Nano Reef Aquarium
by Sam Pol
(updated on 1-11-09)

A Nano Reef style aquarium with various soft corals.

Table of Contents Nano Reef Aquarium Equipment Habitat Water Chemistry Setup Cleanup Crew Adding Corals Adding Fish Feeding Maintenance Nano Reef Kits Other Info

Easy Nano Reefin'
It is amazing that so much color can be in an aquarium. They also seem impossibly too small to contain such a gorgeous and complicated ecosystem.

Here are some common thoughts:
“Reef aquariums are too difficult”
“You can’t do saltwater aquariums in less than a 30 gallon tank”

Reef aquariums are not that difficult.
Nano reef aquariums require a basic understanding of the animals you decide to keep. They also require minimal maintenance with a water change every 7-10 days.

Most nano reefs are between 7 to 12 gallons.
A Nano Reef is basically a small reef tank of less than twenty gallons. These types of small reefs can be maintained without the larger reef aquarium equipment such as a protein skimmer or calcium reactor. The frequent water changes (3-4 times per month), Live Rock/Live Sand natural filtration and conservative stocking of reef animals makes for an uncomplicated and pleasurable marine aquarium experience.

Aquarium
A 10-20 Gallon aquarium is a good choice for starting a Nano Reef. A standard style aquarium offers a lot of flexibility with easy equipment upgrades such as a refugium. You may also choose another aquarium such as the popular 12 gallon Nano Cube.

SeaClear 18 Gallon Aquarium

12 Gallon Nano Cube

Filtration
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 Rock is the primary filtration in nano reef aquariums.

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.

The Live Rock and Live Sand will be the basis for your "living" biological filter.
You will need approximately 8-12 lbs of Live Rock for a 2-3" deep sand bed.

Water Movement
Water movement is important in a Nano Reef aquarium to prevent dead spots and provide suitable flow through the natural live rock filter. You will need a turnover flow rate of at least 10 times the aquarium volume per hour. A 18 gallon aquarium would require a minimum of 180 to 200 gallons per hour of turnover.

Hydor Koralia Nano Powerhead

The hang on back filter is a nice addition as it allows the occasional use of filter media for water polishing. Normally the HOB filter and the power head are used without sponge filter media or bio media leaving this filtration job to your live rock and live sand. Some hobbyists do use carbon media other filter resins to help remove excess nutrients and pollutants. A reef grade chemical media such Carbonit-P is a good choice.

	AquaClear Mini Power Filter
	Carbonit-P

Lighting
Lighting is important in a nano reef as most of the corals kept in these style aquariums require light to survive. A good rule of thumb is to use about 4-6 watts per gallon of lighting for around 8-10 hours a day. We also recommend a mixed spectrum combining 10,000K bulbs with actinic blue to render the best colors and growth of your corals. Compact fluorescent lighting is usually sufficient in most nano reefs.

Satellite 1 x 40w CFL Fixture

Heating
Having super reliable heating in any style aquarium is very important. Most saltwater fish prefer a water temperature of 76-78F. A good rule of thumb for selecting aquarium heaters is to have about 5 watts per gallon. Choose a compact heater that can be hidden behind your live rock reef.

Hydor Theo 50 Watt Submersible Heater

Thermometer
Monitoring your temperature on a small aquarium is very important as the temperature can change more quickly than in a larger tank. We recommend the use of a digital thermometer. The accuracy of these units is amazing and most have a built in alarm for low/high temperature. This offers better protection for your investment in your aquatic pets than the cheaper thermometers.

Digital Thermometer

Habitat

What is a reef?
Webster’s definition:

Reef
1 a: a chain of rocks or coral or a ridge of sand at or near the surface of water.

"Through the window of my mask I see a wall of coral its surface a living kaleidoscope of lilac flecks, splashes of gold, reddish streaks and yellows, all tinged by the familiar transparent blue of the sea." Jacques Yves Cousteau, 1971

Live Sand refers to an aragonite substrate that has become colonized with nitrifying bacteria and beneficial micro-organisms.

