- In this video, we're talking nano tanks.
And we will go through the 10 most common mistakes
made by new hobbyist.
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Hello, folks.
Wayland from Marine Depot here,
and thanks for joining us.
Since the creation of the Nano Cube,
small reef aquariums have become quite popular
because they offer a convenient way
to keep a reef aquarium
when space, budget, and time are limited.
For those of you just starting out,
a nano tank is simply a small aquarium,
typically anything below 40 gallons.
With over 20 years under our belt,
we at Marine Depot have been helping hobbyists succeed
at what we do best.
Using the knowledge gained from this experience,
we compiled a list of the top 10 mistakes
you should avoid when keeping a nano reef.
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Setting up a new tank is exciting.
Building, stocking, and seeing your work
come to life is quite rewarding.
No matter how much we express
the importance of patience,
time and time again,
we see folks rush through the planning
and setup process which can lead
to a ton of problems.
Most importantly, your tank needs time to establish.
Once you have rock, sand, and water in the tank,
you should let it run for a full four to six weeks
before adding fish.
This gives the bacterial foundations
sufficient time to establish,
ensuring your new aquatic pets
the best chance to survive in your new tank.
Another result of impatience
is making adjustments quickly.
Stability is key to the health of an aquarium,
and changes to the environment need to be done slowly.
Drastically increasing your lighting,
changing water flow, adjusting additives,
or adding too much new livestock at once
are all examples of change that can stress out your tank.
In nano tanks, the changes will be magnified
even more drastically.
The resulting stress can be misleading.
For example, it may appear your new
lightning schedule flow pattern is too strong,
when in fact the corals or fish
are simply stressed out because of the
drastic change in the environment,
and were not given the proper time
to adjust to the more optimal conditions.
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The facts are, small aquariums
cannot support large populations of fish,
and it is critical you choose
the appropriate type of fish
that will thrive in such a confined space.
The key here is research.
Before you head out to a fish store,
have a solid idea of which species
you're gonna be looking for.
We realize that many of you might be restricted
by what your local fish store has in stock,
but don't let this limit you.
Many fish stores will take special requests,
or you may consider purchasing
from one of the various reputable online retailers.
Waiting for the right fish is well worth it.
Never purchase a fish or coral
you've never heard of.
This will only lead to problems.
Have a solid understanding of what the animal needs
in order to thrive in captivity.
Don't purchase a juvenile fish
that will quickly outgrow your tank.
While something like a baby blue tang
may appear to be the perfect size,
in reality, they grow quite large
and require a ton of space to swim around
and feel comfortable.
A tang in a small nano aquarium
will only cause stress,
which leads to aggression and increased risk
of infection and disease.
Personally, I like to make a list
of my top five fish I'm looking for,
ensuring that they're all compatible together,
and then head out to a fish store
looking for them.
You will not always be able to find
what you're looking for,
but patience and sticking to your plan
will ultimately lead to success.
You can find a ton of information
right here on our website
all about fish compatibility
and the suitable tank sizes.
Check out the links we provided
in the description below to get started.
Smart coral selection should also be
taken seriously in terms of understanding
what the particular coral needs.
Is it aggressive, and will it potentially
kill other corals?
Will it prolific and out compete everything else?
Do you have stable enough water parameters
to keep the corals happy and growing?
Are conditions optimal in terms
of lighting and flow?
Knowing the answers to these questions
will give you an advantage,
and ensure your corals will assimilate nicely
into your small reef.
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At some point or another,
all of us probably have added
a little too much food into our tanks.
Feeding your fish and corals is certainly fun,
but don't get carried away.
Too much food will foul up your aquarium's water,
especially in a small tank
where you don't have a substantial water volume
to dilute the resulting waste.
Always turn off your filtration system when feeding.
You can take it a step further
and rinse your frozen foods using RO/DI water,
and strain out the usable food particles.
Take advantage of feeding stations
to corral the fish food,
and keep it away from your filtration system.
Algae clips and grazers are also excellent tools
to reduce food waste.
Your fish will quickly consume
the food you give them in under two minutes.
You can also feed in stages to help distribute
the food to various tank inhabitants.
Coral foods should be sparingly used
in a nano tank, if any at all.
Leftover fish food can easily feed your corals.
Prepared coral foods typically are very small
in particle size, and designed to stay
suspended in the water column
for corals to filter out and consume.
A significant portion of that food
will go uncollected,
further increasing waste levels.
It is good a practice to always target feed corals
using a bulb syringe.
It is also a good practice to maintain
your mechanic filtration on a regular basis
to remove the filtered food particles.
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For those of you coming from the freshwater world,
using de-chlorinated tap water
is something you want to avoid at all costs.
We highly recommend getting you own RO/DI system,
or purchasing filter water from your local aquarium shop.
An RO/DI system filters your tap water
to be clean and free of contaminants
that could potentially be toxic to your fish and corals.
It will also remove impurities
that contribute to nuisance algae growth.
Small tanks require a very strict water change schedule.
Although the volume of water being exchanged
is often less than five gallons,
the frequency should be every seven to 10 days.
Having an RO/DI system at home
will make this process a bit easier
because you'll have fresh, clean DI water
on demand for both mixing saltwater
and also filling your top off container.
You will also have the advantage
of being able to make your own saltwater at home
if something goes wrong,
or your local fish store is not open
or able to sell you water.
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A water change on a small tank is the best way
to keep the tank stable.
The exact frequency can vary,
but with most nano tanks,
we recommend you perform a 20% water change
every seven to 10 days,
especially when keeping a nano reef with corals.
Doing so will replenish the necessary elements
that corals need,
and also dilute the waste levels.
Creating a regimen and sticking to it
is the best approach.
