nano or not to nano?

[JrM]

hello RP, i have read a lot of posts regarding nano tanks.

it's harder to keep because of the small amount of water volume so the water parameters are more unpredictable. correct?

my question is how do we prevent these unpredictable scenarios?
or if it happens how do we fix them, what to watch out for? do's and don'ts, rule of thumb etc...

I already have a 45 gal fowlr tank 48" long x 12" wide x 20" high but instead of converting this to a reef tank.

i would like to try my hand at a 20 gal or 10 gal cube reef setup. beginners setup of course

i would like this to be a learning tank for me. i might be in a different place in a years time so its going to be difficult to move a big tank

thank you for reading.

[obet_carlos]

having a nano is not that hard.. i had a 20g reef before.. however, coral procurement is a lot harder.. you need smaller frags.. and a small fist size coral like a cynarina can easily cover 1/4" of your real estate.. that was my problem with my 20g.. it was too small.. temp was regulated by a chiller.. salinity by ATO.. and only a few fishes..

[JrM]

thanks for the info, i agree with the real estate problem i would just have to find what works for a small tank. any suggestions?

re temp, would the diy fans suffice? and for the ATO could i just do that manually? i work from home so i can always be around to check up on things. few fishes is fine with me, i'm happy with a clown, fire fish and a shrimp the goal is to be able to learn as much as i can here.

[obet_carlos]

what corals do you plan of placing? better to get 1" frags and letting them grow so as not to have a problem with real estate.. a fist size brain would be like adding another 1/4 of your current LR.

fans and normal top off would be ok.. however, as per people's experience here, during summer, if you dont have an airconditioned room, a chiller is a must.. and with fans, topping off would be more frequent.. plus more volume of water.. another problem would be your lights.. depending on the footprint of your tank, the size of your light fixture would be a problem.. for me, since i have DIY LEDs, it is much easier to do odd size tanks without worrying about choosing a lighting fixture for it..

[JrM]

anything that moves with the water would be nice. for the beginning i would just have to make due with diy fans and manual top off. yes i have thought about the lights, might just go with standard sizes so as not to have problems with acquiring equipment.

[JrM]

quick question, let's say meron akong 20 gal DT, 20 gal sump, and another 20 gal. the 3rd tank would only be for volume, no sand, no live rocks, no lights. would this be ok so temp and water parameters would be stable?

[thurrmac]