my 1st S.W. tank

[Fin2you]

I have the "opportunity of a lifetime".... a pkg deal of 10lb live rock with Green star coral growing on it already & I am for sure getting frag's of: corky finger, rainbow monti, green paly & a couple pieces of birdsnest.
I know this probably sounds strange but I have never really cared for S.W. fish when browsing at LFS, but dragging me away from the coral displays will always get your head bitten off! I know I need to have "something fishy" in it, so could you give me some ideas that would work in a nano (5.5gal) coral tank? I was thinking maybe some peppermint shrimp & Bumble bee snails kindda look cool.... I bet the kids would like a clown fish or a dwarf seahorse I know I saw those once @ the LFS & thought they were cute.
Also ? do I go crushed coral for bottom or sand? I was sort of thinking sand might be better for shrimp but crushed coral would probably be better if I just went coral?
Anyways thanx for the info in advance!

 

[Taahirs]

Get aragonite

 

[Taahirs]

Have you cycled your tank?

 

[Fin2you]

No not yet. I will be getting water from the established tank from the person I am getting the live rock & corals from. I am planning on splitting that between my tank & a holding tank. the Frags will go in holding tank while I cycle the tank with the live rock. Any tips to speed up cycling? I read about putting in a piece of raw shrimp from grocery store & let it decay? I was even going to ask the LFS if they had any SW fish die that I could have the body to use.

 

[Taahirs]

Using 'established water' will not make a difference. Using mature rock will.

I'd just set it up.
Add a shrimp
Add Dr. Tims one and only
Wait

 

[Fin2you]

OK I can also get more live rock from the established tank & less Frags right now too

 

[OrQidz]

#1 do lots of research on setting up tanks, it will really help you long term! There is a sticky in the newbie forum. Yes to cycling with dead shrimp or something. NO dead fish from LFS - could have died of a disease which you would introduce into your tank, not a good thing.

5 gal is too small for most fish. Tiny little gobies might work. Not a clown. NOT a seahorse...they are really a specialty fish with very very specific needs and require live food. Down the road someday, if you are really wanting one, set up a tank just for them.

You don't "have" to have fish if you don't want to. Your system would be just fine without one. But, again, TINY fish - clown goby, neon goby, etc.

Aragonite sand is best. Crushed coral becomes a detritus trap. Get things set up and cycled and be sure you have a handle on topping off since salinity in nanos can change rapidly with evaporation.

Starting out with SPS isn't the easiest - you might want to get started with some softies while you learn the ropes and get your system down. Not to be a downer, but SPS in a 5 gallon first time tank is unlikely to go well. Green star polyps (not sure if you mean GSP or star coral - galaxea?) are a good starting choice. As are softies, mushrooms, etc.

Anyway, do lots of research and have fun! It's a very addictive hobby!

 

[homer1475]

#1 do lots of research on setting up tanks, it will really help you long term! There is a sticky in the newbie forum. Yes to cycling with dead shrimp or something. NO dead fish from LFS - could have died of a disease which you would introduce into your tank, not a good thing.

5 gal is too small for most fish. Tiny little gobies might work. Not a clown. NOT a seahorse...they are really a specialty fish with very very specific needs and require live food. Down the road someday, if you are really wanting one, set up a tank just for them.

You don't "have" to have fish if you don't want to. Your system would be just fine without one. But, again, TINY fish - clown goby, neon goby, etc.

Aragonite sand is best. Crushed coral becomes a detritus trap. Get things set up and cycled and be sure you have a handle on topping off since salinity in nanos can change rapidly with evaporation.

Starting out with SPS isn't the easiest - you might want to get started with some softies while you learn the ropes and get your system down. Not to be a downer, but SPS in a 5 gallon first time tank is unlikely to go well. Green star polyps (not sure if you mean GSP or star coral - galaxea?) are a good starting choice. As are softies, mushrooms, etc.

Anyway, do lots of research and have fun! It's a very addictive hobby!

+1000

Really, read the stickies in the new to the hobby section. The information you gain from there will answer nearly all of your questions.

