starting again w/ 5.5

[CmApEs13]

hey everyone i am starting a 5.5 gallon nano reef. I took down my 35 gallon reef and 2.5 gallon reef and am starting all over with a 5.5.......my lighting will be 40 watts of pc lighting(1 20 watt lamp- 2 10 watt lamp) im building a hood for it also. my filteration is a 30-60 gallon powerfilter and a powerhead (lots of flow). I actually just finished putting in the water for the 5.5 and now im just letting it cycle.

Here is a fish list(s)

 

1 Percula Clownfish

or

1 Yellow watchman goby

2 Damsals (pretty ones of some sort)

or

1 firefish

or

1 Percula Clownfish

1 Yellow Watchman Goby

 

Some Corals I will be keeping are

Zoos

Frogspawn coral

Mushrooms

Ricordia

Leathers

Bubble coral

Brain coral

mostly soft corals though

 

I have a QUESTION though.

- How long do I have to wait to put in my LR? its been so long since I started a tank so im not quite sure and better safe than sorry.

 

If anybody would like to show me their 5.5 for some inspiration or help please do and feel free

[Daemonfly]

Cycling isn't just putting water in, the rock is the key.

 

Set it up, put the water in, get the flow & heater going, then pop the rock in.

 

If rock is right out of your old tanks, then wait for any small cycle, then you're good to go. If it's new rock, or has been sitting stagnant a bit, then you 'll probably get a stronger cycle. After the cycle is complete, you're good to go.

[CmApEs13]

thanx daemonfly, the rock is from my old tanks and im gonna go plop those bad boys in right now!! thanx

anybody else???

[CmApEs13]

i actually have a 130 watt pc lighting on my 5.5 now.

- im making 2 shelf type things on the sides to support the light also.

- and now i might do some SPS!!!

- is this to much of a bioload?????

1 Percula Clown

1 Firefish

1 Yellow Watchman Goby or High Finned Red Banned Goby

- ill post pics of the rock in the tank in a lil bit!!

[irishtexan]

In a 5.5? I would only go with one of those fish.

 

JMO

 

texan

[EL CHUPACABRA]

I have a 5.5 that has a built in fuge I made. It has a false perc, peppermint shrimp, 2 astreas, 2 margaritas, 1 blue leg hermit, Electric Kumquat Zoos, Neon green zoos, true florida ricordias, hairy mushrooms, GSP, and two varieties of blue mushrooms. I have 36w pc that covers the display side (3 gallon-ish) only and gives me about 12 watts per gallon. The tank only holds four gallons of water with every thing in it. Right now my water params are perfect, at the end of the week I get NO3 to .05 from feeding my corals then do a 1 gallon (25%) water change. You could most likely do two fish when your clown is small but when it grows up it will have a larger bio-load especially if it is a female which it probably will be. Remember to think in the future, a false perc in a 5.5 alone is already up for much debate. But if you have another home for one of the fish I think the tank can handle more, at least when the clown is not full grown.

[CmApEs13]

thanx everyone!!

ill prolly be going with 1 perc clown and either 1 yellow clown goby or some other kind of small goby

with my 130 watt pc lighting on this 5.5 could i do some SPS????

ill post some pics soon

[CmApEs13]

here are some old and new pics of the tank

 

Couple of hours after adding LR

 

fts shot

today after adding LS

ill post some more pics when it isnt so cloudy ok

[lpabsolute]

I would go with 1 Percula Clownfish and 1 Yellow Watchman Goby or 1 Percula Clownfish and a small Firefish.....just my opinion

[irishtexan]

Looks good. How did you add the sand after you added water and rock?

 

 

 

texx

[CmApEs13]

thanx guyz.........

- for sure i will have a perc and some small goby

- i added the sand about 13 days after adding the rock i just shut everything down and dumped it in a cup and put it in the spots i wanted. ill post pics of the tank now that it is cleared up ok!!

- thanx again ill post some pics when i get em!

[CmApEs13]

Hey guyz I went to the lfs today and I bought 2 small turbo snails and I adopted 2 3-stripped damsals (but 1 is dead because the bigger one demolished it within 5 minutes of being in the tank)lol it was kinda cool HA lol

ill probably add my first corals next week sometime!!!! im so pumped

ill update with the pictures as soon as I can ok!!!

[djchristone]

why do you have damsels when you plan on a perc and a small goby?

 

and imo, you should only get ONE of the two, so either a perc or a small goby.

 

but all the evidence so far suggests you're not going to listen to us.

[DementedLullaby]

I don't think a perc in a 5.5 is to great for the fish. I would go with a single clown goby.

 

Why do you think it's cool the a damsel got killed? Also why add a damsel? They are the worst aggression wise. You can't put any other fish in there now unless you want it dead.

 

Also just a word of advice. Don't have your LR leaning on your tank wall.

[travisurfer]

I don't think a perc in a 5.5 is to great for the fish. I would go with a single clown goby.

 

Why do you think it's cool the a damsel got killed? Also why add a damsel? They are the worst aggression wise. You can't put any other fish in there now unless you want it dead.

 

Also just a word of advice. Don't have your LR leaning on your tank wall.

ditto, no more than one fish in a 5.5g. its just cruel imo. btw, have you ever seen a full grown percula? they can get pretty big overtime.

[Hekim]

I would stay away from a clown in a tank this small. A watchman Goby and a Pistol Shrimp combo would be a nice combo.