New to the forum, new to salt water. . . 5 gallon Fluval EVO reef

[MoshJosh]

OK, am I a crazy person? Is this crazy? Or is it awesome? I’m not really sure.

ordered this “auto top off“ on eBay. I believe it was intended for an aquarium, and its operation seems pretty straightforward. There is a piece of metal on the float, but again as this is intended for an aquarium I kind of assume it’s some sort of stainless or other safe metal.

Obviously, this was not intended for a 5 gallon tank, so I had to make a spacer out of wood to adjust the height, and the plastic background I put on also helps with spacing. I assume it’s fine to use this little piece of pine, as it’s not actually in the water (except for when I dropped it in the tank trying to install the top off)

I know if some had said I don’t need a skimmer, but I’m tempted to put a reef glass skimmer on to complete that sort of mad scientist meth lab look.

 

[MoshJosh]

Am I cycled??? About 36 hours ago I dosed ammonia to approximately 2 ppm, this morning ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all read zero. . . Technically my test is reading 0.25 ppm ammonia, but it has been every time I tested (except when dosing ammonia), and this morning I tested it against just plain salt water NOT from my tank, and still read 0.25ppm. . . I assume this is an issue with the test

though, shouldn’t I have more nitrates? Where are they going?

Here is a picture of my tank water versus normal salt water

 

[Grumblez]

Yeah mate you used wet live rock tank was cycled day 1.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Couple questions:

how long should I be running my light when cycling?

Also my cycling seems a bit “stalled”.

And I also
May have been using the products wrong. . . Was dosing ammonia and bacteria daily. . . Was I supposed to dose just once? Oops

According to the Brightwell product I’m using after about 5 days the tank should be “cycled”. . . but ammonia 1ppm, nitrite 2ppm, and nitrate 0-5 (maybe). . .

should I just wait and keep testing, or keep adding bacteria until cycled?

Light has very little impact on cycling. I hate to say but API kits are notorious for false readings and will prove to be less than reliable hence the low price for a master kit.
Take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use API kits and see what results they come up with.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[MoshJosh]

So I have made some changes and added some animals. . . though I probably shouldn't have added some of them.

I took out the power head. Initially I thought the flow looked good. . . but turns out I was blasting like 90% of the tank.

I added a "surface skimmer" that only pushes 80gph which combined with the stock tanks 83gph pump I think if good rate of flow. Put a RFG nozzle on the stock filter and will add one to the skimmer in hopes of simulating waves. . .

I ordered a larger heater. . . found I was having temp fluctuations from like 75F to 80F. I Don't think its heater placement as the temp has been consistent between the "AOI" part of the tank and the display. Heater should be here tomorrow.

I had to replace the wooden riser I made for the auto top off. After a few days of use I realized water was wicking up onto the wood. . .hopefully I didn't leach anything into the tank. Made a new riser out of corrugated plastic.

Now for livestock:

4 hermit crabs
1 margarita snail
1 emerald crab
and
. . . 1 clown goby

So none of these were really on my wish list, but I got upsold by the LFS. . . and pressured by my wife to have a fish. . .

That said I am not to worried about the hermits as there are no corals in the tank ATM, and the store will take them back when I am ready. They are kinda neat to watch though.

The emerald crab has since died. . . I was hoping it was a molt, but I am pretty sure not. I checked my water and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate were all 0 (had done a water change 2-3 days before). I am not sure why it passed, though I imagine it may be related to the above mentioned issues i.e. temp and flow

And the clown goby. . . I have read these are fine in nano and pico tanks, and the LFS was all for it. . . I am not so sure but we will see.

. . .

That was the initial stocking. . .but then I grabbed a few more critters prior to the emerald crabs death when I thought things were going swimmingly. . .

I temporarily added an aiptasia eating file fish as. . . surprise I had aiptasia anemones growing on my live rock. I know this fish cannot stay in this tank forever as it is far to active and will get far to large (right now it only about an inch long), in fact I plan on trading it in to my LFT next week. All that said. . . it ate pretty much all the aiptasia in like 2 days.

