First SW attempt - 5.5g Pico!

[andsoitgoes]

Okay - I figure I can't do any worse with SW than I have with some of my FW tanks, and the price was right so here it is!!!

Main tank shot!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive014.jpg

Pipes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive013.jpg

Kenyan Tree:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive007.jpg

The sexiest of shrimp - a sexy shrimp!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive006.jpg

Trumpets:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive008.jpg

Polyps:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive011.jpg

Green Zoo:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive009.jpg

Spotted Mushroom (I doubt he's in the best position, I need to move him =/)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive020.jpg

Striped Watermelon Shrooms:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/npapageorge/Pico%20Tank/2006-10-22-Day1-Willtheylive019.jpg

There's a wide selection 'o other stuff in there, I just hope I can keep it alive, it's so perdy!

I just need to keep my powerhead from tipping and get a bit more water to top this lil' gal off!

[Farrmanchu]

Not bad! That spotted shroom should be fine where it is, you don't want to subject it to alot of flow, or it won't fully expand. Light is not a big issue with reg. shrooms. You'll like the Trumpet, super easy Coral. Don't be surprised if those star polyps don't open for a while, they're best when left alone, once they start opening, they'll do well. The Shrimp is HOT :lol:

[andsoitgoes]

Thanks! I'm really thrilled so far. I'm just concerned about getting the salinity and water "kosher" - thanks to Seahorse_fanatic who set me up with an AMAZING little tank system for dirt, DIRT cheap!!

I can't wait to get those LED lights and I may jump on at least one 50/50 20w bulb to really make the tank pop :) I can imagine what some of the polyps would look like in that lighting!

Any other tips on placement of powerheads and such to make sure the tank is as stable as possible? I'm glad I got the rotating powerhead especially now!! :)

[andsoitgoes]

Here's a few more pictures of the tank the day after! The Kenyan tree is doing incredibly well, and the star polyps are starting to really show their stuff!

I'm loving the Sexy a LOT more than I even thought, the coloration is STUNNING!!!

http://www.vitaltitles.com/modules/Gallery/albums/album99/2006_10_22_Pico_Reef_Day_2_014.sized.jpg

http://www.vitaltitles.com/modules/Gallery/albums/album99/2006_10_22_Pico_Reef_Day_2_013.sized.jpg

http://www.vitaltitles.com/modules/Gallery/albums/album99/2006_10_22_Pico_Reef_Day_2_009.sized.jpg

http://www.vitaltitles.com/modules/Gallery/albums/album99/2006_10_22_Pico_Reef_Day_2_010.sized.jpg

SO happy - and yes, now I want MORE =/

[GrimReefer]

cool. how long have you had it set up for??

[andsoitgoes]

cool. how long have you had it set up for??

LOL - a day and a half? :redface: :redface: :redface:

Never realized SW could be SO addictive, my wife isn't as interested in it as me (she likes FW tanks stocked with fishies, rather than tanks with corals and such) - but man, I can see this turning out very, very bad. hehe, glad my wife doesn't frequent THIS forum!! ;)

[marie]

- thanks to Seahorse_fanatic who set me up with an AMAZING little tank system for dirt, DIRT cheap!!...

Sure, you thank Anthony now, but will you still thank him when you have 500g of salt water in the house, the floor boards are creaking, the spouse is threatening to leave and you found a really great deal on another 300g system :razz: :lol:

Nice looking little tank.

[andsoitgoes]

hahahah - as long as he gives me a deal, I'll not only thank him, I'll KISS HIM!!

