5gal. tank..what to do?

[tomato clown]

I have a 5 gal. tank set up and fully cycled. I orriginally wanted it as a hosp. tank, but was told it was too small, hence why I added a substrate and 2lbs of LR. Anyway what can I do with it?
It has 2.5in. of aragonite sub. hang on filter with built in skimmer.
Water tests are perfect in it so any suggestions are welcome.
Dan

 

[fish fry]

Hmmm,
It could make a nice grow out tank for any newly propogated corals.
If it was up to me I would keep either a couple of hermits or maybe a shrimp or two.
The tank would be too small for most fish, hence my suggestion toward some type of crab ort shrimp
LAter
Fish Fry

 

[tomato clown]

I was thinking something along the lines of snails and/or crabs. Didn't think it could possibly hold a shrimp. What about an anenome or something?

 

[fish fry]

Hey Tomato Clown,
Crab and snails would work. Hermits are easy to keep and tons of fun to watch.
Anenomes are REALLY hard to keep alive for more than two years. Where as in the wild they can live approximately 100 yrs. They do not breed in captivity so they are all taken from the wild
Water conditions have to be excellent, which can be hard to achieve in such a small tank. You are better sticking with hardier species.
Fish Fry

 

[tomato clown]

Thanks but I have a bubble tip in my 25 (forgot to list him) But I appreciate the input. I might go with hermits, just gotta figure out what type I want....he he he
Dan

 

[just_got_tanked]

If there isnt alot of water movement have you thought of a sea horse. Ive seen them in a five gallon show tank in a fish store. You can also get some small corals thats what the fish store had. Its been there for a while too.

 

[tomato clown]

I gave thought to the micro reef, but I'm not very sure how they work, as far as the water movement goes. Seahorses, well in my book that would be hard, I know nothing about them except they are slow, eat hatched brine and need to cling to stuff.
I have also thought about something like a refug, or some sort of breeding tank (for brine or whatnot)
Hard to decide.
Dan

 

[just_got_tanked]

The seahorse is a fish that alot of people would love to have but cant. If you have just him in the tank he would not have to fight for the food and you could keep this beautiful fish.

 

[bhav_88]

If there is no coral, put something Non-Reef safe in there, like one of those destructive lobsters... It should be an invert, as fish will outgrow quickly. You could put a bunch of peppermint shrimp in there, and breed them as a food source for your main tank, as well.

 

[aceiswild7]

how about a mantis shrimp they are great pets if by themselves or you could try to grow nice colorful mushrooms

 

[saltwaterissocool]

Originally posted by Tomato Clown:
<STRONG>I have a 5 gal. tank set up and fully cycled. I orriginally wanted it as a hosp. tank, but was told it was too small, hence why I added a substrate and 2lbs of LR. Anyway what can I do with it?
It has 2.5in. of aragonite sub. hang on filter with built in skimmer.
Water tests are perfect in it so any suggestions are welcome.
Dan</STRONG>
grow your corals and anemonies in there

 

[fishpimp]

What type of light should be used to grow the corals in the small tanks

 

[fish fry]

If you look around they sell small PC lights. I think they have a 16 watt bulb, you might even be able to get a (double 32watt)
Even if you get 5-6 watts per gallon you wouldn't be able to keep anything that requires a ton of light, but some soft corals should do great.
Later
Fry

 

[tomato clown]

Thanks for the replies all, I have decided to go with either leather coral or mushrooms. I like the fact that I can propogate either of these, or just let them do it themselves.
Dan

 

[tomato clown]

Ok here is what I have accomplished so far.
Last weekend I went out and bought a small Marineland Penguin bio-wheel mini (filters 100gph) and added an auaclear powerhead 201 or 301. I transferred ls from my 25gal. tank since it has been set up for 2 yearsand started the filtering process on the 5gal. using all that I just mentioned.
Now tomorrow I want to get my lighting, I am thinking that for this size tank a 10 or 20 watt atinic should work well for coral frags, and shrooms.....any one think its too much?..not enough?
My other question here is should I do away with the powerhead or adjust it so it basically hits the water surface?
Dan