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5.5g new to nano.


musicman1968

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While I've been into the reef tank hobby for a while now. I decided to tackle my first nano reef. I have my 110g tank down for now because of some construction I'm doing. But I miss having a tank I have a Marina brand tank (16" wide x 8" depth x 10" tall 5.5 gallons according to volume calculator). I've been reading for a few days and came across that since water changes are more frequent, that there is no need for a skimmer. I read where your live rock and sand is enough filtration. To skim or not to skim.....that is the question? I'm not sure which way to go as far as lighting. I stripped out the original incandescent light in the hood and I believe that I can fabricate a heatsink and LEDs into it. but I have no place for driver (meanwell ElN 60-48D) I have from an existing project. My other option is a par 38 bulb. Tank is rimless without hood so I kinda like that idea better but I know will need to net the top which is going to take away from the rimless look. I really like the minimalist look. It also has a no name brand hob filter. I assume it was an all in one package thing when it was new. No specs on it listed but thought this would be a good place for my carbon (if I even need to run carbon in a nano). What size powerhead should I get for this thing? I'm wanting mixed reef. I need some recommendations for equipment on getting this thing up and running. Thanks in advance

 

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reefernanoman

For light, I would go for the AI prime, which will have WIFI built in. I would run chemipure for carbon and filter floss too. I would use a Jebao WP 10 for flow.

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You absolutely do not need a skimmer in a 5.5g. Get enough live rock and you'll be fine. I have a Hydor Koralia 240 powerhead in my 5.1g and it provides more than enough flow ($25 on Amazon Prime). I think the Koralia's are frequently used by members of this forum.

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knowing myself I'll probably want to upgrade down the road to a jbj 28g cube later. While I want a healthy tank, I don't want to spend a ton of money on this particular project. I just miss having a tank setup. I NEED MY FIX!!!! :lol:I watched my tank more than tv . Kinda a neat setup though fits perfectly on my desk without taking up a ton of real estate. I got the setup for free from a buddy that is doing a rental clean up. He was going to trash it. I started a nice vinegar bath yesterday for her and thus far she is holding water so that's a plus. Hooked up the hob filter also to circulate the vinegar water, that just made me chuckle. While it is technically "working" it's not doing much. Guessing maybe 25gph. I have an old Korailia evo 1400, I'm wondering if place it amongst the live rock, I could tone down flow enough to work without creating a sandstorm? It's been a while since I had to cycle a tank. Can I start my cycle not having lights yet? If so, I can set this thing up to start my cycling while I figure out what I want to do for lighting. I always start a cycle with a raw shrimp rinsed in rodi water. Butcher always looks at me funny when I ask for just one shrimp they always say...a pound??....no...just one shrimp I'm not really that hungry. It's priceless :lol: Thanks everyone for the input so far.

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Ok thanks. Makes sense, but I couldn't remember. I got her all cleaned up and the back of the tank painted black. Bought my shrimp yesterday. Decided that I'm going to use black sand on this particular build since I don't need a lot of it. My LFS is an hour away so looks like I'll be waiting a bit to start my cycle. I don't want to make the trip just for sand. Guess I'll play around with aquascaping for a a bit until I get my sand.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well this is what I have so far. I need another bag of sand though. I bought 2 5 pound bags but despite having the same sku number they are not even close in color or texture to one another. One is coarse and the other is almost like oolite. Color is off too it's like a dark gray instead of black. Ordered new cycling test kits since my Salifert ones are expired. Slowly coming together. Waiting to add water so I can have my test kits in hand when I do my nitrogen cycle.

post-86198-0-48794900-1415743338_thumb.jpg

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