Best Nano Reef Aquarium

Posted by gerard on March 20, 2009 under Aquarium Info, Reef Info | 3 Comments to Read

What’s the best nano reef aquarium? Many people always ask that question. There are so many to choose from. So many different brands, so many different prices. What should I buy?

We are going to talk about a few of the top players in the nano reef aquarium industry. But the first thing you need to do is decide a couple things. What do you want in an aquarium? A fish only tank, a fish only with live rock tank or a reef tank. The reason I start off with this question is because all the new nano tanks out today have various lighting configurations. If you want a fish only or fish only with live rock then compact flourescent lighting will definitely be sufficient. If you want a reef but you only want to do soft corals then compact flourescent lighting will be sufficient. But if you want a reef with hard corals then you are going to need the stronger stuff. Either a T5 or a metal halide lighting system. Which leads to the second question. How much do you want to spend? The big price differences start to apply when you are picking out your lighting. A 29 gallon oceanic biocube with compact flourescents will run you about 300 bucks. A 28 jbj nano cube with metal halide lighting will cost about 500 bucks.

The top players in the nano aquarium industry are Oceanic. They make the biocube which comes in 8, 14 and 29 gallon versions. JBJ makes the nano-cube which comes in 12, 24 and 28 gallon versions, RedSea makes the RedSea MAX which comes in a 34 gallon version and Current-USA makes the Aquapod, the Cardiff and the Solana which all vary in sizes from 12 to 37 gallons.

You really can not go wrong with any of these aquariums. They are all well constructed and will suit your nano aquarium just fine. Some of these models also include protein skimmers which if you are doing a reef is ideal.

If you are in the market for a new nano aquarium I would check out these 4 brands. I personally think the 28 gallon HQI Nano Cube is the most bang for your buck. You can get it at marine depot with a stand for around 500 bucks. There you will have a built in protein skimmer and the metal halide lighting which would basically set you up for anything you want to do whether it be reef or fish only.

The Current-USA solana tanks are geogeous but expensive. Cheapest start around 750 bucks.

All in all if you stick with these brands you will be good to go. You just have to decide what you ultimately want to do. If you think there’s a chance you are going to want to start a reef with some hard corals then shell out for the metal halide so you dont have to upgrade 6 months from now.

If you already have your nano then cast your vote here in our “Best Nano Aquarium” Poll.