Rob's 5 gallon TANK

[zdes]

I LOVE the tank. Pushing the envelope is great and, really, that's how things improve. I do it myself just to spite the snobs of the hobby. Doppelganger does have a point, though. Just do more research so you can better evaluate the risk you are taking. Don't feel too bad about the firefish, though - I've had friends with 120g tanks that have had them jump. Yeah, the smaller tank increases the risk of them jumping, but some fish are just more prone to carpet surfing.

 

The Jan/Feb issue of Coral Magazine was about seahorses. They all have different needs but have one thing in common - lower flow. Their natural habitat is typically seagrass beds where there is not a lot of current. If your tank is sustaining sps, the flow is likely too high. Softies also grow in these areas, like xenia and zoanthids, for example, but those can pretty much grow anywhere.

 

Since you like to buck the "rules", which is an attitude I love and respect, here is some food for thought. There was an "experiment" done by a fellow reefer (whose name escapes me) where he tried to maintain a pod-eating mandarin dragonet in a 10g without a fuge. He tried culturing them in mason jars, in separate tanks, etc but what worked best was piling up all the rock (like 10-15 lbs if I remember right) in a corner of the tank so that the fish couldn't get at all of them and would just catch wanderers. It's worth a shot.

 

Here's the thing, though. Seahorses are VERY fragile. If you want to take the chance that none of your fish will bother them, go for it. If you want to take the chance that the anemone will not touch them, go for it. If you want to spend at least $50 on pods per month for them if the rock idea doesn't work, go for it. If you want to take the chance that your flow won't tear them apart, go for it. They're very cool and I was trying to plan out a tank for them myself, but eventually realized it wouldn't really be enjoyable having to put in that much effort and work.

[doppelganger]

Im really sorry you think that! But your knowledge seems a little bit too simple to really be giving me advice...please keep doing what you are doing if that works for you im really glad! Honestly you can keep a bubble in this tank.. Do you know why? Because if it gets too big you can take it out...Do you know that the advice of starting to acclimate a mandarin in this tank to frozen would fail? There are too many other feeders in this tank to acclimate any fish to frozen, attempting so would end in a dead fish. Do you realize that a skimmer is completely unneccesary in a 5 gallon tank? And that I change the water bi-weekly NOT daily..MAYBE all my coral is splitting because they are all stressed...maybe not...The new toadstool that split off may be lucky enough not to deal with the RBTA but the large one seems to be surviving.Also my house sitters love the tank way too much to only feed my tank every few days they love nightly feeding time! reread what you wrote and make sure when you give advice to others it is well thought out and well researched...sorry if i am coming off rude but In this case I think you really need to rethink when you advise/your own nano reefing methods. Thanks for checking out my thread and sorry if you feel like im just lucky...but in this hobby luck really wont get you far!

 

okay fine. Best of luck.

[treborzelev]

I LOVE the tank. Pushing the envelope is great and, really, that's how things improve. I do it myself just to spite the snobs of the hobby. Doppelganger does have a point, though. Just do more research so you can better evaluate the risk you are taking. Don't feel too bad about the firefish, though - I've had friends with 120g tanks that have had them jump. Yeah, the smaller tank increases the risk of them jumping, but some fish are just more prone to carpet surfing.

 

The Jan/Feb issue of Coral Magazine was about seahorses. They all have different needs but have one thing in common - lower flow. Their natural habitat is typically seagrass beds where there is not a lot of current. If your tank is sustaining sps, the flow is likely too high. Softies also grow in these areas, like xenia and zoanthids, for example, but those can pretty much grow anywhere.

 

Since you like to buck the "rules", which is an attitude I love and respect, here is some food for thought. There was an "experiment" done by a fellow reefer (whose name escapes me) where he tried to maintain a pod-eating mandarin dragonet in a 10g without a fuge. He tried culturing them in mason jars, in separate tanks, etc but what worked best was piling up all the rock (like 10-15 lbs if I remember right) in a corner of the tank so that the fish couldn't get at all of them and would just catch wanderers. It's worth a shot.

 

Here's the thing, though. Seahorses are VERY fragile. If you want to take the chance that none of your fish will bother them, go for it. If you want to take the chance that the anemone will not touch them, go for it. If you want to spend at least $50 on pods per month for them if the rock idea doesn't work, go for it. If you want to take the chance that your flow won't tear them apart, go for it. They're very cool and I was trying to plan out a tank for them myself, but eventually realized it wouldn't really be enjoyable having to put in that much effort and work.

