What is the most difficult aspect of a pico reef?

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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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