Looking for some assistance in setting up a 5 gallon micro-reef!

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GobyGuru

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Oct 10, 2010
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Hello everybody, My name is Michael Veloso and I am more of a reptile guy but I had a black piranha for some time.. but my plans changed and I unfortunately traded him for a corn snake (which died not long after the trade :l)

I deeply regret that so I have come to the conclusion that I am going to set up a micro-reef

I am looking for the smallest reef set up possible, is it even possible to go lower than a 5 gallon reef?

Any tips on what to buy ect are appreciated! I have never done anything with saltwater so im a total noob, if somebody could school me that would be great :)

Thanks!
 
I've seen .5 gallon reefs before. It had a couple of hermits in it and one or two polyps.
That said, I wouldn't recommend it at all. Especially seeing as you're new to saltwater.
I've had my 36g salt tank up for a year now and I've just started to add corals. Mainly because the tank hasn't been balanced enough in my opinion to support anything more than fish.
One thing I can't stress enough is to plan, plan, plan! Do your research, and lots of it. It will reward you in the long run.
Setting up a 5 gallon reef is going to be hard. Because it's such a small amount of water, a greater percentage of the water will evaporate than in a bigger system. This is fine if you can keep up on topping water off and dosing properly...But because you're new to this, I wouldn't start a reef in anything less than 10 gallons.
About what to buy, the tank obviously :D, if you go with corals, there are different lights you can get for different types of corals. Lps corals need stronger light and flow than sps and softies. So because you haven't specified what types of corals you want to keep, I can't help you there. I have a 132W power compact light on my 36 gallon, and my soft corals thrive. Some people say you need a protein skimmer for a reef, while others say it is detrimental to it. I personally don't run a skimmer, and like I said, my corals have been fine. If you are dealing with some more delicate species such as Acropora, I think it would be wise to invest in one. Personal choice though. A powerhead is needed to create flow in the tank, and you'll want a stronger flow if you have corals in the tank, so look up on those once you've decided what corals you want.
Now, when you set up your tank, you need to take it slow. One day put the water and sand in...Then maybe the next day add a piece of live rock (which can run you anywhere from $2-$10 a lb.). This will act as your biological filtration and is probably the most important part of your whole tank set up. If you go with a 5 gallon, I wouldn't put any fish in it, so next, probably 2 weeks after that to allow it to cycle properly, I would add some hermit crabs and snails, etc. Personally, I would wait until about 2 months to add any corals, and for them you will want to pick up some fragged corals. They come on little pieces of rocks, and instead of running you $50 for a coral, get a frag for $5 and then grow it yourself! Much more exciting :D
Anyway, I know I've missed a lot, but once you start setting your tank up then I can help a bit more with the specifics.
 
Mudslinger14 said:
I've seen .5 gallon reefs before. It had a couple of hermits in it and one or two polyps.
That said, I wouldn't recommend it at all. Especially seeing as you're new to saltwater.
I've had my 36g salt tank up for a year now and I've just started to add corals. Mainly because the tank hasn't been balanced enough in my opinion to support anything more than fish.
One thing I can't stress enough is to plan, plan, plan! Do your research, and lots of it. It will reward you in the long run.
Setting up a 5 gallon reef is going to be hard. Because it's such a small amount of water, a greater percentage of the water will evaporate than in a bigger system. This is fine if you can keep up on topping water off and dosing properly...But because you're new to this, I wouldn't start a reef in anything less than 10 gallons.
About what to buy, the tank obviously :D, if you go with corals, there are different lights you can get for different types of corals. Lps corals need stronger light and flow than sps and softies. So because you haven't specified what types of corals you want to keep, I can't help you there. I have a 132W power compact light on my 36 gallon, and my soft corals thrive. Some people say you need a protein skimmer for a reef, while others say it is detrimental to it. I personally don't run a skimmer, and like I said, my corals have been fine. If you are dealing with some more delicate species such as Acropora, I think it would be wise to invest in one. Personal choice though. A powerhead is needed to create flow in the tank, and you'll want a stronger flow if you have corals in the tank, so look up on those once you've decided what corals you want.
Now, when you set up your tank, you need to take it slow. One day put the water and sand in...Then maybe the next day add a piece of live rock (which can run you anywhere from $2-$10 a lb.). This will act as your biological filtration and is probably the most important part of your whole tank set up. If you go with a 5 gallon, I wouldn't put any fish in it, so next, probably 2 weeks after that to allow it to cycle properly, I would add some hermit crabs and snails, etc. Personally, I would wait until about 2 months to add any corals, and for them you will want to pick up some fragged corals. They come on little pieces of rocks, and instead of running you $50 for a coral, get a frag for $5 and then grow it yourself! Much more exciting :D
Anyway, I know I've missed a lot, but once you start setting your tank up then I can help a bit more with the specifics.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! After some thought, i've decided a saltwater set up is out of my price range, but some day I will get it started, I just didn't realize how insanely expensive it can be even for such a small tank (which as you said is harder to maintain)

