Question about your experiences - former "big tank" owners..

M

Misty

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This is my first time to the nano section of the forum...I've been thinking about downsizing from my 120 to a nano. I've had SO many issues with my 120 over the past year - and every upgrade I've made seems to do me no good.

So, while I was on the treadmill the other day, I thought for a very long time about what I would do if I had to start over on the 120. I really want to stay in the hobby, but the big water changes, tons of top-off, etc. is really wearing me out - especially since my work to improve the tank may or may not work.

My solution may be to get into the nano world instead. I dearly love this hobby but sometimes the maintenance is just a killer. Especially since getting into and under the 120 is sometimes a real back-breaker.

Can someone that has been through the fun of a big tank and is now a nano owner give me a little insight regarding the pros/cons? Also, what is your regular maintenance schedule, etc.?
 
IMO, nano are harder to keep since everything changes so quickly and drastically. For example a little change in room temp would not yield as much on larger tank than on a nano. I know when my room temp drops 4-5 degrees, so is the nano (I have a smal digital thermometer room temp). Not too mention SG changes very quickly as well.

I check SG every day versus once a week on the big tank. I also have a thermostat for the nano since room temp fluctuates and I want to keep the nano 81 degree all day long. I learned it the hard way when I have the room temp drops to 70 deg adn the nano temp was at 67 degrees.

If you want someting smaller, stay with 30 or 40 gallon. 1/2 gallon top off per day, 3-4 gallon water change every 1-2 weeks and everything stay fairly stable than a nano.

Stan
 
I have found my 7 gallon to be very low maintanence. I top it off daily, but that's really it. I do water changes once a month and I feed daily. I don't have a high fish load though, which makes a world of difference. I have one small fish and one small shrimp and the rest our corals. I also have a HOB fuge and I think it makes a big difference too. Having a very low bioload and taking a little time each day can make a nano pretty easy.
 
My 120 can be a pain, but my 5 g nano is even worse. Lacking a sump and auto-top off is a pain. To add insult to injury..it has a major hair algae problem which I can do little about. The mantis shrimp that lives in that thing doesn't tolerate any visitors..heck, she even destroyed some xenia because it moved. :roll:
 
Misty having had huge and small tanks here is what I would say.

I had a 20G for almost 4 years that survived a move 600 miles, etc.

Honestly it was an absolute breeze. Very little work. You just have to make sure you keep up with water changes and your bioload should be very very light. I ran a remora skimmer on it and ran a DSB and honestly it was a dream to run. I spent very little time with it (B-Ionic and feed everyday) and it was great fun. I changed 10G every couple weeks on that thing. You can also have some cool animals that you never see in a big tank like blood shrimp, etc.

The downside is you can only put so much in there so it really is a little boring in that you can't add, etc.

My advice if you really want it to be easy is to

1) Have a skimmer. It really helps!
2) Keep bioload super small. Like 2 small fish period.
3) Do more water changes then "normal"
4) Use a 2 part to keep the alk and calcium up.
5) Have a heater and fans (that come on with the lights)

The reason most people have issues is because they think they can get away without all these and be OK! If you treat it like a smaller big tank you can be real successful and it is much less work no matter what some people say. a 10G water change is way easier then a 30G. Cleaning the glass is super easy, etc. etc.
 
Thanks for all of the input. Of course, my 120 must have "heard me" talking about the nano thing because the dino is gone and I'm going to start putting rock that I had cooked back in this weekend...

We'll see...I've finally gotten the darn thing automated for the most part so hopefully I don't get hit with the next plague right off the bat!

But something smaller is still on my mind...just in case!
 
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