What is the most difficult aspect of a pico reef?

[kyryah]

I often read that a smaller set up is much harder for a marine newbie to maintain. I am wondering what is the most difficult aspect of keeping a smaller reef?

Anyone who has kept a pico reef, please post your experiences.

Kristina

[Robert04]

I havent had a pico but I have a 15g and the hardest part for me was picking stock. Otherwise its just been regular sw maintenance.

[kyryah]

Anyone else? I am more interested in inverts than any fish.

Kristina

[cam191919]

the most difficult part is definitely keeping the parameters at safe levels, especially salinity. i have an 8 gallon reef and with that stocking was difficult. what size tank are you thinking of?

[snappyguy]

One of the biggest problems you'll face with a pico tank is maintaining a stable salinity. A small amount of evaporation will lead to a larger change in salinity than the same amount of evaporation from a larger tank. These salinity swings can be awfully hard on corals and inverts that are used to the very stable salinity of the ocean. If you feed any inverts or corals you'll also see a larger ammonia and NO2-2/NO3- spike. There's just not as much water to dilute any of these chemicals if there is any overfeeding. That said, pico tanks are very doable. The smallest tanks I've kept were 5 gallons and I bred brine shrimp in them.

[kyryah]

Thanks for the input. I am not sure if I want to try something as small as a 2.5 or go as large as a 15 tall, I am trying to gather info on that.

If the tank is mostly covered and I do daily top offs, would that help with the salinity/evaporation issue?

Kristina

[Robert04]

my 15 is a deep.. 15 high makes it more difficult to light more difficult to clean, just harder all around.. limited to coral because unless you got a sump you got 15lb or more of live rock.. If my tank was a high.. it would look ridiculous lol..

[cam191919]

i like my 8 gallon, its a biocube so its a just a clean, simple, square of reef. but it was my first saltwater tank and i was very disappointed with my stock limitations. it was only when i got a 46 gallon saltwater tank that i could truly appreciate my nano reef. if this is your first salty tank than i recommend going as big as you can, you may regret your lack of options with a pico

[fishy714]

My lfs here has a 8 gallon and a 2.5 gallon but both are hooked up to a larger sump with a chiller. Said that the sump helps alot with the water parameters. I would think temps and the water parameters would be PITA to keep in check. Stocking would be another problem you run into since most corals grow big. But of course you could just have fragments.

[kyryah]

Well, the reason that I was considering a smaller tank is that I do not have a lfs - the nearest that deals with saltwater is about 80 miles.

A lot of you have mentioned difficulty with stocking. I really know nothing about the different species of corals, and I am not sure that a ton of corals would be necessary. I was thinking something along the lines of a starfish, and anem, a crab, and a snail, and perhaps a feather duster.

I am not real sure why a 15 tall would look ridiculous, to be honest, it is only 6 inches taller than a ten gallon.

So, if I did go with say a 15 long, how large of a sump would be necessary? What about for a 5 gallon tank?

Kristina

[fishy714]

If your going to setup a little nano tank and you want a simple coral. I would get some xenias. They are a soft coral and very pretty. They are easy to take care off.

As for the sump its really up to you. I say the bigger of a sump the better and easier to keep your water in check.

[DoN_WoN]

how small is pico? like 5 gallon? evaporation is a problem too and salinity being stable

[thincat]

If you keep an anemone you would need pretty high wattage of lights just to keep it alive and then you would have a heat problem. I have a 75 and have heat problems this summer.

[snappyguy]

Covering the tank will definitely help, as will daily topoff. Just be certain to be diligent about it and there's no reason a pico isn't doable. If you have any questions about corals feel free to pm me. I'm a former coral retailer and can fill you in on just about anything you want to know.

[kyryah]

If you keep an anemone you would need pretty high wattage of lights just to keep it alive and then you would have a heat problem. I have a 75 and have heat problems this summer.

Good to know, thank you :)

Kristina

[Robert04]

[QUOTE=kyryah;2024045]

I am not real sure why a 15 tall would look ridiculous, to be honest, it is only 6 inches taller than a ten gallon.

So, if I did go with say a 15 long, how large of a sump would be necessary? What about for a 5 gallon tank?

Because it isnt very deep.. it would look like sand then a pile of rocks on top.. unless you did some amazing wall scaping and even then it wouldnt leave much room for fish swimming.. If you only do shrimp it might be real neat.. but it will be harder to light because of the height.. you'ed need a more serious fixture.. and for my 15 im planning a 10g sump that will fit under that will have all the rock and skimmer.. leaving a nice sand bottom in my 15 with lots of room for the two fish. I will have some show piece rocks in there but not much just some rock to house corals etc.

[kyryah]

Covering the tank will definitely help, as will daily topoff. Just be certain to be diligent about it and there's no reason a pico isn't doable. If you have any questions about corals feel free to pm me. I'm a former coral retailer and can fill you in on just about anything you want to know.

Thanks for the offer, I am going to do some more research and then I will probably have a few questions about specific ones for you

Kristina

[kyryah]

[QUOTE=kyryah;2024045]

I am not real sure why a 15 tall would look ridiculous, to be honest, it is only 6 inches taller than a ten gallon.

So, if I did go with say a 15 long, how large of a sump would be necessary? What about for a 5 gallon tank?

Because it isnt very deep.. it would look like sand then a pile of rocks on top.. unless you did some amazing wall scaping and even then it wouldnt leave much room for fish swimming.. If you only do shrimp it might be real neat.. but it will be harder to light because of the height.. you'ed need a more serious fixture.. and for my 15 im planning a 10g sump that will fit under that will have all the rock and skimmer.. leaving a nice sand bottom in my 15 with lots of room for the two fish. I will have some show piece rocks in there but not much just some rock to house corals etc.

I don't want any fish :) I am looking for inverts only.

Kristina

[cam191919]

idk about not wanting fish, saltwater fish are become a mental need once you have a saltwater tank :D

[dixienut]

also kris, star fish need large tanks i have a 30g and can't have a star,.. they all get big and i haven't been able to find a star that i like that will fit in my tank,..lol

i've heard of micro starts but not found any,. nor am i sure they just arn't babies that will grow,..lol

[luckydud13]

One of the biggest problems you'll face with a pico tank is maintaining a stable salinity. A small amount of evaporation will lead to a larger change in salinity than the same amount of evaporation from a larger tank. These salinity swings can be awfully hard on corals and inverts that are used to the very stable salinity of the ocean. If you feed any inverts or corals you'll also see a larger ammonia and NO2-2/NO3- spike. There's just not as much water to dilute any of these chemicals if there is any overfeeding. That said, pico tanks are very doable. The smallest tanks I've kept were 5 gallons and I bred brine shrimp in them.
I beg to differ. Because when water evaporates, it doesn't take the salinity with it. What ou ma be talking about is if ou do not top off daily, then because there is less water and the same amount of salt, then ya that could be a problem.

Sorry i didnt mean to contradict, just didnt want the OP to get the wrong idea.

[kyryah]

Thanks everyone for your input. It is still going to be awhile before I even attempt this, but I want as much info as possible going in.

Considering ammonia/nA and nI, I do understand how these things work. With 12 FW tanks and a BW tank, I would have to or I would have a lot of dead fish and inverts.


Kristina