How small a tank can I get away with for

[Ami]

Hi guys

I've only ever kept FW tropicals before and am quite taken with the idea of a small tank with only a living rock, some corals, or anenomes and a few shrimp or small crabs if possible.

I'd like to keep it as small as possible but am aware that it's obviously harder to maintain a smaller tank than a large one. It's a question of space in my lil house I'm afraid.

I would like to have a full marine tank at some point, but thought inverts might be a good way to give it a go without causing too much damage - to my bank account, my pride and any fish!

There's no way I'd try this without investigating everything fully first and am just kinda mulling things over at the mo, so any comments (no matter how obvious!) or initial pointers would be welcome.

Cheers,
Ami

 

[steelhealr]

Hi Ami....as with a FW tank, the smaller the marine tank you set up , the less room there is for error. Although you can do a small marine tank, it IS a lot of work..but...not discouraging you . Many keep what is called pico reefs, or reefs under 2 gallons but they can have complicated filtrations systems.

If you want to set up a nano tank, try and stay between 10-29 gallons. You won't believe this, but, simply reducing the size of the tank is NOT going to make this a cheap hobby. You'll definitely not spend as much as if you had a 75 gallon tank, but, you could easily catch up with what is spent on lost livestock if you don't keep up with tank maintenance.

Start looking at tanks and see what will fit into your budget and house. Look at:

1) 10 gallon AGA
2) 20 gallon long
3) 26 gallon bow front
4) 6 or 12 gallon Nano Cube (I would avoid the 24G Nano Cube at present because of cracking issues)
5) If you have the money, Oceanic makes a really great 30 gallon cube tank.

SH

 

[Ami]

Cheers SH. Just did a search on 'pico' (didn't realise you could go that small!) and am pretty amazed that people have tanks as small as 0.75l!


It's not so much the expense, as I just won't move to SW if it's too much money, but rather the space. I have a spare tank at the mo, around 27g US, which I was considering going brackish with (mudskippers are way cool!), but could always use it for a marine tank instead.

What I wanted was something that would fit on my desk / book shelf to keep me from getting bored studying at exam time. I love having skrimps in my FW as they're so entertaining and the idea of getting some living rock and watching what comes out is fascinating!


Thanks for your advice - I'll take a look at the tanks you've suggested.

Ami

 

[steelhealr]

The 27G would come under the heading of a nano tank, but, would be a good size if you decide to go this route. Pico's are fascinating, but, a real challenge to keep going. Keep us posted on what you decide to do. "Cheers". SH

 

[j0rzeh]

I have a nice 2.5 gal reef tank its alot of hard work wit the water tests morning and night and water changes of 10% every 3 days and the high powered lights being cleaned and refilling te tank in the morning and night but u know what its work it because its nice

i use a algae filter setup on a A1 380

 

[steelhealr]

..it's called a labor of love. SH