A bit Intimidated

[Reefnoob1287]

I was gifted a biocube 16 gallon for the holiday’s this year and if I’m being honest the 32 was the one I was thinking I was going to be getting because I knew that would be easier than the 16 gallon. I’m second guessing myself on the 16 gallon. I see a lot of posts about anything smaller than a 20 gallon being too difficult for beginners. 

Am I wasting my time and money on such a small tank only to have livestock die in the future from a mistake that would not affect a bigger tank as much? 

 

 

[Kentech5]

My first tank was less than 8 gallons. A new reefer can do it and have things work out just fine. Do a lot of research and take it nice and slow. Biggest risks with a small tank are rushing it, overstocking, and buying a bigger tank a few months later because you have run out of room. The last one is not necessarily a bad thing. 😂

[Reefnoob1287]

17 minutes ago, Kentech5 said:

My first tank was less than 8 gallons. A new reefer can do it and have things work out just fine. Do a lot of research and take it nice and slow. Biggest risks with a small tank are rushing it, overstocking, and buying a bigger tank a few months later because you have run out of room. The last one is not necessarily a bad thing. 😂

Thanks for putting my mind to rest! Lol. I’ll take your advice and take thing slow and probably end up with a bigger tank soon! Haha

[Bbearden101]

I'm new to these nanos too, I had a 75 gal before that unfortunately ended up crashing during some personal stuff in life, and my fiance ended up getting me a 16 gal biocube for Christmas. The biggest thing I've read about these bio cubes is let it cycle. Ima probably let mine run for a few weeks fishless just to make sure everything is up to par and throw in a cleaner crew to deal with the algae problem that is going to occur before I throw a fish in. Research can be overwhelming. Luckily when I was setting up my 75gal I had a lfs I had dealt with a lot for my fw tanks and he helped point me in the right direction. (Helped me not waste money on useless stuff, and headache of dealing with stuff that came up) I was in there probably at least once a week asking him questions and picking his brain on options and what he thought. I've done the same with this biocube (dealing with refugium questions and equipment) and he has helped a lot

[Wingy]

My first, and only, tank is a 2.5 gallon that I started for the latest pico contest. Check out the pico section to see all the things you can do with a small tank. 

[Prezpreston]

4 hours ago, Reefnoob1287 said:

I was gifted a biocube 16 gallon for the holiday’s this year and if I’m being honest the 32 was the one I was thinking I was going to be getting because I knew that would be easier than the 16 gallon. I’m second guessing myself on the 16 gallon. I see a lot of posts about anything smaller than a 20 gallon being too difficult for beginners. 

Am I wasting my time and money on such a small tank only to have livestock die in the future from a mistake that would not affect a bigger tank as much? 

 

 

Hey Reefnoob! Fellow noob here - I inherited a 12.5 nano back in August and I have to say; you'll be fine so long as you stay consistent when it comes to water changes. Smaller tanks rely on water changes for nutrient exchange / offloading (from all the super smart reefers I've learned from here), so long as you can commit to 30 minutes each week to do a water change, you should mostly be good! I actually really enjoy tinkering, and the water changes are part of the fun for me, so you can look at it any way you want.

 

You've clearly done some rudimentary research by posting that you've heard nano tanks are difficult for beginners, but like Kentech said, more and more research is your friend. BRSTV 52 weeks of reefing on Youtube is a great place to start. You're going to research, research, research, feel like you can't possibly learn more, then find out oh my god, I've discovered a new level to this hobby. But, by taking it slow and ensuring you keep up with water changes, don't overstock, and feed consistently (and on a good level) you should be fine!

[Frag Factory]

I think you will be fine with the 16 gallon.

 

I got back into the hobby after 8+ years out with a 6 gallon cube and so far I've not had any massive disasters. Take it slow, research every piece of livestock properly and buy the right equipment and you will be fine in this hobby!

 

Also, in all honesty keeping saltwater things alive is not much harder than freshwater. The same concepts exist, we just have one extra parameter to monitor (salinity).

 

You can always start with some simple fish like clowns (which are mostly tank bred now). They are as hardy as freshwater fish and don't require much special treatment... when you're feeling a bit more confident you can move into other fish and corals later on.

[Rastareefer]

I’ve never had my own tank before (marine or otherwise) and took the plunge about 8 weeks ago with a fluval evo 13.5g mixed reef. Absolutely loving it so far and I’ve encountered a few hurdles but so far have been able to get over them. 
 

Having been in your position, my advice is to do as much research as possible so you can learn from the mistakes others have made without having to make them yourself. Don’t panic when you start seeing algae pop up, I’ve currently got several types of nuisance algae (most prolific being red turf algae and green hair algae, some bryopsis too) but since adding some GFO to my filter compartment they’ve all started dying back with some help from my CUC. 
 

Take it slow, don’t overdo things and make sure to get a reliable source of good RO water. Good luck!! 👍🏻👍🏻

[Joboo]

Been running a Biocube 29G on and off for 8 years now. Before that I came from 180G FO and 90G Mixed Reef. The one thing I learned about my 29G is the margin of error for changes impacting parameters is less than with large tanks. But.. they are also easier and quicker to correct. Just have patience and make sure you think through EVERY change to the tank before making it. Take the "Measure Twice, Cut Once" approach and you'll be fine.

 

 

[Saltslinger]

I don't really think the size matters, saltwater is not that hard, especially when it's easy enough to just buy premade saltwater at your lfs. If you have your heart set on having more than a couple fish I would see if you could return / exchange it so you could just buy the 32 gallon tho. Just cause nothing is worse than starting to cycle a tank and realizing it's too small for the livestock you actually want.

[Clown79]

I honestly haven't noticed a difference in my nano's to my 55g to my nano's other than it's less amount of time to work on them/cost 

 

[Rastareefer]

On 12/31/2019 at 8:55 AM, Clown79 said:

I honestly haven't noticed a difference in my nano's to my 55g to my nano's other than it's less amount of time to work on them/cost 

Gotta admit I’m surprised by how few issues I’ve had in my 13.5gal so far. The only drawback from my perspective is lack of space for aquascaping/cleaning and lack of viable choices when it comes to fish.

 

The lack of space for aquascaping probably has more to do with me putting in far too much live rock though, I got a bit carried away. 😬

[mcarroll]

Buy a book or two to compliment your new aquarium.  This will also reduce that feeling of intimidation by up to 100% by giving you a more complete picture of what you will be doing for the next few months and years!!  ☺️

 

Google for Martin Moe's books on reefing......classics so there are lots of used copies out there (as little as $5) in addition to brand-new ones (a bargain at <$40).  A great set of books for beginners -- very comprehensive.  Get one or both...they are complimentary.

[TaliaShepard]

I started out with nano tanks on my reefing journey and it is doable, so fear not. You just need lots of patience. 

 

Nano tanks are considered harder because they are smaller and that means small changes make big differences. As someone above said, consistency is key!  

 

My advice:

1. Buy good test kits including a refractometer to test water, consistency is key and being able to check levels with good quality test kits will help! 

2. Save yourself the headache and buy an ATO (automatic top off unit), it's the only equipment I recommend as a must have and keeping your salinity levels consistent throughout the day makes a night and day difference in a small set-up 

3. If you want corals don't skimp on the light, go ahead and buy a decent one that can keep a range of corals, buying the cheap one and telling yourself you'll only keep low level light stuff won't work, you'll want the higher level light corals so prepare in advance 

4. Go SLOW and have FUN, you don't need all the fancy equipment to get started, a good light, a good pump, rock, sand and water and you are ready to go. The ATO if you can afford it is highly recommended and the rest can be added later!