Help me pick a nano for inverts

[collegeman]

I need some help finding a good AIO nano. i plan on stocking the nano with:

2-5 sexy shrimp

2 pom pom crabs

2 Porcelain crabs

2-3 maxi anmone

zoas

1 acan frag

1 chalice frag

A few mushrooms

 

Do you think this combination would work? If they do not work i can put them into the refugium that my 90 gallon has.

What size nano do you think i should go with? I was going to go with a bigger tank in the 12-25 gallon rage but i probably would never see the inverts. I want something small enough to enjoy the inverts but not too small.I have a few options ranked from my favorite to my least favorite. If you have other options please feel free to list them.

Cadlight 8 gallon

Ecopico desktop reef 5.1 gallon

jbj picotope 3

finnex 4 gallon

biocube 8

Edited December 20, 2011 by Coral Hind
clarified title

[El Camaron]

Smaller tanks are nice but are actually a bit harder to maintain in my honest opinion, look for an all in one tank that you can actully add or comes with a skimmer, maybe go a bit larger as i knnow once you get a small tank you will feel like a bit bigger tank is just a bit nicer and better for viewing.

 

Inverts tend to hide well so wether you house them on a small or larger tank, you wont see then %100 of the time.

 

Look into the larger versions of the tanks you mentioned as well as the Current Solana 34 gallon.

[L8 2 RISE]

I love nano tanks and with the stocking list you mentioned I don't think you need to worry about skimmers or any sort of equipment like that. Honestly you'd be fine with just lighting and some sort of water movement (as well as LR/LS). Inverts don't produce much waste so as long as you're careful about feeding you'll be good! Keep up weekly water changes though!

 

If this were me, I'd go with the ecopico desktop. It's small enough that you'll be able to see everyone regularly, but not so small that you need to worry about overstocking it with that list. It's also a very sleek design and one that I've wanted for a while.

[Ryan S]

I used to have one of these:

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3730+18534+15493&pcatid=15493

 

at my old office. I loved the little thing! Glass instead of acrylic/plastic is a big plus. Plus it can be modded and upgraded in several ways. You can get custom glass covers made for it, or get LEDs or a satellite fixture with legs that fits perfectly over the top, things like that. Plus it's only $40, great price. You can run with the stock setup for almost everything you've got listed there, especially the shrimp and softies.

 

Here is a nice picotope video.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Ryan S

[collegeman]

Smaller tanks are nice but are actually a bit harder to maintain in my honest opinion, look for an all in one tank that you can actully add or comes with a skimmer, maybe go a bit larger as i knnow once you get a small tank you will feel like a bit bigger tank is just a bit nicer and better for viewing.

 

Inverts tend to hide well so wether you house them on a small or larger tank, you wont see then %100 of the time.

 

Look into the larger versions of the tanks you mentioned as well as the Current Solana 34 gallon.

 

I agree smaller tanks are harder to maintain but i know what it takes. I have had small tanks in the past with success. I also know the feeling of wanting a bigger tank once you get use to the smaller one, but since i have a 90 gallon i wont worry about that.

[collegeman]

Ryan I was thinking about that tank, especially since i had one before. i really wanted something like the cadlight and ecopico since i can hide the heater and other equipment in the back for a cleaner look.

Edited December 20, 2011 by collegeman

[Ryan S]

Ryan I was thinking about that tank, especially since i had one before. i really wanted something like the cadlight and ecopico since i can hide the heater and other equipment in the back for a cleaner look.

 

I had never heard of the cadlight before. But after looking at it, for $150, it's dead sexy, and not much more expensive. I don't think you could go wrong here. And 8g vs 3g is almost triple the volume. Love the LEDs over it too. No matter what you choose, we expect a build thread from the very beginning!

