Nano aquarium vs. bigger tank: The right marine water aquarium for beginners
05.08.2016 00:00
Nano aquarium vs. bigger tank: The right marine water aquarium for beginners
You want to enter the wonderful world of marine water aquaristics with an own aquarium? First of all congratulations for this decision and welcome to the community!
Certainly there are some questions buzzing around your head when you’re planning your tank - and that’s absolutely legit since a beautiful, healthy marine water aquarium needs good preparation. But before you deal in detail with the technical equipment, the stocking etc. you have to create the most important basis: The marine water aquarium.There are countless suppliers that offer tanks in different variations - totally understandable that lots of beginners are completely baffled because of this. That’s why we want to provide some tips that should make it easier to choose the right saltwater aquarium.
Our Whitecorals tip: Not more than 500 litres
Essential criteria for the purchasing decision are of course very basic things like the available space for the aquarium, the maximum budget and the question of which and how many animals are to be held later.
We recommend to choose a tank that’s not bigger than 500 litres. In addition to "standard tanks" in this category nano aquariums, that contain far less than 500 litres, are very popular and suitable for beginners. Both nano tanks as well as larger aquariums bring individual advantages and disadvantages that should be considered in the purchasing decision.The pros and cons of nano aquariums - What should I consider?
Nano aquariums are a current megatrend in marine aquaristics. The small, cubical or cuboid tanks usually have a capacity between 10 and 150 liters and despite (or because of) their small size they are a real eye catcher, even in the smallest enviroments.
A clear advantage of nano aquariums is that they offer a relatively low-cost entry into marine aquaristics - in our marine shop you find nano aquariums starting around 600 Euro while big tanks are usually in the thousands. In addition nano aquariums require less technical equipment as bigger tanks.On the other hand you have to note that nano aquariums offer significantly less flexibility in stocking. The mini tanks are a good home for corals, shrimps and hermit crabs but are mostly unsuitable for fish. Just a few fish species such as the Yellow Clown Goby or clown fishs are also comfortable in nano aquariums. But also in this case there should be only a few fish in the tank. In nano tanks under 30 liters a fish population is not recommended in general. So for those who want a large number and diverse of fish in their future aquarium a nano tank isn’t a good choice.
In addition it’s a fallacy that nano aquariums require little care - on the contrary, because tanks with few water are more susceptible and more sensitive than large aquariums and require appropriate attention.
However, if you consider these factors you can experience the perfect introduction to marine aquaristics with the beautiful mini underwater landscapes a nano aquarium allows.
Scubacube, Reefer Nano or Cubicus: find the right nano aquarium
If you decided to celebrate your debut in marine aquaristics with a nano aquarium you now have the choice between different suppliers. In our marine shop three tanks are particularly popular: The EHEIM scubacube (120 liters), the Red Sea Reefer Nano (77 liters) and the Aqua Medic Cubicus (135 liters).
All of these are complete aquariums in which the floor unit with technology washbasin and other important accessories are already included - an optimal basis for beginners.As you probably can already imagine the key advantage of larger tanks is that significantly more stocking options are available. Because many fish need an aquarium minimum volume of 300 litres, you basically have a wide selection between different fish in the category up to 500 liters (if you plan an aquarium with fish stocking). Moreover the rule „The more water, the more stable the aquarium“ is also valid here and so a larger tank rather forgives beginner’s mistakes.
Nevertheless high care requirements should be scheduled for larger tanks because more animals need more individual care. Also allegedely banal tasks like window cleaning just take up more time for large tanks than for a nano aquarium.In addition you need more technical equipment and so have to calculate higher costs beside the fact that a bigger tank itself requires more budget.
Aqua Medic Blenny Cube
Red Sea Reefer and Red Sea Max: Perfect tanks for beginners
In the category of saltwater aquariums up to 500 liters the Red Sea Reefer 250, 350, 425 and 450 and the Red Sea Max 170 and 260 number among the top sellers in our marine shop. And that’s totally deserved: The complete aquariums are ideal for beginners as the most important technology is already included.
Nano or bigger? It’s up to you!
In summary there are three main criteria by which you can find a suitable saltwater tank: Budget, stocking and maintenance. Both nano aquariums as well as larger tanks show crucial strengths and weaknesses in these three points that you now have to evaluate for yourself.
If there are questions left you can always contact our Whitecorals team - we would be pleased to help you to find your own perfect marine water aquarium.
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