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BRStv - Saltwater Aquariums & Reef Tanks

The Perfect Beginner Tank

Tank 1 of 1 from Is This the BEST Reef Tank for Beginners?

20
Gallons
mixed reef
Style
Red Sea MAX Nano
Brand
This video details the setup of a Red Sea MAX Nano as a 'perfect beginner tank,' focusing on ease of use and low maintenance. The tank is insta-cycled using established media and water, lightly stocked with hardy mixed reef corals and two water-column fish, and features a minimalist aquascape. Husbandry emphasizes careful feeding, consistent water changes, and a robust ATO system to maintain stability in a small volume.
Equipment

Gear in this tank

Lighting
Red Sea ReefLED ×1 $87.99in stock
Return
Red Sea $87.99in stock
Controller
Bayite
ATO
Reef Breeders Prism
Dosing
two-part
Filtration
biological filtration, mechanical filtration
Salt
Tropic Marin Pro Reef $23.99in stock
Water Changes
Weekly after target feeding corals
Feeding
Fish fed small amount twice daily (frozen then pellets). Corals target fed weekly with BRS Reef Chili and Brightwell Aquatics Coral Amino. Copepods and livestock dosed 5-10ml Algae Barn Ocean Magic daily. Corals dosed 5-10ml Red Sea AB+ daily.
Husbandry

Protocols & Practices

  • Used previously rinsed sand, less than one inch deep, to keep bio load low and allow for easy cleaning.
  • Aquascape built with Aquaforest reef rock, secured with super glue and Coraline colored epoxy, kept low to allow space for coral placement.
  • Used a 5-gallon bucket with RO/DI water and a Reef Breeders ATO for daily top-off, replacing the included Red Sea gravity-fed ATO.
  • All gear controlled by Wi-Fi strips, mounted with velcro for easy setup and water changes.
  • Heated with a Phoenix titanium heater set to 80 degrees, with a Bayite temperature controller set to 78 degrees for redundancy.
  • Insta-cycled the tank using ceramic media from an established frag system and Fritz Turbo Start.
  • Filled the tank with water directly from an established frag system to match parameters and reduce stress for transferred livestock.
  • Lighting schedule set to 7 AM sunrise, full intensity 11 AM-4 PM, ramp down to off at 8 PM, with 35% intensity.
  • Underfeeds fish initially, focusing on nutrient-dense frozen food, then slowly introducing pellets.
  • Tests ammonia daily for the first couple of weeks, then nitrate, phosphate, and alkalinity every 2-3 days.
  • Delays adding cleanup crew (snails, hermit crabs, conchs) for 1-2 weeks until algae starts to grow.
Chemistry

Target Parameters

Alk
8.6 dKH
NO₃
7.5
PO₄
0.04
Temp
80 °F
Stocked

Livestock

Corals
9
ZoasHammer coralsFrogspawnOctospawnPhotosynthetic gorgonians (Lace or Ribbon gorgonians)Fluorescent orange mushroomsAcroporaGreen MontiporaBlastomuces
Fish
2
Pajama Cardinal fishBiting clown fish
Inverts
7
Algae Barn Galaxy pods (copepods)Algae eating snailsCerith snailsNassarius snailsHermit crabsConchsSymbiotic sea stars (on gorgonians)