5 Gallon Euphyllia Reef

Ratvan · Feb 25, 2020

Greetings All,

Decided yesterday that I would start setting up my little 5 Gallon Cube again, really enjoying the larger reef at the moment but I really do miss the Tank that started it all. However the first iteration of this tank did annoy me somewhat so this time around I want to do things differently.

Tank: Ciano Nexus 25 (22 Litres/ 5 Gallons)
Light: ASTA 20 LED Marine
Heater: 50W Adjustable
Filter: Hydro Ripple HR-450
Flow: Hydor Pico Evo Mag 650

Part of the issue with the previous tank is that I could not find a scape that i liked, essentially I tried just balancing rocks and I feel that the structures never felt like they belonged in the tank, this time round I used dry rock, cheap hammer drill, masonry drill bit, frag plugs, acrylic rods and frag cement to make a more interesting shape out of the rocks.

The second issue is that I don't like to see equipment in the Display Tank, I didn't want to run a Sump on this tank so decided to get an oversized HOB Filter and hide the Heater within this.

Couple of minutes patiently with a pin drill enabled me to snap in the wire for the heater, I will route out a small hole in the lid of the HOB for the temperature adjustment dial. While I had the drill out I decided to cut the acrylic lid so that I can fit the lights and the HOB into the tank and to discourage any jumpers (and cats and bunny) doesn't look great but does the job and I plan on lining the whole lid with a mesh border

I intend to keep this bare bottomed, so the plan for this evening is to paint the bottom of the tank white, locate the tank stand and place into final position, play with scape (want to angel it further towards top right hand corner of the tank)

I also want to build a DIY media rack for the HOB filter out of Eggcrate and Craft Mesh.

I'll leave you with a couple more shots of the rock work

Ron Reefman · Feb 25, 2020

Looks like a nice start and some interesting ideas. Have you tested the heater to see how hot it gets when it's on. I'd have some small concern it might melt the plastic of the HOB filter if it was to touch it?

I have a 16g tank that I'm considering as a RFA only tank. So I'll watch your work for ideas!

Ratvan · Feb 25, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
Looks like a nice start and some interesting ideas. Have you tested the heater to see how hot it gets when it's on. I'd have some small concern it might melt the plastic of the HOB filter if it was to touch it?

I have a 16g tank that I'm considering as a RFA only tank. So I'll watch your work for ideas!

Thanks, I have the heater programmed to 80F, this is connected to an Inkbird Controller that is set to 78F (Main display). Also I have a couple of suction cup holders that I will install before I get it running, this keeps the heater roughly 6-7mm off the plastic base.

ReefReadyYouTube · Feb 25, 2020

Really nice build. What corals do you plan on keeping?

Ratvan · Feb 25, 2020

ReefReadyYouTube said:
Really nice build. What corals do you plan on keeping?

I'm going to see if I can find some "old School" Favourites;

Pectinia
Turbipora
Turbinaria
Symposium

Robert Binz · Apr 16, 2020

Ratvan said:
Greetings All,

Decided yesterday that I would start setting up my little 5 Gallon Cube again, really enjoying the larger reef at the moment but I really do miss the Tank that started it all. However the first iteration of this tank did annoy me somewhat so this time around I want to do things differently.

Tank: Ciano Nexus 25 (22 Litres/ 5 Gallons)
Light: ASTA 20 LED Marine
Heater: 50W Adjustable
Filter: Hydro Ripple HR-450
Flow: Hydor Pico Evo Mag 650

Part of the issue with the previous tank is that I could not find a scape that i liked, essentially I tried just balancing rocks and I feel that the structures never felt like they belonged in the tank, this time round I used dry rock, cheap hammer drill, masonry drill bit, frag plugs, acrylic rods and frag cement to make a more interesting shape out of the rocks.

The second issue is that I don't like to see equipment in the Display Tank, I didn't want to run a Sump on this tank so decided to get an oversized HOB Filter and hide the Heater within this.

Couple of minutes patiently with a pin drill enabled me to snap in the wire for the heater, I will route out a small hole in the lid of the HOB for the temperature adjustment dial. While I had the drill out I decided to cut the acrylic lid so that I can fit the lights and the HOB into the tank and to discourage any jumpers (and cats and bunny) doesn't look great but does the job and I plan on lining the whole lid with a mesh border

I intend to keep this bare bottomed, so the plan for this evening is to paint the bottom of the tank white, locate the tank stand and place into final position, play with scape (want to angel it further towards top right hand corner of the tank)

I also want to build a DIY media rack for the HOB filter out of Eggcrate and Craft Mesh.

I'll leave you with a couple more shots of the rock work

Any update here?

Ratvan · Apr 17, 2020

Robert Binz said:
Any update here?

Hi yes. Sorry forgot about this thread.

Had a change of direction, decided to go with a Euphyllidae tank. So far Ancora Hammers and a Catalaphyllia.

Want a Fox or Bubble but don't think it'll work so Frogspawn and another hammer, maybe branching for the rack and call it a day.

The size of the Elegance was wildly underestimated in the advert.

25W Heater
Hydor Pico Evo Mag 650
Asta 20 LED Marine

Struggling to get CuC at the moment so small weekly feedings of frozen BBS, photo period of 8 hours, more blue in my light mix than white due to diatoms.