Thanks for the post! Were onto page 5!!

 

I may only be talking about seahorses to bend the rules lol ..i may try it one day tho..Ive never read that article about the stacking of the rocks but that is really interesting because that is literally exactly how my back wall is set up(the flow there is almost zero) and OMG there are soo many wanderers (Ive yet to capture a hi- res pic of them).and i made sure the mandarin I purchased was already eating frozen because doing otherwise would be insane on my part... haha i knew when i got the firefish he might be a carpet muncher and he ended up being one when i carelessly took the lid off and then didnt check for the firefish when i was done lol. I try and keep the tank semi- reasonable myself but thanks again for your input!!

[wow.such.chris]

Can you explain to me why youre vodka dosing? I know its to lower no3 but id like to hear your reasoning as to how the carbon does that.

[Kijho]

Wait you actually put Vodka into the tank? What amount at a time? What does it do? I was confused by that part of your thread haha...

 

I wanna do 3 dwarf seahorses in a 3 gall tank with just rocks and no coral, but false stems for them to latch to!

They need 71 - 77*F though. My tank is 77 - 79*F. Just a seperate tank would be cool. Don't even need a light for the start since no corals.

 

I dunno where to get seahorses though my LFS don't have them haha

[treborzelev]

Can you explain to me why youre vodka dosing? I know its to lower no3 but id like to hear your reasoning as to how the carbon does that.

 

Wait you actually put Vodka into the tank? What amount at a time? What does it do? I was confused by that part of your thread haha...

 

I wanna do 3 dwarf seahorses in a 3 gall tank with just rocks and no coral, but false stems for them to latch to!

They need 71 - 77*F though. My tank is 77 - 79*F. Just a seperate tank would be cool. Don't even need a light for the start since no corals.

 

I dunno where to get seahorses though my LFS don't have them haha

 

 

I put carbon in the tank...aka vodka...Simply stated I am raising the amount of dissolved carbon in my tank and thereby feeding bacteria in my tank that "eat" or absorb nitrogen and phosphates. One technically could dose the bacteria that I am feeding and have similiar results but for the average aquarist carbon dosing is the easiest way to go.Dosing is not for everyone and keeping a very close eye on certain levels (esp alkalinity) is prudent. Before you dose or think about dosing READ A LOT.

[zdes]

Thanks for the post! Were onto page 5!!

 

I may only be talking about seahorses to bend the rules lol ..i may try it one day tho..Ive never read that article about the stacking of the rocks but that is really interesting because that is literally exactly how my back wall is set up(the flow there is almost zero) and OMG there are soo many wanderers (Ive yet to capture a hi- res pic of them).and i made sure the mandarin I purchased was already eating frozen because doing otherwise would be insane on my part... haha i knew when i got the firefish he might be a carpet muncher and he ended up being one when i carelessly took the lid off and then didnt check for the firefish when i was done lol. I try and keep the tank semi- reasonable myself but thanks again for your input!!

 

It's a dead giveaway when they start listening to Melissa Etheridge

[natalia_la_loca]

Please refrain from calling anyone an idiot from my 3 lfs.

 

Awww, did I hurt their widdle feelings?

 

Trying out new things is how you gain experience..did you know that?

 

Wow...I didn't know that! Please enlighten us when you put a seahorse in with your RBTA and clowns. Maybe they'll dance a conga together. Ya never know! I once put a wounded goldfish in with some piranhas, and they all joined fins and sang "It's a small world after all."

 

Really my biggest fear about adding a seahorse is my live rock, not my clownfish. A seahorse torture chamber would look a little different.

 

My seahorses get along with live rock just fine. Now if I wanted to create a seahorse torture chamber, I would set up a Spec-V with two clowns and a RBTA and maybe some little tiny whips and chains.

[wow.such.chris]

IMO I know a fair bit about the subject. I think your tankwould really benefit from a skimmer, there are skimmers designed for such small tanks.

 

Check out the gnome glass skimmers.

 

Youd be amazed what comes out of skimming and ive never seen carbon dosing w/o a skimmer, just something to think about.

 

This BRS video has the basic theory right in the beginning.

[treborzelev]

IMO I know a fair bit about the subject. I think your tankwould really benefit from a skimmer, there are skimmers designed for such small tanks.

 

Check out the gnome glass skimmers.

 

Youd be amazed what comes out of skimming and ive never seen carbon dosing w/o a skimmer, just something to think about.

 

This BRS video has the basic theory right in the beginning.

