Nano Reef Aquarium Setup

After owning several nano reef aquariums and now a large 125g reef dislplay I decided to upgrade my 7G minibow system at my office to one of the new 28G Nano Cube HQI tanks. This tank looks very promising with 150w HQI lighting, 2 return pumps on a wave timer, built-in protein skimmer, LED moon lights, central overflow with filter basket, 4 cooling fans and matching stand.

The natural filtration method of using live rock and live sand with liberal water movement has proven to be a successful method of nano reef keeping. Live rock refers to pieces of coral or coral rock from the coral reef that have broken off and fallen to the ocean bottom and become covered with encrusting organisms, such as coralline algae and sponges.

Live sand also plays an important role in filtration. Live sand refers to a sand bed that has become colonized with nitrifying bacteria. In an aquarium this can happen naturally over time or the sand bed can be seeded with pre-colonized sand from an established saltwater aquarium or you may also purchase pre-colonized live sand.

I used about 40lbs of sand for a 4" deep sand bed and about 22lbs of live rock to create my reef in the nano cube.

Synthetic salt mixes have improved over the years since they were introduced. There are several saltwater mixes available that are great for mixing synthetic seawater. I like the Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt mix. It seems to have much better concentrations of calcium, magnesium and other elements that are used by the fish and corals. Use a hydrometer to test your salt levels when mixing. Mix your salt to a specific gravity of 1.024 - 1.026.

Once the aquarium is filled, the water parameters are correct and the equipment has run for about 24 hours you can begin the waiting game. Waiting for the aquarium to initially mature and stabilize before adding livestock is an unpleasant but necessary step. The live rock and sand added to the aquarium will have enough "life" to start this process. The tank will clear up after several days and then you can start testing the water.

Keep in mind that it may take up to 6 weeks for the aquarium to cycle (become stable) and that patience is key during this process. You can verify the progress of the cycle by testing your aquarium for ammonia, nitrite and then finally nitrate. Test for ammonia first ever other day until you see the ammonia levels rise and then fall to zero. You will then see the same pattern with nitrite and then nitrate. This process normally takes several weeks. Aquariums that are setup with live sand and live rock that has been cured will experience faster cycles of only 10-14 days.

The cleanup crew is basically the janitorial staff of the reef! The cleanup crew consists of various invertebrates that have a great reputation for keeping the tank tidy. After the tank has cycled you can begin adding these critters.

Cleanup crews for Nano Reef tanks usually consist mostly of snails and hermit crabs. Astraea Snails, Turbo Snails and Margarita Snails are employed to keep the glass clean. Nassarius Snails are good for both glass duty and also to stir the sand bed. Hermit Crabs are great for devouring excess algae and detritus. Left handed Hermits, Scarlet Reef Hermits and Blue-leg Hermits are the most commonly used among the Hermit Crabs.

A few good starter corals would be Mushroom Corals, Star Polyps, Zoanthid Corals or Pulsing Xenia. All of these corals have less demanding requirments for lighting and flow and can adapt well to nano reef conditions.

Please note that the JBJ 28g HQI Nano Cube has metal halide lighting included and can support a wider range of corals. The HQI lighting can support demanding SPS, clams and light lovers like anemones!

The flow in the 28g Nano Cube is also very good with the two alternating pumps on the wave timer!

There are a good number of fish that you can keep in a nano reef aquarium. The main requirements for nano reef fish is that they need to be small and not too aggressive. Fish less than 2.5" usually work well. Small gobies like the Yellow Watchman Goby can be excellent nano reef fish.

Recommendations of around 1/2" of adult fish per gallon MAX load in a reef tank are common for stocking levels. I would suggest going a little less and keep maybe no more than six 2" fish in a 28g reef.

Check out this nano reef setup article on aquabuys.com for more information on setting up a nano reef aquarium.