Learn the Tips and Tricks needed for setting up and maintaining a saltwater NANO Coral Reef aquarium.
Welcome to the NANO-Bites Blog, a comprehensive how-to guide for setting up and maintaining a Saltwater Nano Coral Reef Aquarium habitat. We hope that you will have as much fun when creating your own nano-tank environment as we did while making ours…nano
Note: Though there exists a variety of different Aquarium systems for both Fresh and Saltwater, we believe by addressing the NANO saltwater aquarium system we can provide “you” the enthusiast, with some of the basic insights into most, if not all, applications.
New coraline algae and sponge growth on live rock base at 45 days…
New Star Polyp growth within algae bed at 60 days…
Mushroom heads at new coraline algae spotting at 90 days…
Saltwater Nano Reef – What we’re creating…
Go to: Saltwater Nano Reef – What we’re creating…PHOTO ALBUM
Saltwater Nano Reef – What’s growing on now after 180 days…
Saltwater Nano Reef – What’s growing on now …PHOTO ALBUM
There are many aquariums on the market today that are compatible for setting up a Nano reef system. The first question one might ask is:
What is a Nano Aquarium?
Nano aquariums are aquatic habitats with an emphasis on smaller inhabitants which reside inside a smaller sized aquarium. Your system can be either a freshwater nano aquarium or a saltwater nano aquarium, both systems of this scale are referred to as being “Nano”.
Nano fish selections are made from any of the smaller sized species that are readily available to today’s aquarists at their local aquarium shop or online. Other possible inhabitants are freshwater and saltwater crabs, shrimps and snails, as well as an assortment of plants and calupras (a type of saltwater plant).
nano aquarium saltwater plant calupra
Many aquarists (especially new comers) may think that the marine nano aquarium is a more difficult system to maintain, and although our study tends to agree with this – we would like to note that the differences are minor in nature when considering general system maintenance, but more significant when it comes to the mechanical features (pumps, lighting and filtration) which is needed for the creation of a suitable Coral Reef environment.
By no means should one be intimidated by this more aggressive approach to Nano saltwater reef-keeping, and we hope that by providing the hobbyist with a very simplistic and comprehensive guide which addresses the basics of setting up a Nano reef aquarium system that we can ease their fears and expand the hobby.
So with no further adieu, let’s begin at the beginning – and consider our options for Nano aquarium tank selection.
Available options:
Nano rimless vs Nano standard aquarium (glass or acrylic)
Nano rimless aquariums are tanks that have no frame and are usually open-topped during operation (no lid).
(Enthusiasts should note that acrylic tanks are more susceptible to scratches than glass – especially when a large portion of the habitat chamber is mostly rock…)
Nano rimmed aquariums are framed and usually come with or have available, an option kit for a glass or plastic cover and light fixture.
There are even Nano aquarium setups that include a stand and canopy, or a mountable clip-on lighting system and pump, both being suitably sized for proper water circulation.
Red Sea MAX NANO E170 Complete Reef System with MAX E 170-LED Light and Stand available in Black and White
In our study, we opted for a 20 gallon fusion styled aquarium which is similar to the Red Sea MAX NANO type system shown above. Our Nano came from the factory without a stand but did include two independent LED clip-on lights, (we added a fully remote-controlled single strip set-up to promote Coral Growth).