So this is what we will create in our aquarium but in miniature or nano form. The live rock will form the reef structure with caves and overhangs that the corals, crabs, snails, shrimp and fish can populate. The live rock will also be your primary biological filter.

Live sand will also serve as part of the nano reef habitat. There are some fish and snails that live in and around the sand and we will discuss them in this article. The sand bed also serves as part of your biological filter.

Substrate
The substrate should consist of a layer of medium grade (1-2 mm) reef sand (aragonite). You will need enough sand to create about a 2” deep sand bed. The sand bed will also need to be seeded with live sand pre-colonized with nitrifying bacteria.

Water Chemistry

We need to replicate seawater as closely as possible to have a successful nano reef. The following water parameters represent the acceptable ranges for reef aquariums:

Test kits come in handy for verifying water parameters especially during initial setup and cycling.

Instant Ocean Reef Master Test Kit

Salt Mixes
There are several saltwater mixes available that are great for mixing synthetic seawater. Here are the salt mixes that we recommend. Use a hydrometer to test your salt levels when mixing.

	H2Ocean Pro+ Salt Mix 6.6kg 52 gallons
	Tropic Marin Pro Reef 32 Gallon Salt Mix
	Instant Ocean Hydrometer

Additives
Adding trace elements to your nano reef aquarium may be necessary as the aquarium becomes populated and begins to deplete these elements more rapidly. This can help maintain coral growth and health in between water changes.

B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System 32 fl oz

Setup

This chart is a timeline describing step-by-step setup of your Nano Reef aquarium. After the chart is an explanation of each step.

Choose Location
Choose a location for your tank that is not in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can cause the tank to heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly and also can cause excessive algae growth. Be sure to leave enough space behind the tank for equipment. You will also need to pick a location that can handle the weight of the fully set up tank. A 10 gallon nano reef tank can weigh anywhere from 95 to 120 lbs when completely full!

An aquarium can also be a decorative
addition to your home.

Wet Test
It is a good idea to do a “wet test” with all your equipment. You will need to fill the aquarium with tap water and check the aquarium for any leaks. Better to find any potential equipment problems now than later. Install the power head, HOB filter, heater, lights and other equipment according to the manufacturers instructions. Plug all the electrical equipment into a grounded power strip. We recommend the use of a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt) outlet to prevent any electrical mishaps. This will help protect you and your aquatic pets!

Example Nano Reef aquarium setup showing
equipment placement.

Plug in the power strip and check the function of all of your equipment. Check that the lights are working and that the heater is doing its job as well. Check the water flow from the power head and the HOB filter. Note that the mechanical filter media that usually comes with power filters is not normally used on a nano reef. You may use the sponge media occasionally for water polishing but it is probably best not to use the media all the time.

You will want to run everything for about 24 hours as this will also serve to clean the equipment a bit before you actually set everything up. After your done with the "wet test” turn all of the equipment off in the aquarium and drain out the tap water and unplug everything. Be sure and empty the water out of the hob filter as well.

Mixing the saltwater
Be sure you have your live rock and live sand ready to go before you begin. You will need to purchase a large container such as a 5 gallon bucket for mixing your saltwater. You will also need to use your powerhead and heater while mixing the saltwater. You may need to purchase an extra one of each of these pieces of equipment for mixing after your aquarium is setup. It is also good to have an extra power head and heater in case the units on your aquarium fail.

We recommend the use of RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis/De-ionized) water for the basis of your saltwater mix. The use of RO/DI water will eliminate a larger number of problems that can normally arise from the use of tap water. Tap water contains many impurities and contaminants that are not suitable for many saltwater species. Large amounts of phosphates and silicates in tap water can contribute to nuisance algae blooms.

RO/DI water can be purchased from your grocery store pre-bottled or from a vending machine. Local fish stores may also sell RO/DI water. Another option is to get your own RO/DI water purification filter. If you plan on being a saltwater aquarium hobbyist for any length of time then a RO/DI unit is a great investment.

