new to saltwater and hoping for info on setting up a 5 gal

LilFishy · 02-23-2006, 10:14 PM

id LOVE to have a 5 gal nano-reef, but am basically cluless.
any ideas people could offer me woudl be WONDERFULL

also can i add livestock to such a small tank? i love the dwarf hermit crabs blue leg, zebra, and red tip, catalina goby and of course most clowns...
would any of these critters do well in a 5 gal?

i deally id love to have a clown with an anenome, and mabe a hermit crab or a catalina goby, but i know a clown might be too much for a 5 gal...any ideas?

also live rock and inverts are very difficult to find around here...has anyone any experience with "FAKE" reefs (ive seen some very realistic looking rock, corals and anenome...)
of course id much prefer live but if anyones got any experience with using none live id love ot know as a just in case.

as you can tell im a little clueless, ive always had freshwater, and have to admit was always a little daunted by salt, but after keeping a 2.5 gal brackish with some bumble bee gobies for my school for 2 years, im ready for the next step up.

thanks in advance, im still in the Planning stage so plenty of time to figure things out.

dobejazz · 02-23-2006, 11:33 PM

Welcome to TRT
I would say a Clown and anonome are out

catalina's prefer cooler water but size wise are good
do you have any idea of what filtration and lighting you want?

Loverotties · 02-23-2006, 11:38 PM

Welcome to TRT!I would start out with something much bigger!The smaller the harder to take care of.water parimeters change faster on a small tank.

Liza · 02-24-2006, 08:44 AM

live rock is much better if you can get it because it makes a natural filter for your tank.

LilFishy · 02-24-2006, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Welcome to TRT!I would start out with something much bigger!The smaller the harder to take care of.water parimeters change faster on a small tank.

unfortunatly current space and amount of money dictates...(i would like to eventually have a HUGE (least 150gal) live reef tank when i get my own home)

i still have no idea on filtration or lighting, its a 5 gal minibow that i want to modify, it was running fresh with a betta for a few years but the betta reacently passed away and i dont want to go with another betta...it currently has the origional minibow light fixture in the hood and a regular whisper filter...
suggestions welcome, trying to keep it fairly simple and on the lower cost side of things for my first nano.

as i said i have plenty of planning time and am in no rush.

pastina · 02-24-2006, 12:16 PM

i have a somewhat cheapy way to suggest

start out with an inch or two of substrate, either argonite(cant spell sry)
or arag alive which is really nice its packed with some water and seems to speed up the cycle. dont use crushed coral
about 6 pounds of live rock (small pieces) will be perfect, at 5.99 a pound that will bring you to about 36 dollars plus tax. the sand one bag 20lbs (you dont have to use the whole bag) cost about 17-25 dollars depending on what brand you get.
is the light a screw in type bulb? if so you can replace that with a 10w 50/50 screw in bulb i believe its by coralife, petco has them on their site if you want to check it out. check under the hood to see if it says on any warnings first on wattage. if you can raise the light above the tank some it will help on heat because i found these lil bulbs to produce alot of heat.
if you would rather use the same light then you can get low light corals, like a sun coral on the bottom as your main peice, and a few mushrooms on the live rock. you can try a medium light polyp on the very top rock close to the rocks and see how it does.
as for inhabitants, i would not get fish because then you will go nuts with trying to keep the water stable.
2 hermit crabs, 2 snails and a fire shrimp would be a nice combo
if you really want a fish try something really hardy and small and just one, damsels are really hardy
so to set you up for this is less than 100 dollars not including the inverts, which you should wait until the tank is cycled, prob about a month

pastina · 02-24-2006, 12:21 PM

omg i forgot water movement lol
okee the whisper filter is ok just change the filter cartridge every other week, dont rinse just toss it, you dont want nitrates building up.
get the smallest power head you can find, sometimes even mini garden statuary pumps will do well.
and dont use tap water! on my 10g i used bottled RO water, it says purified on the label but when you read the fine print it says RO water.
the gallon jugs only cost me 68 cents each, so start out with 7 gallons to be safe, and change about a gallon every week...very easy
top off any water evaperation every day with the RO water, you prob will need a cup a day, my 10g uses 2 cups a day, but it will vary between the dry winter heat and the moist summer months
i hope i helped a little

davidsreef · 02-24-2006, 04:53 PM

I would agree with the people who said no clown fish, they get too big for a 5 g. A small damsel might work and most are hardy. A sun coral is a great idea for a lower light tank since they are non-photosynthetic, but requires regular feeding. Mushrooms are also a good choice for what you have in mind.

