Pros / Cons on small SW aquarians

[wtp11]

Looking to get started. biocube or nano or ? style. looking at 24 gal. size coral/ live rock. Any help is appreciated.
wtp11

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

Please do not cycle your tank with live animals.

Gernerally, bigger is better. Smaller tanks leave less room for error. I would go for the nano, over the biocube, I think you will have more options. What types of corals are you looking to add?

[Devilishturtles]

Welcome to AA.

I agree. I like the way the JBJ Nano Cubes are set up, not to mention they come in a 24 gallon size. I thought the Biocube only came in 14 gallon? But I could be wrong.

Depending on what you want to do with the tank, 1-2 lbs of LR per gallon is the norm. Sand with the sand.

[melosu58]

The bigger the better is what I say also.A larger tank will be more forgiving. By the way Welcome to AA

[Lance M.]

Isn't there a Red Sea 34gallon tank setup like the Biocubes and Nanos?

[loganj]

Bigger is better. However, if you are willing to carefully monitor tank conditions and water parameters, a small tank is doable. I kept a 10 gal SW tank with some soft corals and an ocellaris clown for a long time. You can do a small tank for less money for sure. I didn't even have a skimmer...water changes took care of it. You can't go off for the weekend and leave a tank this size unattended though.

[Lance M.]

I have a 20 gallon nano reef, not one of those kits. I spent about $1k on all the equipment and livestock and my dad probably put about $300-$400 in livestock into it. (I have one ricordea yuma rock that cost me $100 and one orange polyp ricordea floridea that was $80).

I now have a 10 gallon nano reef, that I've spent about $200 on.

Frequent (weekly) water changes are a must.

[Innovator]

Bigger is better depending on how much you can afford and how experienced you are (how much you can afford to lose). The difference in "forgiveness" is not much when considering a 10g or a 20g, but will be more noticeable between a 10g and a 30g (duh). Patience and dedication are to be sacrificed to weed out what works for you compared to the many contradictory experiences you will hear.

[lando]

Moved to Nano Reefs forum...

Most of the "all-in-one" boxed tanks are decent. I have a 12gal JBJ nanocube delux and am pretty hapy with it. Most come with sponges, bioballs or ceramic rings as media for the filtration compartments. I recommend ditching all of that for the far superior LR rubble. Also, most do not leave room for a skimmer.

It is very true that bigger tanks are easier to start with. I recommend at least a 29gal for a first SW tank. That said, smaller tanks can certainly be kept successfully. If you do your homework, stick to a frequent and regular maintanance schedule and go slow there is no reason you should not be able to keep a smaler tank.

[lando]

Oh...where are my manners?
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