Bill's Intro to the Reef - 5 Gallon Rimless

[Billbug68]

Alright guys, this is my first salt build, and I am really excited! Let me start off by saying, yes I know, it is not recommended to start off with small tanks, but after feeling fairly successful in the "high tech" planted side of aquaria, I feel I am ready and able to keep a small reef tank stable. I work nights, so the majority of the time I'm home to keep an eye on my tanks. My plan is to keep some easy care stuff, mainly zoas and maybe a few other softies. The only means of filtration will be biological and water changes. So lets dive in to the setup!

EQUIPMENT:

- 5 gallon rimless ex-Fluval Chi - Dimensions 10x10x12"
- Hydor Koralia 240 circulation pump
- Finnex 50 watt titanium heater
- Finnex Epoch clip light with 26 watt 50/50 bulb. I've rewired the moon light on this fixture so I can run the bulb and LED moonlights on separate timers. I may eventually upgrade to an LED fixture.
- SOON to be built DIY ATO, this is something I definitely need to get done soon and will be key to keeping params stable. You guys will be impressed with my DIY skills!



SCAPE:

- Roughly 6.5 pounds of dry rock (I choose dry to keep the possibility of any pests to a minimum since this is my reef)
- Roughly 6-7 pounds of CaribSea Fiji pink live sand

The rock


First go at the scape


Sand added and filled, wow that's cloudy!


And finally, after messing with the rocks a little, the morning after fill up





So that's it for now guys and girls! I'd love to get some of the really experienced reefers active on this thread, I'm sure I'm gonna have a ton of questions! I'm sure my planted tank friends are surprised right now...

[gman42]

Im following

Im not a reefer or anything but im excited to see this tank mature.
Your off to a great start!

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by gman42

Im following

Im not a reefer or anything but im excited to see this tank mature.
Your off to a great start!

Glad to have you g! Anyone's comments or opinions are welcome, regardless of experience, as I have absolutely none...

[Brian_Nano12g]

Following. Hope to learn here... you might inspire me to cross over from the planted side, Bill!

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by Brian_Nano12g

Following. Hope to learn here... you might inspire me to cross over from the planted side, Bill!

Maybe! I already love the tank and its only rock and sand...

[Brian_Nano12g]

What's DIY ATO? LOL... I'm such a newb here!

Are you going to put a cover? I'd be worried about evaporation and how it can drastically affect the specific gravity and such in a nano.. Oh, and are you going to mix your own SW or buy it?

What are you thinking of stocking aside from the coral? Shrimp or something?

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by Brian_Nano12g

What's DIY ATO? LOL... I'm such a newb here!

Are you going to put a cover? I'd be worried about evaporation and how it can drastically affect the specific gravity and such in a nano.. Oh, and are you going to mix your own SW or buy it?

What are you thinking of stocking aside from the coral? Shrimp or something?

ATO = auto top off. Baisically I'll be mounting a float switch to the rim of the tank, which is wired to a lifter pump that pumps fresh RO/DI water in to the tank, keeping specific gravity stable. Well that's the plan at least... lol

Well, there's a pretty good reef focused LFS about 20 miles from my house called Deep Sea Creations. I bought two 5 gallon jugs for 12 bucks a piece from him and the first fill up was free. One jug for salt water, one jug for RO/DI. Plan is to do a 1 gallon water change weekly, but I guess it depends on where my params are that will set my w/c routine.

Stocking will hopefully be very light. I'm hoping this tank will get my wife a little more interested in the hobby. I already told her I want her to be, and she'll come with me to pick out stuff for the tank. I'll probably have a few different types of snails, maybe a few scarlet hermit crabs, and the only fish I'd be willing to put in a 5 gallon is a yellow clown goby. I'd love to have a baby clownfish and make her the excuse for an upgrade... lol, a pistol shrimp & goby pair would be cool, but I don't know if I'd be way overstocked, or if the pistol would go after other inverts... Shrimp and other crabs would be cool too... So far I like the look and size of porcelain crabs the best...

[jmay33]

Eek! I'm excited to follow along! Welcome to the salty side! looks great already!

