Is there such a thing as too small for a reef?

Hey,

I'm thinking of starting something small-scale and simple (I'm a beginner's beginner), maybe using a size 14 Biocube.
There are reasons I cannot go any larger (like my lease agreement, the landlord has a thing against anything that carries a risk of things getting seriously wet, including large tanks).

What kind of organisms can I aim to keep in such a small setup? Is there some kind of public resource for setting up a smallscale reef? Is there hope to successfully have some small fish in it, or should I be happy if I manage some corals and anemones?

 

well you can pretty much any type of coral in it, your really only limited to what type of fish you can keep, depending on size... but for a beginner I wouldn't recommend a small tank, because you have less of a buffer zone...if you evaporate 1 gallon of 14 gallons thats 7.14 percent but if you evaporate 1 gallon out of a 75g is 1.33 percent, and you salinity will raise on the 14g vs the 75g.. same goes with dosing, algae outbreaks, temperature fluctuations, so on and so forth.... all in all you can screw up thing much faster in a 14g

 

I've had my biocube 14 for about 2 years now. As far as stocking, you could do 2 clown fish, or 2 clown gobies, or a trio of firefish (just a few ideas of more than 1 fish) I keep 1 royal gramma.

Depending on your budget, you can put any coral you want in there IF you meet its light/flow and/or feeding requirements if its Non-photosynthetic.

You'd need to take off the hood and install a new light (LED or MH or T5) and upgrade the pump to a maxijet 1200 and add a powerhead or two.

LA has a nano-fish site.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15 2124

 

I'd recommend (not) getting a tank so small. It's actually the opposite in the reef tank hobby, the bigger the better for beginners. This is because a small amount of water can become unstable and have a sudden change than say a 75 gallon tank. There isn't a thing that's too small, some people keep a flower base with coral in it. Small ones at that too. Anemone wise.. Probably not a good idea in that small of a tank either.

 

The bigger the better
Brandon (Who is on here, just not much) has a decade old reef vase. It has a cool seal that reduces evaporation drastically. Weekly coral feedings following be a 99% WC. Lots of softies and lps with some sps towards the top
IMO a biocube 14 isn't a horrible choice, it has lights that will work well for a fowlr, kinda good for a reef, simple filtration that's easily modded with better media boxes, skimmers, and fuges.

 

I have a biocube 29, and I think it is about perfect for an apartment. i am currently renting, so I feel your pain as far as landlord restrictions go! With the stock lighting in the 29 i am keeping multiple lps with no problems. I don't think they are powerful enough for sps, but if you really wanted to keep an anemone you probably could. Ive modded it a little, replaced the return pump and added a powerhead, but other than that its stock. The only thing I would worry about with a tank this size is anenomes wandering and either getting sucked into powerheads or starving themselves. If one dies and you dont catch it I would be worried about it nuking the tank. Stockwise, I have two clowns, a blenny and a neon goby and they are doing great!

 

I'd suggest a softy tank. Soft corals require less light and flow, and are actually beneficial as they absorb DOCs from the water for nutrition.

I would not recommend an anemone, unless you want a species tank. Most nems get fairly large and would pose a hazard for everything else in a 14g tank.

 

I am partial to 14gal biocubes and agree that anemones are pretty tough in there - they move, sting, can get sucked into exposed powerheads and need lots of light. There are LPS that look as cool, don't need that much light, won't move and will host clownfish. I had a branching hammer grow well in my 14 with PC lights and my clowns loved it.

 

Hm I've given up on nems after some reading. I found out about minimaxis, but I'm put off by the potential destructiveness of the things. Though I kind of love the idea of the buggers walking around the tank, after reading some posts about how they migrate, creep up to the flow or even to the surface...

When I was a kid, I had sweetwater aquaria, we were pretty deep in that with a classmate, breeding african cichlids... The fun thing is how it started. I still remember the shock when I first got one, and it kind of ate everything else in the tank... Sometimes mistakes turn out to be the best things to happen. We ended up with species tanks. XD Those fish are seriously PRETTY.

Soft corals seem pretty awesome, esp. zoanthids. (Even though they are poisonous, haha.) Which corals are the most active? As in, like an anemone, pushing food into their mouth with their tentacles, contracting when "startled", etc.?

Also, I guess I've found a new goal. When I kick off a reef project, after the ecosystem has stabilized enough, I definitely want to make some large tunicates into the stars of the tank. Some Rhopalaea or similarly colorful and large ones. To be honest, I'm totally in love with all these weird gelatinous beasties. I remember a weird dream I had as a kid about sea squirts after watching some David Attenborough... XD
Is there a specific way the system should be designed in order to later accomodate such organisms?

 

Here is a link regarding Tunicate husbandry.

There are filter feeders, for this reason you have to consider water quality while meeting the nutritional needs of Tunicates, NPS corals, and some gorgonian. A larger system would most definitely be an asset.

Tunicates