 

[Fin2you]

I got it set up, & coral frag's placed. I am tired it's 9:30 & I haven't had supper yet! I have shut the tank's lights off & hopefully in the morning it'll still be alive. I am upstairs eating my supper staring at my 30 gal & on here
I bought Seachem Stability & Reef Complete on my way home. Plus the sand recommended. The smaller pieces are "new live rock" the bigger 2 was from the deal, I had to break it! :hammer:
I now want to go buy an Aqueon LED Modular light like I have on my 30gal for the reef. Or what would you recommend best for my corals???? I so can't wait to get my hands on more frags & plugs to fill this puppy up! I can go no fishies???? & It won't hurt the system????? awesome! except I think I've fallen in love with peppermint shrimp from the photo's online. Can I put them in here & some bumblebee snails?

 

[Taahirs]

Wait!

You can't just setup and start throwing things in. I'd wait a week while adding stability before adding some frags. Then another week for cuc. Then another week for shrimp.

 

[Fin2you]

Shoot!!! hope these little frags survive then. I will post how little they are in the morning. I have no intention of adding anything to the tank till after Christmas hopefully I get gift cards & such for gifts.

 

[homer1475]

Holy cow those are huge rocks in a tiny tank!!!

I personally would have taken a cold chisel and a hammer and busted them up a bit more.

How long was the rock out of water? Your going to get an ammonia spike regardless and the corals won't be happy with that at all. If your lucky since the large pieces of rock are well established rock, the ammonia won't get to bad and kill the corals. If you want to speed the process up a bit, use janitorial ammonia dosed to 2 PPM and forget the shrimp. Once the ammonia has been processed into nitrates, your good to go. Only do this if you remove the coral from the tank(it has to be empty beside the rock for this to be effective and not kill anything).

Get yourself some test kits(for now all you need is ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate), or at the very least an ammonia alert badge, and some seachem prime. If the ammonia levels start to rise, you can detoxify them with the prime(only use this if you plan on keeping the coral in the tank while it cycles)

Rereading the OP, I would let them keep all that coral except the montipora(love a nice encrusting monti). All the others(assuming green star coral is GSP), are whats refereed to as nuisance corals. They grow like weeds and will overtake a small tank in no time.

Just remember, you have a very small nano tank and parameters can fluctuate wildly in a hurry, get yourself an ATO of some sort least that way you can garuntee your SG wont have wild swings.
Good luck!

 

[Fin2you]

I personally would have taken a cold chisel and a hammer and busted them up a bit more.
~ I am hoping a 20gal or bigger tank is under the tree @ christmas for me is the only reason I only broke the big rock in 1/2...

How long was the rock out of water?
~ about 2.5hrs

Get yourself some test kits(for now all you need is ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate), or at the very least an ammonia alert badge, and some seachem prime. If the ammonia levels start to rise, you can detoxify them with the prime(only use this if you plan on keeping the coral in the tank while it cycles)
~ Got those test kits in my fish cupboard & Seachem Prime! Use Prime @ full recommended tank dosage if I see an ammonia spike?

all that coral except the montipora(love a nice encrusting monti). All the others(assuming green star coral is GSP), are whats refereed to as nuisance corals. They grow like weeds and will overtake a small tank in no time.
~ I googled pictures & they all look pretty though! Can I get some info on how to keep it "trimmed (I accepted Cabomba in my Planted tank would need constant trims)

Thanx so much for all the tips I am slowly waking up here but this site was my 1st order of biz. Shut off alarm & logged in! Hoping to have a couple hrs alone this morning to read more of the suggested older posts I have Notes galore on my laptop!

 

[homer1475]

I personally keep my GSP on the sandbed so it doesn't encrust onto my rocks. Once it start to ecrust on the rocks, unless you pull the rocks and scrub it off, there is no way that I know of to trim it other then cutting the mat. You have to make sure you get the purple mat that it grows from when trimming/scrubbing it off.

Yes prime at full dosage. Even an overdose of prime isn't lethal. When I do water changes, because I rinse my buckets in tap, I dump a full capful in 5 gallons to detoxify any clorines/chloramines with no ill effect.

 

[Taahirs]

Don't use prime. What it does is bind the ammonia to a non toxic form. But your tank still doesn't have the necessary bacteria to process the waste when your bio load increases. It's just a quick fix.

