!

[CollegeReefer]

A nano can be done by a beginner but it requries a lot of time and dedication. My first tank was a 20 gallon nano. I had no experience in keeping fish before that.

Seeing that time is an issue for you i would stay away from a nano tank. The moment you don't put the time in your tank is the moment your tank will crash.

If you still think you are going to go for it, shoot me a pm and we can work out a time to meet in chat and discuss keeping a nano in further detail.

[fishbone]

"a lot of time" and "dedication" are two good enough reasons to not do it.

[CollegeReefer]

Well i am glad you know what time you do have and relize you don't have enough to tackle a nano tank. I am one of the few that support nano tanks on this forum, but i always make sure those considering the task are actually up for it. Too many times people think they are ready for the task but aren't and start to let there tank go. And like i said before once you do that the tank will most likely crash meaning a lot of wating time and money. I tip my hat off too you for makeing the right choice. But when you do have time, space, and a desire to keep a reef tank i highly recommend it for it is an amazing hobby.