Fill the mixing bucket with a known amount of RO/DI water. You may want to mark off the sides of your bucket by filling a gallon jug, pouring it in the bucket and marking the outside of the container with a marker. Repeat this process until you have marked the majority of the container with 1 gallon increments.

Add the indicated amount of salt mix (see manufacturers instructions) for the amount of water in the bucket. This is usually about ½ cup per gallon. You can use a large spoon to initially mix the salt. After adding the salt mix drop your powerhead into the bucket and plug it in. Let the powerhead run for about an hour to thoroughly mix the salt.

Preparing the sand
While the saltwater is mixing you can prepare the sand for the aquarium. You will want to use enough sand to create about a 2” deep sand bed. If your sand comes packaged dry it is a good idea to rinse it with some tap water in a 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket about 1/3 full of sand, then fill with water and stir. The water will become quite cloudy with the dust from packaging. Let the sand settle for a while and then dump off the rinse water. Repeat this process a few times until the water becomes less cloudy. Do a final rinse with some RO/DI water. Finally, add the rinsed sand to the aquarium. Smooth out the sand to create a fairly uniform depth of about 2”. Note that it is not necessary to rinse live sand.

Adding the saltwater
Test the water for specific gravity using a hydrometer. The specific gravity should be between 1.022-1.024. Adjust the specific gravity if necessary by adding RO/DI water to lower it or by adding salt mix to raise it.

Add your first batch of saltwater to the aquarium by slowly pouring it over a plate to prevent excessive stirring of the sand. You may also add a hose to the return end of your power head to pump the water from the bucket to the aquarium. Start mixing another batch of saltwater if you need more to completely fill the aquarium.

Aquascaping
While the next batch of saltwater is mixing you can begin to aquascape your aquarium. Be sure to remove any equipment such as glass heaters and filter tubes before you begin aquascaping.

You will want to select the best Live Rock that you can find. Good quality live rock will have nice coralline algae growth and is usually already cured. Cured Live Rock will have an ocean type smell whereas uncured live rock will stink! You will also notice lots of little creatures on the Live Rock such as small feather duster worms and other tiny organisms such as small sponges. The holding tank water should be crystal clear and also not have any excessively stinky odors. It is sold by the pound and costs range from $6.00 to $10.00 per lb. Live Rock is available at local fish stores and through mail order over the Internet.

Stacking the rocks
There are many types and personal styles of scenes that can be created in the nano reef aquarium. In this article we will recommend a central rock structure with swimming space on each side of the aquarium.

Start by building the foundation for your structure. Foundation rocks should be smaller pieces of rock. The goal is to create areas that water can pass through and around while minimizing the amount of the sand bed that you cover. This also creates cave type areas for fish and other creatures to hang out in. These foundation rocks also need to be pushed into the sand so that any digging species that you may add to the aquarium don’t topple the rocks.

Try to create a few small caves for your
nano reef creatures.

The main idea is to create an environment that the animals can be comfortable in. You also need upper surfaces to place corals so they can receive the light they need.

The next step is to place the upper rock structure. These can be larger live rock pieces and should be supported by the foundation rocks. Take into consideration the natural upper surfaces of the live rock that need to be facing the light. These surfaces will usually have more coralline algae growth.

Top view of reef structure showing areas for
coral placement.

Try to avoid placing the Live Rock directly against the glass leaving sufficient room for good water flow. Also remember to leave enough room on the sides and front of the reef structure to allow cleaning the glass with a magnet cleaner.

Seeding the sand bed
Seeding the sand bed with pre-colonized sand from an established saltwater or reef aquarium can give you a head start on cycling the aquarium. You can get some live sand from a fellow hobbyist or purchase one of the pre-colonized mixes available and add it to the top layer of your sand bed after you add the live rock. Note that this step is not necessary if you decide to use all live sand.

Filling the aquarium
Once the sand and live rock have been installed you can fill the rest of the aquarium with the mixed saltwater. Add additional saltwater until the aquarium is filled. Re-install any equipment you removed earlier and power up.

