new 5 gal project

[hippy guy]

So in about a month, ill be out of this apartment and into a new, and I've decided a new project is in order (now that I'm figuring out fw planted, and need more occupying time haha)
I have a 5 gal tank, and want to turn it into a nano sw tank. Live rock, an anemone or coral of some kind (both if possible, but still new to sw) I know starting out in sw with a 5 is a bad idea, but I have both patience and time to correctly do this. Any tips on what should go in? I deff. Want some shrimps, and possibly a hermit crab? My buddy has a sea slug thing, are they ok?

 

[redsea]

Definitely I would get a shrimp, even though they aren't fish, they are still interesting to watch!

 

[carey]

You can get a goby, a small one and a bunch of inverts. Shrimo and crabs would be fine. I would stay away from the anenome, they need alot of light and pristine established water.

I wouldnt put a sea slug in a 5g, they need room to roam. lol

 

[hippy guy]

Is 5 gal enough swimmin space for a small goby I don't wan t him to be bored lol

 

[hippy guy]

So like coral... what happen if it gets too big for the tank? Are the size charts like for fish? I wana get all this right the first time around

 

[carey]

I have a small clown goby in my 4g and he has plenty of room. They are awful tiny, about an inch of that. Check out the nano fish section on Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums. They have alot of info listed for each fish and invert.

 

[carey]

Oh and if the corals get too big you can always move it to a larger tank or frag it and trade it at your lfs or locally on craigslist. I see people all the time listing their frags.

 

[hippy guy]

So carey, you seem to know your way around the sw world.. what kinda corals would you suggest. As I said I have the time and patience for most anything.. sun coral is way neat, but I don't know where neat, and dangerous to other animals is, because today my friends slug was eaten by his coral.. (its so weird its an animal, and I see them and think plant..there just strange.
I did see somthing today,ill go back tomorow to see wht it was called. But looked like an underwater tree, with blue flowers on it.. like I said, still need lots of reading..

 

[carey]

The sun coral has to actually be fed, it doesnt get its food from light so it's kinda hard to keep healthy. Mine opens at its whim and I hope to catch them open so i can feed it.

The standard corals would work, zooa's for sure, maybe a small candycane, some leathers would be fine as well.

I have a 4g with: zooas, mushrooms, candycanes, an acan, a blasto frag,xenia ( wouldnt recc. as they grow fast and full), Kenya tree (same as zenia) and some duncans. Looks very cool and full now too. lol

I have the other tanks I plan on moving the xenia and kenya tree to if they get too big so I wouldnt get those guys.

 

[hippy guy]

Awesome, ill check those out. If I were to attempt sun coral, what would they eat? Frozen foods, liquid foods.. I've seen videos of people target feeding with bottles for those type of coral, but I really would rather have light dependant coral...as there pretty neat

 

[carey]

I feed mine with an eyedropper, been feeding cyclops and some Brightwell coral food. I was using tweezers to feed each polyp brine shrimp and mysis but that got kinda tedious, and like I said, mine arent blooming as much as I'd like. It's a difficult coral to sustain, takes alot of time and patience. In retrospect I probably shouldnt have gotten it, BUT it is soo awesome and I love a good challenge. lol

 

[hippy guy]

Well ill probobly start of with some zoas..saw some bright green one that looked neat. Also..coraline algea..is it possibly to keep it on my rocks, because that's the only reason my lady says its ok haha

 

[carey]

If you introduce it into your tank from a rock or frag plug, yeah it will grow and spread eventually. My big tank is full of it, on the rocks everywhere and now on the back glass and the equipment. lol Love it but it is a bit tedious to get off the side glass, gotta use a razor blade scraper.

Since youre doing such a small tank you can probably get some really nice purple live rock for not much money, I mean how much rock can actually fit? I only have like 4 lbs in my pico.

 

[hippy guy]

Probobly not much. But honestly, I may just do a coral only tank, which would leave room for a bit more rock. (I don't want it overflowing with rocks though). Is coraline useful for anything..or is it just neat looking?

 

[carey]

I think it's just a neat looking thing. Algae doesnt ususally have any benefits other than eating your nitrates and phosphates. Hmmm maybe coralline could be useful...I just really have no concrete proof...

 

[hippy guy]

For a 5 gal, how important is water. Can I just use tap water, or is that mucho bad-o?

 

[carey]

I would for sure use ro/di water, it's not alot of water so it shouldnt be too pricey. With tap youll end up with algae I betcha.

 

[hippy guy]

Well my friend has a ro/di thingy..ill just use his till I have a need for more..

 

[hippy guy]

Is that why people use ro water..because of it causes algae? (I obviusly am still a ways from figuring salt out. But I've got the 5 gal tank
I'm getting a filter of some sort. And I saw an "octopus skimmer" thing. In guess I need the skimmer. Would 1 head be enough to move the water around?

 

[carey]

You dont need a skimmer for a 5g.

And yeah, in thelong run tap water helps algae grow as it has nitrates and phosphates in it which are extra nutrients that algae needs and likes.

I have a small hob filter on mine, it came with the kit I bought