My first marine tank!

[livie508]

Hey, Liv here! This is my build thread for my first ever marine tank

Parts list:
nano 25 litre (5.5gal) tank
Seachem 55 HOB filter (little overkill ik)
Aqua Nano 10w LED light
a standard 25w heater
500l/hr powerhead if the filter doesnt create enough flow (its 1000l/hr on its own)

In the tank:
3kg (6.6lbs) dry live rock
4.5kg (10lbs) Caribsea arag alive fiji sand

Like I said above this is my first ever marine tank but I am not new to fish keeping so there is a lot of new stuff to learn but I know a few basics already.
I have bought a Red Sea Reef Mature starter Kit to help the tank cycle a little easier and also the Red Sea complete testing kit to go with it.

As of making this post the tank has been filled with the water sand and rock for about 6 hours so its only just beginning!
Im hoping to build a nice little reef with some inverts and soft corals as my first goal!

Here are some pics below!

Day 1:

 

[Ludders]

Good luck Liv, I can help you with coral once you've ready and pretty much anything. Where are you planning on getting inverts from?

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R, looking forward to seeing more!

 

[4tanks]

Welcome to r2r from Hampshire

 

[SunnyD123]

I would HIGHLY recommend an Ato. You have a very very small tank so you’re gonna have large swings. I have a nano tank as well but it’s a 20g and It still could swing fast. So you wanna be as consistent as possible. Unfortunately you’ll only be able to keep like a cardinal or one single small fish. Just be very careful and take things SLOW.

 

[livie508]

Good luck Liv, I can help you with coral once you've ready and pretty much anything. Where are you planning on getting inverts from?

That is one thing im not too sure yet! I have looked online but i don't know of anything more local!

 

[livie508]

I would HIGHLY recommend an Ato. You have a very very small tank so you’re gonna have large swings. I have a nano tank as well but it’s a 20g and It still could swing fast. So you wanna be as consistent as possible. Unfortunately you’ll only be able to keep like a cardinal or one single small fish. Just be very careful and take things SLOW.

I have have a look into an Ato, i have been doing a lot of research before starting to set this up and im very aware of how quickly things can take a turn. As for livestock yeah its cruel to have a few different fish so i had planned for just the one (not too sure what yet), a clean up crew and then soft corals!

 

[Ludders]

this is a good price, you will just need a reservoir.
Kamoer ATO
What are you doing for RODI water at the moment?

 

[livie508]

this is a good price, you will just need a reservoir.
Kamoer ATO
What are you doing for RODI water at the moment?

The LFS I went to (world of water) sell RODI and Saltwater for 10p and 20p a litre so I just filled a 25 litre container up

And thank you for the link to the ATO I will have a look at it

 

[Brandon3152134]

I have have a look into an Ato, i have been doing a lot of research before starting to set this up and im very aware of how quickly things can take a turn. As for livestock yeah its cruel to have a few different fish so i had planned for just the one (not too sure what yet), a clean up crew and then soft corals!

If you cant get an ato definitely a lid to cut down on evaporation but then you may have heat problems. As for a fish I'd get a damsel because of how hardy they are and it being the only fish but thats just personal preference. Looks like ur in the right direction tank looks good.

 

[livie508]

If you cant get an ato definitely a lid to cut down on evaporation but then you may have heat problems. As for a fish I'd get a damsel because of how hardy they are and it being the only fish but thats just personal preference. Looks like ur in the right direction tank looks good.

I do have a small glass lid but it isn't at all sufficient so I'm working on getting a much better lid for the tank, having had the tank run for about 24 hours now the temperature is sat at 24.8 Celsius (76.6 F) so that is reassuring to some extent
I am going to have a look at some different option but I do definitely like damsels! thank you!!

 

[Brandon3152134]

I do have a small glass lid but it isn't at all sufficient so I'm working on getting a much better lid for the tank, having had the tank run for about 24 hours now the temperature is sat at 24.8 Celsius (76.6 F) so that is reassuring to some extent
I am going to have a look at some different option but I do definitely like damsels! thank you!!

As long as you salinity and temp stay stable you should be all set with just water changes every week or so. Now I wanna set up a nano lol.

 

[livie508]

As long as you salinity and temp stay stable you should be all set with just water changes every week or so. Now I wanna set up a nano lol.

Yeah I'm hoping I can find a good sweet spot and just sit there with it haha well I'm sure you can find an excuse to make one!

 

[Ludders]

I like the damsel suggestion, go with a yellow tail, this will add a nice contrast in colour with the yellow and blue.

 

[livie508]

So My first little update is that I am starting the cycling process properly today. The water has been in the tank for a day now and I'm ready to start using my reef starter kit form red sea.
First time calibrating and using the refractometer but I think I have got it right as I've followed plenty of videos explaining, and my water is too high at 1.032 but I'm going to remove a bit of saltwater and add in some more RO water and hopefully correct that and bring it down to 1.024 ish
The Water cleared up really nicely overnight so I can actually get a feel for how it will look as we go on.
I have made myself a little log chart for everything I need to test and check through the next month and hopefully I will be able to get my little reef up and running!
Lastly I was told of another fish store close to me by @Ludders and took a trip over today. It is the most amazing store, a complete labyrinth! I was able to look at their soft corals and have seen a few I like but I am getting ahead of myself (oh and a Domino Damsel which was beautiful).
In my head for now I'm liking xenia (I know it can grow like wildfire) some little mushrooms and maybe one or two others.

