My first Saltwater aquarium!

[Sean1123]

Hey all,

This is my first build thread and my first Saltwater aquarium. I have decided to switch from a 2 gallon jar to a 5 gallon aquarium because I found that the jar is hard to see into because of the thickness of the glass. Here's a picture of the tank. I'll be getting my live rock and live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater hopefully this weekend. Heres a picture and the stats:

 

5 gallon aquarium

ABI 12w LED light

Hydor 25w heater

Air pump (might get a real powerhead because of the larger water volume if you think it would be a good idea)

 

Proposed Livestock:

Live rock critters

3 blue legged hermit crabs

1 pom pom crab

Sexy shrimp

Zoanthids

Rodactus sp.

Candy cane coal or Duncan coral

 

 

Had trouble finding a top so I'm using plastic wrap for now 🙊

 

Sean

[Clown79]

You will need a powerhead in 5g and the plastic wrap will inhibit gas exchange and won't hold up to the heat of the led. 

 

You can make a mesh lid with window framing from the hardware store. Tons of diy plans online.

 

 

[Sean1123]

48 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

You will need a powerhead in 5g and the plastic wrap will inhibit gas exchange and won't hold up to the heat of the led. 

 

You can make a mesh lid with window framing from the hardware store. Tons of diy plans online.

 

 

Alright thanks. Yeah I was going to get a real lid and power head before adding anything just didn't have anything in there yet

[Clown79]

If you plan on corals, it's hard to run a light with a lid.

[Sean1123]

10 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

If you plan on corals, it's hard to run a light with a lid.

Is that because the top reflects the light? I'll look up some auto top off DIYs

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Sean1123 said:

Is that because the top reflects the light? I'll look up some auto top off DIYs

No,  lights for corals aren't in a lid. Lids have lights for non planted freshwater tanks. Lights designed for corals are suspended, use a clamp arm, or have brackets to hold them on the rim of the tank pretty hard to use a lid with any of those types of lights. 

 

Lids also prevent good gas exchange and often cause temp issues.

 

My 3.5g has no heater, 1 small pump for flow.

With lid on temp is 82 without 78-79

[Sean1123]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

No,  lights for corals aren't in a lid. Lids have lights for non planted freshwater tanks. Lights designed for corals are suspended, use a clamp arm, or have brackets to hold them on the rim of the tank pretty hard to use a lid with any of those types of lights. 

 

Lids also prevent good gas exchange and often cause temp issues.

 

My 3.5g has no heater, 1 small pump for flow.

With lid on temp is 82 without 78-79

Ok that makes more sense. I was thinking of one of those clear glass top that you use with LED strips. However I'll have to check the temperature once I have a pump in there and then I'll decide

[specore]

No reason for a lid if you don't have any fish.  

[Sean1123]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

No,  lights for corals aren't in a lid. Lids have lights for non planted freshwater tanks. Lights designed for corals are suspended, use a clamp arm, or have brackets to hold them on the rim of the tank pretty hard to use a lid with any of those types of lights. 

 

Lids also prevent good gas exchange and often cause temp issues.

 

My 3.5g has no heater, 1 small pump for flow.

With lid on temp is 82 without 78-79

Ok that makes more sense. I was thinking of one of those clear glass top that you use with LED strips. However I'll have to check the temperature once I have a pump in there and then I'll decide

[Sean1123]

Just received my live rock in the mail this morning from TBS. I have it in a holding container so that theres a larger water volume just in case if a sponge or something dies. Can't wait to get everything in the tank where you don't have to lie on the ground to look at it 🤣. So far ammonia is insignificant so I'm hoping that will hold true. I'm feeding the sponges and barnacles "Phyto Feast" as directed on the bottle. Is this a good food? 

 

Thanks,

Sean

[Clown79]

13 hours ago, Sean1123 said:

Just received my live rock in the mail this morning from TBS. I have it in a holding container so that theres a larger water volume just in case if a sponge or something dies. Can't wait to get everything in the tank where you don't have to lie on the ground to look at it 🤣. So far ammonia is insignificant so I'm hoping that will hold true. I'm feeding the sponges and barnacles "Phyto Feast" as directed on the bottle. Is this a good food? 

 

Thanks,

Sean

You shouldn't feed anything. You will only add nutrients creating high nitrates and phosphates. 

 

Were the rocks completely wet  when you got them?

 

Any sponges on the rocks that were exposed to air will most likely die.

 

If you have no filtration in the holding tank, feeding is definitely not advised

 

You also should have water movement and a heater with the rocks.

[Sean1123]

I have a seeded sponge filter from a saltwater holding tank that I was using for another project, a heater, and a Hydor 240 powerhead. The rocks were submerged in water with the exception of one sponge that I removed from the rock. The instructions on the website say to feed every other day with a liquid food, so thats why I bought the Phyto feast. There are tunicates, banacles, and a feather duster worm. I realize that the tunicates and the barnacles are unlikely to survive, but I want to give them a chance if I can. 

 

Current parameters

Salinity 1.023-1.024

Ammonia- negligable 

Nitrite-0

Nitrate-0

[Sean1123]

Update:

Everything has been going well so far! I have been checking the water and all of the parameters are good. Since everything is going well, I decided to pick up a cheap frag of Xenia to put on an island in the tank because I like Xenia and it will help me make sure that I'm able to keep corals before I invest in more. I have been losing some of the filter feeders as expected, but the rest of the critters are doing well.

 

 

[Sean1123]

My main concern right now is that one of the rocks is covered with what appears to be branching hydroids. I spent about an hour tonight trying to pick them out without a dent in the population. I emailed Richard about it and he said not to worry about them but all I've heard about hydroids is how evil they are so I'm worried. Maybe one of you can clear it up. 

[Sean1123]

Lots has happened since I last posted. I got 5 new corals, a pom pom crab that always hides, a clown goby, and a rock flower anemone

Here's some pictures! 

Everything has been going smoothly I think other than a constant battle with hair algae. An amazing variety of macro alage has grown from the rock so I am keeping the stuff I like and pulling what I don't like. 

I need to get a branching coral for my clown goby to sit on because he is currently hanging out on the heater. I was thinking of either getting a gorgonian frag or attaching an encrusting coral to a branching skeleton. Any suggestions?

 

My remaining stocking list is 

A few Peterson's cleaner shrimp to host the anemone

A Duncan coral

And one other crustacean like a squat lobster (any info on them would be appreciated. I don't want it to hurt the clown goby), unless if you think that is going overboard.