Wanting To Try My Hand

[afmo]

Greetings from California all. I found your wonderful message board while I was researching SW tanks.

First an intro i guess. I've had a successful fresh water aquarium for several years. I've had them as small as 2.5 gallon and as large as 25. The largest was planted and I've had a lot of success with them, but lately I've noticed the "thrill" for lack of a better word isn't there with the fresh water any more. Don't get me wrong, I love my fish and care the world for them, but its becoming too routine.

Thats when I decided to try a marine tank.

I'm planning on using my 2.5 gal to start a real simple marine setup. No fish, just some live rock and maybe some small snails/crabs to see if I can handle the chemistry/differences between salt and fresh.

I've got the tank with lights, an adjustable temp heater, and a whisper filter that i can use with said tank. Is there anything else i need equipment wise? Since I've never done a salt water tank I'm not real sure what goes into one. I assume that with a tank so small a skimmer/sump is not required?

Any advice on helping me get rolling would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance all!

P.S. this board gets a

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

You're right on with your assumptions, no fish but maybe some hermits and snails or something along those lines. you've got all your equipment right there just need some live rock (for a tank that small it would be way cheap) and some RO water and marine salt mix.

Honestly, the myth that salt water is so much harder than fresh is just that, a myth. I've been keeping my nano reef for about 1 month now and find that so far it is actually easier, amazing stuff that live rock. you won't need your filter for anything but water circulation. The live rock will clean the water for you. Give it a try but be prepared to be addicted.

SLC

 

[SkiFletch]

Give it a try but be prepared to be addicted.

Amen to that. Some great advice there by SLC. Dont forget some good quality test kits too, especially important in a pico as small as 2.5g

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Yes I forgot the testkits, (I forgot them when I setup myself as well) and a hydrometer, and also some aragonite sand for the bottom.

SLC

I'm really tempted to set up a crab haven in my daughters room similar to this. it could be so inexpensive, less than a suitable freshwater setup!

 

[afmo]

Wow, thank you all for the quick replies! a few questions though that have arisen.

What is RO?
What is a Hydrometer?
The Aquarium shop in town here has pre-mixed ocean water they sell by the gallon for cheaper than buying salt mix, is this an alternative or is mixing your own the best way?

How much Live Rock should go into a tank this size? I've seen several "rules of thumb" but they seem to vary between 1lb per gallon up to 2.5 lb per gallon. Since there will be no fish, i want to make sure its a joy to look at.

Is there a difference between the aragonite sand and Coral sand? also how much should cover the bottom? i've seen anywhere from 1" to 4" is this a personal preference thing?

how many crabs/snails would be good for this size? are there other small animals that would do well in this size such as shrimps? and will it be able to support any types of corals?

thank you all so much for helping me get on my way! hopefully i can share some pictures with you all soon!

 

[SkiFletch]

RO stands for Reverse Osmosis. Its a type of filtration that removes about 95% of ALL ions and particles from tapwater giving you as near to pure H2O as you can get without resorting to expensive laboratory means.

A hydrometer measures specific gravity or salinity in a saltwater tank. Having an accurate means of measuring salinity is exceptionally important. Hydrometers are precise but not necessarily accurate since they're the cheapest option . They will drift over time so its important that they are checked against standards at an LFS or with a refractometer.

LR should be no less than 1lb per gallon and usually no more than 2lb/gal. Less than 1 and there isnt enough filtration capacity. More than 2 and fitting it all and having good flowrate becomes difficult The upper limit is more a rule of thumb and varies a lot depending on the system.

Aragonite sand and coral SAND are the same thing. Usually you want a 1-2" dep sand bed in your display tank. Above 2" and you can get toxic portions of the sand that if stirred up can create large problems for the tank as a whole. Make sure you get sand as opposed to crushed coral or gravel. Larger particles can trap detritus and be nitrate factories.

Crabs/snails, prolly about 5 could be supported easily. As for corals, you can support them but it gets mighty tricky in a 2.5g pico. You'll need sufficient lighting and most importantly you'll have to stay on top of water changes and the chemistry as corals as a rule of thumb do not take kindly to changes in chemistry. What corals do you like the looks of?

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Wow, thank you all for the quick replies! a few questions though that have arisen.

