fluval Chi to 10 gal upgrade

[Bearchumjs]

As anyone used a 5 gallon fluval chi for a saltwater nano tank?

I have a 55 gal freshwater that will be saltwater one day... I'm tired of waiting. My only other tank is the fluval chi. I just got a lid for it yesterday. Is it too small for a nano tank? Any suggestions on what I should do to get it going, if it's even possible?

 

[Animal3625]

As anyone used a 5 gallon fluval chi for a saltwater nano tank?

I have a 55 gal freshwater that will be saltwater one day... I'm tired of waiting. My only other tank is the fluval chi. I just got a lid for it yesterday. Is it too small for a nano tank? Any suggestions on what I should do to get it going, if it's even possible?

I have a CHi tank however the filter is not suitable for Saltwater so i use it for freshwater Puffers instead, got myself a DD 24g for the marine

 

[Bearchumjs]

I have a CHi tank however the filter is not suitable for Saltwater so i use it for freshwater Puffers instead, got myself a DD 24g for the marine

What if I used a small HOB filter?

 

[Animal3625]

What if I used a small HOB filter?

others might answer this better but i cant see why not??? what were you thinking of putting in there????

 

[Animal3625]

others might answer this better but i cant see why not??? what were you thinking of putting in there????

you tube it, it has been done! someone even put a seahorse in one???? personally i think its way too small for marine fish

 

[Bearchumjs]

others might answer this better but i cant see why not??? what were you thinking of putting in there????

Well, I thought I'd try and find a little fish for it and grow some corals maybe. I was sitting here looking at my tank and just came up with the idea. I really have to do my research and see if there is a fish suitable for it. I imagine I could put some snails and small shrimp in it at least. I think I'd have to get a peice glass or acrylic cut for the top so an HOB would fit and so there wouldn't be a big hole in the middle of the lid where the original fluval filter goes.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I was looking at live rock and petco is really expensive. They do have tufa rock, which I think is a limestone. Anyway, is tufa rock ok to use in fowlr and reef aquariums? I should be starting my pico/nano tank in another week or so. The petco website says it is, but I want to make sure.

Also- if I do go the live rock route, would I be able to add a shrimp or snail or nano fish right away?

 

[Jmkb02]

I have a 3 gal and I love it! Mostly coral, I do have a very small pair of clowns and a little goby. My clean up crew is all snails and hermits. Just keep in mind that this tank is a pain in the rear. It will require a great deal of attention

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

In a 5 gallon i honestly cant think of a fish that you can have. Maybe a clown goby? Small firefish? I have no idea.

In a 3 gallon NOTHING except for shrimp and a small cuc should be in there, much less 2 clowns and a goby

 

[JustinKBreen]

Holy cow that's a lot of fish for 3 gallons. You can get away with overstocking a fresh water tank a little, salt fish need more room.

 

[carey]

I had a very successful Pico tank, 4g which had one green clown goby and lots of coral. I also had some neat inverts which is the way i would go if i were you. Porcelain crabs, emerald crabs, pom pom crabs, sexy shrimp lots of options.

 

[Jmkb02]

I have a tiny clown goby and the clowns love my frogspawn. Mostly just polyps and a green candy coral. I had a peppermint shrimp in their just to help when I started my tank before I added any coral bc I had glass anemones and some other stuff show up but he cleaned that all up for me then. He's in my 60 now doing great. Coral is gonna be the way to go with your tank, and I highly recommend you buy a good chiller/ heater combo bc the temp can literally just 10degrees in an hour. My chiller was about 150 and I got it on eBay. Another thing I recommend if you can is a hob algae refuge. It's great for pods and helping with algae growth in the tank.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I had a very successful Pico tank, 4g which had one green clown goby and lots of coral. I also had some neat inverts which is the way i would go if i were you. Porcelain crabs, emerald crabs, pom pom crabs, sexy shrimp lots of options.

I was looking at fish, and they had I believe a court jester goby. Would that be ok? I'd love a fire shrimp but I know it's too big. I'll have to look into the other shrimp. I think I will start off fowlr and then maybe add mushrooms or frogspawn(?) later down the road.

