The Nano Reef
You've got your live rock. You've got your strong power compact lighting (at either 65, 96 watts, 50/50, 10,000K's, etc.). Water parameters are stable and nitrate is (ideally) under five ppm. And your fish or two are doing fine.
A new tank doesn't truly become established until you reach the six or eight month mark. Some people say a year. During this time you'll see a number of algae outbreaks, ranging from bryopsis hair algae, green bubble algae, and red slime cyanobacteria. Often improved water flow will help out, but sometimes when an algae takes root it stays stubborn.
Unless it's cyanobacteria, don't get too hung up on a patch of hair algae here and there. Algae is part of life in a reef tank, and even ugly green hair algae helps to export nitrates (as long as it's bright and alive--if it's dull, slimy, and brown, it's dead and adding to nitrate production). The important thing with algae is balance: green hair algae and any other algae can take over a tank and if the scales tip in its favor, you need to address the root cause and bring the balance back.
Since we're talking algae, now would be a good time to segue into corals. Algaes are plant life and corals are animals, despite their plant-like appearance. Like algae, the reef-building corals we see in the hobby receive most of their nutrients, which they convert into energy, from the sun. This happens because microscopic symbiotic algaes called zooxanthellae live inside them and photosynthesize. This also happens within the mantles of clams.
There are three kinds of corals available to the hobby, commonly called soft corals, small-polyped-stony corals (SPS), and large-polyped-stony corals (LPS). In larger tanks, you can mix these, no problem. However, the smaller the tank, the more risk in combining them as chemical warfare is much more exact and undiluted in smaller volumes of water, and sweeper tentacles from some corals can damage their neighbors, even if they are five to six inches away.
- Soft corals are generally the best suited for nano tanks (green star polyps, zoanthids, and mushrooms can live and thrive in nanos as small as 1 gallon). Soft corals get their name from their lack of "stony" skeleton and mushy texture all the way through. They are the least light-hungry of the three, and they are also the easiest which makes them excellent beginner corals. Some popular soft corals include zoanthids or button polyps, mushrooms, green star and starburst polyps, xenia, gorgonians, leather corals like devil's hand coral, and tree corals.
- SPS corals are the ones most people think of when they hear "coral" or "reef." SPS construct the calcified base of living coral reefs in the oceans. They require the highest lighting and generally do best under metal halide lighting. They are also very sensitive to water parameters.
- LPS corals include the open brain corals, torch corals, plate corals, and bubble corals. Their large, fleshy polyps grow from calcified skeletons, making them "hard" corals even though many of them appear to be "soft." These corals require feeding through their mouths and extend sweeper tentacles during feeding, making them dangerous if placed too close to other coral varieties.
Now that you're familiar with the basics, let's see if your tank is ready for an easy and beautiful soft coral. Is your nitrate stable under ten ppm, preferably under five? Does your pH remain constant? Do you have more than 3 watts per gallon of good lighting?
If you answered yes to all of those questions, congratulations. You're ready to turn your nano into a nano reef.
Zoanthids (button polyps) and mushrooms are excellent beginner corals. If you're buying your first coral from the LFS or from an online retailer, you'll likely receive a colony of corals on a piece of live rock. This is good because you can place that coral rock wherever you want in your tank. Zoanthids like moderate water flow, while mushrooms enjoy a little less. Both of these corals go easy on light so it's best to place them near the substrate.
Acclimate your new coral by floating the bag in the tank for fifteen minutes so the temperates equalize. Then open the bag and "drip acclimate" the specimen. You can use a piece of airline tubing tied off to regulate the flow, or you can use a plastic regulator to pinch the line for better control.
I drip-acclimate my corals for thirty minutes to an hour, depending on the sensitivity of the invertebrate. When the water in the bag has at least doubled, you're ready to introduce the coral. Gently pick up the rock, remove from the bag (these corals can be exposed to air for a surprisingly long time), and place where you want in the tank.
Transporting corals stress them so don't expect your zoos or shrooms to open up right away. Give them a day or two. Remember these corals are very hardy and can withstand a lot of abuse.
Like fish stocking, it's best to begin with one coral, then try another similar type in a few weeks. If you want to try to mix soft corals and other varieties, be sure soft corals are placed well away from the others. Also have an alkalinity test kit on hand as stony corals absorb much more calcium than softies. Same goes for clams, which can easily be stung by sweeper tentacles.
A Word about Micro Systems
Contrary to what you may have heard, keeping pico or micro reef systems is not just for the advanced hobbyist. I consider anything under a 3 gallon nano a "pico" tank. I keep a 1 gallon pico reef on my desktop and it is by far the most stable and easy system in my house to maintain. The only work I do for this tiny reef is daily top offs with RO/DI, 12 ounces of water changes three times a week, and the occasional rinsing of the Micro-Jet powerhead which makes this pico system possible.
As long as you understand the limits and daily attention a pico requires you'll be good to go.
As I've said before, determining if you want to start with a ten gallon reef, a 29 gallon, a five gallon, or a 2.5 gallon tank hinges on what you want to see happen in your captive reef. Are you looking for something that's relatively cheap, easy to take care of, and you don't want fish? Do you want something you can easily move and display on your desk, and do you like stunning your friends with cool, rarely-seen things? A pico would be right up your alley. Just be prepared to keep only an astrea snail, a reef hermit, and zoos, shrooms, and green star polyps. You may be able to keep a small shrimp like a sexy shrimp (or anemeone shrimp) or you may not. I personally have had no luck with shrimp in my 1 gallon due to the extreme temp. fluctuations during the day.
However, if you want to keep a nice mix of things, the ten gallon or fifteen gallon high nano reef is your best bet in starting out. If you like your ten and after six months you want to try something bigger (or smaller), you'll have some experience under your belt and you'll be good to go.
Final Thoughts
Nano reefs are the future of the hobby. What I mean by this is more and more people are beginning with ten or twenty gallon marine systems and freshwater aquarists are jumping ship, often turning an old ten gallon into a saltwater tank. These folks often do not have the funds or means to "start right," as some seasoned hobbyists claim, by putting together a 55 or 70 gallon system. They also never would have dreamed of having a saltwater tank, stuck behind the mental roadblocks unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) put in place by the hobby at large.
These barriers that kept so many people away (like my wife and I) include myths of astronimical costs of setting up a saltwater system, marine keeping's extreme or outrageous difficulty, the necessity of metal halide lighting, jacking up of your electric bill, and reliance on chemicals and expensive equipment. The beauty of a nano tank is with a little research these myths vanish like a dream upon waking.
As long as you keep in mind the pros and cons previously outlined, a nano tank is no more difficult than a large system with its equipment, sump, and plumbing. And I'll take that to the bank any day.
Unfortunately, there are still many writers and publicists who claim nano tanks are foolish and/or money-pits and are doomed for ultimate failure, citing some nebulous reason like a water "crash," or too much nutrient build-up over time, or greed on the part of the LFS to rope in newbies. Think of these guys and this kind of thinking like the old-boy network in a country club, and you as a nano reefer are the new money walking into their turf.
Be proud of your nano reef. And be proud to be a nano hobbyist.
I would personally like to thank Justin Donaldson, Flave Hart, 1979Camaro, Aresgod, and S.Reef for their coaching, stellar advice, and one-on-one help. And most of all, I'd like to thank my wife for her initial research and helping me realize a saltwater tank is indeed possible.
Copyright 2006 by Josh Day. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed to other websites without the author's written permission.