what to stock a 5 gal with??..

[randa86]

I'm getting ready to switch over my 5 gal fw to sw waiting on hob filter small powerhead and 26w clip on led light..its a 5 gal fluval chi and the filter n light I read were crap..so what can I put in here?

 

[Bectan01]

Sexy shrimp! And fill it with corals. You will probably need a better light though. Is this your first saltwater?

 

[randa86]

Yes first sw. Had 50 million fw tanks give or take a few hahaha but I grew bored of them got rid of everything then my step dad got a sw tank and I fell in love lol

 

[randa86]

And I thought the lighting would be ok I looked up lighting req and some website said 3.5-4.5 watts per gallon would be good

 

[cgthebeast]

SW is a lot more of a challenge the FW for sure. You have to keep you on your parms for sure, an the only fish I think you will be able to stock it with would be a neon gobby. There are plenty of lowlight such as mushrooms also

 

[obscurereef]

Do you know the brand/have a pic of the LEDs? Par is more accurate for determining the right light, but wattage is often used for T5s or MH. 3 watt LEDs are the type you want. Cheap 1 watt LEDs are often used on little cheap fixtures and don't support light loving corals.

Like the others said, there's not many fish/inverts you can stock it with. It will be a grand challenge since it's your first sw tank and only 5 gallons, but if you had 50 million fw tanks you can handle any problem that will come

 

[randa86]

Not sure on type of bulbs but its a Finnex Epoch Clip-On Light

 

[obscurereef]

Not sure on type of bulbs but its a Finnex Epoch Clip-On Light

Looks like a PC bulb. Says it includes: 30,000k - 10,000k, 3U Type, Energy Saving Blue/White bulb. It should work.

 

[randa86]

Should work for what? Low med high? Not quite grasping the whole light concept because theres no wattage per tank size straight answer anywhere, everyone has a diff opinion..

 

[obscurereef]

Should work for what? Low med high? Not quite grasping the whole light concept because theres no wattage per tank size straight answer anywhere, everyone has a diff opinion..

Should work for low-med light. I recommend easy soft corals at first like zoas and mushrooms before moving up to LPS.

 

[randa86]

Thanks.

 

[Billbug68]

I just started with the same setup, minus the filter. I'm only running a hydor 240 for flow. You should follow along on my thread.

 

[randa86]

Can I go ahead and put live sand and rock in the tank while I'm waiting in my things to be shipped? It still has factory filter and light..my things are supposed to be here by friday...

 

[Billbug68]

Can I go ahead and put live sand and rock in the tank while I'm waiting in my things to be shipped? It still has factory filter and light..my things are supposed to be here by friday...

I don't see why not!

 

[cgthebeast]

Can I go ahead and put live sand and rock in the tank while I'm waiting in my things to be shipped? It still has factory filter and light..my things are supposed to be here by friday...

Yep, that would be a good idea, let the sand settle

 

[randa86]

So here's mah setup....I want to maybe later on put something in front of the powerhead to cover it up..any suggestions?

 

[randa86]

Maybe some really holey rock?

 

[Bectan01]

I reckon you will need something to break the surface - or are you still waiting on the hob filter? Surface agitation is very important in saltwater

 

[randa86]

Nope everything came in and is hooked up

 

[Billbug68]

Cool! Just a small suggestion... Try to keep the rocks far enough away from the glass so you can get in there with a small mag float and so snails can fit in as well. Plus, you want circulation all the way around the rocks. I like the arch!