5.5 gallon reef build

[Abiathar]

After a 2.5 year hiatus, I've decided to once again get my feet wet and will be starting a new tank. First up is a 5.5 gallon reef. I picked up the tank, HOB filter, heater and light today. Will be hopefully picking up rock tomorrow to get the cycle started.

Will be running a Aquaclear 50 HOB for water flow and filtration at first and then likely a small refugium later. The light will be supplied by a 12" Current TrueLumen Pro LED strip. That thing puts out plenty of light and really lights up the tank. Here are 2 FTS, one with flash and one without.

I hope to keep going with this build thread as I continue. And will try to make the next club meeting to rejoin now that I'll have tanks again.


Steve

 

[Dowtish]

Nice! what are you planning on stocking it with?

 

[Abiathar]

Chris,

I'm not sure yet other than to say corals and 1 small fish, likely a clown goby.

I picked up the rock today, 12 lbs from the Critter. Also picked up a brand new Deep Blue 30 gallon rimless RR with stand for $280, delivered, but that won't be set up for a while as I plan the rest of the hardware.

Tank now has live rock, 5 lbs live sand and water in it and I'm starting the cycle. Here is a slightly cloudy FTS, about 5 hours in.

Steve

 

[revhtree]

Cool nano!

 

[Abiathar]

Here is a hitchhiker I saw on the rock. It is only about 1-1.5 inches long. I think it is a cuke, can anyone confirm that?

Steve

 

[Abiathar]

New pic from tonight. Have moved the rock around a bit but still have to do some aquascaping in there. Have 4 large hitchhiker clams that I'll probably cull out, I can just see one of them dieing off and reeking havoc. Cycle has started with ammonia off the charts and Nitrite beginning to rise but Nitrate still almost nil. Most likely set up a small 2.5g QT tank this weekend to get ready for some livestock.

Steve

 

[TinaFoster]

Those are some nice rocks Steve! I have a question: with the rocks obviously very live, why would the tank have gone into a cycle? Shouldn't they be like seeding it?

 

[Dowtish]

There will be plenty of die off on those rocks. They get that stuff in very "fresh" and it needs time to cure. Hence the cycle of ammonia>nitrite>nitrate

 

[Dowtish]

I have 2 of those mussels/clams on my rock and they survived my 5 week cycle and are still happy today. good filter feeders IMO

 

[TinaFoster]

Ohhhh! Duh! I was off in my head thinking the rocks were moved from another tank in the house. And he even said he was out a while. Stupid question!

 

[Abiathar]

The rock came in Friday afternoon at the Critter and I picked it up Saturday morning. It hadn't sat nearly long enough to cure. I also added a dead shrimp from Publix to the tank to help force the cycle, the shrimp is almost completely decomposed now so I should see a nice jump in Nitrites and Nitrates over the next couple days and a nice strong cycle. I've had the clams in previous tanks, but normally only one or 2 and they seem to do very well through just about anything, but removing a couple will not only give a little piece of mind but also more room for coral.

Steve

 

[Abiathar]

New FTS from yesterday. I re-aquascaped a bit after removing the 3 clams and also added most of a clean up crew, the Critter was out of snails, and a peppermint shrimp. Ammonia is at 0, Nitrites are nearly there and Nitrates are in decline after spiking.

Steve

 

[Abiathar]

Cycle has finished, man I love small tanks. I did a 40% water change last night, will be a 20% from now on unless problems arise. Now it is time to start stocking, decisions, decisions, decisions. Tempted to go with a tank bred black clown, PetCo has then on sale for $24.99, but I'm leaning away from one due to the small size of the tank. Thinking a clown goby or firefish may be a better "fit".

Also, have started amassing things for a 30 gallon rimless tank, 24x24x12 and reef ready. Have the tank, stand and plumbing and already built the 10 gallon sump and picked up a SC65 skimmer and ReefKeeper Lite, though the RKL may stay on the 5.5, I haven't fully decided yet. Lights will be AI Sol Blue, just have to figure out how I'll be mounting them.

Steve

 

[Dowtish]

the 30 sounds awesome! great dimensions! not to take away from the present tank at hand. but that will be cool.

 

[Abiathar]

I'm really looking forward to the 30, should be fun and interesting. It will be the largest tank I've set up and the first with a sump. Have had 29, 12, 3, and 2.5 gallon tanks in the past. I'm not sure when it will be started as I've told my wife it will be after our last ferret passes, so it could be a year or more as he is 5 1/2 now and they typically live 4-8 years.

Here is a stock shot from the guy I bought it from, the one i got was still new in it protective wrapping:

Looks like I'll have a good bit of options in what to do with it.


Steve

 

[Abiathar]

Added 2 tiny panda gobies this afternoon. Will try to get a pic of them soon, but they are tiny, less than 1/2 inch, and quite shy right now. Hope to have some poccilipora for them soon, hopefully will be easier to find them then.

Steve