5g Pico Nano

[Allan B]

Hi all. I recieved a 5g pico nano for my desk for Christmas and am looking for any hints or tips that you may have. I am scanning through the forums but thought I would post the setup and see if you had suggestions.

5g Bowfront tank
Ecoxotic EcoPico LED Armlight with 2 LED strips (4 white, 2 blue. 12k/453nm)
Whisper WPF20 HOB (no media, just for water movement)
Indeterminate amount of live rock (new purchase from LFS)
live sand (removed from my 125g main tank)


Livestock possibilities:
3-4 Hermit crabs (from display)
1-2 snails (from display)
Sm Colt coral (2-4" size) (from display)
Purple Mushrooms (2-3) (from display)
ORA Grube's Gorgonian (from display)
Possibly 1-2 Dwarf Seahorses ???

Other suggestions?

This is my first foray into Nano Land...Im excited! :bounce2: Any suggestions are more than welcome!

 

[Russian123]

Currently I run a 2.5 gallon and the best advice, for me anyways, is to do a water change daily or pretty close to it. I don't mean a full 10%, although you could if you want. I have a large cup that I scoop up and replace it with daily. Usually takes me 5 minutes max to preform the water change. It keeps everything tip top and also I have a peace of mind. I've never personally done Seahorses, but i've heard they need very low flow, which might be challenging with the corals you plan to have. also I'd probably reduce the amount of cleaning crew. One of the problems I ran into origanlly was having too clean of a tank and had to overfeed etc which if you overfeed "too much" it can be a problem. The term itself "too much" is subjective, so if you do intent to get that many crabs etc, i'd just carefully watch your nitrates etc etc.

 

[Allan B]

I have a large cup that I scoop up and replace it with daily. Usually takes me 5 minutes max to preform the water change.

This shouldnt be a problem. After reading through the threads I can see different ways of doing WC's, and it seems to me that a daily change would also help with evaporation. Do you struggle with your salinity if you are adding saltwater every day?

I've never personally done Seahorses, but i've heard they need very low flow,

Im rethinking Seahorses. The tank was meant to go on my desk at work. With the feeding requirements of seahorses I would have to go into work twice a day over the weekends. Not where I want to be. If I do seahorses, the tank will have to stay at home.

also I'd probably reduce the amount of cleaning crew.

Thanks for the tip on this!! I likely would have put too many in. I was planning on taking them out of my 125 so the number is easily changed.

Can I ask what livestock you have in your 2.5?

Allan

 

[tannersmith2000]

Hi all. I recieved a 5g pico nano for my desk for Christmas and am looking for any hints or tips that you may have. I am scanning through the forums but thought I would post the setup and see if you had suggestions.

5g Bowfront tank
Ecoxotic EcoPico LED Armlight with 2 LED strips (4 white, 2 blue. 12k/453nm)
Whisper WPF20 HOB (no media, just for water movement)
Indeterminate amount of live rock (new purchase from LFS)
live sand (removed from my 125g main tank)


Livestock possibilities:
3-4 Hermit crabs (from display)
1-2 snails (from display)
Sm Colt coral (2-4" size) (from display)
Purple Mushrooms (2-3) (from display)
ORA Grube's Gorgonian (from display)
Possibly 1-2 Dwarf Seahorses ???

Other suggestions?

This is my first foray into Nano Land...Im excited! :bounce2: Any suggestions are more than welcome!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2360486

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

i really dont think seahorses are a good idea..especially dwarfs...you should keep them in groups of 5 or more...the daily feeding requirements are crazy, the corals you have chosen will sting your ponies, and the crabs will also harass them...

as for cleaners you cannot have enough...my 5g tank is now 3 years old in it i have 3 hermit crabs, 1 trochus snail, thousands of asternia stars, bristle worms, limpets, chitons etc....

as for corals i have some of everything...LPS, SPS, Softies of all sorts, as well as gorgonians and sponges...

as for water changes, you will get the hang of it...i am preparing for my first change in 8 months...what works for some tanks certainly may not work for others...

i clean my glass maybe once a month, and yet things are growing like weeds (most things LPS and SPS, softies not so much) very strange, and not sure why it works the way it does with my tank...starting out with small tank though i would stick to regular husbandry till you figure out how your tank is going to run...

flow is something else i dont think you can have too much of either...my return is a mj1200 and my intank flow is a koralia nano240...could really use a little more flow down low, the corals now block a considerable amount of the flow...

as for fish, i have 1, it is a yellow tail damsel, i bought it about 1" long...it is now 2 years later for this fish and it is maybe 1.25", certainly less than 1.5"...

 

[FTDelta]

Seahorses are best left for the experts due to their delicate nature and care.

If you really want an interesting tank, why not go with a Yasha White Ray Goby paired with a Pistol Shrimp. Definitely more ideal to make it an interesting tank.