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I have a little 10g nano with only a couple lbs of LR and some cc (and a mantis) and it just purrs right along. It's very easy.
I just use a little 5-15 HOB on the back.
I seeded it heavily with substrate from main tank and used my existing tank water to fill it up. No cycle no muss no fuss. I started it a couple weeks ago and I already have lots of pods, etc running all over.
The nano will be easy to set up. Some of the maintenace issues with the smaller tanks are:
1. Temp. control...smaller volumes of water are more prone to temp. swings.
2. Evaporation...a little evaporation can have a larger effect on tank salinity and must be controlled.
3. Water chemistry/quality...with the smaller volume of water the quality can degrade quicker.
I have a 20 gallon and in all honesty, once you get temp and top offs under control there is little maintenance required...I do a 3 gallon water change weekly and dose calcium and alkalinity daily.
i have a 2 gal nano and all i deal with is evaporation because all my tests have turned out ok.,i only needed to add some buffer once my peppermint shrimp has benn alive in his live rock paradise for 1 month now. Its easier than i thought