Although this would happen minutes before my wife kills me =/

[GrimReefer]

LOL - a day and a half? :redface: :redface: :redface:

yeah i thought that was about right from the cloudy water. way, way too soon for corals or inverts. you want to wait for your live rock to cycle, and then a good week or so (at the very least) before adding inverts. too many toxic compounds and dramatic shifts in water chemistry to support anything sensitive. a little late for that advice now, but now you know for next time! :)

[andsoitgoes]

yeah i thought that was about right from the cloudy water. way, way too soon for corals or inverts. you want to wait for your live rock to cycle, and then a good week or so (at the very least) before adding inverts. too many toxic compounds and dramatic shifts in water chemistry to support anything sensitive. a little late for that advice now, but now you know for next time! :)

that's odd - the LR, Water and Sand was all cycled prior to me adding anything in (Anthony made SURE that everything would go smashingly well when I started it up :)) = I'm making sure to keep a close eye on all params during this period

[WWWD]

It dosent look like there is much to cycle, there is only one small piece of live rock. Do yourself a favor and get a lot more *live* rock for that tank and some better lights, then you will be going.

[andsoitgoes]

There's 3 pieces in there, 1 with coraline algae on it, and the other two with some attached randomness.

I have 1x15w 65k and 1x27w 65k w/ a 24w led bulb added on.

I figured that would be more than enough for a 5.5g tank, that's pushing 8.4 wpg and it's a very shallow 5.5g tank.

I may add in s'more live rock, but I thought this would be a good start now

[WWWD]

Sorry man but that piece in the middle looks tuffta rock from a fw setup.

[andsoitgoes]

Ah - Don't think it is. Anthony (seahorse_fanatic) had it in his sump with a ton of other LR.

I need that man to chime in, ANTHONY!!! :)

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Yes, I told him about taking it slow but everything is from my established tanks & the live rock was fully cured in my sump & then transported in a bucket filled with 5 gallons of saltwater from my reef tank. The rock was out of the water for a couple minutes max. He has prepared extra water & is testing parameters. He also knows that if something happens, he can bring the frags back & recycle the tank & wait the normal period (like I originally advised).

When I set up my wife's nano, it was also done the same way without going through a cycle so this method was "tested" prior to Mr. Too-Excited came over. Not the best way (rushing like this) but we've discussed what to do already.

[GrimReefer]

Yes, I told him about taking it slow but everything is from my established tanks & the live rock was fully cured in my sump & then transported in a bucket filled with 5 gallons of saltwater from my reef tank. The rock was out of the water for a couple minutes max. He has prepared extra water & is testing parameters. He also knows that if something happens, he can bring the frags back & recycle the tank & wait the normal period (like I originally advised).

When I set up my wife's nano, it was also done the same way without going through a cycle so this method was "tested" prior to Mr. Too-Excited came over. Not the best way (rushing like this) but we've discussed what to do already.
ahh...okay. i set up a .5 gal pico in the same fashion and it was successfull as well, although not the safest start.

[Fish]

I have stared a few tanks by transfering water and LR from another reef and I don't really see a reason to wait a long time. If the water and rock has been in a reef for the past X years then what exactly needs to cycle? The glass? Because that is all that's changed.

That is going to be a real nice little tank. If I were you, I would top up the water, add some more LR, and get some better lights. No one uses the "watts per gallon" rule anymore because it doesn't really tell you anything. What kind of lighting do you have? It looks really dim. The watts per gallon rule suggests that reducing the amount of water you have in your system somehow makes your lighting stronger... it doesn't. Some animals have minimum requirements, and those minimums don't change just because we decide to put them in a nano tank.
I went down the same path you're going down and I know that some of those "getting started" articles online have some really bad advice. When I first started my 2gal nano, I had a 13w power compact (I thought, 'hey 6.5 watts per gallon'), but it became apparent that it wasn't even enough light for my zoanthid corals. I switched to a 70w metal halide which sounds like a lot in watts-per-gallon, but it's still fewer watts than a houshold lightbulb and really isn't a huge amount of light, compared to what these animals are used to in nature. I'm not saying that you need a halide or anything like that, infact maybe all you need is better reflectors, or high output bulbs instead. The best thing is too find out how much light your livestock requires. A frogspawn coral would need as much light under 5" of water in your nano as it would under 5" of water in a 2000gal aquarium. Hope this makes sense - I can be confusing sometimes.

