Best nano tank?
- Thread starter Jimsreef
- Start date
Jimbob
New member
What has your research been turning up for you [MENTION=22722]Jimsreef[/MENTION] ?
From my past experiences, I have had a standard 20-High rectangular tank, a 12G Aquapod, a 24G Aquapod, and a 29G Biocube. They were all OK and worked well to varying degrees of ease.
The 20-High rectangular tank with a HOT skimmer (I used an AquaC Remora ... no longer made), a HOB filter (a Marineland Bio-wheel with the bi-wheels removed) and extra powerheads, etc. was by far the easiest for me to maintain and work on due to no limitations from the pre-configured sump area that comes with an AIO setup.
The 12G Aquapod is what I feel was the most successful. I had removed the top, turned a portion of the built-in filter area into a refugium, continued to use the Remora HOT skimmer, and had a Viper 70 watt DE Metal Halide fixture on it. That tank did amazingly well and housed primarily a rose BTA, a couple other LPS corals, and a pair of tomato clowns. I miss that tank.
The 24G aquapod and 29G Biocube were meh. I neither loved nor hated them.
I picked up a 24G Aquatop rimless AIO used a few months back and am considering setting it up soon.
Plenty of others out there too if your specifically looking for an AIO.
Success can also be had using a standard non-drilled tank with either HOT equipment and/or a HOT overflow box combined with a small sump.
Depends on how simple or complicated you wanna get.
I have a 20 gallon AGA going right now as a temp tank until I can scrape up the funds for my future 90 gallon tank thats pretty simple, easy to maintain and after about 8 months looking pretty nice finally.
The Equipment
4 bulb T-5 HO fixture
3 x Actinic 03
1 X Blue Plus
100 watt heater
AC-70 filter
10 lbs Garf Grunge
10 lbs of rock that my corals are mounted to
Live Stock
22 polyp Emeralds on Fire Zonthids
6 Polyp Nirvana Zoanthids
Pavaona Colony
6 head Duncan Coral
5 Polyp Orange Rimmed Green Mushroom
2.5 inch frag Orange Montipora Cap
Quater Sized Blood Orange Lepto.
Small colony of Forrest Fire Digitata
3 inch Ultra Rose Bubble Tip Anemone
4 adult Banded Trochus (the made 16 more snails after laying eggs)
2 Scarlet Reef Hermits
I am only using the T5 becuase thats what I had available and didnt want to buy another A80 Tuna Blue. Otherwise I would have went 2 x A80's. I wanted something cheap, easy, low maintenance, to satisfy my Reef Tank Fix that would sit on my night stand and allow me to build up some live stock from little 10 dollar frags from the LFS when they had something really super nice I could scam on. This set up is about as simple as it gets and as you can tell from the equipment list, I am more of a old school type reefer vs the high tech trick of the week gadget kinda reefer. The 90 gallon future tank, is probably gonna be a lot more high tech as I am a major SPS/Clam freak. I am still doing research and assembling equipment as fun dolars become available. But in the mean time I am very happy with the road I am currently on with this nano tank. YMMV...
I have a 20 gallon AGA going right now as a temp tank until I can scrape up the funds for my future 90 gallon tank thats pretty simple, easy to maintain and after about 8 months looking pretty nice finally.
The Equipment
4 bulb T-5 HO fixture
3 x Actinic 03
1 X Blue Plus
100 watt heater
AC-70 filter
10 lbs Garf Grunge
10 lbs of rock that my corals are mounted to
Live Stock
22 polyp Emeralds on Fire Zonthids
6 Polyp Nirvana Zoanthids
Pavaona Colony
6 head Duncan Coral
5 Polyp Orange Rimmed Green Mushroom
2.5 inch frag Orange Montipora Cap
Quater Sized Blood Orange Lepto.
Small colony of Forrest Fire Digitata
3 inch Ultra Rose Bubble Tip Anemone
4 adult Banded Trochus (the made 16 more snails after laying eggs)
2 Scarlet Reef Hermits
I am only using the T5 becuase thats what I had available and didnt want to buy another A80 Tuna Blue. Otherwise I would have went 2 x A80's. I wanted something cheap, easy, low maintenance, to satisfy my Reef Tank Fix that would sit on my night stand and allow me to build up some live stock from little 10 dollar frags from the LFS when they had something really super nice I could scam on. This set up is about as simple as it gets and as you can tell from the equipment list, I am more of a old school type reefer vs the high tech trick of the week gadget kinda reefer. The 90 gallon future tank, is probably gonna be a lot more high tech as I am a major SPS/Clam freak. I am still doing research and assembling equipment as fun dolars become available. But in the mean time I am very happy with the road I am currently on with this nano tank. YMMV...
