My new 5 gallon hex

[cmc3502]

just a got a new eclipse 5 gallon hex... it came with its own filtration and I upgraded to the 10w PC lighting... I have about 8lbs of cured rock (alot of growth!!) and some live sand in there now. I also dropped in a chromis from my main tank to start cycling. My questions are these..
1) I have an extra heater laying around, will I need one, the temp is staying at 80 right now on its own.?
2) with the lighting being 10w PC, can I have low light stuff like zoos? Or is there a nice retro fit lighting kit for upgrading it?
Also, as I posted this I found a screw in 50/50 coralife 20W for around $12.. this might do well being that is 5 gallon x 4 = 20watts. What do you think?

 

[yerboy]

you will want a small heater because once the lights go off your temp will drop and cause stress to your fish. If your water gets to 80 deg with the lights on set the heater for 80deg also.
i cant really say about the lights tho. 2 watts per gallon is kinda low imo

 

[ct_vol]

2 watts per gallon will probably suffice with what you'll be able to keep in there... Mostly just softies and polyps... Something to keep in mind is that your tank is made of acrylic... It will easily be scratched... I had a 5g eclipse corner and learned the hard way... A small heater would definately be a worthwhile investment...

 

[yerboy]

Originally Posted by ct_vol
2 watts per gallon will probably suffice with what you'll be able to keep in there... Mostly just softies and polyps... Something to keep in mind is that your tank is made of acrylic... It will easily be scratched... I had a 5g eclipse corner and learned the hard way... A small heater would definately be a worthwhile investment...
Are you stalking me?

 

[cmc3502]

i think once this bad weather clears, I'm going to go pickup that 50/50 light thats 20W... then I could hopefully get those zoos to not only do well, but grow... and the heater is going in... I'll get some pics up later! I got a nice little ammonia spike going... ah the cycling. Gotta love it...

 

[yerboy]

Ammonia spike with a chromis... poor little chromis

 

[cmc3502]

BTW.. thanks for the advice on the acrylic. I'll be careful. I'm setting this up at home until its more established then moving it to my desk at work.
Yea, I had some chromis in my main tank and decided to use one in there... Dont some people cycle with damsels?

 

[yerboy]

people do but its not the best way to cycle. LR will cycle your tank just fine without adding unneeded stress to a fish. I used LR and a cocktail shrimp to cycle my 12 gallon.. Took a week.
The LR came from my established 55 gallon.