5.5 gal or 30 gal reef?

[SMOONEY]

Hello!
I am a new saltwater enthusiast who recently set up a 5.5 gallon tank. I know some people do not recommend new timers to have a pico/nano for their first tank, but I really wanted a tank in my bedroom and the boyfriend would not be happy if I purchased another large tank. SO, the 5.5 will have to do!
I have a boat load of questions (I have researched a lot but I am getting conflicting answers to my questions).

Tank has been running for 1 week, has live sand, and 5 lbs of live rock, heater (temp at 78), koralia powerhead 240, and a small filter that I used to clear the floating sand out.

1) I will wait until it has fully cycled before adding fish or coral (I have a test kit), what soft coral do you guys recommend for a beginner small tank?

2) Refuge or Sump? Are these necessary for small tanks

3) Ive seen a lot of people keeping multiple fish in their nano tanks but most forums say no more than one (such as a neon goby), what do you recommend? I would like to keep one or two small fish. I would love to have a pair of clowns but I do not think that is a good idea for such a small tank.

4) I have a spare 30 gallon sitting around (empty), would a 30 gallon be easier to maintain than my 5.5? I dont mind weekly maintenance but I do not want to be spending an arm and a leg (and hours) for weekly maintenance once the tank is set up. IF I do use the 30 instead of the 5.5, what other equipment set up would I need? Protein skimmer, refuge, sump, more powerheads, filter? I would rather have the 30 gallon but I am trying to convince myself it will be more expensive to maintain and more work than the 5.5. If I can find solid proof as to why the 30 gal would be better, I would be okay with my boyfriend being mad about another tank being set up. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/images/smilies/dance.gif:dance:

5) the more I sit here and type, the more tempted I am to just go set up the 30 gallon.... I have an opened bag of 15 pounds of live sand sitting in my basement from when I set up my 5.5 last week. If I set up the 30 gallon, can I use the rest of that bag or do I need to purchase a new unopened bag?

 

[Psychomantix]

Depends on your plans for the tank.

When I wanted a tank to make a coffee table for my livingroom, I got a 42g. When I wanted a tank to put on my desk in my bedroom, I got a 6g. Both looks great and are thriving.

 

[Grimreaperz]

Through research if you are starting out the bigger the tank the easier. Smaller "bodies" of water are more prone to "environmental" conditions(temperature of the room etc) affecting the water conditions. More water = less micro managing parameters. 5.5 gallon may be the cheaper upfront cost but may turn out to be more re-occuring cost keeping the parameters correct. But everyone has their own experience and this is just my 2 cents.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Jon0807]

I'm in the process of setting up a 36 gallon and I currently have a zoanthid in a 10g QT. I gotta tell you, if I don't keep the water in the 10g at the proper level daily, the salinity swings pretty wildly. In the 36, it's much more forgiving. I'm going to hold off on adding a skimmer/sump, etc till I see how things go. I currently only have a HOB with only foam to act as a mechanical filter. I plan on keeping the bio load small, a few corals, some clean up critters and 2-4 small fish. That's it. If all goes well, I'm hoping I don't need a skimmer. But I see plenty of people with nanos, both newbies and veterans, do very well. Check out the nano section of the forums. A lot of good info there.

 

[Leyth]

I literally have nearly the same exact setup as you and started last week.

5.5 gallon
koralia 240gph
live rock, sand
etc

Anyways, my cycle seems to be done, but if I have noticed anything is that this thing loses water to evaporation like crazy. I swear the tank would have no water in it after a month. I literally feel like I have to top off every day. Also, the salinity definitely changes. I am new to reefing so I don't know how big of a deal the salinity change is, but I am noticing swings from 1.026 to 1.027.

I too would like to have two clowns, but I don't think it's a good idea. A lot is possible with nano tanks, but it really depends on you. There are pros to nano's over larger tanks. For example, water changes are supposedly very easy which should motivate you to do them more.

My recommendation is to check out the nano-reef site and look at the featured tanks of the month. There's a few pico/nanos around 5.5 gallon and those guys heavily detail their maintenance schedules and you can get an idea of what type of stocking seems to work for these size tanks.

 

[CStrickland]

I started this hobby because I found a 5g in a dumpster, but it only took like a week before I bought a 55 once I learned what fish I could have. Even with a big sump they still need space to swim. If you go with the 5 check out some YouTube vids of "watchman goby and shrimp pair" it's a really cute little relationship that you can have in there. And then maybe a firefish, or maybe a sexy kind of shrimp like a "cleaner shrimp."

If you go for the 30 you have lots more options for stock, and more wiggle room for mistakes in your water parameters.

For equipment I think you NEED only: powerheads, rocks, heater, salt, test kits and water. None of them is going to break the bank if you upsize. The $8 SunSun powerheads on Amazon work fine. And you can use the cheap bare dry base rock to make up the difference since your live rock came seeded with life that will spread to the new rocks quickly. I think a 30 is still small enough that skimmer isn't strictly necessary ifyou keep up water changes and don't get crowded with fish.

If you do want a skimmer, I much prefer the ones that sit in a sump. I hate the way all that stuff looks hanging in a tank, and they work a lot better, and when they flood it isn't on your carpet. This one is $124 with free shipping, http://www.coralvue.com/reef-octopus-bh-50-protein-skimmer I have another skimmer from them that I love. This verion can also be hung on the tank of you go sump less.

I think the main spend for you will be water purification. In a 5g tank you can use distilled water from the grocery store, but at 30g it is a good investment to buy an Ro/Di system to take all the not-water out of your tap water. This removes all sorts of contamination and hassle. I have this unit that I bought refurbished for $125, but now they are also selling it as a package http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/RODI...ement-Filter Kit-TDS Meters-Chlorine-Test-Kit that comes with a bunch of replacement filters, and the tests for chlorine and TDS that you need, it's a great deal for $160. I think it would pay for itself compared to buying at the store very quickly in a 30g.

Welcome! And good luck!

 

[thelawnwrangler]

What's the dimensions of the 30g? I would consider lighting plan