Thinking of starting a 5g nano

[dachsienutt]

I have a 5g hex acrylic tank. I'm thinking of trying my hand with a nano. Will probably stock from my 112g sw tank. Any suggestions on the bare minimum I will need to get started??

[reginanmc]

LR, heater, powerhead, light

[dachsienutt]

got everything but the light. I have the incadescent (spell?) that it came with. Any suggestions of lighting options?

[ScruffyRubicon]

Watch your topping off. A little evaporation means BIG salinity swings in a tank that size.

[reginanmc]

You could go directly to MH......since you'll want to upgrade eventually :-). There are a handfull of nano MH fixtures out now. I don't know of any good nano sized T-5 fixtures.

[jph]

Originally Posted by reginanmc

LR, heater, powerhead, light

that's what i have in my 5G. it's been running for a few months now.
started out as a quarantaine tank


J.

[jph]

Originally Posted by reginanmc

You could go directly to MH......since you'll want to upgrade eventually :-). There are a handfull of nano MH fixtures out now. I don't know of any good nano sized T-5 fixtures.

i was curious, and put my 150W sunpod over my nano a few days ago.
within one hour, the temp went up from 78 to 81. then i removed it
didn't want to wait and find out how hot that it would get.

with 2x18W PC the heater still needs to work.


J.

[reginanmc]

Originally Posted by jph

i was curious, and put my 150W sunpod over my nano a few days ago.
within one hour, the temp went up from 78 to 81. then i removed it
didn't want to wait and find out how hot that it would get.

with 2x18W PC the heater still needs to work.


J.

I've been researching MH on nano's .......... I'm getting some for my 8g BC. For the most part I have read that people don't have heat problems on their nano, I've read a few that say they had to add a fan.

I would imagine you have to look at enviromental factors like air temp. Perhaps also, how high off the water the fixture is.

But I'm only taking from treads i've read on different forums......you've got experiance

[scoop]

I've got a Nova Extreme 2 x 20 (or 18?) T5 fixture on my 5gl and i love it. I've got a candy cane that has gone from 2 to 6 heads in 3 months, Frogspawn added a head, and my blue mushrooms are going crazy. I got it for $70 at lfs, but it might be cheaper on the net.

[dachsienutt]

Thanks. I'll look into that. I know how important the lighting is.

Originally Posted by scoop

I've got a Nova Extreme 2 x 20 (or 18?) T5 fixture on my 5gl and i love it. I've got a candy cane that has gone from 2 to 6 heads in 3 months, Frogspawn added a head, and my blue mushrooms are going crazy. I got it for $70 at lfs, but it might be cheaper on the net.

[dachsienutt]

any recommendations on a really good compact skimmer for 5g nano??

[reefjunkie77]

if you want to use the incandescent fixture, a simple lighting solution would be to use one of those mini compact bulbs that just screw in the socket. A 20w 50/50 bulb would be just fine for a good bit of softies and some hardy Lps. You can find them on the web at bigalsonline.com as well as other online vendors.

[reefjunkie77]

If you stock sparsely, you will likely benefit more from weekly water changes rather than the use of skimmer. It is just as easy to take out a gallon of water from your 5g and replace it with a gallon out of your 112, than to throw a skimmer on the tank. A skimmer would likely do more harm than good because it would be too easy to overskim. Besides, on a tank that small you should be doing weekly waterchanges anyway. JMO
Good luck

[dachsienutt]

Great advice! Thank you!

Originally Posted by reefjunkie77

If you stock sparsely, you will likely benefit more from weekly water changes rather than the use of skimmer. It is just as easy to take out a gallon of water from your 5g and replace it with a gallon out of your 112, than to throw a skimmer on the tank. A skimmer would likely do more harm than good because it would be too easy to overskim. Besides, on a tank that small you should be doing weekly waterchanges anyway. JMO
Good luck

[reefjunkie77]

You're welcome! Glad I could help.Good luck with the tank. keep me posted.