Are small tanks really harder to maintain?

[ReefReadyYouTube]

Interesting I like the auto aqua that's why I said the 200$

Here’s one for $15. Lol not really a clean look for a tank though

 

[NanoDJS]

As somebody who has kept nano tanks since the beginning of them. I will say its a definitive NO . I will put it like this if you were on American Gladiator and playing Joust , a nano is like having a 1 foot round platform to stand on , and regular reef tanks are like having a 5 foot platform to stand on , nano doesn't give you time/space to react , reg reef gives you a bit more leway before you get knocked out things happen slower due to the volume. Unless your that guy .......

 

[ReefReadyYouTube]

As somebody who has kept nano tanks since the beginning of them. I will say its a definitive NO . I will put it like this if you were on American Gladiator and playing Joust , a nano is like having a 1 foot round platform to stand on , and regular reef tanks are like having a 5 foot platform to stand on , nano doesn't give you time/space to react , reg reef gives you a bit more leway before you get knocked out things happen slower due to the volume. Unless your that guy .......

How did your nano tank turn out. Is it still running?

 

[Coastie Reefer]

A nano with an ATO and proper care is much easier than a larger tank.

People always say nanos swing too much or too fast... what exactly is swinging? Unless it's packed with hard corals Alk and Cal aren't big issues. As long as you have an ATO, salinity isn't an issue. As long as you don't feed super heavy or pack it with fish, NO3 and PO4 aren't issues either.

I ran a standard 10g for years with just a smart micro ATO and bi-weekly 5g water changes...

 

[Salt & Peper]

Here is a pic of my newest 10 gal nano been running for 3 months, with a domino damsel ( yes I know it will out grow this tank) peppermint shrimp, zoas, and a pulsing zenea. I stay away from snails and hermits they tend to run out of food quick and if too don't find there body bad things can happen! Also my picture taking skills suck lol!

 

[Kellie in CA]

My 25 gallon is the perfect size for me. I find it pretty easy to maintain. However, I have 15 years of experience and I do put maintenance time into the tank every single day. Also, I keep the bio load light with only 2 fish and a clean-up crew.

 

[destro]

What dose daily attention Entail?

Never had to dose. There was enough elements in a single cup water change every other day with RO top ups in between.

 

[GreenreefSC]

A nano with an ATO and proper care is much easier than a larger tank.

People always say nanos swing too much or too fast... what exactly is swinging? Unless it's packed with hard corals Alk and Cal aren't big issues. As long as you have an ATO, salinity isn't an issue. As long as you don't feed super heavy or pack it with fish, NO3 and PO4 aren't issues either.

I ran a standard 10g for years with just a smart micro ATO and bi-weekly 5g water changes...

Seems like more nano tanks are less likely to have ATO or other systems in place since many people have nanos for the simplicity or budget. Both of those reasons are why I have a nano at least.

 

[NanoDJS]

How did your nano tank turn out. Is it still running?

I run an 80g 40g and 30g now just took down the 20L , the only Nano running in my house now is the kids 13.5 fluval .What a tank I tell ya ......

 

[Coastie Reefer]

Seems like more nano tanks are less likely to have ATO or other systems in place since many people have nanos for the simplicity or budget. Both of those reasons are why I have a nano at least.

That doesn't mean they are inherently more difficult... just means people don't take the time to manage a tank properly.

Before I had an ATO (probably the first 4-5 months) I simply kept a 1 gallon jug of water under my tank and topped off every day when I fed. Just have a visual marker for the fill line and it's easy.

 

[fish farmer]

A nano with an ATO and proper care is much easier than a larger tank.

People always say nanos swing too much or too fast... what exactly is swinging? Unless it's packed with hard corals Alk and Cal aren't big issues. As long as you have an ATO, salinity isn't an issue. As long as you don't feed super heavy or pack it with fish, NO3 and PO4 aren't issues either.

I ran a standard 10g for years with just a smart micro ATO and bi-weekly 5g water changes...

You hit some good points. other than temperature drop say during a power outtage....biology is biology. A heavily packed large tank could go south just as fast as a small tank with a light bioload. It's about scaling, my 29 gallon tank has three small fish in it, my 120 gallon has 5 much bigger fish in it. If one fish dies in either tank I'm pulling it before it rots.

As for dosing/ATO failure. Use your head, if you have a 5 gallon ATO on a 10 gallon tank and it dumps all at once...sure it will do more damage than if the same ATO was on a 100 tank. But back to scaling again, put a 50 gallon ATO on a 100 gallon tank and let it dump...going to do some damage.

I have noticed that with a smaller tank algae issues that say a tang or large herbivore could make short work of in a large tank aren't an option, so you are left with cheaper WC, manually removal of rocks, etc.

 

[GreenreefSC]

That doesn't mean they are inherently more difficult... just means people don't take the time to manage a tank properly.

