5 gallon nano

[ariaanna]

i have access to a five gallon tank because my friend is moving and i'm considering making it a nano reef. this will be my first foray into marine tanks (i have posts about an aggressive tank, but that won't be able to happen for some time now) and i know nano tanks are hard since the water quality has to be monitored so closely, but i have experience with fish and a strong desire to do this properly, so i figure, why not? this will probably take a few months, as i can't just dump a few hundred dollars into it all at once, but right now i'm thinking the eventual tank inhabitants will be:
5 gallon:
1 emerald crab (or maybe one porcelain crab... what would you suggest?)
5/6 nassarius snails
ONE (i emphasize one b/c i don't want to be lectured) small fish? (and i'm not certain that i'll add a fish.... it will be the absolute last thing i add to the aquarium, and i'll only do so if i feel like it still looks empty)
fluorescent green star polyps
flame polyps
purple mushrooms
feather dusters.
small fish choices:
bangaii cardinalfish
firefish
6-line wrasse
4-line wrasse
clown goby
rainford's goby
ocellaris clown
pink skunk clown (preferred)
4 stripe damselfish?
please tell me if you think i can add some more inverts to this set up, and what kind of fish you think would be best from that list. if there's something not on that list that you would suggest, feel free to do so, but i won't promise to consider it.
presently, the plan is to try to set up the tank and start it cycling in the coming month and very slowly add the polyps, mushrooms, then inverts month by month. depends on my income. (boss has cut my hours, so i'm looking for a second job. )

 

[tuningvis]

is this your first SW tank?
skip the fish
add an emerald
and instead of a fish add a shrimp ... something like a sexy or even a cleaner

 

[ariaanna]

it will be my first, yes. i have a good friend that has kept nano tanks in past that is happy to help me, and i've kept freshwater tanks for some time now, so i'm confident that i'll be able to handle this ok.
so no fish whatsoever?
oh well. at least an emerald crab is still an option. i read other places that said they would eat polyps and such

 

[palumbo]

I think you'd be safe by adding a firefish or a clown goby(which get a max of 2 inches).
In my experience I have never seen my emerald crab touch a coral and none of the polyps have any damage. I have, however, seen him eat red slime algae

 

[ariaanna]

WONDERFUL! really, the point of the tank is to have an emerald crab, so i wouldn't be too heartbroken if you said i couldn't have a firefish, but i really love the little buggers..... i just want a pretty tank in my room that only i get to enjoy... i have puffer tanks and community tanks in "public" rooms, so this project is going to be PURELY mine. (since all the other tanks are in public, everybody feels the need to try to tell me what to put in it/how to aquascape it, etc...)

 

[gfk]

check out reefcentral there are a ton of 5 gallon setups over there that are pretty sweet

 

[cross]

hi, my suggestions are get a cleaner shrimp and a clown or firefish. purple firefish is very beautiful. one emerald crab and 5 turbo snails..

 

[ariaanna]

i'm not certain that i'm gonna get a shrimp... i just don't really like any shrimp that i've seen (not enough to pay what the stores ask for, anyways.)
and what's the plus of a turbo vs. a nassarius? my understanding is that nassarius are sand sifting detrivores, and i like the way they look, so i think i'm gonna stick to that....... but if there's something important turbos do that nassariuses don't, i'll look into getting a mix.
oh, and i've got a topic going on reefcentral, too. i'm just trying to get as many opinions as i can, and since it's summer, no message boards seem to be getting much traffic at all.
or maybe my posts are too wordy.

 

[laddy]

I guess it all depends on how much time you have to maintain a 5g tank. I have a 5g which is virtually low/no maintenace considering it is home to two camel shrimps, a couple #'s of live rock and that's about it. Maybe one day I'll add a goby, but right now I'm using it as a half-way house for my two displays :yes: My only recommendation is that you let your attention rest with fish only. I have yet to see a 5g housed with LPS thriving, and thus I'm not convinced of its long term success. I guess if someone plumbed it into a fuge, or their main tank they may have better luck than me. However, I've always felt the limiting factor with that small of a setup is with intesity of lighting subject to the volume of water. IMHO

 

[ariaanna]

i'm sorry... but, what does LPS mean? i thought that was Local Pet Store?
and as things outgrow my tank, i have someone who can help me frag them, and either put them into his 80 gallon, or bring them to my LFS until i set up a larger tank (which i'm hoping to do after my funds open up a bit....)

 

[laddy]

LPS = Large Polyped Scleractinian
My concern is that you'll have a hard time supporting the corals in such a small enviornment......but I've never given anyone a hard time for attempting something out of the ordinary in this hobby, and I'm not going to start now :joy: If you wanted to quadruple your odds for success, go out and buy an AGA 10g ($10).....twice the volume, half the headaches, more options.

 

[ariaanna]

oic. i'll think about getting a ten, but the place where i want to put this is pretty crowded, i'm not certain i'll be able to fit a ten there. i was planning on setting up a larger tank (around 50 gallons) in about five months after i move, though. (when i move, i'll be able to plan for it and make room) and so the plan at the present is to have a 5 until i move, and then once i move, i'll have some corals ready to put into the 50 when it's cycled.....
and if the polyps don't seem to do well, i have a friend who can take them into his tank. (i don't know if i've mentioned that or not, sorry if i'm being repetitive)

 

[ariaanna]

well, somebody has surrendered a ten to me. so what would you suggest as stocking for ten instead of 5? how do you think a firefish would do in there?

 

[tuningvis]

1 is great ... 2 fish is fine
3 is pushing too much

 

[ariaanna]

i was thinking just a firefish, and MAYBE a goby several months later. but probably not. i just want to make sure the firefish will be ok. i've had mixed reviews.

 

[tuningvis]

i think a firefish would be cool ...
but wait for a few more okay

 

[ariaanna]

i'm posting across 4 boards, and most people agree that the firefish would be fine... i think i've only gotten 2 naysayers out of about 10. but i'm waiting, don't worry. it's going to be awhile before i even set up this tank, anyways.

 

[tuningvis]

i meant okays

typo sorry

 

[ariaanna]

oh, it's fine. i figured. unfortunately, despite my repeatedly saying i wanted the firefish and i specifically wanted to know if that would go well in my tank, most people commented on every fish BESIDE the firefish. so i know that a lot of people recommend a clown goby, or a clownfish. but only a few thoughts on my firefish.

hopefully my threads will get a few more replies before they die, because i don't want to make an uninformed decision, and i REALLY don't want to feel like i HAVE to either get a fish i don't particularly like, or none at all (if i could actually get a fish i LOVE).

 

[tuningvis]

let me crank out a bit on the www for ya. and find some info
i'm bored
what kind were you thinking ... a purple?