Introduction

Lately I've been setting my eyes on these nano reefs that everyone's been doing and I've been dying to do one myself with complete envy. Most people who know me know that I'm a big fish freak so I've decided to get in touch with my inner geek this weekend. For those who don't know, a nano reef is a saltwater aquarium that's less than 15 gallons and fully sustained by live rock, corals and various invertebrates. These tanks can look absolutely stunning and can even look much bigger than they really are. Google the word "nano reef," click on Images and you'll see what I'm talking about.

After doing some research and talking to several people online, I've finally decided to take the plunge. I'm no stranger to keeping marine fish though it has been ten years since I've kept a saltwater tank (Good God, I'm old!). In the past I've kept mostly fish only tanks so keeping invertebrates and planning my tank around them is completely new to me.

Another factor I considered is overall aesthetics. While it's definitely easy (and cost-effective) to take any size tank and pick and choose your own components to go with it, you'll often end up with a Frankenstein tank with wires, sumps and crap dangling everywhere. I definitely didn't want that. On the other end, there are a lot of all-in-one tanks on the market with all the necessary equipment and component housed within the tank itself and packaged in a nice little cube. These types of tanks can be found at decent prices and can go way up depending on the type of lighting and extra features you want.

Since this is my first venture into the unknown, I didn't want to commit to an all-in-one setup just yet so I opted for something smaller. I found a good deal at Doctors Foster and Smith on a Picotope kit by JBJ. It’s much smaller than a nano—it’s a pico—and it's definitely small. I like that it's entirely made of glass with a bownfront and seamless corners for a nice panoramic view.


The kit comes with a 3 gallon glass tank, a modest 13gph power filter and a 9 watt 50/50 compact fluorescent lamp (half blue/half 10K). The tank all in all is very nicely designed but I’m also aware of the limitations the stock lighting presents. Obviously with a 9 watt 50/50 CF bulb my corals are limited to mushrooms, polyps (zoanthids) and various soft corals which are still some pretty good selections. And I probably won’t be able to keep fish in a tank this size.

I decided to document every step of this project to not only share with everyone who might be interested in setting one up themselves but also to share my experience and serve as a guide. Initially I wanted to post this blog on MySpace but decided it was probably far too nerdy to be on it. Plus with all the details and ongoing progress associated with this project, it ultimately deserves its own little place on the net.

Equipment

Here's a breakdown of the equipment and supplies, where I got them and how much I spent:

• JBJ Picotope 3 gallon tank ($37.99 at Doctors Foster and Smith)

About $100 worth of supplies from Petsmart:

• Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix (pre-measured to make 5 gallons)
• Hydrometer (for measuring specific gravity in saltwater)
• Hydor THEO 50W submersible heater and thermometer
• Top Fin generic submersible powerhead
• Red Sea Marine Lab master test kit (measures pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)
• 6 lbs. Ocean Direct Caribbean live sand

Spent about $8 at Lowe's:

• 5 gallon bucket with lid
• (2) small graduated buckets (comes in handy when measuring water during water changes)

$5 at Von's:

• (5) 1 gallon drinking water (reverse osmosis/deionized NOT mineral water)

So far I've spent about $150 which is not too bad for the initial expense of gathering all the necessary supplies and equipment.