 

[Taahirs]

Rather use stability. Or even better. Dr Tims one and only.

 

[homer1475]

Don't use prime. What it does is bind the ammonia to a non toxic form. But your tank still doesn't have the necessary bacteria to process the waste when your bio load increases. It's just a quick fix.

Rather use stability. Or even better. Dr Tims one and only.

So adding something to detoxify the lethal ammonia quickly isn't right? But adding bacteria that can take days to actually work and take hold is what you recommend? In the meantime while we wait for your bacteria in a bottle to take hold, the tank inhabitants are being subjected to lethal amounts of ammonia either killing them or seriously and permanently injuring them. I think you need to reread what prime does and why people in the hobby use it and swear by it.

Just some food for thought, people have been using prime in QT tanks to detoxify lethal ammonia for years. Its a quick and easy way to detoxify ammonia when you need to.

 

[ReefWreak]

I personally keep my GSP on the sandbed so it doesn't encrust onto my rocks. Once it start to ecrust on the rocks, unless you pull the rocks and scrub it off, there is no way that I know of to trim it other then cutting the mat. You have to make sure you get the purple mat that it grows from when trimming/scrubbing it off.

Let me correct you on this a bit. You also cannot scrub it all out once it's set in. It's starting to grow back in my tank after spending a few hours digging it out of my rocks with a set of dental picks. I thought I got every nook and cranny, and used a flashlight and flourescent light to try to find every last scrap of it, but they are still growing back.

Isolate it or don't add it at all. Or let it just take everything over. But it will sting other corals and prevent them from growing.

Yes prime at full dosage. Even an overdose of prime isn't lethal. When I do water changes, because I rinse my buckets in tap, I dump a full capful in 5 gallons to detoxify any clorines/chloramines with no ill effect.

Rather use stability. Or even better. Dr Tims one and only.

How about just letting the tank cycle, and not using either? Just add some time. It's (relatively) free.

 

[homer1475]

Yes let it cycle, but he has corals in it already. That's why I suggested prime if ammonia levels get lethal.

 

[Fin2you]

So tonight's update & answering the above advice/questions & such (which I appriciate 1000000000x%! Thank you!!!!) I will 1st tell you I had a friend pop over this afternoon who has had salt water tanks for years. As she walked down the stairs she said this isn't good, you shouldn't be able to smell the "sea". I said I mixed till the new hydrometer I bought said it was correct.... apparently it's pretty common that these things suck & don't work good unless you buy the most expensive one???????? Anyways she was on the ball & had brought hers over expecting this..... Santa has been asked for the one she has..... & until then she's left hers with me till the wknd when she will need to do a water change on her tank.
so upon wake up this morning one of the frags was a goopy trail of sludge. (the one at the top front of the big vertical placed rock hiding my filter, air circulator & heater) probably from the excess salty water but friend said to leave it in the tank it will help with the cycle...
The purple carpet stuff on the 2 biggest rock pieces is the Green Star Coral.... I think I can isolate it on the vertical wall, I think if it was just solid this stuff that's ok. I think it's pretty but I also don't want it choking out any chance of having anything else so maybe I should break up the other piece to seperate it!
I will have to stick with the Stability. I can't get that Dr.Jim's one here & honestly I love the Seachem FW products so "brand snoberish" that I have turned into b/c of problems with other brands on the FW side, I think I will keep with them on the SW side too.
I use Prime in my fw tanks each time I add new water b/c of the chlorine in the tap water. I automatically added prime to the water I mixed into the salt yesterday & we used it this afternoon when we quickly did a massive water change to get the right saline level! I ran out of time to do the water param tests this afternoon as it was time to get my anklebiters from school & then it was suppertime. I plan on testing as soon as above mentioned anklebiters are in bed, which actually I should get a move on doing! I will post more again later this evening after I've tested (& possibly broken out hubby's hammer & flat headed screw driver I boiled & used to break the big rock in 1/2 yesterday with) hmmm maybe I should take a real close look at a layout I saw someone else come up with I drooled when I saw it wonder if I could make it for myself! hmmmmmm Ok enough for now the youngest needs to go to bed! chat soon!