5 gallon minibow nano

woodymdt

woodymdt

Member
Ok, I want to get my 5 gallon minibow started earlier than expected.
it's in my office, I would see it everyday except Sat-Sun and holidays.
The top of this is 14" x 7", so I'm going to either find a light bar that will fit on that, or I'll DIY one.
Do any of you think that MH lighting would be too warm for this acrylic/plastic tank?
If not, I could purchase or build a MH pendant and affix it right over the tank, and then cutout an acrylic or glass top for the tank.
I currently have a Penguin mini biowheel PF, that is gauged at 100gph. That is enough mathematically, but it doesn't seem to push much current through the tank, so I figure another small 100-125gph PH should do the trick.
It'll be a LR and maybe a couple coral pieces tank, possibly with my pet Mantis in it...haven't decided if I want to bring him up here or not.
I'll definitely have to set whatever lighting I get on a timer so I won't have to worry about the lighting on the weekends.
Any other thoughts? Anything I've left out or not thinking about?
Something else I thought of.
Using LR and LS in this 5 gallon minibow, will I even NEED the penguin mini power filter? Or can I take that out and opt for a powerhead to move the water around the tank?
:jumping: :happy: :happy: :jumping:
 
ricky1863

ricky1863

Member
i am not sure about the halides but i have kept nanos for a long time but i would be concerned about evaporation over the weekend it does not take much water loss for salinity to go through the roof my last was a 5 gallon with 10 watts per gallon of pc lights and the evaporation was about 16 ounces a day not sure if this helps just a thought
 
nikkoli110

nikkoli110

Member
I recently set up a 5 gallon nano at home, hoping to take it to the office during the spring. I have a 29 that is almost a year old. For live sand I used about a 3/4 inch sandbed, not sure how much in lbs, and about 7 lbs live rock. For circulation I used a filter I had hanging around, I think its a penguin 170. Its a little much for it, but it works. I also use two little micro jet powerheads. I have a little 25 watt submersible heater, and surprisingly my temp is always stable at 79. (can't get my 29 this stable!) For lighting I bought the 12" Coralife Aqualight with 36 watts, so it comes to around 7 watts per gallon, and its nice and bright over the whole tank. Right now I have some zoas, xenia, and a little frag of digita in there, 3 hermits, 3 snails, and I added a peppermint shrimp today. I do find that there is alot of evaporation, so I'm a little worried about bringing it into the office, but I'm thinking it might be ok. I was thinking about adding a little yellow clown goby, but I still have no nitrates so I want to keep it that way. I wouldnt recomend doing halides on the little tank, it would be overkill imo. I'll post a little pic...
 
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