5 Gallon Tank Setup

[bruceanthony]

I'm a freshwater guy thinking of breaking into saltwater in a really small way. I'm thinking about a small tank, about 5 gallons. Something I can put on my desk. I just don't know anything about saltwater fish. Are there many that could thrive in a 5g tank, or do they all require more space? If so, what are some good options?

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[Bectan01]

It's not impossible to start your saltwater venture with 5g but will be very challenging! I started with a 55g and almost instantly wanted to go bigger. Aside from the maintenance of a small salt tank (I still have the 55g - and a 10g and I can tell you I spend a lot more time monitoring the 10) there is no fish that can live in a tank that small. Check out live aquaria.com and notice the minimum tank sizes. Perhaps choose some fish you like first then decide on tank size? You can do really cool pico reefs with a few inverts tho

 

[bruceanthony]

Hey thanks for the advice! Inverts would actually be great. Do you know of any that don't need much space?

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[Packohotdogs]

Hermits, some small snails and a cleaner shrimp would be awesome!

 

[Lepomis]

Nano have come a long way and are far from difficult to keep anymore. Has far more to do with the individual than the tank. I would recommend a second site for information also, dedicated to smaller reefs.

Nano-Reef.com Saltwater Coral Reef Tank Aquarium Forum

 

[bruceanthony]

I've seen some nano tanks online with firefish and even clownfish in them. Is that recommended? Cause that would be perfect.

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[PurplePolyp]

I add a gallon of fresh water every day to my 90 gallon SW tank. Seems that the levels of chemicals in a 5 gallon would fluctuate too much. 1 gallon of evaporation isn't much in a 90 gallon tank. Its a lot more detrimental in a 5 gallon. As far as what kind of fish you can have, I'd stick to inverts and corals.

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[bribo12]

I've seen some nano tanks online with firefish and even clownfish in them. Is that recommended? Cause that would be perfect.

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No there are really no sw fish that can fit in a 5 gallon. Definitely not a clown or firefish. You may be able to do a tiny clown goby but that's it

 

[J8kpin]

Agreed. A nano tank of 20 gallons would be a req for 2 clowns and some firefish. But a clown goby would be it.
The water chemistry would be a nightmare on a tank that size.
Put it this way; on my 100 gallon, i check parameters once a week, with a top off daily. You would need to test more frequently due to the fact that soo much can go wrong much quicker in a 5 gallon, than a 20 or 30 gallon. Good luck!

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Don't let them scare you it's not that bad, I had a 5 g tank that was one of my favs, and easy to maintain. It's just about maintaining a consistent wc schedule and take it slow. I had 5 sexy shrimp, a pom pom crab, a skunk cleaner shrimp and a few zebra hermits and a couple snails. It's not much more demanding than fw so if you want to try it do it. FWIW petco is having there $/gal sale right now and bigger is easier but if all you can do is the 5 go for it!