- Chad

[Chaloupa]

I did the same with my 10g, my Mom's 5g and now my 2.5g....nothing to cycle as it is all cycled...even took the sand from the older setups...so was simple. Good luck...you start nice and slow...and BAM just like Marie says you will also be lurking on every reef board, and finding that new (used) tank that you HAVE to HAVE as it is such a good deal...that's why we are on our 5th tank...:redface:

[andsoitgoes]

With our lighting as of right now, we've got 2 CF bulbs at 6700k - 1 running a 15w and the other running a 27w (total of 42) so not great, but I know I'm not going to do anything too much fancier than basic zoos and such.

My main goal is to not have this be so expensive that my wife divorces me ;) She's put up with a lot of my buying, and I"m not sure the cost of a mini MH light, but something tells me it would involve my death ;)

I would assume for what I have right now, I should be okay. If I want to do anything fancy, I may have to suck up BIG TIME... or just find a wicked deal ^_^

Anyone getting rid of any tanks? ;)

Mr. Too-Excited

[dockrat]

you might want to switch your lighting to the little coralife 18w hood they alow you to get some Antic lighting in there. Zoos look much better under 10000 K and antic lighting then under 6700 k lighting IMO... Or better yet Gut the Coralife hood and try to fit the bulbs + 6700k 23w bulb into your hood thats what i did on my 5 G nano and my zoos grew like crazy with good color.... and the fixture is $30 or so

[Matt]

My main goal is to not have this be so expensive that my wife divorces me ;)Knowing what I know about how this is going to go... you might want to find a good lawyer now and put him or her on retainer. If spending is going to put you in divorce court - well, that's where you're headed.:lol:

[andsoitgoes]

Knowing what I know about how this is going to go... you might want to find a good lawyer now and put him or her on retainer. If spending is going to put you in divorce court - well, that's where you're headed.:lol:

lol - well let's see...

10 freshwater tanks, mixed throughout a bizillion different species, about 5 aren't set up, but are grow-out angel tanks - 1 livebearer breeding tank, a livebearer grow out tank... wait a second here. how many tanks are mine.

I have my 20g planted FW tank with mixed cichlids, and my pico tank - The angels are hers, TECHNICALLY, and all the Livebearers are hers...

I AM LOSING HERE!! :P I have a fantastic argument, glad I could think about it like that!! ;)

"Honey... I just need another tank, remember how many you have?"

Okay - next question, who lives in surrey and has a spare couch?

[andsoitgoes]

you might want to switch your lighting to the little coralife 18w hood they alow you to get some Antic lighting in there. Zoos look much better under 10000 K and antic lighting then under 6700 k lighting IMO... Or better yet Gut the Coralife hood and try to fit the bulbs + 6700k 23w bulb into your hood thats what i did on my 5 G nano and my zoos grew like crazy with good color.... and the fixture is $30 or so

Hrm... how the heck would I fit them into this hood?? =/

I think I might need to look at a DIY canopy before going that route, and I'm about as handy as a dead rat. Seriously.

But seriously - what would be the easiest solution to attach the lights onto the inside of my current fixture, would it be wise to get a mini-ballast system and use that? Or I guess I could get the hood and add that AS WELL as what I've got - The hood is only 9" though, does it come w/ legs?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Another nano reefer told me that the 18w Coralife (2x9 w each) units burn out too quickly. He said the actinic is dead after 3 months & the 10000k is not looking so bright either. The Coralife screw in CFL actinics worked ok for me a few years ago. I'll see if they carry them in the LFS & let you know.

[Flusher]

The 10W and 20W Coralife 50/50 CFLs are still around. They work pretty good in nanos. Two 20W bulbs over a 5 gallon tank would work well. I have two over my 6 gallon nano, which is now my frag tank.
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