Hi - Christmas gift - and oh so new to a saltwater aquarium from Ashville, AL

[FloridaTechHopeful]

My 11th grade daughter aspires to be a Marine Biologist. For Christmas I've gotten her a Fluval Evo 5 gallon. So far, so good I've loaded the live sand, live rock, ocean water from what looks like a big wine box! I put in a heater and got it cycling. The water is clear and here was the test today: PH 8.0 Ammonia between 5.0 to 1.0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm and Nitrate 10 ppm. I ordered a thermometer and saline tester today.
My daughter has always loved tiny things. I am hoping to add one or two Asterina starfish, some easy to grow soft coral and a tiny invertebrate, (not necessarily in that order.) I failed to order a calcium and phosphate test... I guess I will handle next. Heck, I've already learned so much trying to set this tank up... I may or may not let her take it away to college! LOL Looking forward to reading your post.

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[Weasel1960]

Welcome to the R2R community. And the journey begins…

 

[Kennya]

Welcome to R2R

 

[328 reef]

Small steps=

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Welcome! My Christmas wish for you both is that you love this adventure and decide to go a bit bigger with a system. I set up
a 40 breeder / 20 gal sump and it is so much fun and a challenge.

 

[Guy317]

Welcome and merry Christmas

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome!

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Utubereefer]

Not sure you need all of the fancy test kits for a 5 gallon tank. Just stick to a solid maintenance routine and maybe consider dosing bacteria periodically. Good luck!

 

[Dom]

My 11th grade daughter aspires to be a Marine Biologist. For Christmas I've gotten her a Fluval Evo 5 gallon. So far, so good I've loaded the live sand, live rock, ocean water from what looks like a big wine box! I put in a heater and got it cycling. The water is clear and here was the test today: PH 8.0 Ammonia between 5.0 to 1.0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm and Nitrate 10 ppm. I ordered a thermometer and saline tester today.
My daughter has always loved tiny things. I am hoping to add one or two Asterina starfish, some easy to grow soft coral and a tiny invertebrate, (not necessarily in that order.) I failed to order a calcium and phosphate test... I guess I will handle next. Heck, I've already learned so much trying to set this tank up... I may or may not let her take it away to college! LOL Looking forward to reading your post.

It's always best to tailor your tank around the fish you want to keep. But in this case, I understand and agree. It will be a small investment to plant a seed and see if it grows into a lifetime of rewarding science. I admire your desire to support your daughter's dream.

I have a Fluval Evo 5 gallon. It is a nice little tank. But understand that small tanks like this require a lot of attention. Their small size doesn't allow for much in the way of filtration and they rely HEAVILY on water changes to thrive. In the case of this tank, I would swap out 1 gallon of water weekly. That is 20% of its total volume and industry standard practice.

Also remember that it is important to keep your water level consistent. You do this by topping off to proper levels on a daily basis.

Also remember that while water evaporates, salt does NOT. For this reason, it is important to know that you must NOT use pre-made water from the "wine box" for topping off. For this you must use plain RODI water. Using water from the wine box to top off will result in elevated salt levels.

Finally, the picture on the box is misleading. The light that comes with the tank will not support coral growth with maybe the exception of Zoas and Hammers.

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[PeterC99]

Welcome to R2R!

Great family hobby and great way to get a marine biologist started!

 

[JXNATC]

My 11th grade daughter aspires to be a Marine Biologist. For Christmas I've gotten her a Fluval Evo 5 gallon. So far, so good I've loaded the live sand, live rock, ocean water from what looks like a big wine box! I put in a heater and got it cycling. The water is clear and here was the test today: PH 8.0 Ammonia between 5.0 to 1.0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm and Nitrate 10 ppm. I ordered a thermometer and saline tester today.
My daughter has always loved tiny things. I am hoping to add one or two Asterina starfish, some easy to grow soft coral and a tiny invertebrate, (not necessarily in that order.) I failed to order a calcium and phosphate test... I guess I will handle next. Heck, I've already learned so much trying to set this tank up... I may or may not let her take it away to college! LOL Looking forward to reading your post.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Good news is that you won’t need Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, or Phosphate tests until you are adding fish and coral!

 

[Mhamilton0911]

Hey welcome!! I agree with most, the extra tests won't really be necessary for such a small tank, just water changes will replenish any used up elements.

Google sexy shrimp. They are a cool little invertebrate that you should find pretty fascinating, they should work in that tank

 

[Preyou]

Welcome! Looks like you are hitting the ground running. Is she trying to go to FIT? Just curious.

 

[Manny’s Reef]

Hello and welcome to R2R. We sure are glad to have you.

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R! Follow @Dom 's advice and you won't go wrong. The smaller the tank the more important replacing evaporated water becomes and water changes will fix 90% of ills that come up.