5 Gallon Marineland Build (Advice Wanted)

[Teebo]

 

 

 

 

I'm finally going to do it, I made the choice to try a saltwater tank, I maintain planted freshwater tanks and have been doing my research...plus I watch a lot of BRS-TV lol

 

 

 

 

 

I am in no rush to stock the tank but I did order it already, should be here this week. I have already gotten the wrap about starting with a small tank from people and I understand their points but I have decided to go with it anyway due to space. It will be bedside so forgetting to top it off precisely every day will not be an issue, I will do this right. Starting with being very patience I am in no rush to stock it, I will cycle the tank for a good 3 months using live some-what cured rock and live rock rubble that is all readily available from my LFS for $8/lb. People tell me with such a small tank about 5lb of live rock not to bother dipping it first? I also will not bother using live sand since it is such a small amount and I have easy access to live rock 20 minutes away. If I find a really ruby red chunk at the LFS but its has no character to it or is too big can I just frag some off it leaving a new clean surface exposed? I am gathering the proper SW test kits, refractometer, etc, in the meantime...any recommendations on salt? Seems like Red Sea products are popular, Coral Pro? Does anyone think adding something such as BIO-Spira is worth it with live rock? I do plan on letting it set for several months, I will add a cleanup crew when people think it is safe I will wait the 3 months if I have to. When it comes time to add a fish I will consult the community wisely first as it would have to be humane, small, not need the space to be an active swimmer, etc. I may not even add a fish with it being so small but at least the cleanup crew will add some movement and the coral eventually are what I am after.

 

 

 

 

 

The lighting that comes with this tank supposedly will work for some corals because there is evidence of it growing coralline algae for this individual:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have done the research in lighting kelvin temperatures and it is generally agreed that anything over 7200k is purely for aesthetics. Personally I feel almost all living things can benefit of temps as high as 10,000k that is what I use for sunlamps (personal health) and on some planted tanks it really does not look purple/blue for very long. I have several spares I can use, I am not sure of the factory wattage on the light-bar that comes with the tank but these are 15w directional bulbs (5x 3w)

 

 

Another great reason for me to upgrade the lighting to my bulbs is that I can hang some higher to grow plants in the rear mini-sump section. No I am not referring to micro-algae the space for hardware back there is way too small for that, but a Mangrove tree I think would look nice and from my freshwater experiences with ripariums anything that uses tank water with emerging foliage uses a great deal of nitrates (not sure about phosphates?) but would not help nearly as much as the massive water changes I will be performing without a skimmer. The tree can be topped and pruned to grow into more of a shrub with dense foliage, and all I have to do is use a circle saw to drill a hole in the rear cover to insert a basket. Once the roots really take off back there it may be more effective than you think in a small tank like this between water changes. Another mod I was thinking about for the rear is a secondary pump and nozzle set. This would be way more sleek than trying to cram the smallest unsightly powerhead in the front of the tank, with a nozzle now mounted in an opposing location I could use timers to stagger them and create a differentiated flow...not exactly a wavemaker though I do not want to burn the pumps out with on/off cycle too tight together.

 

[hinnenkm]

Hello!

One of my coworkers started with this tank and as you can see from many other members on here, you can do a lot with a 5 gallon tank (I have a 5 gallon as well)! The only issue that had resulted (and it might not be for you) is the space available due to the way this aquarium is designed. It doesn't leave a lot of room as it is more vertical than horizontal. There are ways to work around that though I'm sure. Anyhow, looking forward to seeing how this goes.

[Teebo]

Thank you, and I figured with the tall shape it would allow more of a 360 view using one tall center stone...that is my next challenge. I may try to find some kelp or something to grow along the back like a jungle val.

[Belmore]

I look forward to watching your build on your tank. I've had the same tank up and running for around a month. I'm still in the trial and error stage myself, but I plan to post pictures and start a buil thread once I get everything a little further along. I don't mix my water, simply because it's easier to buy the live seawater than it is to mix up water for such a small tank. I also used the live sand and have 5lbs of live rock. I saw almost zero cycle for my tank, but I suspect it's because of all the "live" things I used. I just put an 18w led light on two days ago, so the jury is still out on it. My zoas all look happy, so I suspect that it will be just fine, but like I said, time will tell. I should mention that my tank will be a zoa garden with a few inverts, so my light requirements aren't near as demanding as some. Good luck on your build!!!

