From what gallon you actually "need" equipments

cojo8888 · Mar 25, 2019

Sometime we go so crazy about our equipments for our reef stability

Multiple Reactors, huge efugium, huge skimmer..

That makes me wonderm.

Starting from what gallon you actually need all of these equipment?

Of course if will hugely depend on bioload, how you feed, and your husbandary.

But I would like to know since I only managed nanos only (once in a week 5g wc and breeze)

Bryson.bobby · Mar 25, 2019

I currently have a 20 gal that I had up n running for some 3 yrs on just a hob filter. Good coral growth and lots of spirobid.

Highgrade · Mar 25, 2019

Ummmm… not sure what you're asking.

Dkeller_nc · Mar 25, 2019

I think I do, and the answer is: "Incorrect criteria on the question".

There is no correspondence between the volume of a tank/system and the equipment needed to maintain it. Equipment is there to make certain tasks easier, or to improve conditions in the tank, but it's volume-agnostic.

An example of this is circulation. Presuming one doesn't have a sump (which absolutely requires a pump), you could in theory rather easily maintain the current in a reef tank with air stones/air bubblers and air lifts. Yes, the amount of air pump capacity to do this in a large tank would be huge, and the evaporation, salt creep and humidity in the tank's living space would be a big problem, but it's certainly theoretically possible.

On the other side of the volume equation, if someone actually did make a really tiny circulation pump, I'd definitely use it in a 2 gallon nano. But since an ultra-nano like that isn't very popular, there's little incentive for the aquarium equipment manufacturers to make one.

There are multiple other example of this concept, skimmers being a big one. You absolutely can run a big tank without a skimmer presuming that you've the means to make large water changes (and the $$$ to pay for it!) and you've also got the means in place to ensure sufficient aeration. And at least one japanese company put out a really, really tiny skimmer made of glass and powered with an airstone for tiny tanks.