I added a fan worm. . . thing is awesome. . . but we'll see. I have read some conflicting things about their care and hardiness. . .

Plan:

Fixing my heat issue, dial in the flow, and take the file fish and hermit crabs back to LFS.

then add:

Trochus snail X1
Fighting conch X1
Nassarius Snail X1
Dwarf feather duster worm X2

Sexy shrimp X5
Or
Pom pom crabs?

Clow Goby. . . keep or back to fish store? IDK yet

. . .

So yeah. . . if you read all that, what are your thoughts.

 

[gbroadbridge]

OK, am I a crazy person? Is this crazy? Or is it awesome? I’m not really sure.

ordered this “auto top off“ on eBay. I believe it was intended for an aquarium, and its operation seems pretty straightforward. There is a piece of metal on the float, but again as this is intended for an aquarium I kind of assume it’s some sort of stainless or other safe metal.

Obviously, this was not intended for a 5 gallon tank, so I had to make a spacer out of wood to adjust the height, and the plastic background I put on also helps with spacing. I assume it’s fine to use this little piece of pine, as it’s not actually in the water (except for when I dropped it in the tank trying to install the top off)

I know if some had said I don’t need a skimmer, but I’m tempted to put a reef glass skimmer on to complete that sort of mad scientist meth lab look.

Welcome,

Small tanks tend to drift around a lot with parameters, but with no fish and just inverts you should be fine.

Soft corals like Mushrooms can live perfectly well in nutrient rich water.

BTW, there is no safe metal in a salt water tank, so I wouldn't use anything with metal parts, as the metals will polute the tank and kill your inverts.

Graham

 

[MoshJosh]

Welcome,

Small tanks tend to drift around a lot with parameters, but with no fish and just inverts you should be fine.

Soft corals like Mushrooms can live perfectly well in nutrient rich water.

BTW, there is no safe metal in a salt water tank, so I wouldn't use anything with metal parts, as the metals will polute the tank and kill your inverts.

Graham

Thanks for the info. I removed the auto top off, and will try to set up my other make shift top off. . . all plastic this time.

Yeah according to google only titanium and a specific type of stainless steel are reef safe. . . and likely the metal on the float is neither of those.

 

[MoshJosh]

Wanted to update my thread because it’s been a while. A lot has changed, and admittedly I have made a number of mistakes. I also got some critters that, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have (namely the flame scallop).

Anyway, early on I had an emerald crab die, think I mentioned it before, still not totally sure why. Also had a peppermint shrimp die, again not totally sure why, but I was keeping two of them in this nano tank, and I’ve read they can be a bit aggressive towards their own kind, maybe?. I rehomed all the hermit crabs and instead got A bunch of snails, a red emerald crab, and a free tiny “pest” brittle star.

I also got a flame scallop, the pet store assured me they were super easy to care for no big deal. . . After some reading, sounds like this is not the case and there’s not a super great way to keep these guys happy and alive. I target feed phytoplankton daily, and was doing some broadcast feeding but was going a little overboard so I had to cut back.

after everything seemed stable for a while I started to add corals one by one. Tried to pick things that are not too sensitive or demanding. So far things seem to be going OK.

Added a little clam, less than 2” so I try to feed it phyto as well.

Oh, I also got the “sump” set up and I’ve been growing chaeto. . . and added a reef glass skimmer

 

[DeniseAndy]

Looks like quite a start on the little tank. Well done. The hardest part of the little guys is stability. Good luck!

 

[coralfishreef]

That’s an interesting sump setup. Can you describe how water flows into and out of the sump?

Thanks

 

[Karen00]

Hello all!!! My name is Josh, and I am new to reef tanks/saltwater tanks. I have kept freshwater fish for a few years now (currently have 5 tanks) and have decided to try my hand at a reef tank.

I ALMOST started a reef tank about 6 months ago, a 20 gallon drop off (that is still in my garage), but the wife wasn't feeling it. . . and now the space I was going to put the tank in no longer exists haha.

