Audrey “AJ” Pedersen, age 4, with her dad’s 4-month-old, 1.25-gallon reef vase. Says Matt Pedersen: “It’s far from bulletproof, but it’s still been one of the easiest, most successful reefs I’ve ever set up.”
View more from the Jan/Feb 2018 issue of CORAL
Launching the 15th year of CORAL Magazine, our home-grown MICRO REEFS feature issue investigates keeping the smallest of reef aquaria (those under 3 gallons). Expert contributors offer their secrets behind a proven track record of keeping reef aquariums in the tiniest of tanks, some for years. Whether they’re “reef bowls,” “vase reefs,” or “reefs in a jar,” the emphasis on simplicity and routine yields predictable, consistent results with these incomprehensibly small saltwater aquariums.
This Isn’t Your Childhood Goldfish In A Bowl
While a pico reef is potentially inexpensive to start, reef tanks require stability, and stability is often found through volume. Small water bodies can become polluted extremely quickly. Water parameters such as salinity, temperature or pH, can go off the rails in a catastrophic manner, possibly in a matter of hours or minutes. We’ll definitely caution the first-time aquarist who views these as perhaps an ideal starting point. Indeed, in our issue, one contributor envisions giving away frags and a minimal setup as an ideal way to evangelize your reef aquarium hobby to friends and family, however preferably this is done with your support, guidance, and frags from your own tank!
We can easily envision scenarios relating to water changes being one of the largest hurdles for beginners who lack the basic skill of properly mixing and storing water, as well as matching parameters prior to a change. Seasoned reef hobbyists who already have larger mixing reservoirs won’t have these issues, sparing a couple gallons per week for their micro-reef is an afterthought, and they’ll likely see easy success with any pico reef they establish. Our advice for new hobbyists might be to avoid this altogether by using one of the pre-bottled natural “live” saltwater products available or to support your local fish shop who sells pre-mixed, reef-specific saltwater at the appropriate salt levels.
If you’re ready to cram the entirety of a living coral reef into the equivalent of a cookie jar, we invite you to read/purchase/download/digital archive CORAL Magazine’s MICRO REEFS issue, Volume 15, Issue 1.
Then, browse these online resources for more information, for inspiration, and to locate communities of like-minded aquarists.
Stories on Reef2Rainforest.com
Could Pratt’s Aiptasia Jars become the gateway leading to many new reef aquarists?
When I Say Aiptasia, You Say Pest – The story of the Pratt Institute Reef Club’s annual Aiptasia-in-a-jar Project, arguably one of the simplest forms of pico reefkeeping one could ever undertake. Article by Randy Donowitz
A Definitive (and Free) Guide to Eviota Goby Species – This identification key covers over 100 species of Eviota, all ideal candidates for the keeper of a micro reef that simply must have a fish or two.
Aquarium Sizes – Bob Fenner discusses the pitfalls of reef aquariums under 40 gallons, and the article concludes with several aquarium volume references and conversion tools.
Coming Soon…
Building a Vase Reef, Part 1 – Keeping a reef aquarium that might hold only a gallon of water might sound dangerous, risky, or downright irresponsible. So before our MICRO REEFS issue went to press, Sr. Editor Matt Pedersen applied our contributor’s methodologies in a proof of concept reef.
Building a Vase Reef, Part 2 – Pedersen’s story continues
Surprise – Coral Spawning In a Reef Jar
Inspirational Videos
Pongpitt Zhang’s 2-gallon Pico Reef
Bradon Mason’s original Micro Reefs, circa 2007
3rd-Party Resources
Lee Chin Eng’s Natural Method, as explained at GARF.org
Ron Shimek’s Deep Sandbed Primer
Communities
The Maritza Vase Reef Facebook Page, hosted by Mary Arroyo
Nano-Reef.com has been the defacto small-to-micro reef tank community for well over a decade.
CORAL Video: Banggai Ban with Bob Likins says:
[…] https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2023/08/22/are-banggai-cardinals-depleted-in-the-wild/ […]Vinny Kreyling says:
Congrats to Mark on his new position.I know I speak for many wishing him the best.Robert Di Marco says:
Hi Matt, I always read with great interest your articles on any new species being bred and especially the loves of my fish life, the Clownfish. (I was the first Clownfish breeder in Canada back in the late 80’s, having reared 9 varieties from a basement operation and have spoken at MACNA twice and given over 75 presentations, on maintaining marine tanks and rearing Clownfish, in all the four corners of Canada and the US. My goal was to try and raise as many different varieties as possible to avoid taking any more off the reefs. Your article on the first raising of the Oman Clownfish struck a particular chord with me. At the MACNA XXVI held in Denver Colorado, Colorado August 29-31, 2014, we took the opportunity to visit the Denver Aquarium and I was stunned to see a pair of Oman Clownfish on display because everything I had heard was that collection and exporting from Oman was prohibited. Here is one of the pictures we took: I had a particular fascination with this species of Clownfish because they develop a more pronounced forked caudal fin as they mature, even more than some “clarkii”. I tried to speak to someone at the Denver Aquarium about if they had tried or had any plans to try to breed them and unfortunately no one at the Aquarium that day knew anything about them and even what type of Clownfish they were. All they did know was that an anonymous donor had given the pair to the Aquarium. I even wrote to them to offer any assistance but I never got a reply. So, all these years, I am truly pleased to hear that another species will be reared in captivity, this again is of particular interest because I am preparing to give a talk (which I have given a few times since 2014), entitled “ANEMONE FISHES OF THE WORLD”. I confirmed my last update in communication with Dr. Gerry Allen, (we spoke together at a MACNA), when he discovered the Amphiprion Pacificus. In this talk. besides the ones that I raised personally, I also identify the species that have been raised by different breeders and facilities. Previously you used to issue a list of Marine fish that had been raised in captivity, but since 2019 I have not been able to find an updated version which now of course would include the Oman Clownfish. Can you tell me if such a new list exists and I would like to see which species of Clownfish that have still not been reared. Thanks Robert Di MarcoVIDEO Inside Look: AMAZONAS Magazine “FRESHWATER STING says:
[…] That’s right, you can now get Inside Look, your exclusive sneak peek at the brand new issue of the aquarium magazine AMAZONAS, in video format! Host Alex Rose walks you through the latest issue, FRESHWATER STINGRAYS, the September/October 2023 edition. You can still get the FRESHWATER STINGRAYS Inside Look in a readable format as well! […]AMAZONAS Magazine “FRESHWATER STINGRAYS” Inside says:
[…] NEW -> If you prefer video content, we are now offering Inside Look as a video too! Check it out! […]AMAZONAS Magazine “FRESHWATER STINGRAYS” Inside says:
[…] The Table of Contents for the September/October 2023 issue of AMAZONAS Magazine. You can view this TOC online! […]