Nano= no no?
- Thread starter dskibs
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BangkokMatt
New member
I would personally get the biggest tank you have room for / can afford. However, keeping a nano is specialist and some keepers prefer that.
Check out the nano-reef forum and read loads of threads from very excited keepers.
Also check out melevs nano/pico on http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html
You can't keep many fish but they can be very interesting to keep particularly if you are short of space
Check out the nano-reef forum and read loads of threads from very excited keepers.
Also check out melevs nano/pico on http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html
You can't keep many fish but they can be very interesting to keep particularly if you are short of space
seapug
Premium Member
My first tank was a nano and I recently just set up another. They are quite fun and you can make beautiful displays out of them, but you can't neglect maintenance and need to do plenty of research when stocking. As far as fish goes, there a many many awesome small fish that do great in them. Most of my favorite reef fish are under 3".
haha myths myths myths
you can put 1 fish or more lol it all depends who you're adding. a dwarf lion or dwarf scorpion angler, would be 1 or 2 depending on size. chromis, you can do 4 or 5. it all depends on your filtration, LR, water movement, sump or no sump, refugium. add a sump and refugium, you can add more fish. some people have a 24 with a 20 gallon sump.
its incredibly challenging but 1000x more rewarding than a larger tank, IMHO. im currently breaking down my 20L and upgrading to a 20H so that i can host a nemo and a bunch of lps.
if you're big on big fish, then get a big tank. some considers nanos up to 55 gallons, i say up to 125. it is being compared to the ocean lol. anyways, sky is the limit.
before you add the heater, make sure the lighting isnt heating upthe water too much. but yeah, thats all you need. and LR, LS of course.
you can put 1 fish or more lol it all depends who you're adding. a dwarf lion or dwarf scorpion angler, would be 1 or 2 depending on size. chromis, you can do 4 or 5. it all depends on your filtration, LR, water movement, sump or no sump, refugium. add a sump and refugium, you can add more fish. some people have a 24 with a 20 gallon sump.
its incredibly challenging but 1000x more rewarding than a larger tank, IMHO. im currently breaking down my 20L and upgrading to a 20H so that i can host a nemo and a bunch of lps.
if you're big on big fish, then get a big tank. some considers nanos up to 55 gallons, i say up to 125. it is being compared to the ocean lol. anyways, sky is the limit.
before you add the heater, make sure the lighting isnt heating upthe water too much. but yeah, thats all you need. and LR, LS of course.
saltman123
New member
I have a 12 gallon and love it. YES, I do sometimes wish I had more landscape to work with, but a larger tank means more to fill and more money spent! 
This is my first tank and I'm keeping this for a long while and eventually will upgrade.
Water changer are also nice and easy with a nano. 3 to 4 gallons every week or two. easy
This is my first tank and I'm keeping this for a long while and eventually will upgrade.Water changer are also nice and easy with a nano. 3 to 4 gallons every week or two. easy
coast2coast7390
Moved On
bigger tank=things go wrong slower than a small nano...which gives you time to catch the problem
Blown 346
Active member
How many fish you can put into a tank depends on what there adult size will be. A good rule to follow is for every inch of fish you want to give 3 to 5 gallons of water for growing and swimming room. In most cases 2 or 3 small fish is the limit for a 24 gallon.
The nano cube deluxe and other JBJ Nana cubes come with everything you need but a heater.
The nano cube deluxe and other JBJ Nana cubes come with everything you need but a heater.
jadeguppy
New member
Another approach is inverts. I'd add a active shrimp like a cleaner. Do you plan on having corals? Many people think of xenia as weeds, but I like the movement. Nanos have their own appeal. I have a 5.5g that I have kept even though I do have a bigger tank that I can move everything to. I like having it to look at each morning (it is in the bathroom). I have a peppermint shrimp, firefish goby, cleaner crew, and ton of corals in the tank. Although things may go wrong faster, they are very easy to fix. With all the live rock I have in there, a gallon water change is probably 20% or more. Easy to do and a great fast fix for most problems.
if fish are your thing, go large. That's---unless you're into microfish, the very smallest gobies, period. No five chromis in a 24g: there'll be 3 by morning and one the day after that.
Nanos are like modeling miniatures: some people absolutely love them, but imho, they have so many special problems that I can't say you're gaining that much transferable skill where it comes to a larger tank: you aren't likely to have a sump, a fuge, a really functional skimmer, an autotopoff, or the brighter lights. You won't get the joy of a 20g water change...that's the water, not the tank. You won't learn the fun of an exploding kalk reactor. Won't learn to 'tune' a skimmer.
