# What size is Nano?



## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

:hehe: It all depends on the person. Some say it is under 10 some say it is under 5. I personally believe anything under 20 gallons could be considered a nano. 

I have even heard people claim that their 30 was a nano.


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## m.lemay (Jul 28, 2002)

Now that was an evasive answer!! You should consider a career in politics.:hehe::hehe:
I hereby declare my 10 gal. tank a "nano"

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:


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## SNPiccolo5 (Oct 6, 2002)

It really depends on the type of tank... For a planted tank, I would say 10 and below are nano planted tanks, but 25 (give or take) gallons for a nano-reef.

-Tim


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## cramramdon (Jul 22, 2002)

Ahh - - Now i'll have to try to find that beautiful picture of a 2 gal. tank I saw a few months ago. I'll post the link to it if I can ever find it. It was a gorgeous display of foreground plants.!! 

Alot can be accomplished when using the right materials properly:angel:


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

I first heard the word "nano" being applied to aquariums not long after biologists called most reef aquariums "micro reefs". They felt that every captive reef aquarium, regardless of size (even up to a thousand gallons) was still a micro-ecosystem and implied their difficulty of caretaking. Well many reefkeepers had already kept relatively successful 20 gallon, 10 gallon and even 5 and 2 1/2 gallon reef tanks so they figured theirs must be called "nano" and not "micro". 

These days, I consider a nano tank to be an ecosystem that is small enough to be relatively unstable and requiring close attention and specific care. For a reef, this is anything under 20 gallons, but for a planted tank, 10 gallon tanks are actually quite stable planted ecosystems. Only when I've gotten down to 5 and especially 2 1/2 gallons have I run into considerable trouble stablizing the system. 

I've got two "nano" planted tanks on my desk at work. One is the popular "Betta Vase" with one of those Lily Plants. The other is my attempt at a CO2 injected, high light (5.2 watts per gallon!) planted 2 1/2 gallon aquarium. In case you were wondering, the planted tank isn't growing much more than green slime algae.


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## cramramdon (Jul 22, 2002)

Perhaps there is too much light too close to the surface??


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## cousin it (Nov 1, 2002)

my current nano tank holds about 2 liters of water soon it will be time to add a couple of shrimps.
the lighting is supplied by a 20w halogen bulb giving me a light level of 10wpg  .
it was started off sat on a window sill for several weeks to allow the plants to settle in, now I'm using it as a table lamp in my computer room 
the next task is to add some co2 to it


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

2 liters ?

Cous... you should be able to just " exhale " into it for a sufficient amount of CO2 !
:hehe::hehe:


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## cousin it (Nov 1, 2002)

what can I say I was bored and had a spare container lying around doing nothing so I decided to use that.
dosing the tank with fert is a little difficult but other than that its going sweet now the light is working.
so far I have been covering the tank at night to keep as much co2 in a possible and that is working quite well the crypt and the hair grass pearls quite nicely for most of the day.


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

I don't know what the problem is with my nano. The last time I saw this smelly nasty green slime was with my African Cichlid tank from years ago. I tested Nitrates back then at 50ppm!! You'd think the rotala and Hygro Polysperma would be eating that stuff up, though! I'm injecting CO2 and dosing Yamato Green. This is frustrating. I'm going to tear it down at lunch and clean out the gravel, throw away the plants and bring new plants tomorrow from home. I'll preserve the biological filter, though.


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## Steve_WI (Nov 16, 2002)

In my opinion anything under a 10 gallon is a nano/micro. Im currently in the planning stages for my 5.5 gallon nano. Cant wait. Probably wait until after Christmas before I start. 

Personally I love nano tanks. Yeah so they have limited possibilities as to what kind of fish and plants you can put in them, but if you can put that behind you and look at the real benefits, you will like nano tanks as well. On average the benefits of a nano tank are that first of all they are cheap to start and maintain. Yes they do require some money to start but with larger tanks you pay 10 times more for something compared to a nano for example, bigger lighting, more gravel or florite, more plants and fish, a Co2 system, etc. Lets not forget they use up alot of water and electricity which isent cheap depending on where you live. But the best thing I like about nanos is that they are compact and get to be in rooms where they have the overall same effect as a large tank but with out all the space taken up. They are great for college or apartments. 

As GulfCoastAquarian with the green slimy algae, the only thing I see that could be causing it is the 5.2 watts per gallon. Thats alot of wattage for only a 2.5 gallon tank. Also the Co2 could be the problem. In my opinion I would start over and get some fast growing plants and maybe limit the lighting a little bit. Also dont be afraid to go overboard on the plants. The more you have the less algae you will have because the plants will out compete for available nutrients and Co2 and lighting. 

Best of luck to you.


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

Well I started fresh, rinsed out the gravel (it was like mud) and preserved only two small crypts. I threw away the Rotala and Hygro. I'll bring in a ton of new plants tomorrow from home and hope they take off this time!
5.2 watts per gallon does seem like much, but the watt per gallon rule sort of diminishes with a tank this small. 13 watts, 10" away from a plant is 13 watts, 10" away from a plant no matter what size the tank is. I did put a Wal-Mart (blue) bag over the glass lid to help filter down some of the light and focus it in the blue spectrum (the bulb has a very low color temperature). We'll see.


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## southflmom (Nov 18, 2002)

Here I was thinking NANO was the plant and ya'll are talking about size.....geeze, I'm a newbie if I've ever heard of one! *blush*

That aside, I am excited and pleased to announce that I am working har don my nano tank (a 2g hex from WalMart.) By this evening, it will have flourite. Right now, I have a Small World sponge filter because I could find nothing else that would work. I did find a 25 watt all-spec bulb and I am using the hood that came with the tank. 

My son's betta, Elmo, is in there right now. I am planning to take him out to cycle the tank in the next few days. Anybody done a fishless cycle in a nano tank?

Dawn


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## freaky-lil-raver (Sep 16, 2002)

do a web search for aqua zoo pc lights. you can get a 7 watt compact floursent lamp that will klip right on to the side of the container. they also come in a few purty colors

Mary


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## cerealkllr4 (Mar 27, 2003)

cousin it said:


> my current nano tank holds about 2 liters of water soon it will be time to add a couple of shrimps.
> the lighting is supplied by a 20w halogen bulb giving me a light level of 10wpg  .......


Is that a 20w halogen - as in the nice sparkly lights that everyone else condemns - how is it going?? I've often wondered if they would be suitable to use.


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## brandon429 (Mar 29, 2003)

I like the idea of 20g as a cut-off for nanos, and 2.5g--->are pico reefs. It would be neat to make a poll and see the results. Id be willing to bet 15g-20g is the most popular choice for nano cutoff

From my own perspective, 10 gallon seems large. There are many more 5gallon and smaller reefs/planted tanks in the last two years than ever before in the hobby! They are starting to seem commonplace--I think the cutoff will get smaller in time.


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## jay60640 (Apr 16, 2003)

Does anyone know how to purchase this "purty" Aquazoo light?


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

I think that Pet Solutions carries it.


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