1g nano questions

dorkfish

dorkfish

AC Members
Jul 25, 2005
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Windsor,Ontario,Canada
Well, I've been using my 1g as a bucket recently, but got a crazy idea. A 1g nano reef. I'm aware of how fast the water params can change in such a small volume of water, and will be keeeping the tank pretty much lifeless until I'm comfortable with the water stability. If it fails, everything can go into my 29g (I'll probably be taking the majority of the stuff for this tank out of the 29 anyway). The tank will not have anything in it besides soft corals and maybe a hermit or smaller snail species.

So, the two thing that are stoping me from going through with this are:
  1. How do I create adequete water motion in such a small tank, without creating a sandstorm?
  2. How would I light this tank? The fixture can be no more than 8" x 5'. Any amount of lighting above 2 watts is good.
 
dude, i totally support the nano reef/tank movement, and i know some specialty about small tank management. First off, how big is the tank in inches, and what are the species parameters? You could borrw an idea from
thatfishplace.com's refugiums (but dont go there for fish) and have a side wall with a sponge for the water to come through but i would say you'll need to invest in some sort of highly accurate measuring system for ANYTHING you put in due to problems with "certain amounts" of stuff that needs to be put in.
You also might want to try freshwater first to get the hang of the circulation first,
OR try something really cool and hook up like 10 of those and that way it would be easier for filtration.
Good luck, Wolf
 
It's a hex tank, lengthewise, at it's longest point, it is 8.5 inches, at the shortest point, it's 5.5 inches. front to back, it's 5 inches, and it's 7.75 inches tall.

As for parameters, I aim for ph 8-8.3, calcium 400-450, alkalinity 3-4, amonia and nitrite 0 (in all my tanks) and nitrate at or close to zero in my 29g reef and I plan on continuing that tradition on all my new marine tanks. The nitrates should stay pretty low becuase the tank will be fishless.

I currently have 4 freshwater tanks, as well as the 29g reef, and I used to use this tank to house a betta (too small a tank for a betta IMO). I used a box filter when it was freshwater, but I would prefer to not have any air pumps or bubbles as this tank is probably going in my bedroom and bubbles and air pumps drive me crazy (espescially when I'm trying to get to sleep).
 
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i have seen very very small hob filters made for betta bowls that might work pretty good, if the water returns onto some rock instead of hitting the sand that would stop the sandstorm. i woould just use one of them without the media in it.
 
thats a freakin sweet idea df. i really want to attempt a nano but im still a newb at sw so theres no way im gonna try it any time soon. good luck and keep us updated!!!
 
The smallest filter/water circulator I could find was the Azoo Palm Filter, designed for bowls and betta tanks. It circulates 16 gph. Only 3 watts of power needed! On sale at Drs Foster and Smith for $5.99 right now.

The waterfall effect would also make pleasant white noise to help you sleep :) I always loved that sound...
 
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I've settled on the smaller micro-jet model. It should turn over the water 32 times every hour, wich, although it may seem like a little much, I've seen some site recomend as much water motion as possible, without ripping the flesh off the coral skeletons, with 40 times turnover per hour not being to much.
 
Cool! Let us know how it goes. I'm curious to see how your experiment turns out.

The micro-jet is a good choice, as its flow is adjustable. I didn't know one could circulate water that quickly without harming soft corals. But like you said, as long as the flesh isn't ripped off. :)

For lighting, I've seen little clip-on lights for desktop aquariums. They measure in the range of inches (10" length). They have a long neck that you can curve to suit your needs. Don't know what the wattage is, though. Try searching for "Palm Light" or "Galaxy Light". One of those actually uses a screw-in mini compact flourescent bulb, so I'd guess it's pretty bright/warm.
 
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