LEt's put it this way: nanos are intriguing as a technical problem, and can be absolutely gorgeous in their own right, or as specialty tanks. Those that are gorgeous didn't get that way by accident: the owner worked hard to have that; and they're not, imho, the best way to start, because they are *sooooo* sensitive to little mistakes. My advice would be, since you're interested in fishes, a 75g, maybe reefready if you are marginally curious about corals, maybe not if you're sure fish is what you want. With a 75g you could keep a yellow tang or one of the pygmy angels; or a combination of fishes. If you want multiple tangs or one of the medium angels [note: ONE] then go to 100g-150g.
Buy used equipment for starters. This is the best way to afford what you want. A cruddy tank will clean right up if you cycle white vinegar through it for 24 hours. Just be careful of scratches: those are more serious than a little lime deposit.
Forgive me for being so absolutist here, and I would never put down nanos---I long for one myself; I'm just saying that big fish and multiple fish being the stated desire, there's no way to be satisfied without tank enough to learn with; and the best and cheapest way for a novice to get a big tank is to get a secondhand system from somebody moving up to a larger system [I'd avoid the system being sold by somebody getting out of the hobby unless they have a real good reason---you don't want a system that's driven some guy out of the hobby and you don't want the chemical legacies of his mistakes.]
There. HTH and doesn't ruffle feathers: just a warning that nanos are not the easy route in for beginners---they're right hard, and people who keep them well are doing something harder than average. Be warned.
Nanos are like modeling miniatures: some people absolutely love them, but imho, they have so many special problems that I can't say you're gaining that much transferable skill where it comes to a larger tank: you aren't likely to have a sump, a fuge, a really functional skimmer, an autotopoff, or the brighter lights. You won't get the joy of a 20g water change...that's the water, not the tank. You won't learn the fun of an exploding kalk reactor. Won't learn to 'tune' a skimmer.
LEt's put it this way: nanos are intriguing as a technical problem, and can be absolutely gorgeous in their own right, or as specialty tanks. Those that are gorgeous didn't get that way by accident: the owner worked hard to have that; and they're not, imho, the best way to start, because they are *sooooo* sensitive to little mistakes. My advice would be, since you're interested in fishes, a 75g, maybe reefready if you are marginally curious about corals, maybe not if you're sure fish is what you want. With a 75g you could keep a yellow tang or one of the pygmy angels; or a combination of fishes. If you want multiple tangs or one of the medium angels [note: ONE] then go to 100g-150g.
Buy used equipment for starters. This is the best way to afford what you want. A cruddy tank will clean right up if you cycle white vinegar through it for 24 hours. Just be careful of scratches: those are more serious than a little lime deposit.
Forgive me for being so absolutist here, and I would never put down nanos---I long for one myself; I'm just saying that big fish and multiple fish being the stated desire, there's no way to be satisfied without tank enough to learn with; and the best and cheapest way for a novice to get a big tank is to get a secondhand system from somebody moving up to a larger system [I'd avoid the system being sold by somebody getting out of the hobby unless they have a real good reason---you don't want a system that's driven some guy out of the hobby and you don't want the chemical legacies of his mistakes.]
There. HTH and doesn't ruffle feathers: just a warning that nanos are not the easy route in for beginners---they're right hard, and people who keep them well are doing something harder than average. Be warned.
kathainbowen
New member
Absolutely.
The toughest part, to be honest, about keeping a nano or a pico sized tank is exercising the self discipline required to keeping everything in check. Everything.... and I do mean everything, needs to be precisely selected to really keep things working right. Unfortunately, the toughest part to this is that humans over the last 100 years of growth in the hobby, have been conditioned to see a tank and assume that there's something wrong or boring when there are little to no fish in it. In a reef tank, we've been conditioned by thousands of photos of larger tanks crammed with an incredible diversity of corals. It's a knee jerk reaction to see a.... er.... "spartan" tank and want to just dump fish in it or a singular large fish, or to want to add the reef fish we have been more recently acclimated to seeing in a tank (*cough cough* Dory and Nemo!). However, giving in to such impulsive decisions is a quick way to overstock the tank and foul the water, ending up with a miserable experience.
I agree with Sk8r, although I'm surprised you didn't point out the recommendation of a dwarf lionfish for that tank being a little..... er..... how to politely say this.... inappropriate?
Lol! Missed the lion.