LOL wait a minute! Was that a quiz? ? BUT I hear you man! Ive seen that video actually. I looked at mame skimmers but they really aren't necessary for a tank this size, that's what water changes accomplish.And dont forget, those guys SELL that jazz lol

 

 

Awww, did I hurt their widdle feelings?

 

Wow...I didn't know that! Please enlighten us when you put a seahorse in with your RBTA and clowns. Maybe they'll dance a conga together. Ya never know! I once put a wounded goldfish in with some piranhas, and they all joined fins and sang "It's a small world after all."

 

 

My seahorses get along with live rock just fine. Now if I wanted to create a seahorse torture chamber, I would set up a Spec-V with two clowns and a RBTA and maybe some little tiny whips and chains.

 

Kid you need to stay subscribed and take some notes while your at it!

[natalia_la_loca]

Kid you need to stay subscribed and take some notes while your at it!

Sounds swell, count me in Btw I think you could fit a naso tang in there too.

[wow.such.chris]

I'd agree skimmers aren't necessary for small tanks. BUT I feel they ARE necessary for vodka dosing and they will help if you'd like to reduce water changes. If I were to do it over again Id use nothin but a skimmer. BRS isn't selling vodka and regardless I trust their videos. Don't take people's advice the wrong way, they're speaking from experience which you don't have much of. Again, please don't take that the wrong way but this is your first go.

[treborzelev]

I'd agree skimmers aren't necessary for small tanks. BUT I feel they ARE necessary for vodka dosing and they will help if you'd like to reduce water changes. If I were to do it over again Id use nothin but a skimmer. BRS isn't selling vodka and regardless I trust their videos. Don't take people's advice the wrong way, they're speaking from experience which you don't have much of. Again, please don't take that the wrong way but this is your first go.

 

Thanks for the advice! I feel they would help a ton as well and would make a big difference in the water change schedule but in this tank due to the limited size and dynamics I just dont think a protein skimmer would be a fitting option. Also look at the prices of the skimmers im looking at, wowza!

 

First video update in the works!

 

Sounds swell, count me in Btw I think you could fit a naso tang in there too.

Im more thinking a shoal of something, idk , predatory?

[NorthGaHillbilly]

You've really got it figured out man! Tagging along to see how it turns out

[treborzelev]

[treborzelev]

 

Went to the lake today, caught nothing! Came home and decided to thoroughly/deep clean the tank with a toothbrush and my nano mag, and change a gallon of water. This is about 15 minutes after water change. The toadstool is still upset about being almost out of the water and the pistol shrimp is still confused. I like the two little fishes mag except that is seems to wear out quickly. Took the pic with the ipad mini then edited it in my droid, even needed to use a keyboard shortcut to upload the pic! Wow only 2am! My FTS never come out on my phone.

[BigAl18]

I felt the same way about the two little fishies, it wore out soo fast. It only had one circle magnet and didn't clean anything that wasn't under the corners. I am now testing the nimble nano which does a better job but doesn't seem as strong. I use a Nano Mag in my big freshwater tank, but it is just too thick inside the tank.

 

I love all of the life inside your tank, its so fun to watch everything move around and how it all interacts.

[zacheyp]

Has it been hard keeping twp clowns in 5 gallons?

[treborzelev]

Has it been hard keeping twp clowns in 5 gallons?

No. I purchased the tank with them and the rose bubble inside.

[treborzelev]

I felt the same way about the two little fishies, it wore out soo fast. It only had one circle magnet and didn't clean anything that wasn't under the corners. I am now testing the nimble nano which does a better job but doesn't seem as strong. I use a Nano Mag in my big freshwater tank, but it is just too thick inside the tank.

 

I love all of the life inside your tank, its so fun to watch everything move around and how it all interacts.

Haha thanks for your support! Yeah I may have to try something different. The tank is so cool to just sit and stare at I really cant describe it! Im thinking I want to try to add a small hammer but I dont have any experience with them.

[treborzelev]

Ive gotten some really amazing shots of the tank with the powerhead and filter pump off...How do most of you get a good shot?

[treborzelev]

 

 

[treborzelev]

My peppermint shrimp was acting funny today and now is upside down semi lethargic..dead or molting we will see...

[Kijho]

Hope the peppermint makes it dude!

Also the video of the shrimp and goby is WICKED!

[zdes]

I can keep a lot of sensitive coral and fish in my tank, but I am 0 for 10 on peppermint shrimp. I hope yours makes it out...