 

[Ludders]

I've found Liveaquaria is a good resource for researching live stock.

LiveAquaria

The Domino Damsel's prominent spots fade as it matures and they can get fairly big and aggressive.
This is fine if you're only keeping one fish, but your perspective might change as you get more involved in the hobby.

Take your time and do your research is always my advice.

 

[livie508]

I've found Liveaquaria is a good resource for researching live stock.

LiveAquaria

The Domino Damsel's prominent spots fade as it matures and they can get fairly big and aggressive.
This is fine if you're only keeping one fish, but your perspective might change as you get more involved in the hobby.

Take your time and do your research is always my advice.

Yeah im definitely going to take it slow, i find when i walk into the store im overwhelmed with choice very quickly and i will have a read on live aquaria

 

[Dark_Knightt]

You have such a small tank so its hard to find things to stock it with, fishwise... Plus the params can change in the blink of an eye, but if you stay consistent and test constantly, you should have things under control. For fish, I would recommend a damsel (if youre only keeping one fish). or you could go with a small neon goby, or even a clown goby. But only keep one fish. Then you could go with a few snails and hermit crabs, and then you could keep an small shrimp like the anemone shrimps or sexy shrimp. Cleaner shrimps get somewhat big, but one may work in a 5.5g.
Also another thing is that filtration can be TOO effective. For lots of corals you need slightly dirty water, your N3, N2, and PO4 should never be at 0, i learned that after having a dino outbreak. You never want super clean water. Just watch out for that. Lots of corals need the nutrients left over to survive, i learned that the hard way. I ordered a xenia but then it started to dissolve into a powder like substance, until that powder, which is organic material, started decomposing to raise the nutrients, now its regrowing quickly from its ashes like a phoenix. Good luck, keep learning, never stop learning, then learn some more. *Knowledge for breakfast, lunch and dinner**

 

[livie508]

You have such a small tank so its hard to find things to stock it with, fishwise... Plus the params can change in the blink of an eye, but if you stay consistent and test constantly, you should have things under control. For fish, I would recommend a damsel (if youre only keeping one fish). or you could go with a small neon goby, or even a clown goby. But only keep one fish. Then you could go with a few snails and hermit crabs, and then you could keep an small shrimp like the anemone shrimps or sexy shrimp. Cleaner shrimps get somewhat big, but one may work in a 5.5g.
Also another thing is that filtration can be TOO effective. For lots of corals you need slightly dirty water, your N3, N2, and PO4 should never be at 0, i learned that after having a dino outbreak. You never want super clean water. Just watch out for that. Lots of corals need the nutrients left over to survive, i learned that the hard way. I ordered a xenia but then it started to dissolve into a powder like substance, until that powder, which is organic material, started decomposing to raise the nutrients, now its regrowing quickly from its ashes like a phoenix. Good luck, keep learning, never stop learning, then learn some more. *Knowledge for breakfast, lunch and dinner**

Thank you for the advice! ill be referring to everything people have told me while i do this yeah i will definitely only be getting the one fish is i do get any, im loving the look of soft corals and then a cleanup crew so thats exciting enough foe me

 

[livie508]

So it has been a few weeks since I have posted anything in my build, partly because of work and partly due to some ups and downs with the tank itself.

Where to start, well the initial cycle was going well. The ammonia had spiked and then dropped back down, and the nitrite was following suit. However I had my first major reefing disaster, around the 7th day my heater broke and the tank temperature dropped to around 18 Celsius which is 64 F. As I'm sure is obvious from that it completely killed my cycle, luckily I had a backup so I dropped that in and started to warm the tank back up. This backup heater was identical to the one which broke so I ordered a new one. To be specific it is a 50w titanium heater () It has good reviews and looks a lot more reliable.

Here is where is should mention that my new friend and almost mentor @Ludders has been nothing less than a godsent to me. He has helped me with any issue big or small, he recommended me the new heater and everything. He even had a full water change ready for me within an hour or crying for help.

Moving on from this it was time to start again, new heater in place and how it should have been from the start. so I put in the new water Ludders had made for me (he had also put some dormant bacteria in to help jumpstart the cycle again) and began the cycle once again.

This second try seemed to happen a lot faster, probably because of the extra help Ludders had given me and also because the remnants of the previous cycle were still there and soon enough I was ready for my clean-up crew. I began with a couple of red legged hermit crabs and bought some frozen mysis shrimp as well. These little guys settled in really nicely and one even malted within a couple of days.

Fast forwarding to he Saturday just gone (2 days ago) and I purchased my first marine fish, the cutest little clownfish I have ever seen. He is no more than an inch long and has settled in incredibly. I cannot stop staring into the water and smiling now!

now it is going to be some close monitoring of the fish, inverts and water over the next few weeks and hopefully i will be able to introduce some soft corals soon.

Again none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for @Ludders I think I would have genuinely given up if he hadn't been there to help.

Also I need a name for my little clown so any suggestions would be great!