Need small tank recommendations

[poppin_fresh]

Hi all,
Thinking about getting back in the hobby after about 8 years away. Now that I have kids, I don't have the time to go back to dealing with a big tank, so I'm thinking about going pico/nano.

I want to keep it simple, so AIO (no sumps) and stay between 5-10 gallons at most. I also want small so I can do W/Cs with bottled, distilled water rather than re-setup my R/O. Desire is for tank to contain some soft corals and inverts.

Can I get some tank and light recommendations? No curved glass tanks though, please. I had a 14g BioCube back in the day and I hated that thing.

thanks,
Jon

 

[aznflyfisherman]

They have a 10g cube innovative tank. For lights you can go with kessil a80, kessil a160 or ai prime hd.

 

[ReefWreak]

Pico/nano are going to be more work than a decent sized tank. If you wanted lower maintenance, I wouldn't do less than 29g, and would make the recommendation to consider a 40g breeder tank. That way you can get a decent 36" light fixture for pretty cheap

 

[JamesHolt]

I have had an 8" cube and am working on a 12"
The 12" will use the same framework/light as the 8" did..
Going to use a much better heater this time though..
Not using the HOB filter setup , it was more trouble than it was worth..
You have to be 4x as careful than you would be with a big tank, but water changes and cleaning are super easy..
I was doing a 1 gallon water change every few days, siphon out 1 gallon, wipe the glass and pour new water back in. Pour in a few ounces of water every morning when I came home from work..

 

[poppin_fresh]

Pico/nano are going to be more work than a decent sized tank. If you wanted lower maintenance, I wouldn't do less than 29g, and would make the recommendation to consider a 40g breeder tank. That way you can get a decent 36" light fixture for pretty cheap

Thanks, but no and no. I have been there with a large tank and if that logic held true my 180g would have required very little maintenance which was NOT the case.

I could scrub all the rock and do a 100% W/C in a 10g tank in probably 30 minutes tops. It took double that long to clean the skimmer and perform a 10% W/C in my previous setup.

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I dont think its as hard as people think. I have a 6g nano cube going 6yrs now with some easy soft corals n two fish. I am using a 6inch wavepoint blade inside the hood. It is pretty healthy n water is very clear. I just do about 1.5g to 2g water change twice a year.

 

[timfederwitz]

I dont think its as hard as people think. I have a 6g nano cube going 6yrs now with some easy soft corals n two fish. I am using a 6inch wavepoint blade inside the hood. It is pretty healthy n water is very clear. I just do about 1.5g to 2g water change twice a year.

How do you keep levels in check and water clear with only two water changes a year?? Are you dosing or running any reactors??

I have a 29g BioCube and don't perform crazy maintenance, but I wouldn't say it's the cleanest tank. Things are healthy though.

How lightly do you feed? And what brand tank is that?

 

[timfederwitz]

No curved glass tanks though, please. I had a 14g BioCube back in the day and I hated that thing.

Can I ask what you hated about the BioCube? I have the 29g BC with the curved glass corners and don't have any major issues with it... so curious what you didn't like.

 

[Ritten]

love that setup JamesHolt. Everything is right there and easy to get to. You have a nice selection of corals in that little tank also!

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I dont check for anything, i just observe to make sure my corals are fine n growing n my fish are ok. I do dose A/B part for nanos that you can buy at petco and i add about 5 to 8 drops every two months. Since i dont check for numbers, im sure its all off the chart, but if my corals n fish are good, then i going with its ok. I keep my salinity around 1.025. In the middle chamber i use nano bag of chemi pure blue. And i replace it once a year. I just let it be, i dont like to mess with it. As for the tank , its a "first" brand? I have never heard of it but Ashley furniture had it for $25, that cheap i say why not...lol..

 

[poppin_fresh]

Can I ask what you hated about the BioCube? I have the 29g BC with the curved glass corners and don't have any major issues with it... so curious what you didn't like.

I also had a 72g bow front and like the 14BC, I didn't care for the distortion the curves create, plus the fact that it was hard to clean the radius edges. Maybe the 29 is easier, but the smaller the radius, the harder it is to get a scraper that fits.