Leyth's 5.5 Gallon Nano

[leyth]

Hey guys, I am not new member, but I am new to the hobby. At least getting a tank wet part of the hobby. I could never make that transition from planning a build to actually implementing the build. I finally did it and I went with a nano tank so that I wouldn't be so intimidated. Well, it's safe to say the ice has been broken because I already bought another tank and it is cycling now. It's a 17 gallon rimless low iron. I didn't want to go much bigger because we are buying a house in the next year (unless I use up all the down payment money on this hobby.) I want to set up a bigger tank once we get moved in depending on the space we have at the house. In the meantime I plan on having the 5.5 gallon as my QT tank.

So here is my equipment list for each tank:

5.5 Gallon
AquaClear 20 with stock media
Aqueon 50w heater (edit: actually I had an eheim jager 50w, it didn't seem powerful enough for the 17 gallon so it's just sitting right now)
Nature's Ocean Samoan live sand
Rio 50 powerhead
5-7 lbs of "fiji live rock"
AI Prime

Live stock:
Tiger Pistol Shrimp
Purple stylophora frag (I think?)
Eagle eye zoa frag
Bunch of CUC snails

17 Gallon low iron rimless
AquaClear 70 with stock media (I have seachem purigen but waiting until cycle is over before using)
Aqueon Pro 150w heater
Hydor Koralia 240 powerhead
9 lbs of Caribbean live rock and planning to add the other rock once cycled

Live stock:
none yet, cycling

So far, I am about 3 weeks in and things are going pretty well. I had a YWG but he died. I couldn't begin to tell what happened because it happened so fast. That's why I am going with a QT tank this time around. I had a dino outbreak on one rock so I dipped it in 3% hydrogen peroxide and it seems to have taken care of that outbreak. I see some dino on the other rocks but it doesn't seem to be growing anymore. Keeping a close eye on it before I act on it. I had a Zoa Pox outbreak on the Zoa frag. Thanks to Premier Aquatics, I got the furan-2 from them and it took care of the issue.

I don't have pictures of the 17 gallon yet, but here are some chronological pictures of the 5.5 gallon from the start:

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[IMG]https://s3.amazonaws.com/fishstuff/6-17/Coral2.JPG" alt="" />[IMG]https://s3.amazonaws.com/fishstuff/6-17/Coral3.JPG" alt="" />
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[danh]

Looking great! I love my little 5g nano.

 

[picoreefguy]

awesome man. nice lighting choice too. i wish those were around when i built mine lol i spent like 200 on stunner strips and power supplies

 

[axio]

Very nice choice of filter and light... and not sure why it appeals to me so much, but I love the way you have it mounted off to the side like that. Following along on this one.

 

[picoreefguy]

aXio;1089901 wrote: I love the way you have it mounted off to the side like that.

me too lol idk why but it looks really nice. also good choice of lid with the screen, that'll let the tank breathe and let the light in while not letting any fish out

 

[leyth]

Thanks guys, yea I tried to make it a point to keep all equipment on one side of the tank since the location of the tank is viewable from 3 sides. The AI Prime flex arm mount gets a lot of bad feedback, but it has really worked out for me in this case.

 

[leyth]

Here are some pictures of the current tank and the tank I am going to transfer to. I can't figure out if it's ready or not. Ammonia and Nitrites were .25-.50ppm all week and last night they became 0 while nitrates are 5-10ppm. It sounds cycled, but I don't know if it can handle the bio load of the other tank at the moment. What do you guys think? 2 corals, a tiger pistol shrimp, and a bunch of CUC. Time to transfer?

Also excuse the mess of wires, just trying to keep them both running properly until transfer.

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[danh]

I'd probably do it myself. Or just move the CUC over now and wait a few days for the others.

 

[leyth]

I added a few pellets in the tank last night to see if ammonia would jump. I just checked 12 hours later and ammonia and nitrites are still 0.

I think that was the right way to check right? To see if the bacteria can take care of it?

 

[picoreefguy]

i think frozen food is a better way to check cause its quicker to break down i think the pellets might take a day or two to start showing and would break down slower so its harder to get a real idea of if the tank can handle the bioload

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Very nice looking tanks, I love the aquascape

 

[leyth]

Alright, I went ahead and transferred everything. I also picked up a RBTA. All inhabitants seem to be happy throughout the night.

I acclimated the shrimp and anemone extremely slowly yesterday. Anemone opened up immediately and has stayed that way. I moved the corals away from the anemone, the stylophora needs better flow I think, so I gotta move it again. I will wait until the anemone is settled. My parameters this morning were:

Ph: 8.0
Ammonia: 0-.25ppm
Nitrites: .25pm
Nitrates: 10ppm
Temp: 79.5

So either there was a bit of a cycle after the move or API kits just being API kits. I will run another series of tests tonight to keep a close eye on things.

I am running Purigen + the biomax balls that the aquaclear kit comes with. Can't tell if I should run the carbon that comes with it as well or if the Purigen replaced it. There is room for more media in that basket.

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