Edited December 20, 2011 by Ryan S

[Jan]

You're going for a pico not a nano. I'd go with the ecopico 5.1 gallons is nice. I have the JBJ 3 gallon. Have had it for 2 years now. I have 5 sexy shrimp, 12 maxi minis, 2 pom pom crabs nassarus snails and gazillion pods. I've had porcelaine crabs with anemones and they all did very well. Sold off the contents of the first set up and now I set it up again. The key to maintaining this little system in water changes, 1 a week. Also make sure you clean/rinse the filter media. I use polyfilter pad that I rinse out with RO/DI water every 10 days or so. I change 1qt of water once a week. I have an AC 30 that I'm going to convert into a refugium for it one of these days. I had a refugium on the last one and it did very well. The AC HOB filters are great for these little tanks. I feed about 6 pellets a day, oysterfeast, phytofeast and frozen cyclpeeze about 4-5 days a week for everything else. Whatever the sexy shrimp don;t eat the pods carry off and eat. Amazing to watch. I get green algae every now and then and scrape it off the glass with a razor. Other than that it's easy to maintain. My favorite.

[dipg]

you also might want to look at the new Innovative Marine Nuvo tanks (http://www.innovative-marine.com/nuvo-aquarium/index.html). I like their design and was thinking of upgrading to their tank at one point. I currently have a Fluval Edge (http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/?tank=55) and have almost all the things you have in your stocking list but i wouldn't recommend this tank to anyone since its a pain to clean and arrange things.

As mentioned above by other memebers weekly water change is a key in small pico/nano tanks. So as long as you keep up with that routing you should be good.

[capsfan]

You could just make your own. I made a 2.5 gallon all in one that worked very nicely. Kept small corals, some sexy shrimp, and a really small fish. People also do the same thing with 5.5's.

 

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[collegeman]

Thanks for all the useful info. I probably go with the cadlight 8. I was thinking i should go with the 4 but i do not think 2 mini carpet anemones would fit. What do you think?

[Jan]

The cadlights are nice looking tanks. I didn't even know they existed until you mentioned them in your post. I like how they have a compartment in the back. 2 carpets would be fine in the 4 gallon. I've got about 12 in my 3 gallon and they were doing fine until one split and the got caught in the mini tunze powerhead. They range in size from 2" to about 4". I'm seriously considering going with the ecopico or now a cadlight. Good luck.

 

Thanks for all the useful info. I probably go with the cadlight 8. I was thinking i should go with the 4 but i do not think 2 mini carpet anemones would fit. What do you think?

[collegeman]

You have 12 in your pico? I think we are talking about 2 different types. Their are 2 types of small carpet anemones. We often get the names mixed up. The ones that you are talking about stay smaller than the ones i am talking about. Some of the mini carpets i have are around 6in open sometimes larger. Can you post a pic of your pico Jan?

[Jan]

Yes, I have 12 or more. I had 14. No, I have Stichodactyla tapetum that typically grow to 4"-6". Not the mini pizza ones.

 

I have 1- 2.5" teal green, 1-1.5"neon green (got from Zygote), 2-(2"&4.5")burgundy, 1-4" orange, 2- 4" brown (1 got from you), 3- 1.5" bleached (1-got from you), 1-4" rainbow and 1-2.5" blue black and white. I'll take a pic and "try" to upload so you can see. You'll only see maybe 4 in front. The rest are on the sides and back of the pcio.

 

egeman' date='22 December 2011 - 11:21 AM' timestamp='1324570884' post='393713']

You have 12 in your pico? I think we are talking about 2 different types. Their are 2 types of small carpet anemones. We often get the names mixed up. The ones that you are talking about stay smaller than the ones i am talking about. Some of the mini carpets i have are around 6in open sometimes larger. Can you post a pic of your pico Jan?

[collegeman]

I probably go with the 4 gallon cadlight pico. I was going to go with the 8 but i rather have a smaller display so i can have a better chance at viewing the inverts. I probably purchase the tank around the 1st of the year and start a build thread.I will also start a thread for my 90 gallon.

[Prunfarm]

Not AIO, but have you looked at micro-reefs dot com?

[smallreef]

Love those!!!

[Jan]

Here you go. These are 8 out of the 12 maxi minis in my 3 gallon JBJ pico

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my zoa garden

 

 

Not a very good FTS

Edited December 27, 2011 by Jan

[Dr.eclipse]

very nice little pico you got there.

imo nano tanks arent hard at all to keep. i do the same maintenance on my 20 long, as my 55 gallon. and the only time i every had a probably is when i overstocked my 20.

also, imo AIO's can limit want to can stock a good bit(lighting, upgrades, ect.) ive always just used a standard AGA tank.