starting either a 2.5 or 5 gallon nano

[kkyyllee]

i have a cuople of tanks lyin around and decided to start another nano

my plans for it are 5lbs LR
Zoas or Shrooms only
Firefish

ill post pics once i get it set up gonna start geting th9ings in order tonight.

any suggestions or pics of your would be great
tha nks :)

[sir_dudeguy]

well if you want a firefish, definately not a 2.5, and IMO 5 is probably cutting it close, altho you may get by on the fact that they're not the most active fish.

[kkyyllee]

yea im not fixed on what i get just sometyhing thats interesting and wouldnt be cramped or unhappy

like some sort of small goby
like yellow etc maybe shrimp

[Purple Penguins]

yellow clown gobies are so cute

[sir_dudeguy]

I got a yellow watchman in my 3g pico. Some say thats still too big, but if you actually watch the fish, it stays w/in like 6 inches of one spot. It did the same thing in my 29 as well...never left one spot for the most part, so IMO its fine in there. If you were to go w/the 5, you could easily do a YWG and a pistol shrimp pair. My YWG has a randalli pistol shrimp w/him in the 3g pico and they do great together.

But if you do the 2.5g AGA tank, those are very easy to light. I think that the Coralife Mini Aqualight (2x9w pc's) fits perfectly over a 2.5g AGA tank. I'm using one of them on my 3g pico and i've got great results so far w/it.

[uhuru]

are you going to cover it or just hope that the fish doesn't jump out? I have an open top 5g and don't know about adding any fish for this reason.

[sir_dudeguy]

I'm using a really thin sheet of acrylic over my 3g pico. Covers all but like a half inch in the back for the HOB filter to fit (actually now that i think about it...i should just cut that to the shape of the filter lol). I thought it would have blocked a lot of light but it really hasnt...i'm growing a couple sps, lps, and lots of softies in it and they're all getting good growth rate and color, so i'm convinced that light is good.

[kkyyllee]

i dont have the 2.5 aga its an acrilic bowfront (same with the five) ther gonna be rihgt next to my 12 gal ap. so theyl get alot of light from that and i decided to not get any coral that need a lot of light i tihnk im just gonna have shrooms or somethin

im leaning twards the 2.5 becasue it takes up less space and wont cost alot to fill up (with live rock) and i think im gonna get the yellow goby.

should i cycle it with a damsel?
or what?

[sir_dudeguy]

light coming from another tank wont grow you anything (even shrooms) in a seperate tank right next to the one w/light.

Even more importantly, dont cycle w/a damsel. Thats the worst way to cycle. Live rock cycles a tank on its own. If its cured rock, then its already cycled and you dont even need to cycle.

And filling a 5g in comparison to a 2g is VERY little difference pricewise. 5 pounds of rock is all you need for that tank...which you say you're getting 5 pounds anyways...other than that, there's no difference other than maybe flow (which one small powerhead would do fine)

[kkyyllee]

ok well i have a florecent bulb in both the tanks and i guess the lr wouldnt be any cheaper really. i think im gonna go with the 5 gallon. so if i buy the cured rock int wont have to have a cycle at all really maybe just a little spike at first?

[kkyyllee]

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20060404193703/www.drsfostersmith.com/images/products/swatches/st_lg_10874_FS12373V_black.jpg

this is what i have and i have 2.5 also

[sir_dudeguy]

ya if you get cured rock, I'd still give it a week or 2 just to be sure that its really cured/cycled...maybe throw in a pinch of food to see if it makes any spikes...but if its truly cured, thats all you would see.... a small spike.

[kkyyllee]

ok well tongiht im gonna set up the 5 gallon with Salt water and sand. ill get some liverock this weekend.

what sort of cuc should i get #hermits and #snails type
im on a budget of a bout $50 for this, less is better, LR is gonna take up alot of that like 25$

[sir_dudeguy]

hat sort of cuc should i get #hermits and #snails type

0 hermits, and maybe 4 cerith snails to begin with. If you need more snails, add them at a later time, but start small.

How long is your tank?

[kkyyllee]

its a more tazll ways

its 14 inches long and has a bow front

[sir_dudeguy]

while this is a little out of your budget, you could get all your stuff needed to start, and then in the future get a bit saved up and buy this light. It seems to be the closest i can find to your tank size and would let you grow any softy you want, and some lps and maybe even some sps like digitata and/or monti caps, etc...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=13637&N=2004+113345

[kkyyllee]

ok well im goin witht he 5 gallon since its bigger and the 2.5 was cracked

maybe i cuold save up for that idk

i have about 1/3 inch aragonite sand in the bottom at the moment
gonna get some more tommara so its an inch

i think this is what i will have:

1 firefish or goby
5lbs live rock
shrooms
1 cleaner shrimp
cuc

[sir_dudeguy]

sounds reasonable to me. And if you get that light (or another one that fits your tank that is at least that strong) then you could do many more soft corals at the very least.