Weekly water change of 1L (USA Quart) making sure I get detritus out is priority.

Floating rocks attached directly to glass with silicone and back Pre painted black to help with photographs.

Other than that, DFTI rules (don't (guess the word) touch it. Considering a fish or invert

Robert Binz · Apr 17, 2020

Ratvan said:
Hi yes. Sorry forgot about this thread.

Had a change of direction, decided to go with a Euphyllidae tank. So far Ancora Hammers and a Catalaphyllia.

Want a Fox or Bubble but don't think it'll work so Frogspawn and another hammer, maybe branching for the rack and call it a day.

The size of the Elegance was wildly underestimated in the advert.

25W Heater
Hydor Pico Evo Mag 650
Asta 20 LED Marine

Struggling to get CuC at the moment so small weekly feedings of frozen BBS, photo period of 8 hours, more blue in my light mix than white due to diatoms.

Weekly water change of 1L (USA Quart) making sure I get detritus out is priority.

Floating rocks attached directly to glass with silicone and back Pre painted black to help with photographs.

Other than that, DFTI rules (don't (guess the word) touch it. Considering a fish or invert

That looks amazing! I’ve got a 5g going through the ugly stage so looked through your thread for tips haha

Ratvan · May 1, 2020

Robert Binz said:
That looks amazing! I’ve got a 5g going through the ugly stage so looked through your thread for tips haha

I'm still in the Ugly stages at the moment, unfortuantely with the current lockdown situation I have had to rely on ordering my Clean up Crew online. So far I have had success keeping a single Algae Hermit crab alive. Hopefully the next batch arriving on Wednesday will do a little better. With another Hammer.

A week ago I did notice brown stringy and bubbly algae on my sandbed so adjusted the pump so i could get more flow around the tank to try and reduce dead spots, or at least shift it so that I can physically remove during water change. That has more or less gone now, to be replaced by GHA and possibly a few Diatoms knocking around which makes the algae seem a lot worse, it looks ugly but I am sure its not detrimental to the tank.

I plan on upgrading my lighting next week as Monday i can return to my office (where stupidly I left nearly all of my reefing equipment and spares after taking down the tank at work) I love the Asta 20 LED but I purchased these LPS corals for their colours so I'm going to try the Kessil A80 Tuna Blue that I have. You can see from the below images, that I can get the pearlescent appearance but losing a lot of depth of colour

My dream coral, always wanted one. Catalphyllia or Elegance Coral

Aussie Ancora Hammer - Pearl Purple Tip/Green Stem

Aussie Ancora - Sky Blue and Lilac Tip/Metallic Stem

NS Mike D · May 1, 2020

very nice tank. I love the single theme nanos/picos

Ratvan · May 1, 2020

NS Mike D said:
very nice tank. I love the single theme nanos/picos

I've had to do this otherwise i would have purchased so many corals by now I would have nowhere to put them

najer · May 1, 2020

Looking very nice.

Ratvan · May 2, 2020

najer said:
Looking very nice.

Thanks, couldn't stay away from having something salty. Keeping it nice and simple, fully bunny proofed and have backup power sorted this time.

The Mrs has agreed that a reef is far more interedesting then the freshwater set ups, so when my immortal Betta (6 years and going.. Strong? Wrong word but has been in his "final" stages for 9 months. About once a week I decide I'll get the clove oil out in the morning to see him swimming around and wanting food. Git) finally goes, sometime this year. I can rehome my cory cats and have the full space of 48x18, thinking shallow though so 10 or 12 high. Trying for a RSR XL 425.

najer · May 2, 2020

I love low tanks sounds great.

Pablopufferfish · May 2, 2020

Ratvan said:
Hi yes. Sorry forgot about this thread.

Had a change of direction, decided to go with a Euphyllidae tank. So far Ancora Hammers and a Catalaphyllia.

Want a Fox or Bubble but don't think it'll work so Frogspawn and another hammer, maybe branching for the rack and call it a day.

The size of the Elegance was wildly underestimated in the advert.

25W Heater
Hydor Pico Evo Mag 650
Asta 20 LED Marine

Struggling to get CuC at the moment so small weekly feedings of frozen BBS, photo period of 8 hours, more blue in my light mix than white due to diatoms.

Weekly water change of 1L (USA Quart) making sure I get detritus out is priority.

Floating rocks attached directly to glass with silicone and back Pre painted black to help with photographs.

Other than that, DFTI rules (don't (guess the word) touch it. Considering a fish or invert

I too have a 5g that’s going through the ugly stage. Although mine is a softie tank. Anyhow, I never seen a 5g with Euphyllia in it. Nice tank!

Ratvan · May 2, 2020

Pablopufferfish said:
I too have a 5g that’s going through the ugly stage. Although mine is a softie tank. Anyhow, I never seen a 5g with Euphyllia in it. Nice tank!

I shall check it out. I didn't have much luck with softies, I find that LPS are more forgiving for me in a smaller system. You do have to be aware of flow patterns as they don't like direct flow but do like turbid so placement and angels of wavemakers/power heads are important I find. Also discovered that on smaller systems reef roids and similar foods are too concentrated, probably becuas they're not yet mature enough to handle the added nutrients.

I have had best luck with a small fish, feed that sparingly and the corals seem to look after themselves. Looking for a fish at the minute, the Mrs wants a Clown again so may have to find a tiny pair