[MMantelli]

Wow a 5 gallon reef good luck I'm planning a 15g diy cube tank for a reef. Can't wait to see how yours turns out

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by jmay33

Eek! I'm excited to follow along! Welcome to the salty side! looks great already!

Thanks j! Any suggestions/tips???

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by MMantelli

Wow a 5 gallon reef good luck I'm planning a 15g diy cube tank for a reef. Can't wait to see how yours turns out

Thanks dude!

[Billbug68]

My super OCD wiring job...

[MMantelli]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

My super OCD wiring job...

Nice. Looks like things I do

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by MMantelli

Nice. Looks like things I do

I <3 zip ties... Haha

[MMantelli]

Yup there awesome so is the spiral black wire housing (even though its a pita) lol

[jmay33]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

Thanks j! Any suggestions/tips???

Yw. On small tanks its all about stability and keeping up with top offs. But it sounds like an ATO will be a big help with that. I would also suggest a refractometer over a hydrometer. They cost more but they're worth it.

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by jmay33

Yw. On small tanks its all about stability and keeping up with top offs. But it sounds like an ATO will be a big help with that. I would also suggest a refractometer over a hydrometer. They cost more but they're worth it.

Yeah, I've been lurking around on saltwater forums and trying to do some good research. Refractometer was ordered last week and should be here the 2nd or 3rd. I actually wasn't planning on setting up the tank this weekend, but I made the mistake of going to the LFS...

Other then evaporation, but closely related to it, my other main problem is temperature. Summer is here, temps in the triple digits, and my old house doesn't have air conditioning... any experience with tank fans? I've read some good reviews on the clip on fans by Aquatek... Or possibly just a desktop fan...? Tank temp is around 84 right now. Once I get a fan running, the ATO will be needed even more. I only had to add a couple small size Dixie cups of RO/DI today, not too bad thus far. I've got the water level marked with magic marker, btw.

[jmay33]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

Yeah, I've been lurking around on saltwater forums and trying to do some good research. Refractometer was ordered last week and should be here the 2nd or 3rd. I actually wasn't planning on setting up the tank this weekend, but I made the mistake of going to the LFS... Other then evaporation, but closely related to it, my other main problem is temperature. Summer is here, temps in the triple digits, and my old house doesn't have air conditioning... any experience with tank fans? I've read some good reviews on the clip on fans by Aquatek... Or possibly just a desktop fan...? Tank temp is around 84 right now. Once I get a fan running, the ATO will be needed even more. I only had to add a couple small size Dixie cups of RO/DI today, not too bad thus far. I've got the water level marked with magic marker, btw.

Awesome. sounds like you've thought of everything. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with fans. A house without air conditioning would be unlivable during a Texas summer. Lol. If it were me, I would just use a desktop fan. Walmart has very very small metal desktop fans. It would be really simple to mount close. The evaporation is intense. I used to have a 2.5 gallon saltwater. I couldn't keep up with it. Lol!

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by jmay33

Awesome. sounds like you've thought of everything. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with fans. A house without air conditioning would be unlivable during a Texas summer. Lol. If it were me, I would just use a desktop fan. Walmart has very very small metal desktop fans. It would be really simple to mount close. The evaporation is intense. I used to have a 2.5 gallon saltwater. I couldn't keep up with it. Lol!

Yeah, I can only imagine! I have an old evaporative cooler on the house, but don't use it. The previous owners didn't properly maintain it and its pretty much rusted out. I do have a wall mounted AC in the family room that cools down the house, but the bedrooms stay hot, and this tank is on our dresser... Well, I was looking for a challenge and got one! This should be fun! I HATE SUMMER!

[jwh0818]

The best thing to do is buy some frozen plastic ice packs and place in the water if it gets too hot. Thats what I did but its a job by itsself and you need around 20 small ones to keep the temp regulated properly. Try keeping only warm water fish/corals. A fan strong enough to cause surface aggitation will only cool the tank around 3-6 degrees of the room temperature, plus it causes excessive evaporation. Only other way I can think of is create your own water cooling system with a mini freezer sealed shut with a type of sump system built in it wired into your ATO to constantly have clean water