so I think ill wait :)

Thanks again!
 
good choice on waiting! ive been waiting years and i still have to wait a couple more to set up one but i know i wont regret it once i get it set up :)
 
its not as bad as many people think, ive got maybe $300 invested in my 20 long and thats with T5HO lights, LR, Livestock, Cleanup - everything, its all about finding the deals, another thing no reason to be afraid of coral, if the LR you get is fully cured and kept wet during transport your tank will be more or less instantly cycled, use some stability just in case and wait for a week or 2 to see if any die off, if not and your params are right pretty much you can go ahead and start adding soft corals if you want
 
Alright. Yeah, it can get quite expensive in no time..
Good luck with your other fishy endeavors~
 
Thanks! I was looking for something relatively inexpensive, something that would be fun to sit and watch. I am thinking of starting a small freshwater predatory fish tank.

I was wondering what small predatory fish you could recommend for a 10 - 20 gallon? I already have a filter that could work for both a 10 and 20 gallon so I wouldn't need to buy much else.

Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!

(sorry for being off topic, as this now has nothing to do with saltwater aquariums/fish but I didn't want to make another thread :) )
 
jwalkerafc7 said:
good choice on waiting! ive been waiting years and i still have to wait a couple more to set up one but i know i wont regret it once i get it set up :)
Click to expand...

Thank you :) I only like to do the responsible and correct thing, If I did set up a saltwater mini-reef I wouldn't be able to afford all of it so it would be less than acceptable I think

NCStateFisher said:
its not as bad as many people think, ive got maybe $300 invested in my 20 long and thats with T5HO lights, LR, Livestock, Cleanup - everything, its all about finding the deals, another thing no reason to be afraid of coral, if the LR you get is fully cured and kept wet during transport your tank will be more or less instantly cycled, use some stability just in case and wait for a week or 2 to see if any die off, if not and your params are right pretty much you can go ahead and start adding soft corals if you want
Click to expand...

wow :O $300 for a 20 long? that's madness! and it's not even Sparta :)
 
Exodon paradoxus or the bucktooth tetra is like a piranha in the way it schools, and hunts...They may get too big for a 20g, because from what I hear you have to get more than 8 otherwise they'll quarrel, but look them up if you'd like :D They've always appealed to me, but I haven't had the money to set another tank up. (15 and jobless lololol thanks economy)
 
Mudslinger14 said:
Exodon paradoxus or the bucktooth tetra is like a piranha in the way it schools, and hunts...They may get too big for a 20g, because from what I hear you have to get more than 8 otherwise they'll quarrel, but look them up if you'd like :D They've always appealed to me, but I haven't had the money to set another tank up. (15 and jobless lololol thanks economy)
Click to expand...

Thanks! after reading this I headed up to Big Al's and they had some Exodon's, so I decided thats probably what im going to get :)

Im gonna start with a 20 gallon and 6 fish, and move up to 8 fish asap, and as they grow i will upgrade to a 40 gallon as recommended by the owner of my local Big Al's

So hopefully that will become reality over the next week or so :)
 
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