5 Gallon Nano stocking

[overanalyzer]

Sweet NewBee!! What is that coral right in front??

 

[newbe reefer]

It's a Bubble Tip Anenome. And since this pic it has died......so sad. I did not and will not get another one. I replaced it with a Hairy Mushroom, hope the clown takes to it. We'll see.
Thanks,
NewBe

 

[overanalyzer]

NewBe - very cool!! hey can you list out what you have - looks like a false perc and a damsel and some other "stuff" what is that other stuff??

 

[newbe reefer]

I made a few changes since this pic. The BTA is gone, and I took back to the fish store the Xenia and Blue Damsel. So in the tank right now is a Finger Leather put behind clam on right of tank where Xenia was, Button Polyps on top of big rock and some on sand bed, Green Star Polyps on top of bridge rock and fraged a peice for on top of clam (note the rubber band in pic), one big Hairy Mushroom on sand bed, Feather Duster, and 2 single mushrooms (one purple, one green striped) Also I have 3 Sexy Shrimp, Ocellaris Clown, Bi-Colored Bleenie, Queen Conch, 5 Nassiris snails, 4 BumbleBee snails, 2 Asriea snails, 1 Zebra Hermit, and a Pom Pom Crab. I think that's everything. One thing to keep in mind when building and stocking a nano is to keep everything in scale. Like, no Cleaner shrimp or turbo snails, something big like this will kill the illusion.
Let me know if you have any questions,
NewBe

 

[bobh95]

what is a nano?
I've been doing a 5 gallon eclipes hex for a year now i'm still learning. but working bob

 

[overanalyzer]

Nano reefs are generally reef style tanks that are smaller than 29 gallons.

 

[dfishh]

Originally posted by NewBe Reefer
I made a few changes since this pic. The BTA is gone, and I took back to the fish store the Xenia and Blue Damsel. So in the tank right now is a Finger Leather put behind clam on right of tank where Xenia was, Button Polyps on top of big rock and some on sand bed, Green Star Polyps on top of bridge rock and fraged a peice for on top of clam (note the rubber band in pic), one big Hairy Mushroom on sand bed, Feather Duster, and 2 single mushrooms (one purple, one green striped) Also I have 3 Sexy Shrimp, Ocellaris Clown, Bi-Colored Bleenie, Queen Conch, 5 Nassiris snails, 4 BumbleBee snails, 2 Asriea snails, 1 Zebra Hermit, and a Pom Pom Crab. I think that's everything. One thing to keep in mind when building and stocking a nano is to keep everything in scale. Like, no Cleaner shrimp or turbo snails, something big like this will kill the illusion.
Let me know if you have any questions,
NewBe

i agree with the last thing u sed newbee. i dont like wen nanos only have like 3 pieces of big lr, and they just look like a section of a huge reef. i like when u use lots of small pieces to build a mini reef, like a sized down huge reef. kinda hard to explain but u did it good newbee
DAVE

 

[overanalyzer]

very true - I like using small frags and not letting things get out of hand size wise ....

 

[y2says]

I have one perc right now. I'm planning to add another one later. Here's my 10g. Right now I have a feather duster, yellow poylps, brown button poylps, mushroom rock, star polyps and xenia frag. My cleaner shrimp just died a few days ago for no reason.

 

[newbe reefer]

Y2SAYS that is a really nice looking nano. Good job on the rock work! Sorry to hear about the cleaner.
Really looks great!

NewBe

 

[brooklyn johnny]

Anything can be done with proper planning. The major mistake that I've seen made with nanos is that some people look to set them up for the sake of simplicity. Nanos could be simple if done by an experienced reefer (or a well-versed newbie), but problems arise when people somehow get the idea that because it is small it needs less attention. I set my 10 gallon up because my wife and I (married 2 years April 7th ) would be living in an apartment for a while, and God knows my 180 wasn't getting temporarily setup. I pay attention to detail, and keep over 50 added species of inverts there successfully. I say that it's harder than my 180 was, because things change really fast (pH, alk, calcium mainly) and you need to remedy FAST. But if you keep a more loosely stocked nano it's simpler.
Newbe and dfish I have always felt the same way regarding stocking a nano... make the tank look bigger than it is.
I also highly recommend a fuge if you could swing it. And you could pretty much keep any coral you could keep in larger aquariums. Here's my 10 gallon... very nice nanos all... nanos are neat!! (Is the plural of nano spelled nanoes? )

 

[overanalyzer]

Fantastic Brooklyn!! So when are you moving and setting up your 180??
I was very hesitant to set it up because of my past expereinces with small SW tanks .... I do it because it is cheaper for me .... plus I think of it as a toehold on the long hard climb to the goal of a tank in every room. Speaking of which - setting up 20 Gallon Clown breeding nano as we speak!!

 

[brooklyn johnny]

Thanks oa... this summer we are going to start actively looking, so probably later this fall or early next year. As to the 180 getting setup that will be shortly after. I have huge plans for my "fish room", and the 180 will be the centerpiece of the system. Between me going nuts with it, and my wife keeping me in check, it will take a while, but that's what's great about reefs... they're NEVER "done".
Congrats on breeding the clowns... they're are numerous people in my club that breed different fish, and it's got to be tremendously rewarding.
So many people have bad past experiences with SW tanks, but in this hobby the understanding of captive reefs has come very far in just years. It's amazing, and exciting to know know that we could all contribute to the advancement of the hobby, especially experimenting with captive breeding. Good luck!

 

[dfishh]

while were talkin bout nanos, i was thinking about setting up a 2.5 gallon one, but nuthin special really, not too fancy. im goin to a really good fish store soon, so i think i will get most my stuff ther. i got the tank and a 13 watt pc already. i was thinkin about doing a small water change on my 55 gallon, like 3 gallons, and using that water for the nano. then i would buy live sand for a very dsb and sum very small lr from the store im goin to. also a 25 watt mini compact heater. wat would u recomend for filtration tho, do u think like 3 pounds of lr would filter it enough? i would only put like a shrimp and sum mushrooms in it. dont know wat exactly yet. and as jonny sed, i would not give it less attention. watdu think then?
DAVE

 

[brooklyn johnny]

At a minimum you'll need circulation. Look into microjet powerheads and an Aquaclear mini HOB. I would drop the DSB idea, as it will only take up room.

 

[aggie05]

I have a small whisper HOB on my 2.5 for circulation. The LR should be enough filtration with only shrooms and a shrimp. Just make sure to keep an eye on your levels and you should be ok.

 

[dfishh]

i was thinking bout puting a small powerhed on it. i gues ill drop the dsb and just get one of those small bags of regular sand. aggie.....wat model of whisper r u using, ive never seen one that is very small, not small enough to fit on the 2.5 i have anyway. i know that sum lfs sell really little half gallon tanks that com with tiny, tiny filter, like smaller than ur palm, but i dont think they sell em seperate.
DAVE

 

[brooklyn johnny]

They do sell those seperate, but I doubt it would fit on the 2.5. Look into the aquaclear mini or maybe the whisper like aggie said. I'm partial to the aquaclear...

 

[aggie05]

the tiny filter you are talking about is a piece of crap. An aquaclear mini is probably your best bet. The whisper I am using is a 5-15 which seems to be ok but I won't be sure until I place some ricordea in the tank. Right now I am waiting for the diatoms to die off and the only inhabitant is a lonely snail. I will be placing my rics in there pretty soon though. Then I will know if I have too much flow.

 

[dfishh]

aggie, when u say u dont know if the whisper will be good enough for the ricordias, do u mean like it wont make the water quality good enough, or do u mean it will make too much current?
DAVE