With such a frequent water exchange,
the tank will never get to a point
in which the water quality diminishes so severely
that the animals inside suffer.
Filtration systems on the smaller,
all-in-one aquariums are very minimal,
and do not allow space for advanced equipment.
With the frequent water exchange schedule,
you can effectively eliminate the need
for a bulky protein skimmer,
media reactors, and various other filtration equipment
found on larger reef tanks.
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Tiny protein skimmers are classically problematic.
In order for the skimmer to be small enough
to fit into a nano aquarium's filtration compartment,
it will need to be really small in size,
which means a tiny reaction chamber.
This poses a fundamental problem for the skimmer,
which requires a large reaction chamber
to properly remove waste and to perform
without the need for frequent adjustments
to air and water.
There are a handful of nano skimmers
that work better than others,
but for the most part, they will not pull out waste
like what you might expect.
Small skimmers will provide the benefit
of gas exchange and removing some waste,
but it is important to understand
that some of the best nano tanks
operate without a skimmer.
Don't worry if you're having trouble
finding something that will fit into your tank.
Instead, focus on maintenance,
and adhere to a very frequent water exchange schedule
to remove and dilute organic waste.
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Filter maintenance is crucial with a nano tank,
because things will go downhill fast.
Even just a few days overdue can lead to
nutrient level spikes in the aquarium.
Mechanical filtration such as filter pads and socks
need to be cleaned or replaced every
three to five days in most cases.
If your tank is very clean,
you can probably go a few days longer,
but just remember that when the trap waste
is left to break down inside your aquarium,
bacteria will go to work creating nitrates.
The same rule applies to chemical filtration
such as carbon, absorbed resins, and the like.
Be sure to replace this media
as soon as it becomes exhausted
so as to not allow for leeching
or additional buildup of waste.
Some media will last longer than others,
so testing your water will be important
for understanding when it's time to replace the media.
Personally, I like to follow the rule of
when in doubt, just change it out.
Keeping a healthy stock or replacement
filter media on hand
will ensure you're never left stuck
without a new bag of carbon,
or clean filter pad.
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Using an ATO system will really save you
a ton of headaches.
Trying to keep up with the manual addition
of freshwater loss by evaporation
will be tedious, and will also cause swings
in your salinity levels,
which will stress our your inhabitants.
In small aquariums, evaporation occurs
at a same rate that you would experience
with a larger aquarium,
but the resulting rise in salinity
will be far more drastic.
An ATO system will automatically top off
the aquarium with freshwater,
and keep your tank's salinity stable.
Thanks to modern technology,
you have quite a few options in terms
of small ATO systems with tiny sensors
that fit nicely into nano tanks.
The Tunze Nano, the XP Aqua,
and the Micro ATO are all excellent choices.
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This is something that applies to reefers
of any size aquarium,
and is certainly much easier said than done.
With a small aquarium,
it is all the more important
to keep a close eye on water parameters,
especially when keeping corals.
A regular testing regimen will give you an idea
of what your corals are consuming,
indicate whether your filtration
and maintenance schedule are sufficient,
and give you the peace of mind
that your tank's inhabitants are being provided
an optional environment.
Keeping a log for reference,
and having a full set of quality test kits is critical.
The log helps to reference pass tests,
and having the test kits at home
makes it much more difficult to neglect.
When first starting out,
check to see if your local fish stores
offer a water testing service,
or consider using a mail in water test kit.
A successful reef hobbyist
is a keeper of water chemistry,
and using test kits to identify trends,
and understand how the water changes over time
will give you a much better understanding
of the most complicated aspect of our hobby.
The water itself.
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It seems silly to say,
but temperature, salinity, and PH
quickly become a neglected aspect
of keeping a reef tank.
We often get so caught up
in keeping up with maintenance,
and scrutinizing every available element
for the corals,
that we forget the basic parameters
that keep your tank thriving.
As mentioned earlier, change happens fast
inside of a nano tank,
and this remains true for temperature,
PH, and salinity,
all of which are very easy to monitor,
and should not be forgotten.
An accurate thermometer,
reliable refractometer,
quality PH test kit or monitor
will really make your life easy.
Aquarium controllers such as the Neptune Systems Apex,
and the GHL ProfiLux,
offer an excellent solution
for real time monitoring and control
of this parameters.
It may seem that an expensive controller
is not worth the expense for a small tank,
but the facts are, they're just as useful
if not more useful compared to a large system.
After all, the animals inside your nano tank
require the same attention and care
as those found in large reef tanks.
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No matter what size tank you keep,
success takes work.
And the more work you put into it,
the more you'll get out of it.
A small reef tank takes just as much commitment
as a larger tank.
The only difference is the cost of equipment.
Keeping a reef tank is a journey.
All the while, you'll be learning.
No matter how much research you do,
you can never predict when a fish might jump,
become ill, or when a critical piece of equipment fails.
These things happen,
and can be quite disheartening after working so hard
to create a reef tank of your dreams.
What you can do is to be prepared.
Keep extra heaters and pumps on hand,
utilize battery backups or buy a generator,
use a screen top, source livestock
from a reputable distributor,
and simply mentally prepare yourself
for these situations as they will ultimately happen.
The point here is don't let these events
discourage your passion for reef tanks.
Keep working and keep learning.
All of us go through it
and will experience some level of disappointment
with our reef.
We challenge you to ask yourself
what keeps your passion for reef tanks alive,
and then nurture those desires.
If you do, you'll surely accomplish
your own personal level of success.
That wraps up our list of the top 10 nano tank mistakes,
and we look forward to assisting
all of you on your reef keeping journey.
If you happen to have any thoughts or additional tips,
please leave that in the comments below
and let us know.
We appreciate all of you for watching.
Until next time, take care, and happy reef keeping.
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