What is RO?
What is a Hydrometer?
The Aquarium shop in town here has pre-mixed ocean water they sell by the gallon for cheaper than buying salt mix, is this an alternative or is mixing your own the best way?

How much Live Rock should go into a tank this size? I've seen several "rules of thumb" but they seem to vary between 1lb per gallon up to 2.5 lb per gallon. Since there will be no fish, i want to make sure its a joy to look at.

Is there a difference between the aragonite sand and Coral sand? also how much should cover the bottom? i've seen anywhere from 1" to 4" is this a personal preference thing?

how many crabs/snails would be good for this size? are there other small animals that would do well in this size such as shrimps? and will it be able to support any types of corals?

thank you all so much for helping me get on my way! hopefully i can share some pictures with you all soon!

RO stands for reverse osmosis, it's basically water that has been forced through a membrane that has been engineered to only allow water through. (i.e.: no nitrates or phosphates or any other contaminant for that mater (in theory)). My LFS's that I use sell it for $0.10-$0.20 per gallon; a small price for the quality of life that it provides for your fish.

A hydrometer is a tool that is used to measure salinity of water, another considerably more accurate (and expensive option) is a refractometer. Use this to tell you what specific gravity your water is at before adding it to your tank during water changes. You should be able to track down a Hydrometer at your LFS for less than $20

I'd mix my own water personally because then you can select your own salinity preferences and you'll know just what type of salt you're using, maybe I'm anal retentive but I like to be sure it's all done right. I'ts cheaper than you might think, I get a 55 gallon bag (enought for 55 gallons of salt water at 1.022) for $15 here in Utah.

As far as live rock goes, the more the better, they say 1 lb per gallon minimum, in my brand new nano reef, I have about 16 lbs for a 12 gallon tank. The water stats are very good with that amount but I may still add more to one of my filter chambers. I'd consider live rock rubble for a tank around 2.5 gal, I got some to spice up the look of my tank and payed $6 for 3 lbs. Just buy 4-5 lbs to start with and either add or remove rock to suit your aesthetic goals. if your're only going to have some crabs and snails in there they won't put much of a burden on the live rock for filtration and I would believe you could get away with less. Make sure your LFS lets you hand select your own rubble so you can get the pieces you want and inspect them for hitchhikers before hand.

aragonite sand is coral sand, it acts as a pH buffer so you'll need this for sure, my sand depth varies between 1 and 2 inches over the floor of the tank. adding the live rock and then the sand around it gives a nice look that makes it appear that the rock continues under the sand and is much more natural in my oppinion, it's really up to you just make up your mind before hand and remember to act fast so your live rock doesn't dry out. Live sand is totally unnesessary.

They say that you should have 2 cleanp crew members for every gallon. however in a tank like this I'd go with a few nassarius snails (like 3 or 4) and maybe 2 cerith and 1 or 2 astrea snails. Then 4 or 5 small hermits and maybe a small mithrax crab. Make sure you read up on steel healrs thread about nano FAQ to find out more about the proper time to add these guys. Keep in mind that you may need to feed these inverts with the occasional shrimp pellet or two as there will be no fish dropping food scraps for them.

As far as wether or not this tank could support corals, well I've done tons of reading up on the fish/ invertebrate/ liverock part of the hobby. Now I'm beginning to do some research on corrals and don't really know anything about them. Look for Skifletch or someone else to help with that question.

Good Luck and keep the questions coming, they're good for all of us who are still learning too.

SLC

Edit: now that I've written you a novel I've noticed that Skifletch has beaten me to the punch, but I guess it's good practice for me to go over what I already know and beat it even further into my head.

 

[afmo]

Ok, with the wonderful advice here, i was able to enter my local fish store armed with some knowledge of what i wanted.

i consulted with my apartment manager and was told that i could a larger tank if i wished. So i went with a 10 U.S. Gallon marine tank. (was on sale as a package deal! i couldnt resist)

I'm setting it up now so wish me luck!!

I'll post pics soon

Thank you all so much for the help! you guys are great!

 

[Redstratplayer1]

Remember marine tanks need to be cycled just like fresh .Your live rock will do the cycle for you.

Some things to remeber
If you dont test for it dont add it.Snake oils such as purple up,and ph buffers are a waste.

If you dont know ask.We are here to help.Also we help because we love to see people do well ,your LFS usualy tells you what makes them money

You want test kits(not strips)