Well let's me start by telling you the story of how I got into salt water. I completely understand how people get so addicted to this, because it's so fascinating!!
I started researching and saving money for a tank many months ago, when I received a free 60 gallon tank from a friend and I was already absolutely hooked to the idea. I read up on it whenever I could and started planning my build. There were several problems with using this tank that I had received, such as dimension and possibilities of a sump. So I bought a 30 gallon tank, already had a nice stand for it and was going to buy a 20 gallon long for under it. Unfortunately, as I got into salt water fish and corals, my boyfriend took interest in fish also... At first it was cute, he got a beta fish in about a half gallon bowl, he upgraded to 1.5 gallons with a Marino moss ball, three neon tetras, a frog and a goldfish. That was all fine and dandy until he bought a 5-gallon Fluval Chi and got a little carried away on stocking it... Now, I felt bad, like we were abusing fish, so long story shorter, we turned my 30 into a fresh water with some plants! And now I have the /awesome/ 5 gallon tank I decided to start a nano reef. I don't plan on keeping many fish really, just inverts and maybe softies or LPS. I might get one small fish.
So I cleaned the tank, bought 10 lbs black Arag-Alive live sand, 13 lbs of I believe reef saver dry rock, a national geographic HOB filter, a 100 GPH power head, a small (I believe) 20 W heater, a temperature probe, a LED light fixture I'm still waiting on delivery, some test kits, bacteria, and frozen mysis shrimp. I probably only used 5 lbs of sand and 9 lbs of the rock. Right now in the filter I have two carbon pads and two "bio" pads to house some bacteria and Copepoda I guess. I also used 5 gallons of Petco real ocean water, but from here forward I think I will mix my own water. One large piece of rock I bought filled most of the space, and I put a small piece on the floor in front of it. Ultimately my goal is to upgrade to a bigger/better tank in the future and transfer my then live rock into it.
It's been set up for a couple days now and I have been dosing with bacteria and also have put in a cube of the shrimp to allow the bacteria population to have food, and I have two blue leg hermits now just so I have something to look at in the tank. The bacteria bottle said I can add fish immediately if I consistently dose it for seven days, so I figured two hermits wouldn't hurt. My water at the moment is slightly cloudy but I think that's because of the excess of uneaten food and the bacteria population still building. It is significantly less cloudy today than it was yesterday. How necessary do you it's fine a protein skimmer on a nano? I'm playing with the idea of getting one, but I am also planning on doing A minimum of 3 gallon water changes weekly.
I am very impressed with my heater. At first I didn't know that I would be, because I can't set the temp for it as it is preset to 78 With a variance of 2 degrees. Since the tank has been running, my thermometer (which may have a variance of 1 degree has been pretty steady at about 79.3 degrees with a total change between the heater triggering itself of about .3 degrees. Following along with the Bulk Reef Supply 160 series I learned that many heaters have a fluctuation of 3 degrees before they kick back in, so though the temp is not one that I picked, I'm happy with its steadiness. So far I have not been able to get any reading on Ammonia Nitrates or nitrites, and I know with the bacteria dosing I shouldn't expect a huge ammonia spike, but how long do you think it will be before I see them rising? I have not tested yet today. I may do so later, or may just wait until tomorrow so I don't waste my testing strips.
Sorry I made this so long, I welcome any feedback or thoughts from you guys! I'm very excited to have started into the SW hobby. Even with nothing in the tank I love to look at it and just imagine all the small bacteria that are populating my tank slowly but surely! I made this thread a lot for my own benefit, to sort of document my saltwater experience, sort of like a diary. I'm looking forward to see where this goes, thanks!!
I started researching and saving money for a tank many months ago, when I received a free 60 gallon tank from a friend and I was already absolutely hooked to the idea. I read up on it whenever I could and started planning my build. There were several problems with using this tank that I had received, such as dimension and possibilities of a sump. So I bought a 30 gallon tank, already had a nice stand for it and was going to buy a 20 gallon long for under it. Unfortunately, as I got into salt water fish and corals, my boyfriend took interest in fish also... At first it was cute, he got a beta fish in about a half gallon bowl, he upgraded to 1.5 gallons with a Marino moss ball, three neon tetras, a frog and a goldfish. That was all fine and dandy until he bought a 5-gallon Fluval Chi and got a little carried away on stocking it... Now, I felt bad, like we were abusing fish, so long story shorter, we turned my 30 into a fresh water with some plants! And now I have the /awesome/ 5 gallon tank I decided to start a nano reef. I don't plan on keeping many fish really, just inverts and maybe softies or LPS. I might get one small fish.
So I cleaned the tank, bought 10 lbs black Arag-Alive live sand, 13 lbs of I believe reef saver dry rock, a national geographic HOB filter, a 100 GPH power head, a small (I believe) 20 W heater, a temperature probe, a LED light fixture I'm still waiting on delivery, some test kits, bacteria, and frozen mysis shrimp. I probably only used 5 lbs of sand and 9 lbs of the rock. Right now in the filter I have two carbon pads and two "bio" pads to house some bacteria and Copepoda I guess. I also used 5 gallons of Petco real ocean water, but from here forward I think I will mix my own water. One large piece of rock I bought filled most of the space, and I put a small piece on the floor in front of it. Ultimately my goal is to upgrade to a bigger/better tank in the future and transfer my then live rock into it.
It's been set up for a couple days now and I have been dosing with bacteria and also have put in a cube of the shrimp to allow the bacteria population to have food, and I have two blue leg hermits now just so I have something to look at in the tank. The bacteria bottle said I can add fish immediately if I consistently dose it for seven days, so I figured two hermits wouldn't hurt. My water at the moment is slightly cloudy but I think that's because of the excess of uneaten food and the bacteria population still building. It is significantly less cloudy today than it was yesterday. How necessary do you it's fine a protein skimmer on a nano? I'm playing with the idea of getting one, but I am also planning on doing A minimum of 3 gallon water changes weekly.
I am very impressed with my heater. At first I didn't know that I would be, because I can't set the temp for it as it is preset to 78 With a variance of 2 degrees. Since the tank has been running, my thermometer (which may have a variance of 1 degree has been pretty steady at about 79.3 degrees with a total change between the heater triggering itself of about .3 degrees. Following along with the Bulk Reef Supply 160 series I learned that many heaters have a fluctuation of 3 degrees before they kick back in, so though the temp is not one that I picked, I'm happy with its steadiness. So far I have not been able to get any reading on Ammonia Nitrates or nitrites, and I know with the bacteria dosing I shouldn't expect a huge ammonia spike, but how long do you think it will be before I see them rising? I have not tested yet today. I may do so later, or may just wait until tomorrow so I don't waste my testing strips.
Sorry I made this so long, I welcome any feedback or thoughts from you guys! I'm very excited to have started into the SW hobby. Even with nothing in the tank I love to look at it and just imagine all the small bacteria that are populating my tank slowly but surely! I made this thread a lot for my own benefit, to sort of document my saltwater experience, sort of like a diary. I'm looking forward to see where this goes, thanks!!