Before I had an ATO (probably the first 4-5 months) I simply kept a 1 gallon jug of water under my tank and topped off every day when I fed. Just have a visual marker for the fill line and it's easy.

Yeah thats what I do. I was just commenting on having an ATO but overall I actually think nanos are easier than large tanks, especially if you have a bit of experience.

 

[ReefReadyYouTube]

Yeah thats what I do. I was just commenting on having an ATO but overall I actually think nanos are easier than large tanks, especially if you have a bit of experience.

It is easy to maintain and in my opinion look better then bigger reef tanks. You just need to be on top of what your doing with daily maintenance.

 

[Wee Mad Arthur]

Can’t say I’ve had any issues with my Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon. I only keep soft corals and there’s no fish. ATO takes care of evaporation and rock does the filtering. I only run a bag of Fluval carbon in the back that I change once a month. 5 litre weekly water change done using a siphon hose in the return chamber, give the return pump a clean and then pour the new water in direct from the mixing bucket. Takes a few mins.

Being small means I can get an algae magnet on the back to keep it clean and it’s super easy to move things around or add coral etc as it’s not very tall.

I don’t use a normal clean up crew, I rely on bristleworms and stomatella snails so all I’m adding food wise to the tank is reef roids for the coral. I’ve just got a couple of peppermint shrimp for the aips which I may never need to feed because I used Aiptasia-X and the buggers multiplied.

I only make 10l of rodi a week, 5 litre does the water change and 5 litre tops up the ATO reservoir. Bucket of salt lasts forever!

Heater and fans are on a dd temperature controller. There’s really very little to do or worry about.

 

[scottedontknow]

ATOs are like $80-$130. Also I think triton method is over rated.

hell you can make a DIY ato for $30. (run one on my IM nuvo 10). Triton is great but it is a bit of an investment (run it on my 220) both systems are great the key to both keeping up on them! My Apex has 10000000% been the reason for my tanks running well, have alerts tell me when something is off giving me time to fix the issue before poop hits the fan.

 

[scottedontknow]

I run an 80g 40g and 30g now just took down the 20L , the only Nano running in my house now is the kids 13.5 fluval .What a tank I tell ya ......

30g and 40g are still nano

 

[JumboShrimp]

I have two separate 7-gallon alli-in-ones rockin’ ‘n rollin’ with fish and softies. Don’t get me wrong— the tanks have been through the ‘uglies,’ but once you get it dialed in it’s pretty much on auto-pilot.

 

[SebastianM]

I hear all the time that small tanks are harder to maintain because of less water volume, any mess ups and your screwed. But with a large tank isn’t it harder to come back from a mess up because there’s soo much water. With a smaller tank you also don’t have to use as much of a product like for example to treat a 300 gallon reed for red cyano you have to use a whole box of chemi clean but for a 10 gallon it will last for a while. Also wouldn’t a water change be easier in a 10 gallon. What do you think? Is it easer or hard to run a nano tank?

I have a 10 gallon nano, it’s my first tank. I am also working on setting up a 150 gallon reef. I have to do 20% water changes weekly for the 10 gallon, the water parameters are definitely more sensitive, but it is super easy to change the water, I have a waste water bucket and a fresh salt water bucket and use either a red solo cup or small siphon, takes like 15 minutes. Feeding with Reef Roids and frozen food will sway parameters, dry pellets not so much. I have to time things accordingly, like I will set a feeding a few hours before a water change. My set up is modeled after YouTube’s Innapropriate Reefer, with some of my own tweaks. I have 2 small clowns and a cleaner shrimp, LPS dominant tank (more forgiving to parameters). Have to be careful with dosing, most products are posted in 30 gallon incraments, so most things I have to calculate/fraction down myself, but they do last a lot longer.

 

[Pickwun]

hell you can make a DIY ato for $30. (run one on my IM nuvo 10). Triton is great but it is a bit of an investment (run it on my 220) both systems are great the key to both keeping up on them! My Apex has 10000000% been the reason for my tanks running well, have alerts tell me when something is off giving me time to fix the issue before poop hits the fan.

You can DIY a nano drip ato for less than $10. My Evolve8 has an airtight pint food container with two silicone tubes glued through holes in the bottom. Works flawlessly. Or you can get a premade gadget on Amazon for $15, but you'll have a 1L water bottle sticking up from your tank.

 

[tankstudy]

The difficulty of the small tanks vary on what you allow to happen in it. If you keep a lightly stocked tank, like a lot of bare areas with just a few corals, usually water changes can handle the consumption changes.

If you let the tank grow to the point where its going to burst, the changes in the water parameters become extreme. In my nuvo 20, my dkh was dropping 1.2 dkh to 1.7 dkh a day. You miss 1-2 days and dkh would plummet below 7 dkh and things would look real mad.