The Puffer Forum

Would anyone be able to tell me what sort of problems I would be likely to face if i was to set up a 2.5g nano tank...

what sort of costs/work is involved?

I know VERY LITTLE about marine tanks and i'm just thinking about things I could do with my small tanks lying around.. I've always wanted a marine tank and wouldnt mind trying my hand at a nano tank..

I'm basically asking all you knowledgeable marine people for some info/advice

What are you looking to do with the nano tank? I have a 3 gallon SW tank with fish.

lanespd200 wrote:What are you looking to do with the nano tank? I have a 3 gallon SW tank with fish.

I'm just asking what sort of thing is possible... and how much work/money is involved in a SW tank that size

Your main concern with tanks smaller than 10 gallons is keeping them at a STABLE temperature. What exactly did you want to put in there? If you are trying to do corals, you need to invest in a chiller, depending on your location. If you want to do just small fish and some rocks, your life will be much easier.
Are you looking to build any parts of this tank? For example, I have done some tweaking with some small tanks that I have had and created a sump/refugium/skimmer DIY. You can also buy all of these if you want. A good starter nano, (I just picked one of these up for myself to try) is the Fluval Edge. They are compact and come with everything you need to start a small tank including lights. They are really not perfect for coral growing but are strong enough to support some leathers and what not. I'm messing with the idea of changing the lights to a LED instead of a halogen, though I haven't got that far. I will try and get some pictures up of the Fluval in the next couple of days.
Mainly, your costs will be down to exactly what you want. Include basics like salt, sand, rocks, fish costs, etc. Work and time is something you will be putting into this if you want to be successful. They are temperamental and can crash at any given moment. If you go into this knowing that, you wont be as disappointed coming out of it. In the end a nano/pico is very rewarding for the hobbyist.

I agree on the above statement, good advice! However, "IF" you don't want to involve a chiller in a small 3 gallon make sure you have a fan on stand-by! I have a 24 gallon nano with no chiller, but I did hook up some fans (computer) and they knock down the temp too much! My 3 gallon DIY tank, I made separate chambers and a return pump for it.....no fans, nothing. I have 2 damsels in there that was supposed to be a temporary holding tank but I am not taking all the rock apart trying to catch them. They are doing great in the tank. Maintaining proper water parameters may be a big issue.....I personally love the pico style tank and would love to do one with that. I do not have any corals in my 3 gallon but starting next week, that will change. Good luck!

The cost to maintain marine tanks are nearly the same, regardless of size.
For such a small tank you need extra equipment, like a chiller and an auto top off system. Evaporation in that small of a tank over the day will be significant enough to change your salinity enough to kill fish. Larger tanks don't need an top off or generally a chiller, because of the sheer water volume.

In my opinion, if this is your first marine tank, get at least a 30 gallon. If that is out of your budget/patience, don't bother.
For beginners larger tanks are always better, because they are easier to maintain and stability is much better.

If you are, however, SET on a nano tank, I can help you with that.
Lighting-this will effect what you can keep in your tank. Corals need light to live. Standard hoods with compacts will not do the trick. You will want T5HO (high output) lamps. They are the cheapest solution. A good one for a small tank would be the coralife deluxe. http://www.petmountain.com/product/aqua ... strip.html
You will need marine salt, as well as a hydrometer. A hydrometer measures the amount of salt in the water. You will want to shoot for 1.025. I recommend investing in a refractometer, they are much more accurate than a swinging arm hydrometer.
You will need a heater, a 25w would suffice for a 3g.

You do NOT need a carbon filter for a marine tank. Most of your filtration in such a small tank will be biological. This comes from live rock/live sand. 1 Pound per gallon is the general rule of thumb. You will need flow through the tank though, so you could get something like the koralina nano or another similar powerhead. What I would do is take an aquaclear filter and mod it into a HOB refugium, for the extra water space.

If your shooting to keep fish in the tank, gobys would probably be your only option. Only one, anything more would be too much bioload.

I hope this helped

I do not believe you need a chiller for this tank. I run a 15g for my fragged corals. I have a halogen Viper, clamp on light over it & still need a heater to maintain temp at 80. I use a HOB Backpac skimmer.

It's really about location. If you have ambient room temps above 78 you could be in trouble.