 

[Jmkb02]

I was looking at fish, and they had I believe a court jester goby. Would that be ok? I'd love a fire shrimp but I know it's too big. I'll have to look into the other shrimp. I think I will start off fowlr and then maybe add mushrooms or frogspawn(?) later down the road.

The jester goby needs just a little bit bigger of a tank bc he likes to swim around. I would go with a goby that stays on the sand like a clown goby or maybe a two spotted goby. Look on live aquaria and check out the nano fish that they have. My mushrooms do really good and so does my frogspawn. Just make sure theres at least 4-5 inches between the frogspawn and other coral bc they inflate pretty good and also sting other corals.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I have a tiny clown goby and the clowns love my frogspawn. Mostly just polyps and a green candy coral. I had a peppermint shrimp in their just to help when I started my tank before I added any coral bc I had glass anemones and some other stuff show up but he cleaned that all up for me then. He's in my 60 now doing great. Coral is gonna be the way to go with your tank, and I highly recommend you buy a good chiller/ heater combo bc the temp can literally just 10degrees in an hour. My chiller was about 150 and I got it on eBay. Another thing I recommend if you can is a hob algae refuge. It's great for pods and helping with algae growth in the tank.

Hob refuge is a good idea. I keep my house at 74 year round. Would I still need a chiller? I was planning on a 100W heater to keep it at 78. Also- I'm starting with just a fish because I will need to find a suitable light unit for this tank. I'm going to use PFS as substrate since I have a 50lb bag of it just sitting in my 55 gal tank stand. I gotta ask- but is a fire clown too big? I imagine it is but it's beautiful so I have to at least ask.

For filtration I'm thinking 8lbs live rock and either my 30gal rated hob filter or my tetra 10 gal rated hob. If I use the HOB rated for 30 gal would that make enough flow so that I don't have to get a small PH right away?

As far as saltwater goes- the 5 gal box of ocean water at the pet store will be fine? And top offs with RO water? Since its such a small tank I don't think buying the ocean water would be a big deal.

Carey- those Pom Pom crabs are so darn cute I might have to get one at some point! Just hope it doesn't sting any corals I put in the tank. I think I'll have zoas as well as the frogspawn and mushrooms. Pretty and easy is what I'm looking for since I'm just starting out. I'll want margarita and turbo snails. Maybe a scarlet reef hermit and a shrimp...

Also- if I buy live rock and come straight home can I just put it straight in the tank? And how soon can I add a fish if I use live rock? I know the tank needs to be cycled, so do I need to dose with ammonia or can I just put a fish straight in? I don't want to waste money by not doing it right.

 

[Bearchumjs]

The jester goby needs just a little bit bigger of a tank bc he likes to swim around. I would go with a goby that stays on the sand like a clown goby or maybe a two spotted goby. Look on live aquaria and check out the nano fish that they have. My mushrooms do really good and so does my frogspawn. Just make sure theres at least 4-5 inches between the frogspawn and other coral bc they inflate pretty good and also sting other corals.

Copy that. I will have to see about the clown gobys. I don't know if my petco has them, but I bet they can order me one. I know they have those little neon blue gobys and watchman gobys, and my favorite gold headed sleeper goby (which I know needs at least 50 gals!). I'll keep looking on live aquaria to get more ideas. Thank you for the frogspawn info. I would not have know to give them space.

 

[Jmkb02]

Hob refuge is a good idea. I keep my house at 74 year round. Would I still need a chiller? I was planning on a 100W heater to keep it at 78. Also- I'm starting with just a fish because I will need to find a suitable light unit for this tank. I'm going to use PFS as substrate since I have a 50lb bag of it just sitting in my 55 gal tank stand. I gotta ask- but is a fire clown too big? I imagine it is but it's beautiful so I have to at least ask.

For filtration I'm thinking 8lbs live rock and either my 30gal rated hob filter or my tetra 10 gal rated hob. If I use the HOB rated for 30 gal would that make enough flow so that I don't have to get a small PH right away?

As far as saltwater goes- the 5 gal box of ocean water at the pet store will be fine? And top offs with RO water? Since its such a small tank I don't think buying the ocean water would be a big deal.

