New to saltwater, building a nano reef.

[scaleveler]

Hey,

So I'm new to saltwater, I live in the dorms at my college and currently have a 5 gallon freshwater tank. I was thinking of starting a saltwater nano reef since a buddy of mine has one in his dorm.

I'm wondering what all i need for one. I'm looking at the Fluval SPEC 5 gallon for the tank. since it has a built in filter.

I'm also wondering what maintaining one of these tanks takes. my friend does water changes every weekend but what else would i need to do.

Help would be appreciated since I'm trying to get my parents to buy me the tank and such for Xmas.

Thanks!!

[acabgd]

I would read the sticky posts on top of this forum, then come back with more detailed questions.

[mushumatt]

I tried setting up a small nano when I was in college it was bad! I would stick with freshwater personally. But as acabgd says read the stickies

[RalphTheOscar]

Depends on what you want to put in the tank. Obvious things would be a heater, powerhead, sand/live sand, dry rock/and or live rock. Salt mix and a refractometer.

[whiteshark]

For your first tank a pico, which is really what a 5 gallon would be, is about the most difficult way to start possible. Honestly, given the nature of college and dorms and your probable financial situation, I wouldn't consider a saltwater tank. Props to your buddy for having one set up. I would personally just admire his until I was out of school, have a job and a more stable place to house it.

That said, if you must go through with it, do read all the stickies up top. If your buddy has kept a successful tank for a period of longer than 6 or 7 months in his dorm then I would also consult him as to how he was able to achieve that success. Things you'll need include:

Tank
Salt mix
Refractometer with calibration solution
Test kits. At a minimum Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and Phosphate
Heater
Live rock - this is going to be your main source of filtration
A powerhead of some sort to move water

You could scrape by with one or two small fish and some inverts with that by doing frequent enough water changes to export the nutrients that would have otherwise been taken care of by a skimmer and reactors with GFO, Carbon (not for nutrient export but does take care of some potential toxins and tends to clear the water up), etc. I wouldn't even consider corals. Keeping you parameters stable enough in that tiny tank is going to be tough for a beginner. You'll probably want an ATO, and I consider them essential in any tank, but that can be argued. If you are REALLY diligent with topping off, you can get by without one.

[SonRK]

Check out a specialized forum like nano-reef, especially since picos are relatively tough

[Kentech5]

I would ask for this thread to be moved to the nano forum, you may get more responses.

In your case if you want corals I would probably focus on the softies due to stability issues with a tank in your situation.

Nano-reef has an awesome sticky about fish that work in a nano/pico tank. I personally like clown gobies.

A lot of people will say that such a small tank like that is too small to start in saltwater with. I started with an 8 gallon a couple years ago that I still have, although I'm currently reimagining it as the light died and my coral had to be moved out until I get another light. I also used to have a 2.5 gallon LPS dominated tank which was my favorite until I took it down due to lack of time for upkeep. Bear in mind it was still thriving with awesome coral growth.

So these small nano reefs can be managed by a new reefer but I will list a few things to consider.
- Your fish choice is limited
- The more difficult corals are even more difficult on a small tank
- Maintenance needs to be more frequent than in a larger tank
- Things go badly more quickly in a small tank
- Diseases in particular can spread like wildfire

With those things in mind if you still want to proceed I say go for it. If you go with the Fluval you will probably want to upgrade the light, maybe a par38 bulb in a lamp? Keep distilled/RODI WATER on hand always. A bottle of Prime could also in come handy if something happens and you have an ammonia spike without water for a water change. In such a small tank I find Purigen to be a lifesaver for controlling nutrients.

Finally, go SLOW with your tank. Patience is greatly rewarded with PICO tanks in particular. Whatever you decide I hope you do eventually start a tank. They can be so rewarding.

P.S. Please don't put a Tang in your 5 gallon.

[ShannyG]

I started in saltwater with a pico 5g in August of this year. It's doable, the learning curve is steep and when the opportunity arises to move to a bigger tank you'll be amazed at how much LESS work it is.
Add things very slowly and test your water as often as you possibly can. Daily small water changes never hurt.

[mushumatt]

Knowing how i was in college, I would stay clear of sw tanks till after. Even with a small tank you will spend a significant amount of money on it. (for a college student)

[igot2gats]

Agreed with above. I wouldn't commit to a saltwater tank in a dorm.

If you want a challenge in this situation, I would try a planted freshwater tank if I were you.

[One fish]

Scaleveler don't let all these people tell you that you can't do it and it's too hard. That's bullshit. Just research like crazy. Before you buy anything read and read up on it so that your not stuck with something you don't want. I have a couple 15 gallon tanks and I love them. And maintenance is the most fun! I love messing with my tanks. Good luck!

[whiteshark]

No one is saying you can't do it. We are, however, trying to emphasize the point that it is a big time and money commitment that isn't easy to swing for a college student that has class, job and social commitments that come with going to college. You can't pretend it's easy, cheap, etc. To say that to someone is to set them up for failure and that's not fair.

[igot2gats]

Originally Posted by whiteshark

No one is saying you can't do it. We are, however, trying to emphasize the point that it is a big time and money commitment that isn't easy to swing for a college student that has class, job and social commitments that come with going to college. You can't pretend it's easy, cheap, etc. To say that to someone is to set them up for failure and that's not fair.

+1 to this. We're trying to look out for the best interest of the OP.

Not fair for the OP, nor the animals.

[MBK]

Small tanks are harder to maintain than larger ones. The parameters of larger volume of water do not change as fast as the small volume will. If you are new I wouldn't start with anything smaller than 20 -40 gallon.

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

Originally Posted by scaleveler

Hey,

So I'm new to saltwater, I live in the dorms at my college and currently have a 5 gallon freshwater tank. I was thinking of starting a saltwater nano reef since a buddy of mine has one in his dorm.

I'm wondering what all i need for one. I'm looking at the Fluval SPEC 5 gallon for the tank. since it has a built in filter.

I'm also wondering what maintaining one of these tanks takes. my friend does water changes every weekend but what else would i need to do.

Help would be appreciated since I'm trying to get my parents to buy me the tank and such for Xmas.

Thanks!!

I would HIGHLY recommend you don't...

for starters, your filter will take up 20% of your tank.

one fish will tank the remaining 80%. where are your frags going to go?

Less water means FASTER more DESTRUCTIVE water parameter fluctuations.

you would need to check

Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
PH
Salinity
Magnesium
Calcium
Alkalinity

also a 5 gallon tank, once filled with Rock and Sand, you're looking at a 2 gallon capacity tank ecosystem.................



plus you have to wait for the tank to cycle.

or the fish you put will die or get sick VERY fast.

[OnceTrueFalseBr]

Originally Posted by One fish

Scaleveler don't let all these people tell you that you can't do it and it's too hard. That's bullshit. Just research like crazy. Before you buy anything read and read up on it so that your not stuck with something you don't want. I have a couple 15 gallon tanks and I love them. And maintenance is the most fun! I love messing with my tanks. Good luck!

are you in college living in a dorm?

[MBK]

Get a coral reef screen saver for your computer and use the time/money you save to enjoy the "college experience".