Are small tanks really harder to maintain?

[GreenreefSC]

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.

got any links to a diy you recommend? I bought a float switch for a few bucks a while back and never got around to setting it up, i was worried the switch wouldnt be accurate because my water surface moves a lot.

 

[ReefReadyYouTube]

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.

It will come in handy though when you go on vacation. Then when your back just take it off and fill it manually.

 

[GreenreefSC]

It will come in handy though when you go on vacation. Then when your back just take it off and fill it manually.

Where is the pint container placed in relation to the tank?

 

[Tahoe61]

No I would not say harder, probably requires a tad more supervision.
Last large tank I had was 200 gallon in 1996. Since then all my tanks have been 45 gallons and smaller.
Small equipment, small water changes. The two current tanks I have a 40 and a 14 are both on stands that are easy to roll around, I love the ability to move small tanks.
The only con to small tanks is the limitation of livestock choices IMO.

 

[inletfish]

dont overstock with fish, keep temp stable and an ato, youre all set

 

[ReefReadyYouTube]

The reason I started this thread was because I’m in the process of building my nano. I put a DIY over flow in today if you are interested and want to follow my build check out this thread.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-overflow-for-hob-fluval-aquaclear-50-70.685227/

 

[Lizbeli]

My Nuvo 10 was the easiest tank to care for. 2 gallon water changes once a week and a quick change of floss in the media basket. Definitely relied in an auto top off though. Else that rear compartment was empty in two days.

 

[Pickwun]

Where is the pint container placed in relation to the tank?

The Evolve has a pump chamber in the back with a lid. It sits on top of that with the tubes dipped on the display side. I tried the other side then realized that the pump keeps the water pulled down about 1/4" - oops. I have one of those water bottle gadgets on another tank so I just mimicked the way you set up the tubes for it.
I'll get a pic, but it will probably be tomorrow night, because I have class tonight, and the tank will be dark when I get home.
I used one of these containers so it really doesn't look bad at all.

 

[beaslbob]

got any links to a diy you recommend? I bought a float switch for a few bucks a while back and never got around to setting it up, i was worried the switch wouldnt be accurate because my water surface moves a lot.

That's the reason you put the float switch in an old coke bottle. LOL.

 

[beaslbob]

also FWIW here is a circuit diagram from my ato system

 

[stacksoner]

I've had much more success with a smaller tank due solely to the fact that water changes are a no brainer

 

[scottedontknow]

got any links to a diy you recommend? I bought a float switch for a few bucks a while back and never got around to setting it up, i was worried the switch wouldnt be accurate because my water surface moves a lot.

DIY Top-it-Off Kit Premium

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They use to be a lot cheaper back in the day! But you can honestly get the parts probably cheaper if you have amazon prime

 

[vetteguy53081]

With regular water changes and stability, a vase would work. its not the size but how it is managed and maintained

 

[jasonrusso]

Sure it would but that's atleast 200$ the Triton makes everything easier but thats like 700$

My $95 Tunze ATO nano does a fine job.

 

[ByronP]

My 2 C.... I find it easier to maintain the more water I have have. There are some gotchas to this though that if not done right (as I have done over the years) can make it extremely difficult and expensive.

The increase in volume means it is easier to maintain parameters ( obviously).
The extra water requires extra/balanced amount of biological filtration media (it's more than just water).
If you have enough water you do not need high flow (I find a nice low-med movement works for everything and makes them eat more).
I have enough water that I do not need to run the big circulation pump constantly (50% of every hour is off). This has proven to actually increase filtration by increasing sump dwell time (a fine balance).
The extra water needs extra inhabitants to ensure the biological cycle continues along in balance (add fish and stuff the detritus feeds everything).

BUT there are a lot of cons too...

Everything is much bigger (not a little bigger, bigger as in the biggest equipment you can get/fit into your setup) and equipment ratings mean nothing, go big.
$$$ obviously the bigger equipment is more money and the cost to run is much greater as well.
Water changes need to be kept to a minimum because a 20% water change costs a lot.


and on and on...

 

[Back where it all began]

I have a 55 mixed reef. 120lbs live rock, 55 lbs live sand. I have CUC of mostly large blue legged hermits, nearly 40 of them and a peppermint shrimp or two. My fish load is one spot foxface, Kole tang, Valentini puffer, cowfish, melanurus wrasse, royal gramma.
I raise all softies for corals. I have no sump. HOB reef octopus and uv sterilizer. Flow is eflux 2 head system. Everything else is done manually.
I spend about an hour a day working with the tank on the average. It’s all about rhythm and reproducibility.
It may be easier to make an error and easier to correct an error, but the time factor between causing and correcting is less with a smaller tank. You need to be able to react a bit quicker.

 

[Pickwun]

The Evolve has a pump chamber in the back with a lid. It sits on top of that with the tubes dipped on the display side. I tried the other side then realized that the pump keeps the water pulled down about 1/4" - oops. I have one of those water bottle gadgets on another tank so I just mimicked the way you set up the tubes for it.
I'll get a pic, but it will probably be tomorrow night, because I have class tonight, and the tank will be dark when I get home.
I used one of these containers so it really doesn't look bad at all.

PIX:

 

[Wee Mad Arthur]

Of all the concerns to be brought up about keeping a nano I’m surprised the cost of an ato is an issue. In the grand scheme of saltwater keeping I don’t see an ato as expensive. I use an autoaqua smart nano which is about $135. It’s an important and clever bit of kit and I don’t begrudge the price at all. Even on a nano you can spend many hundreds of $ on lighting so what’s a bit more on an ato.

I think there might be a misconception that people who want a nano tank want to do it as cheap as possible but you’ve only got to look through this forum to see that’s not true. I think most people keep them like any size tank, things are just scaled down - fewer lights, smaller pumps etc which in turn happens to make it cheaper to set up than larger tanks.

I went for a nano because of space limitations. I could upgrade from my Fluval Evo 13.5 but with the space I have available it would still be classed as a nano.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Very nice looking, @Wee Mad Arthur

 

[Wee Mad Arthur]

Very nice looking, @Wee Mad Arthur

Thank you. I’m excitedly looking for new growth everyday.