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tibbsy07 5.5 pico reef


tibbsy07

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cute!

 

Remove a bit of water to let the flowing water from the filter have more of a drop so that water in the tank gets oxygenated more. Will help with the bacterial bloom.

Ah, thanks! I'll do that when I get home tonight.

 

Yahoooo!!!!! Looks great! Love your scape too - makes the tank look really big and lots of room for fish and corals :)

Thank you :) I'm pretty pleased - more than I thought I was going to be.

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Looking good man. Glad to see you're finally up and running again

Thanks - I'm glad to have the tank ready for life. I love microbes, but they're not much fun to look at in a tank ;)

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I'm wondering if I should do a glass canopy for my tank? Deep Blue makes one specifically for this tank, but I'm not sure? I was planning on cutting my AC70 lid to fit the heater, but I wonder if the glass lid would be problematic for the little tank?

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i cant think of a reason why a lid would be bad. it would keep heat in, evap to a minimum.does Deep Blue make one with a cutout for the AC?

Their lid is 16x8, so I don't think there is a cut out, but they also supply HOB filters, so I'd think there would be some kind of cut out? They come with a clear "cut to fit back splash" so I assume that's what I'd do?

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Personally I find that even on my 16g the evap is pretty high which impacts the salinity a lot faster so if I could get a glass top for mine I would.

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Personally I find that even on my 16g the evap is pretty high which impacts the salinity a lot faster so if I could get a glass top for mine I would.

Yeah, I noticed this morning there is already like .3-.5 gallons that need to be topped off. I will probably pick up a glass lid - I'm just always wary of how well the light gets through. I guess in such a small tank, I shouldn't have any issues.

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Honestly I think the evaporation would be a bigger problem than any light penetration you might have from the lid.

Yeah, you're probably correct. I'll order one this weekend.

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Here I am, sitting in lab (again), and all I want to do is tinker with my tank and get some coral... I think my wife wants me to get the yellow clown goby first. Do you think the ycg and a thing of GSP and some small zoas would be too much too quickly for this tank?

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I didn't know if that would be too much bioload for a 5g all at once? I suppose the corals wouldn't be an issue. I'm still figuring a CUC.

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jedimasterben

The only way bioload increases is if feeding increases. A clown goby can't eat a whole lot, so realistically they add almost no bioload. I added a 4-5" rabbitfish to my system but didn't increase the bioload because I didn't feed any more than I was already.

 

So don't sweat it :)

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The only way bioload increases is if feeding increases. A clown goby can't eat a whole lot, so realistically they add almost no bioload. I added a 4-5" rabbitfish to my system but didn't increase the bioload because I didn't feed any more than I was already.

 

So don't sweat it :)

Word. Thanks! Should I do the CUC before I get anything else or add the CUC later after I have some life in the tank? I don't have any hitchhikers, which is kind of sad, but not surprising.

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jedimasterben

A cleanup crew is needed only when algae is present - no algae means dead cleanup crew, so I'd hold off until the 'uglies' hit lol

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Good call. I'll test my water when I get home today and if it's good to go (it should be by now) I'm going to check out some local places for YCG and maybe a local reefer for some colonies of something.

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Water parameters:

 

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

pH: 8.3

Temp: 76 :(

Salinity: 1.013 :(

Ca: <300 :(

Mg: 1000

dKH: ~7

 

No bueno. Water needs some fixin...

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No bueno. Water needs some fixin...

 

No worries, Buddy. It is a process. I imagine regular, moderate volume water changes will see it right. Something in your tank is sucking up minerals but I imagine it will saturate quickly (if it is not already is).

 

If you have a little two part, you can start catching up on the CA/Alk immediately.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

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No worries, Buddy. It is a process. I imagine regular, moderate volume water changes will see it right. Something in your tank is sucking up minerals but I imagine it will saturate quickly (if it is not already is).

 

If you have a little two part, you can start catching up on the CA/Alk immediately.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Thanks! I have the Instant Ocean marine stabilizer (thanks Kat!) which will bring my Ca/Alk/Mg back up. I think a major water change will help, too.

 

Just do a 100% water change since nothing is in there :)

That's my plan! I've got to - the salinity is too low.

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Does anyone know if the glass lily pipe style overflow setups can be used with a sump/fuge and return pump kind of thing or do they have to be used with canister filters only?

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jedimasterben

As far as the overflow part, Dave is spot on. For the outflow, though, you can use one, I did on my 55g tank for the longest time simply because it's what I had lol.

 

 

Be warned, though, that what you are seeing in all the beautiful pics of them on SW tanks is post-cleaning, which is not a quick thing. Within a few days they will be tinted green, and a few more they will be ugly as hell.

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  • Christopher Marks changed the title to tibbsy07 5.5 pico reef

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