As an example of things taking more room than you believe they will, I have a cranky 5" crocea clam that has had many different locations, finally ended up on his own little rock stack, next to a fox coral, and nothing would do but he should heave himself sideways to collapse the rock stack onto the fox. He's flung himself from rocks, he's visited the glass face first. He's been built into the reef and escaped---I've got him now! I put him on a cup-shaped pedestal. He'll have to dive to get out of this one...
All of which is to say, you wouldn't believe how much space some critters take, even when you wouldn't expect it of them. [Note: the fox survived, and they aren't 'hot' so the clam did too.]
As an example of things taking more room than you believe they will, I have a cranky 5" crocea clam that has had many different locations, finally ended up on his own little rock stack, next to a fox coral, and nothing would do but he should heave himself sideways to collapse the rock stack onto the fox. He's flung himself from rocks, he's visited the glass face first. He's been built into the reef and escaped---I've got him now! I put him on a cup-shaped pedestal. He'll have to dive to get out of this one...
All of which is to say, you wouldn't believe how much space some critters take, even when you wouldn't expect it of them. [Note: the fox survived, and they aren't 'hot' so the clam did too.]
Have had a 12g nano for 2yrs. 1 goby, 1 pistol shrimp, a couple of crabs, 5 snails, small colt coral(will move to 75 when bigger)
a couple mushrooms, small patch polyps. Also has 8lbs of live rock
all I dare put in this tank .
Had to put on my old canister filter.
Set up and enjoy just go slow.
a couple mushrooms, small patch polyps. Also has 8lbs of live rock
all I dare put in this tank .
Had to put on my old canister filter.
Set up and enjoy just go slow.
I like nanos for the challenge.
That being said I by no means am saying that larger tanks are all that easy to keep either but I enjoy keeping a tank I have to keep a very close eye on.
If I don't have to do something or check something daily on a tank I start to loose interest in it. That being said you have to be ready to devote some time daily for checking on the tank and keep things inline.
For my 20 long I am going to have some mushrooms and zoas along with 2 true precs and a tailspot blenny. This would be fully stocked for me (some would argue overstocked).
I think nanos can be done very successfully especially if some self-control is used when stocking the tank. Also picking the correct equipment for your needs is also very important.
For your situation it really comes down to what you want for a tank. Are you looking for a large display with more fish, or would you be happy with a carefully selected fish in a well down nano??
That being said I by no means am saying that larger tanks are all that easy to keep either but I enjoy keeping a tank I have to keep a very close eye on.
If I don't have to do something or check something daily on a tank I start to loose interest in it. That being said you have to be ready to devote some time daily for checking on the tank and keep things inline.
For my 20 long I am going to have some mushrooms and zoas along with 2 true precs and a tailspot blenny. This would be fully stocked for me (some would argue overstocked).
I think nanos can be done very successfully especially if some self-control is used when stocking the tank. Also picking the correct equipment for your needs is also very important.
For your situation it really comes down to what you want for a tank. Are you looking for a large display with more fish, or would you be happy with a carefully selected fish in a well down nano??
zukihara
New member
There are many choices for fish in a 24 gallon that are both beautiful and varied in how they swim/interact/eat. In my experience, the fish are usually less shy in a 24 as well because they are used to being right up front and center but your mileage may vary depending on the fish you choose.
Corals are usually the stars of nanos while the fish serve a more complimentary role. Accomplishing a seriously beautiful display is much cheaper and easier in a 24g nano than say a 120 as it's easy for some of the smaller but gorgeous corals to simply get lost among the larger ones.
If you are more impressed with fish than corals you may not be happy with the dimensions of say a 24g cube compared to something like a 55g. Costs would be similar because lighting would be cheaper.
As Sprinj76 said above me, decide what you want and get a tank to suit your needs.
Corals are usually the stars of nanos while the fish serve a more complimentary role. Accomplishing a seriously beautiful display is much cheaper and easier in a 24g nano than say a 120 as it's easy for some of the smaller but gorgeous corals to simply get lost among the larger ones.
If you are more impressed with fish than corals you may not be happy with the dimensions of say a 24g cube compared to something like a 55g. Costs would be similar because lighting would be cheaper.
As Sprinj76 said above me, decide what you want and get a tank to suit your needs.
Thanks for all the replies guys, I decided to move to this:
http://www.nanocustoms.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=5&products_id=18
its a 34g Nano, give me more space
will this be more forgiving and more spacious?
http://www.nanocustoms.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=5&products_id=18
its a 34g Nano, give me more space
will this be more forgiving and more spacious?