Because of the small space I have to work with my options were limited (also due to my budget. . .) so I ended up buying a Fluval EVO 5 gallon (much to my LFSs dismay. . . they said I was "a glutton for punishment". . . maybe they were right).

My goal for this tank is a simple but attractive reef. . . coral, macro algae, and inverts. . . NO fish. And I would like to do so using as much of the stock equipment as possible, namely the stock light. That said, I would like to add a hang on skimmer and an auto top off.

I am going to TRY this ATO:

Auto Top Off

It seems pretty cheesy, and I am a bit skeptical, but there were some decent reviews. One person who reviewed it tested the tank water and top off water after a few days to make sure the salt wasn't "creeping" into the top off. . . and it wasn't. . . though I am sure I will need to do my own testing.

I'm looking at this skimmer:

Skimmer

So here is the tank:



CaribSea Live sand (that sat in my garage for 6 months, not sure it's still alive), 10 pounds live rock, and a Mangrove tree I found at PetCo (just threw it in until I can modify the lid and actually plant it. No livestock aside from hitch hikers. I have seen a few snails (turbo maybe), and a bristle worm (common maybe)

I am doing a fishless cycle using brightwell Microbacter XLM and Quickstart. Once it is cylced and I have my top off stuff figured out I will likely add some type of invert and macro algea. . . then wait like 3+ months before adding coral???

I am open to suggestions, comment, and concerns. . .

Thank you for reading.

Welcome to the salty side and the community! I have a 5g and comments about stability being harder to maintain are mostly true which means you have to remain vigilant because small changes are amplified in tanks this small. I find the biggest issue is that you run out of space quickly and are limited in what you can keep. Things that are slow growing are ideal. I look forward to seeing your tank grow out.

 

[MoshJosh]

That’s an interesting sump setup. Can you describe how water flows into and out of the sump?

Thanks

in theory. . . The display pump pushes 90 gph into the display. That goes into the overflow and through the mechanic filtration. Then half of that water goes into the “sump” through a water bridge and the other half goes through the biological filtration and back into the display.

In the “sump” the sump pump pushes 90gph into the chaeto. Then it goes into the overflow where it passes through chemical filtration. Then half of the water is pumped back over to the display through another pump at 50 gph, and half goes back to the chaeto.

basically both tanks run independently at 90 gph and they are connected with a 50 gph pump and water bridge. . . So running 3 pumps total

 

[gbroadbridge]

You're very brave

 

[MoshJosh]

You're very brave

The return pump is about 2 or 3 inches under the waterline, so In the event I lose siphon I’ll only flood my house a little bit. . . And in the event that it overflows, the display tank can continue to run independently (heater is in the AIO of the display).

 

[coralfishreef]

The return pump is about 2 or 3 inches under the waterline, so In the event I lose siphon I’ll only flood my house a little bit. . . And in the event that it overflows, the display tank can continue to run independently (heater is in the AIO of the display).

Could put the tanks inside of a pan

 

[MoshJosh]

Could put the tanks inside of a pan

No, I found it easier to just put the tanks inside of a bigger tank, that way no matter what I’m covered.

Some people said I should just use that bigger tank, but then I’d have to get an even bigger tank to put it inside of, and then it just gets really expensive.

kidding of course.

 

[coralfishreef]

No, I found it easier to just put the tanks inside of a bigger tank, that way no matter what I’m covered.

Some people said I should just use that bigger tank, but then I’d have to get an even bigger tank to put it inside of, and then it just gets really expensive.

kidding of course.

The next level

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have seen those overflow tanks at a show. Man, the algae that would build up would be crazy.

 

[ClownSchool]

The return pump is about 2 or 3 inches under the waterline, so In the event I lose siphon I’ll only flood my house a little bit. . . And in the event that it overflows, the display tank can continue to run independently (heater is in the AIO of the display).

A way to fix that is to drill a small hole in the tube just below the water line you desire. It’ll break siphon earlier than it would if water had to drain all the way down to the nozzle.