Thinking of starting a nano reef

[jess128]

Hi everyone,
Years ago I had a 70 gallon reef aquarium. I had it for about a year and a half and realized that it was just too much money and work for a high school student. Well now I'm in university and I miss my fish. I've been thinking about starting a nano tank. I'm wondering what the cost difference is like for starting and maintaining a nano as opposed to a 70 gallon. Any advice you can give would be great, thanks!

[Snaz]

I don't have exact numbers but certainly the smaller the tank the easier it is on the wallet. Of course it all depends on what you want and how deep is your wallet. For all things nano you have to visit nano-reef.com

http://www.nano-reef.com/

[gbeef]

Ummm if you by a cube like a 12 or 14 your looking about 600.00 but Ive seen used setup's complete on the forums go for about 300.00 -200.00 and thats EVERYTHING!.

[intarsiabox]

I had a 20g reef tank and it wasn't too expensive to set up. You need a lot less live rock (which you can find on here for around $5lb), weekly water changes are only a couple of gallons so a pail of salt lasts forever, you can only keep a couple of small fish which are usually cheaper, you are limited to how many corals will fit (buy frags from here), etc. So yes, it's cheaper in these aspects but depending what you get, equipment can still be just as expensive. Some of the all in ones are nice and can be found used for good prices sometimes or you can just piece your own together. I have moved up to a 52g tank with a sump but I still miss my nano as you could get right in close and see every detail were as I find large tanks you look at the overall effect. So buy everything used and give it a try, I don't think you'll be dissappointed!:biggrin:

[bauder1986]

I have a 10 gal nano, you can check it out on my profile albums. But that tank into running total now is 550.00 right now. A big chunk of that change is lighting. I went with a 150 watt MH brand new. But the tank was free! other than that half of the corals from here on canreef and other half from fish shops around alberta. I have no fish though. This tank is just a breeder for me :smile:

Best of luck in your future nano!:wink:

[BlueAbyss]

I also have a 10 gallon nano, 70W DIY metal halide. Your cost will depend on what you want / need out of your system. What sort of livestock are you planning to keep? And what size do you have space for? Some tanks are easier to 'work' with... I really wish my tank was 2" deeper front to back (it's only 10" in that dimension).

[Boomboy]

if you can diy, then it can be cheaper or you can spend alot on those AIO tanks. i prefer just buying one of those cheaper 20G tanks and going from there. just do your research dont spend money when you dont have too. and go for at least t5 over the tank dont get CF or PC on the tank you will just want to get upgrades after that.

[spikehs]

I'd also looking into getting dry rock (ie from bulkreefsupply.com) its MUCH cheaper, less nutrients introduced into the tank, you just need to add a scoop or so of live sand and then your rock will be come alive, for a fraction of the price.

[lorenz0]

IMO setting up a nano can be very cheap or stupidly expensive. My 17gal is now around $600 for the set up cost and besides the powerhead (vortech mp10) everything was used. It really depends on how much you want to spend in the end.

If you want something around the 200-300 mark i would go with a 20gal long, some retro t5's, an aquaclear 110 and a Koralia 1 powerhead. You will be able to keep zoa's, softies, mushrooms, lps. almost everything you want.

[whatcaneyedo]

I was able to put my 20gal long together out of nearly all used equipment. The only thing I had to buy new specifically for the tank was the light fixture for about $200. However if I were to price the entire thing out brand new I think its worth at least $800. If you shop around in the used equipment and livestock sections I bet you could do something similar for less than half that.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/whatcaneyedo/Picture335.jpg

[ribbie]

I paid about $800 for all the stuff I needed to start my 15 gallon. I'd estimate it costs me about $25 a month to run not factoring electricity.