After the aquarium has circulated for a few hours test the saltwater for the following parameters:

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. 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. 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. For more information on the Nitrogen Cycle read our article on Cycling Your Aquarium.

You will then be able to add corals after about 1 month and a fish after about 2 months. Adding too much livestock too quickly can be dangerous. The small volume in a nano reef needs to adjust to changes slowly.

Your Cleanup Critters

You will be able to add hermit crabs and snails possibly as soon as 2 weeks after you setup. This depends on how quickly your aquarium cycles.

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.

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.

Blue Leg Hermit Clibanarius tricolor Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 1 in Feeding: Omnivore

Scarlet Reef Hermit Paguristes cadenati Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 1 in Feeding: Herbivore

Astraea Snail Astraea tecta Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 1 in Feeding: Herbivore

Nassarius Snail Nassarius vibex Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 1 in Feeding: Omnivore

Peppermint Shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 2 in Feeding: Omnivore

The number of snails and crabs you add depends on the size of your aquarium. A good rule of thumb is to add about one snail per 1-2 gallons and one hermit crab per 3-5 gallons. A good cleanup crew for a 10 gallon Nano Reef would be:

Pay close attention to your water parameters after adding your cleanup crew as you may experience a small secondary cycling period. Test your water for any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate peaks. You will also want to begin regular water changes of at least 10 -15% (about 1 gallon) every week to 10 days.

Adding Corals

After your nano reef has been up and running for about a month you can begin to add some corals. A few good starter corals would be Mushroom Corals, Star Polyps, Zoanthid Corals or Pulsing Xenia. Here is a bit more about those species:

Blue Stripe Mushroom Actinodiscus sp. Light Requirements: Moderate (4-5 watts per gallon) Water Flow: Medium Feeding: Feeds on water born particulates and nutrients.

Green Star Polyps Pachyclavularia sp. Light Requirements: Moderate (4-5 watts per gallon) Water Flow: Medium Feeding: Feeds on water born particulates and may benefit from micro-plankton feedings.

Colony Polyp Zoanthid sp. Light Requirements: Medium High (5-7 watts per gallon) Water Flow: Medium Feeding: Feeds primarily on it’s own symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) and requires good lighting.

Pulsing Xenia Xenia sp. Light Requirements: Moderate (4-5 watts per gallon) Water Flow: Medium Feeding: Feeds on water born particulates and may benefit from micro-plankton feedings.

Adding Fish

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. Here is a small list of some of the nano reef compatible fish:

Royal Gramma Gramma loreto Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 2.5 in. Feeding: Carnivore One of my favorites! Requires caves and darker areas.

Yellow Clown Goby Gobiodon okinawae Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 1 1/2 in. Feeding: Carnivore

Yellow Watchman Goby Cryptocentrus cinctus Temper: Peaceful Adult size: 2 1/2 in. Feeding: Carnivore Requires a deep sand bed. Can form a symbiotic relationship with a Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus sp.).

Percula Clownfish Amphiprion percula Temper: Semi-Aggressive Adult size: 2 1/2 in. Feeding: Carnivore

Stocking
One of the keys to keeping a successful nano reef is to keep the bio load low and not overstock the aquarium with too many animals. Fish are the biggest contributors to the waste in your aquarium so should be kept sparingly especially in a nano reef.

In a 10 gallon nano reef you can only keep about 2-3 small fish. This is based on the ½” of adult fish per gallon rule of thumb. This leaves us about 5” of adult size fish total. Two Percula Clownfish would be a good choice. With some of the smaller gobies you may be able to keep 3 fish. Keeping fish larger than 2-3” (Adult Size) is not recommended. Stick with the smaller species and the fish will be happier.

Feeding

Feeding your fish and corals is easy if you know what each of your animals requires as part of its diet. The other important thing about feeding in a nano reef is to feed only what can be eaten by the creatures in your tank. You need to feed just enough food for each fish to get a few bites and not much more. Some of the excess will likely get consumed by your cleanup crew in case you do slightly overfeed.

