Nano guidance

Saltnewbie · Oct 26, 2011

I am fairly new to saltwater aquariums, having had a 75 gallon saltwater aquarium up for about 2 months, and I was thinking about setting up a 3 gallon pico tank at work and wanted to get some opinions to see if it would would be too much to handle for a newbie? I would like to put a small goby and shrimp in it and maybe some easy to take care of coral. Other people have told me that I may be getting in over my head and pushing things since I am new but, I wanted to get some other advice too. Any opinions and advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Johnthebaptist · Oct 26, 2011

It really depends on your commitment, financial, and time level. My brother started with a 2.5 gallon tank and it did very well. However, he went through 3 filtration systems, 2 lighting systems, un-numbered water changes, a lot of live stock, and a lot of sleepless nights before it was healthy.

Picos take a lot of dedication because evaporation, temperature, and PH change at a much faster rate in such a small volume of water. a half gallon of evaporation could destroy such a tank while I let that happen on my larger tank all the time.

It is doable, the question is do you want to make the investment (money, time, frustration)?

If you do, go in looking at it as a novelty and experiment to see how to create a healthy environment before you start risking fish or corals. They you don't have their care on your shoulders.
I loved the small tanks I have had in the past and am planning a new one now. It is a real reward to see something at the office and I love it.

Alicia83 · Oct 26, 2011

I completely agree with John. If you have the time and dedication to put in it can be a great addition.
Another thing to think about is if you're on vacation, is there someone in your office to take care of it? Even just one fish dying over the weekend can do very bad things in such a small tank.

Saltnewbie · Oct 27, 2011

I have the time and dedication but, I think maybe I am rushing things too much by trying to jump into something new before I totally get the hang of the big tank. I just wanted to be able to see the pretty saltwater things at work too. Thank you so much for your responses. I really appreciate it. I will definately be reading alot about the nano and pico tanks before I get one so, I can make sure that I get all of the things together to make sure it will work in the long run.