Awesome dancing nano reef is a masterpiece of common reef life

By Jake Adams on Mar 02, 2011

The dancing 25 gallon nano reef has a lot going for it; a vortech pump, LED lighting, great looking common marine animals, moderate use of live rock and an overall look which is greater than the sum of its parts. We absolutely love that this nano reef is stocked with the most bread and butter marine fish that you’re likely to find anywhere in the world: sixline wrasse, yellow tail damselfish, yellow tang, regal blue tang, bicolor blenny, a regular ocellaris and a brown ocellaris clownfish. The coral selection is equally down to earth with great looking specimens of Xenia, frogspawn, torch, green star polyps, green slimer acro, a ritteri anemone and much more.The pulsing water from the well-hidden Vortech MP10 is just the icing on this awesome dancing nano reef.

Before you go crying bloody murder about so many tangs in one tank, keep in mind that this tank is well filtered with a large sump, a Bubble Magus protein skimmer and regular water changes every ten days. As the surgeonfish grow they will surely be relocated to a larger tank. No one can convince us that a tank full of gaudy Limited Edition corals can look any nicer, and this tank is running a 120 watt Chinese LED lighting fixture. In its current state, this 25 gallon nano reef is an absolute masterpiece but as we all know, reef aquariums are living systems and this heavily stocked aquarium is going to require regular maintenance and management to stay in this beautiful form.

http://reefgeni.us Jestep

Looks amazing, but the stocking is insulting. It’s not just about tank volume. These fish need some room to swim. I can’t even tell how many times I’ve hear the old, they’ll be moving to a larger tank when they get bigger. They shouldn’t be in that small of a tank to begin with…
Anonymous

Agreed. Poor stocking choices.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3LLNDZ5XJ6ZQ76J2VLDUQD5WOA Micheal

It is a nice looking tank, however

120watts of LEDs is an awful lot isn’t it? Well ok if it was a Chinese made fixture perhaps they’re no where close to Cree in output.

I’m going to remain a grumpy old man, and say back in my days 25gallons was a good sized tank, not a nano.

The fish… no need to comment really… EXCEPT, the argument of “they will surely be relocated to a larger tank” is not an excuse, nor a defense, and really I do expect a bit more from the RB staff. Make the comment about “yeah we know not a good move” or something, but don’t defend the practices, by saying the water is ultra clean, or they’ll be moving back to the ocean later so it’s all good.
http://twitter.com/lurchw00t Colin Anderson

Go figure, tang police have already arrived.
http://twitter.com/jfarabaugh jfarabaugh

This is a case for the tang swat team!
http://twitter.com/jfarabaugh jfarabaugh

This is a case for the tang swat team!
Anonymous

no question it is a very nice looking tank, but is overstocked even without the Tangs, IMO.
Anonymous

Come on people, just use observation and common sense to see that the surgeonfish are in prime health and behaving naturally.
Anonymous

I will agree that they look fine for now.

I guess some people have the luxury of having multiple tanks they can put up, tear down and swap fish around for temporary “project” displays, but most people approach the hobby from the perspective of long term health, growth and stability of the system they own now, as a whole. I personally would not put a Tang (especially a hippo tang) in a tank that small unless it was a 1″ juvenile and I had 250 gallon display in the other room.

It’s not a “crisis situation,” but you don’t need to be a Tang cop to acknowledge the simple fact that it’s not a good long term home for those fish. We all know that.
Anonymous

I will agree that they look fine for now.

I guess some people have the luxury of having multiple tanks they can put up, tear down and swap fish around for temporary “project” displays, but most people approach the hobby from the perspective of long term health, growth and stability of the system they own now, as a whole. I personally would not put a Tang (especially a hippo tang) in a tank that small unless it was a 1″ juvenile and I had 250 gallon display in the other room.

It’s not a “crisis situation,” but you don’t need to be a Tang cop to acknowledge the simple fact that it’s not a good long term home for those fish. We all know that.
Anonymous

Jake you have just sounded the troll-call
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=511543597 Steven T Ruddy

Nice video and I love the music. The surge is completely unnatural looking though. It tires me out just looking at it. CRES
Anonymous

Common sense tells me they shouldn’t be in that tank to begin with.
http://www.facebook.com/justin.zeedrich Justin Zeedrich

The Hippo Tang hovers in the same spot during the entire video. Poor guy.

Also, is that a small Heteractis magnifica I see up top?
http://www.facebook.com/justin.zeedrich Justin Zeedrich

The Hippo Tang hovers in the same spot during the entire video. Poor guy.

Also, is that a small Heteractis magnifica I see up top?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5OXUUVISEQLW3VIUATSUFVE3DI Paul R

Sure it looks pretty, but as others have mentions those two tangs need a bigger tank. They need space to swim and grow.
Anonymous

I owned a reef shop in NY for 10 years and i have to say thats one good looking and health tank. Thanks for sharing it.
Anonymous

i owned a reef shop in NY for 10 years and i have to say that is one beautiful tank thanks for sharing it.
Anonymous

Its about water quality no size
http://reefgeni.us Jestep

Certain fish need room to roam. I wouldn’t consider myself a tang police. This isn’t about just the tang, it’s about the stocking in general. You wouldn’t go and put a shark or grouper or something in a 55 just because you have a 2000 gallon sump.

This tank is extremely nice. Something that many aquariests would strive to achieve. Stocking it like this is a disservice to the tank and gives a bad impression to any new or uneducated fish keeper trying to do the same thing.

If you are going to make and publicly show a tank that is this quality, should be a role model in what to do, not what you can do…
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AGGYKSXOMYOTMLBUBLXDZU6AII Doug

Dont worry about the tangs… The system has a big skimmer and a large sump… I hate when people give that as a reason for having tangs is a small tank. That still doesnt fix the issue of them being in a shoe box…

Thats like keeping us in a bathroom and saying its ok because there is a big tiolet in there.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OX4GWYIKOMOG2QEQUQ3EOLM3MM Keith Geers

This should be followed by the old “Dont try this at Home” phrase. We are setting a precedent that this is cool and okay. It is a house of cards that is sure to fall soon. Anyone who would give a thumbs up to this arrangement is setting the aquarist up for failure. I am surprised at the RB Boys stance on this being OK!
http://www.reefbuilders.com Ryan Gripp

“As the surgeonfish grow they will surely be relocated to a larger tank.”
http://twitter.com/majovimo ManuelJVicenteMontes

Beautiful!
http://twitter.com/majovimo ManuelJVicenteMontes

Beautiful!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1300478714 Arturo Atherly

Ok so Ive read the comments and understand the overstocking issue. My question…If I wanted to “replicate” a setup like this would about 5 or 6 clownfish be more appropriate??? I like the “nani” moniker. I dont want a tank thats too small and Im not ready for a large tank either…A lil help guys please…Thanks in advance

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