Carey- those Pom Pom crabs are so darn cute I might have to get one at some point! Just hope it doesn't sting any corals I put in the tank. I think I'll have zoas as well as the frogspawn and mushrooms. Pretty and easy is what I'm looking for since I'm just starting out. I'll want margarita and turbo snails. Maybe a scarlet reef hermit and a shrimp...

Also- if I buy live rock and come straight home can I just put it straight in the tank? And how soon can I add a fish if I use live rock? I know the tank needs to be cycled, so do I need to dose with ammonia or can I just put a fish straight in? I don't want to waste money by not doing it right.

Copy that. I will have to see about the clown gobys. I don't know if my petco has them, but I bet they can order me one. I know they have those little neon blue gobys and watchman gobys, and my favorite gold headed sleeper goby (which I know needs at least 50 gals!). I'll keep looking on live aquaria to get more ideas. Thank you for the frogspawn info. I would not have know to give them space.

First off I would try to find a local fish store. I wouldn't recommend petco for fish or coral. Live aquaria is great for research and to also see what extra things certain coral and inverts like or need. If you plan to keep you house at 74 year round, you may not need a chiller, but I would still be careful with lights and everything that is possible with temp problems.

I've never heard of a fire goby?? As far a sw mixes, if you want to mix your own you can, but you will need to cycle your water a bit longer. I would recommend live water if you can find a Lfs. Top offs with Ro/Di water is fine but you need to buy a refractometer so you can test the salinity levels. Also I would buy a water testing kit so you can test your own water and you will know when your tank is done cycling. Generally, as much as it stinks, the slower the better.

 

[Bearchumjs]

First off I would try to find a local fish store. I wouldn't recommend petco for fish or coral. Live aquaria is great for research and to also see what extra things certain coral and inverts like or need. If you plan to keep you house at 74 year round, you may not need a chiller, but I would still be careful with lights and everything that is possible with temp problems.

I've never heard of a fire goby?? As far a sw mixes, if you want to mix your own you can, but you will need to cycle your water a bit longer. I would recommend live water if you can find a Lfs. Top offs with Ro/Di water is fine but you need to buy a refractometer so you can test the salinity levels. Also I would buy a water testing kit so you can test your own water and you will know when your tank is done cycling. Generally, as much as it stinks, the slower the better.

A fire clown fish.
http://www.reeftime.com/profiles/marine-fish-information/fire-clownfish/100022.htm

I don't have a LFS. The only one sort of close really is lame. My petco does a pretty decent job of caring for their fish and animals. I've talked to the small animal manager and he said he would have opened his own fish shop but the market here is not that good. So he tries to run aquatics like he would a fish shop. So out of petco petsmart and the other LFS , petco is the best I have.

So even if I get live rock I still need to cycle it first. No problem. I have an API master test kit for freshwater. I understand I just need a saltwater card if I want to use it for saltwater as well? And I will look into refractometers.

 

[Jmkb02]

A fire clown fish.
http://www.reeftime.com/profiles/marine-fish-information/fire-clownfish/100022.htm

I don't have a LFS. The only one sort of close really is lame. My petco does a pretty decent job of caring for their fish and animals. I've talked to the small animal manager and he said he would have opened his own fish shop but the market here is not that good. So he tries to run aquatics like he would a fish shop. So out of petco petsmart and the other LFS , petco is the best I have.

So even if I get live rock I still need to cycle it first. No problem. I have an API master test kit for freshwater. I understand I just need a saltwater card if I want to use it for saltwater as well? And I will look into refractometers.

Way cool about pets mart, how is the selection? yes I would def cycle your live rock. Then add your cuc. It will make it worth it and you can also establish your pod levels so your coral will just thrive. What kind of lights do you have?

The fire clown looks cool, too bad the tanks too small.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Way cool about pets mart, how is the selection? yes I would def cycle your live rock. Then add your cuc. It will make it worth it and you can also establish your pod levels so your coral will just thrive. What kind of lights do you have?

The fire clown looks cool, too bad the tanks too small.

I figured it was too small for that fire clown, but I had to ask!

It's petco, not petsmart. They have a decent selection. I can find what I want there and this petco will do special orders on occasion. So cuc after cycle and before fish? Will I have to feed them anything or will the tank have enough food for them?

I don't have lights yet. Just the bulb in my table lamp that sits by the tank right now. That's why I plan on fowlr first until I get a light.