First Time Nano

[angerson]

I'm a longtime freshwater hobbyist who recently established a 30 gallon fish-only marine setup. I really found the SW experience to be highly rewarding (much more so than FW) and I enjoyed it so much that I'm now about to establish a "true" nano tank - a 5 gallon desktop. However before I jump in, I was wondering if anyone could help me out by offering any tips or advice.

 

First things first, the tank I'm going to be working with is the Eclipse 5 Hex. I  know this probably wasn't the best choice for a desktop nano, but I really like the design of the tank and I needed something with a very small footprint that was completely sealed and silent (I have a ferret that likes to wander on my desk).

 

If at all possible, I’d like to salvage as much of the original equipment in this little guy as possible. That includes making use of the stock wet dry filter (pumps @ 35 gal. h/r), hood and lighting system. My game plan was to remove the carbon from the filter and run it for mechanical filtration & circulation in tandem with a micro-jet Power head. For the lights I removed the stock incandescent 25 watt bulb and replaced it out with a GE fluorescent bulb that fits in a standard light socket (same fixture). This supposedly produces 60 watts of light while using only 15 watts of current. I’m still not sure how I will incorporate a skimmer.

 

For biological filtration I went with a 4” DSB of "nonliving" sand. I realize this may be a little too deep, but I wanted to make sure I had as much “help” as possible on the biological end. I also plan to add a generous portion of live rock (fiji?) this weekend in the middle of my cycle. In the interim I’m borrowing a healthy portion of shells covered in corraline algae form my 30 gal.

 

Ultimately I'm looking to have this tank hold one perc, 5 hermits and 1 turbo. Eventually I will probably add add coral to make it a true mini-reef (pending a lighting upgrade), but it's certainly not a short term goal. For now it's just to add a little life to my desk. If anyone could offer any advice at all, I’d be more than welcome to hear it. like I said, I’ve successfully established a larger fish-only marine tank, but my general experience is limited.

 

Thanks,

 

Joe Angerson

 

 

(Edited by angerson at 1:06 am on May 20, 2002)

[SLOreefer]

dont worry about a skimmer because you wont need it. i dont know hte dimensions of the lighting hood or anythign but you may be able to get a 13watt bulb in there that will be able to sustain life for mushrooms and some other polyps. other than that just do weekly water changes and such and you should be fine. i would use aroud 6-10 lbs live rock. fiji is fine. just try and buy cured rok.