first nano reef 5 gallon

[azure bones]

Ok I set up my nano reef today its a 5.5 gallon I'm in need of a light for it the stock hood holds a 15watt bulb I'm lookin into the coralife 50/50 compact fluorescent but there is a 10 watt or a 20 watt version would the 20 be too risky bc I'm afraid the 10 won't be enough to support corals

 

[azure bones]

Day 1 of sw nano gonna go to lfs tommorow and pick up some lr

 

[azure bones]

So I got 4lbs of lr today now just too wait for my cycle to finish

 

[eric faatz]

nice what do you plan to put in there

 

[azure bones]

I think maybe a small clown some zoas and some mushrooms

 

[classklown90]

love it, keep us updated. for just zoas and mushrooms i think the 10 watt would be fine but if you have the money, why not just get the 20

 

[azure bones]

love it, keep us updated. for just zoas and mushrooms i think the 10 watt would be fine but if you have the money, why not just get the 20

Ordered the 20 my only worry is its says no more then 15 watt on the hood

 

[Zer0]

Awesome. I love the minimalistic scape.

 

[classklown90]

you should be fine, you may experience more than average water evap but just keep som r/o or di water handy

 

[azure bones]

Awesome. I love the minimalistic scape.

Thanks I got 5 lbs of lr but it doesn't seem like much might get some more

 

[CARM]

cute! is this your first tank?

btw I know you said 5 lbs LR doesn't seem like much but don't forget when you start buying your corals they usually come stuck on a little peice of rock as well =)

 

[azure bones]

cute! is this your first tank?

btw I know you said 5 lbs LR doesn't seem like much but don't forget when you start buying your corals they usually come stuck on a little peice of rock as well =)

Haha thanks yeah ill probably leave it and its my first saltwater but I've also got a 15 gal planted tank and this is probably around the 10th tank I've ever set up

 

[azure bones]

Ok so I'm not jumping the gun on ny cycle just being prepared lol what whould be a good cuc for my tank

 

[Zer0]

A couple snails, a couple hermit crabs. Just to start off with. I always like to add CUC to my tank as i see fit. If i see that my current crew is keeping the algae down, why add more right? If algae and detritus start to grow out more, then you know to add more. But don't go and add like 10 more hermits and snails just because of a little algae growth. Add one or two and see where that brings you. You would be surprised at how much algae and detritus your small CUC will eat.

For snails you could go with, Nerites, Ceriths, Dwarf Ceriths, Astreas, Trochus. And for hermits you could go with just about any small hermits you can find at your LFS i guess. I never really kept a preference on hermits. Some people say that hermits will kill snails for their shells, so just beware of that, as it is in some cases true.

 

[azure bones]

My nitrites and ammonia have been 0 for a couple days so I added a red leg hermit crab and a nassarius(sp?) snail I know everyone is gonna freak bc it's only been 5 days but I used water and lr from an established tank but I'm still not gonna jump in and add my clown yet maybe a damsel in a week or so and see how he does and maybe a mushroom frag or two

 

[azure bones]

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of my 20 watt 50/50 cf bulb to come in so I can pick up some mushroom frags

 

[azure bones]

So I'm pretty sure my snail just killed my hermit crab and tried to steal its shell is this normal

 

[azure bones]

Picked up a green star poylp frag today at the lfs ill put some pics up after it opens up a lil more

 

[azure bones]

As promised a pic of my first coral and also when should I do my first water change my levels are ammonia 0 or darn close the color is just a lil off nitirite 0 ph 8.4 nitrate 15

 

[azure bones]

Ok so is there such a thing as having too much flow I have one those aqua tech wall mart filters for 30-60 gall and it would barely fit on my 5 gall but I thinking i could put a lot of rubble rock in it or do a refugium mod to it there's a ton of space too the flow on it is 360 gph

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