pastina · 02-24-2006, 05:32 PM

yea consider the sun coral your pet

you have to feed each polyp head...hmm guess thats alot of mouths to feed lol

LilFishy · 02-24-2006, 11:30 PM

sounds AWSOME thanks for the ideas, the 50/50 light should work with the watage in the hood, i figure ill buy the 50/50 and leave it running on just regular water for a few days to see what it does to the temperature, if it seems stable and not too hot then sounds ideal.
i found somewhere today i cn get live rock ($6.99/lb does this sound right?) the same place has various sands and live corals and mushrooms ect.

EXCELENT advice thanks sooo much. if this goes well my dad wants me to set him up a 75-80 gal saltwater tank in our new family room (excited) i like freshwater but the salties colours and personalities seem to be just amazing...

again thanks for the advice, keep it comming! this is a great help...

pastina · 02-25-2006, 10:30 AM

6.99 for live rock is about right. anywhere between the 5 and 8 dollar range is typical. is this an online store? if you can find a petshop that sells everything that would be great, online is good but you know how shipping can be lol...usually live stock ships for about 30 bucks, kinda alot, so its best to buy from a petstore if your looking to save money.
if your keeping it in a somewhat warm room you probably dont need a heater. all my tanks are unheated and stay about 76 degrees, but of course my house is on the warm side, 74 downstairs and 75+ upstairs...im always cold lol
in the beginning take it easy on the lights, keep it on for just a few hours a day before you add corals, algae blooms can take over in such a small tank. other than that everything should be just fine

LilFishy · 02-25-2006, 06:49 PM

sounds great,
yup theres a lfs about 15 mins form me that specilizes in marine fish, the also caries the live sand, corals, ect, and says if theres anything he doesnt usually carry that i want to add (he doesnt usually carry the hermits or the catalina goby (a fish i realy want to try with when i start up the 75 gal if this goes well) but he says if i want any just ask him and hell see if h can get it in for me. hes an awsome guy. just a small family store him and his wife run.
he has some gorgeos specimines and has a full 200 gal perminent set up (its his way of showing people what a well done reef can look like) and its GORGEOUS. hes got such a veriety of fish and inverts, corals ect from huge to ittttty bitty and they all just get along, i suppose you can when youve got 200gals to swim around in. lol.

pauliewalnuts · 02-28-2006, 03:22 PM

good luck

josh

LilFishy · 03-04-2006, 10:39 PM

so i know i cant keep aclown in a5 gal without some issues however i might have a 10 gal freeing up that i was thinking as using as a nano instead of the 5 (i hear biggers better for beginers)
any differences in keeping the 10 over the 5, and what kind of fish could i put in there, i realy like catalina gobies, percula clowns, damsels, shrimp,smallhermits would love to knwo whatkind of stock list would work well together in a 10gal
i want the simplest setup possible in terms of filtration skimmer ect...and i guess it woudl be considered lowlight if i usethe existing hood with the tank (it takes 2 bulbs UP TO 25w each) howdifficutl is it to fit a beet light fixture into the existing hood, (im everything challenged...electiraclly technically, ect all is challenged!) and im also VERY limited on that thing we call cash.
im still planning on using the 5gal as a nano for a sun coral and low lightersin particular but i woudllove a tank with fish and other critters too!

suggestionsfor a 10gal?

jeepjon · 03-04-2006, 11:14 PM

10 gallon would work for the clown in the long run...but here's an idea. How about starting the 10 gallon, getting two NO fluorescent fixtures above the tank, get some good bulbs in there (maybe one 50/50 NO and one actinic NO). Then get LR and sand. get the tank up and running (it will cycle with the die-off from the rock). Use a small Powerhead for motion or the HOB filter. Then add some easy corals and a cleaning crew. Just let the tank grow for a while (~6 mos. or more). If you get really good at taking care of the tank, you might be able to add a pair of small clowns if you really get good at taking care of the tank (i.e.-not forgetting water changes, being good about maintenance, not overfeeding any shrimp or livestock you have in there..etc. etc.)

Does that sound good?
-JOn