A decent carnivore fish diet:

	San Francisco Bay Brine Shrimp Freeze Dried
	Ocean Nutrition Formula One Flakes

Weekly feedings of small amounts of live foods such as live brine shrimp will also greatly benefit the aquarium. You may also need to target feed your corals if they require micro-plankton or other foods. This can be done easily with a squirter and a micronized food like Coral Frenzy.

Maintenance

Water Changes
In a nano reef setup with minimal ways to export nutrients regular water changes are the most important maintenance task you can do. Water changes help to remove high concentrations of dissolved organic compounds and replenish lost trace elements. You will need a few basic pieces of equipment including a large, clean plastic bucket, an aquarium siphon, a thermometer, a hydrometer and salt mix.

Your basic 5 gallon bucket. A must have
maintenance tool.

You should change about 10% of the water in the aquarium about 3 times a month. A good way to remember is to do water changes on the 10th, 20th and 30th day of each month.

Follow the manufacturers directions to mix your replacement saltwater before you start your water change. In a 10 gallon aquarium you will need to change about 1 gallon of water. Your 5 gallon bucket will come in very handy for water changes.

We recommend that you use RO/DI water as the basis for your saltwater mix. Add the indicated amount of salt mix (see manufacturers instructions) for the amount of water in the bucket. This is usually about ½ cup per gallon. You can use a large spoon to initially mix the salt. After adding the salt mix drop your extra powerhead into the bucket and plug it in. Add a heater if necessary to bring the temp up to the 76-78F range. Let the powerhead run overnight to thoroughly mix the salt.

Test the water for specific gravity using a hydrometer. The specific gravity should be between 1.021-1.023 and should match the specific gravity of the aquarium water. Adjust the specific gravity if necessary by adding RO/DI water to lower it or by adding salt mix to raise it.

Remove the necessary amount of water from your aquarium (1 gallon in this example). At every other water change you should use a turkey baster to carefully blow any detritus off the rocks and sand. Do this before you start the water change to help remove waste. Add the new saltwater into the aquarium and bring it up to the normal level. That’s it for the water change.

Filter and Powerhead Maintenance
Your pumps will need to be cleaned every month or so. Most powerheads and pumps come apart easily so you can clean the impeller.

If you are using any carbon media in the HOB filter change it out every 4-6 weeks.

Cleaning the Glass
Make cleaning the aquarium glass an easy chore with a cleaning magnet. Various forms of algae will begin to grow on the glass and will need to be scraped off.

Mag Float 30 Cleaning Magnet

Optional Equipment
Once your nano reef has been set up for a couple of months you may consider adding a refugium to your setup. A refugium or ecosystem filter is a smaller vessel of water that is hung behind or placed beneath the main aquarium and can contain extra equipment for the main aquarium such as heaters, top off units, a protein skimmer and other accessories you may decide to add. The refugium can be a natural food source for the aquarium providing a place for micro crustaceans to grow. The refugium also adds extra water volume to the system and makes it easier to maintain stability. The refugium runs with it's own set of lighting, has a separate substrate and can use macro algae as a sort of filter. This type of filtration removes the nitrates and phosphates from the aquarium’s water through the use of macro algae such as Caulerpa. The substrate is usually made of a mineral mud type mix that contains necessary trace elements and nitrifying bacteria. The refugium light is run on a reverse schedule from the main aquarium light to reduce the natural daytime/nighttime pH swing in the aquarium.

CPR Aquafuge 2 Refugium SM 12

Nano Reef Setup Kits
If you are thinking about setting up a Nano Reef Aquarium you should check out our Nano Reef Aqua Packs™. These kits contain a set of equipment and accessories designed to make starting a Nano Reef aquarium much easier. We have chosen the components based on offering the most reliable set-up and easy maintenance. Each kit includes unique, customized setup instructions only available from Aqua Buys.

Nano Cube Reef Accessory Kit

Other Information

If you are interested in learning more about Nano Reef aquariums and Marine Aquarium keeping take a look at these books.

	Nano Reef Handbook By Chris Brightwell
	Natural Reef Aquariums By John Tullock