I mentioned to my husband today that I wanted to get a 3 gal tank to set up with corals and maybe a goby. He was really excited about the idea so I'm looking around for some info. Does anyone have a picture of their setup? Or anything you recommend for a tank of this size? I see that the 3 gal don't seem to have a lid, is this true? I kind of need a lid because where it's going to go it's going to be accessible to a couple of curious cats :) That's why I may need to consider a 6 gal, which is fine because then I can put more in it!

Thanks for any ideas!

Christine

Is this your first saltwater tank?

Is this your first saltwater tank?

Ha, sorry I gotta laugh at that because I can't even count how many tanks I've had over the years! Most of them are/were several hundred gallons though....I'm in aquaculture, hence the aquafarmer. I can see where my post sounds like I'm a noobie though :agree: Currently I breed seahorses, abalone and I'm involved in marcroalgae culture. Most of my tanks have been for fish though so I was looking for some ideas for corals.

Christine

With a reef tank, you don't want a top. That hurts gas exchange.

What about the nano cube (and similar) systems that come with covers with all the filtration inside? Aren't those pretty common setups for small reef tanks?

Christine

I'm not sure since I've never had one. My nano is open and Miles loves to paw at it and chase the goby, but I've never had a problem.

I'm sure the first time the cat got wet, it would think twice about messing with the tank. :)

That's the problem...one of my cats, Cuervo, actually likes water! She drinks water with her paw and frequently "paws" any and all liquids! The other one, Bacardi, loves to watch my seahorse tank but she isn't as "coordinated" let's say so she probably wouldn't bother it much.

Christine

the nano cubes (or like systems) do have closed lids
a closed system like this can affect the waters ability to perform gas exchange. the use of a skimmer or something usually really helps that out. in the case of these nano cubes, the filtration in the back actually works quite well to aerate the water.

so in short, if you are doing a simple glass tank you will want to keep an eye on it, although as im sure you know a tank this small will likely need water changes every few days, that might actually server you ok on the gas exchange

as far as pictures, i cant help much there, my smallest tank is a 29 gl, but i do wish you all the luck , these nano or pico (in this case) tanks can be quite a challenge.. :)

Thanks Rob and Gwen for your help. I really would like a small nano-type set up and I like the filtration setups in these kinds of tanks. I'm definitely up for the challenge and think it would be pretty rewarding to have a nice little tank with a few corals. I'm pretty new to the coral thing but I have been reading up on them and will look into more specific species in the coming months before I decide and get the tank.

Christine

I currently have a 12g nanocube and love it. However, some people have problems with JBJ products. The aquapod version of the nano cube might be a better choice. If you want a nano, you have to decide what you want to keep in it, as that will affect the size and what kind of filtration/lighting you decide to go with. Also, budget is a big concern. Do you want a tank where you choose your own lighting or one with lighting built in? Or you could spend more money on a more expensive / sleek looking tank and do the lighting / filtration yourself. ADA tanks trimless and very sleek (http://www.adgshop.com/Trimless_aquariums_s/5.htm) You could go with an eclipse 6 and modify the lighting. You could also go with a DecoKit 3, which i think i might get. Desktop & Starter Aquarium Kits: 2- and 3-gallon Deco Kit Aquariums (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15494&N=2004+2035+2020) < Thats the url. If you go with one of thoes, turn the hang on back filters and turrn it into a fuge, or buy an aquaclear hang on back, they make excelent nano fuges.

Christine,

I started out with a 3 gallon nano (type) tank about a year ago. It was an eclipse 3. It was great because everything was enclosed. I had about 20 lbs of LR, 2 xenias, some zoos, a mushroom, a clown, a BTA, and two snails. I did have to get some different bulbs than what it came with. I also had to keep a close eye on the water quality. I had it up about 7 months before I upgraded to a bigger tank. The trouble was that with that little bit of water a small evaporation can really alter everything. ie .5 gallon can make a huge impact on a total of 3 gallons but not on a tank with 40 gallons. It will just need daily attention and a lot of measuring. Also dosing is really hard to figure...you have to really do some math. BUT, all that being said it can be done and I had good luck for a while. I can tell you my BTA didn't make it after the transition to the new tank but I think that was operator error. Everything else is still with me :) Good Luck.

Thanks all for your input. I went ahead and ordered a Nano Cube 6 gal. I plan to research the corals more as it's cycling. I have access to very clean, ozonated and also RO water at my work so topping off and water changes aren't a big deal to me at all. I look forward to getting some basic corals and I might end up upgrading the lighting, we'll see how it goes.

I looked at the aquapods and other makers but I just can't have a tank that is open like that on the top with my cats. I like the setup of the Nano Cube and the filtration so that's what I went with.

I'll keep you updated of my progress.

Christine

In my opinion, I would take out the bio balls and ceramic rings before the cycle, keeping the sponge. There are reasons people rercommend this, one being that the live rock does the job of the bioballs and they can start to be a "nitrate/ite (dont remmeber) factory". Also check out http://www.nanocustoms.com/ for lighting upgrades. This is a good website for upgrades to the NC. In the chambers in the back, i would put the heater and your floss in chamber 1, crushed live rock in chamber 2 (added LR capacity), and the pump in chamber 2. As for corals, the NC6 can support a large varities of softies (shrooms, zoos, leathers, etc etc) and some of the lower light LPS. They key is not the ammount or having rare hard to keep corals, but to have placement, think bonasi trees, not size, but rather how you keep it.

Here it is so far...got a clean up crew, a few zoos and some macros
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c189/LateralLine/th_100_0454.jpg (http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c189/LateralLine/100_0454.jpg)

That tank looks great! the water looks crystal. Is that a fan of some sort?

That tank looks great! the water looks crystal. Is that a fan of some sort?

Do you mean the red thing? That's a red grape kelp.

Looks good! I take it you used Live rock from your existing setups?

hows ur tank doing?

Yea, I used sand from my other setup and got the rocks from other people's. Bought the macros though.