[Teebo]

Thanks for your input, let me know when your thread is up and running. I do not trust other people to mix my water, I would rather learn how to do it myself because if I change 2-3 gallons a week I would need to lug two 5 gallon buckets of water to and from the store every month and I just can't see doing that unless someone is paying me haha.

 

The rear is glass right? I think I may try scraping an area of the tint away in the rear so I can mount a light flush against it to grow micro-algae as well. The space is far more valuable for growing things imo then bio-media, I may not even run the cartridge filter...just cheap filter floss, micro-algae, mangrove plants and a heater. Do you run charcoal in yours?

[Teebo]

Doing research following Fluval Spec threads I see a common upgrade is a Mini-Jet 606...would I benefit from that too? I do not know what my flow rate is yet in GPH but I assume the Mini-Jet 606 will still be substantially higher?

 

 

I see another addition is Hydor rotating deflectors, can I use one with the factory return? I really do not want to use a powerhead in the front display of this tank...

 

 

Another Fluval Spec mod is an In-Tank media basket but I do not think they make one to fit this tank. I saw these refillable media cartridges in a thread has anyone found one to fit the Contour 5? Would be great to just stuff with filter floss if I could find one...

 

[Belmore]

The water in buying is actual water out of the ocean and comes in 5 gallon jugs for right at $10. If I wasn't just running this pico tank, then I'd run a RO unit and mix my own, but for 1 gallon weekly water changes, an RO seems like a waste of money. When I start up a bigger tank though, a RO will be the way to go for both tanks. I have been using the premade filters that have carbon in them, but I was recently recommended Chemi-Pure Blue Nano & will be switching to running the cheap filter floss with one of the Chemi-Pure bags. I am still running the power head that came with the tank and haven't noticed a need to upgrade since I'm only housing zoas, but it's only 56gph so I'd definitely recommend upgrading to a bigger power head at some point. I hadn't heard of the Hydor reflector until now, but I might order one and try it out. I'm not too sure how well it will work though, since the return is so high up in the tank. I hate the stock deflector though.

[Teebo]

You must live very close to the coast? I will at least start with distilled water and mix my own salt, get it cycling for a few months. Thanks for the Chemi-Pure Blue recommendation I did some research on it just what we need! 56GPH flow rate? Ehh

 

 

My tank came in today and I was able to get a first hand view of it, I have to say now that I have it in front of me I highly doubt I will be adding a fish...nothing will be comfortable in this by the time I add the live rock. Shrimp, Snails, Crabs, etc, will be fine and add enough movement in this small space. Now that I am able to look at the rear sump section I see the media section is built far better than the Fluval Spec units so I do not even need an In-Tank media basket for this the flow path is perfectly fine. I will tear the stock filter cartridge down so I can reuse the frame for just filter floss, remove the useless bio-sponge and use that space for Chemi-Pure Blue. I still need to find a heater that will fit in the back does anyone have suggestions? Preferably no longer than 8" I have an auto-set 78F heater in a different FW tank that works great but its just a Tetra heater.

 

 

How would you stack live rock in this? Can I place it against the back wall or do I need flow behind the coral stack? I thought about getting an oversized rock and cutting the back and bottom flush/squared. Leaving some room at the top so corals are not exposed during water changes.

[Belmore]

Have you decided on a replacement return pump yet? Im thinking about trying this one out, it'd double the current flow rate. I'll probably upgrade to the Hydor deflector too when I order a new pump.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006K31WLC/ref=pd_aw_sim_199_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51DFfG-S-EL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C100_&refRID=1ATEZGT7AXQTPD2DXFED

[Teebo]

I have not, but the Mini-Jet 606 is known to fit so I am not sure that pump you linked will fit?

 

I am curious if the Hydor deflector will even fit against the top lid I think they are quite large. This is all the space I have to work with:

[Belmore]

I will let you know this week if they'll work, I ordered the pump and deflector today. The minijet 606 has been discontinued, as far as I can tell.

[Teebo]

Let me know! That would be awesome to get confirmation no thread yet for your tank?

 

It may be a while before mine is up, I have some freshwater finances to take care of first haha.

[Belmore]

Well, the Hydor deflector is a definite no go, but the Aquatop NP302 pump is a perfect fit. I've got it wide open now, so we'll see how the zoas respond and adjust from there.

[Teebo]

Thanks for your feedback! That is a bummer can you send me a picture holding it up next to the tank? Is it worth drilling a hole lower in the back wall to make room for it?

[Belmore]

It'd definitely spray the lid without either drilling a new hole and figuring out some kind of tubing to bring it down further into the tank.