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Noob - 2.5g


Banisher of Hope

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Banisher of Hope

Hey, i'm new to the forum and to SW. I've been reading links for the past couple days, and decides that every one here is very helpful and experienced. So here goes... I have a cycled 2.5 g salt tank, right now there isn't much in it [a hermit car, 2 small mushrooms, an Astraea]. I am woder what sort of thing i could put in here, that doesn't cost a lot of money, as i am a uni student. Any help or suggegtions at all would be very helpful.

 

{as a side note, what is a good site for pictures, so i can add the images of the tank i have?}

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circusordie16

with 60 watts id say you can put in almost anything you want. to get the most bang for your buck id suggest zoas or ricordias.

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circusordie16

are you just using a regular household light bulb in there? and i see an aiptasia in the last picture that youll want to get rid of.

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Banisher of Hope

I was using incandescent 60W, but switched to 13 W compact fluorescent [60W replacement]. Is this ok, or should i go for something specifically for aquariums.

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circusordie16

youre probably gonna wanna go with something made for aquariums as it will give a little better spectrum for the corals.

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Banisher of Hope

ok, i'll look into getting a better light nest time i'm at big al's. also, what is the best way to get rid of the aiptasia? And one more question, has anyone done anything with red shrimp aka volcano shrimp aka Halocaridina Rubra? from what i read they can handle large salinity swings, but would they be ok in a reef tank, has anyone tried this?

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never heard of the shrimp, get a coralife 50/50 14w or 18w bulb ( i think those are the choices) more wattage the better. Aiptasia: I see two in there and they will spread, either a peppermint shrimp or blastin them with boiling water or injecting lemon juice of some other thing like that. corals, i agree with what was said above

 

good luck

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would a peppermint shrimp fit in the tank, or would i have to find another home for him after he ate the Aiptasia.

 

I kept a peppermint in my 2.5 for as long as the tank was set up until i transfered it to a 10, didnt have any problems, but youd need to watch that it doesnt bother your coral, they like to pick at things....if you find you dont need it maybe the lfs would let you trade it in for a few zoa polyps once the aiptasia are gone. there are of course the other ways of getting rid of them tho.

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would a peppermint shrimp fit in the tank, or would i have to find another home for him after he ate the Aiptasia.

 

 

In a 2.5 I'd get one of these (make sure it's the Coralife Saltwater 9" Mini Aqualight-2 x 9W) and something to hold it up like egg crate (from home depot in the light department, look it up in the search here, you'll find a picture) or I'd get one of the Coralife Mini Compact 50/50 Lamps in either 10 or 20 watt, I'd go for the 20.

 

I'd probably not put any fish in a 2.5, well, maybe a small one like a yellow Clown Goby but i'd ask around for other opinions because I'm still new. I'd probably opt for some Sexy Shrimp...

 

make sure you get rid of the household bulbs, they usually give off a bad color spectrum (as you can tell by your yellowish tint in the pictures) that causes algae. These 50/50 bulbs will make your tank look incredible in comparison. I think the 50/50 run much cooler too.

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Banisher of Hope

will the sexy shrimp eat the Aiptasia? and as to the clown goby, is that a possibility in a SW tank this small? And back to the volcano shrimp, i see it in another thread, but still wondering if they can tolerate full reef salinity.

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will the sexy shrimp eat the Aiptasia? and as to the clown goby, is that a possibility in a SW tank this small? And back to the volcano shrimp, i see it in another thread, but still wondering if they can tolerate full reef salinity.

 

 

The sexy shrimp won't eat the apitasia that I know of. As for the clown goby I'm not sure, ask others. But that's about the smallest fish I can personally think of.

 

Is this the shrimp you are talking about?

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Banisher of Hope

Yeah, you can get smaller goby then the clown, i was just wondering which was the best for a small tank, or if i should have one at all. and about the red shrimp, i was thinking about these.

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Yeah, you can get smaller goby then the clown, i was just wondering which was the best for a small tank, or if i should have one at all. and about the red shrimp, i was thinking about these.

 

wouldnt do a fish in a 2.5, but its possible

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Banisher of Hope

Well, i went to my not so local fish store and couldn't find a "coralife 50/50 14w or 18w bulb" so i'm still using what i have till the weekend, they looked pretty empty, and said they are getting supplies in on friday. While i was there i got a peppermint shrimp, and 4 hermits, bringing my hermit total to 5.

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Banisher of Hope

Well, the Aiptasi is gone, either from the peppermint, or the red-leg in there. So i can start doing dorals now. Also I would like a goby, but with everything else, i think is will be too much, how about some sexy shrimp?

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Banisher of Hope

yeah, i was thinking about heading to my lfs tomorrow, and getting the light, and seeing what zoas they have. I was just wondering if i could put some sexy shirmp in with the peppermint

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Banisher of Hope

i finally got the light (Coralife Saltwater 9" Mini Aqualight-2 x 9W) so i'm going to start getting some corals, my lfs get a shipment in tomorrow. has anyone tried putting sexy in with peppermint? and i should stick to zoas, and mushrooms?

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i finally got the light (Coralife Saltwater 9" Mini Aqualight-2 x 9W) so i'm going to start getting some corals, my lfs get a shipment in tomorrow. has anyone tried putting sexy in with peppermint? and i should stick to zoas, and mushrooms?

you can do other things besides zoas and shrooms, i really liked directionals 2.5, he had kenya tree frogspawn and all sorts of stuff, dont remember it all, yea thats what I meant by 18w coralife, the 2 by 9 watter. as far as the shrimp theres no point in getting a peppermint if the aiptasia is gone, and I wouldnt really do 2 different shrimp in a 2.5 gallon tank.

 

heres directionals thread, look through the pages hes got good pics and did a great job on coral diversity in such a small tank. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...101449&st=0

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circusordie16

ive got candy canes, rics, gsp, zoas, shrooms, and monti caps in under 18 watts in my 2.5, all of which are growing nicely.

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