Topfin 5 gal - Page 2

Brett28 · 01/18/2016, 08:28 PM

I'm a sps fan. Though it has been years since I had a tank I'm thinking a purple rim monti. A few acros that color up nice like velita and Oregon tort. Maybe a nice pink birds nest. I would like to try a couple acans aswell since they were not to hardy when I first started, now I should be able to find all aqua cultured specimens. And a head or two of frog spawn. I have 2 kiddos and this is kinda OUR tank so I want to make it fun and colorful. The fish I want aswell are a warpaint goby, pygmy hawk. And some sort of shrimp goby with a shimp. Anything more I think will be way overboard if that isn't already. If I went with another tank I would get a 29 cube just for the extra water volume, from what I here the fluvo is quite a good setup though!!

nanO352 · 01/22/2016, 04:47 PM

Hey Brett28!!!! I found a top fin 5 g at a neighbors garage and bought it for a fair price. love it so much, although I had to upgrade the light to sustain corals. Otherwise I am elated to see your aquarium. Be honest and ask yourself if 5 fish are REALLY gonna fit comfortably in it though. I cannot wait to see how your tank develops

Brett28 · 01/22/2016, 09:11 PM

Cool deal!!! I'm leaning towards no. I've been cruising the LFS's and nobody has been carrying the fish on my list. I'm reluctant to buy fish online cuz u don't know how long they have had them and can't watch them eat b4 you buy them. Realistically MAYBE 3 since I put a baby Clown in it. That leaves me with 2 more. The war paint gobie for sure. And possibly a shrimp gobie.
What lights are you going with?
So far the candy cane and the zoas are doing great under mine. They just don't really look cool since I don't have any actinics, or blue.

nanO352 · 01/23/2016, 03:29 PM

a "Black box led" it is lacking a brand name. It has solid output and dimmable blue and white spectrums. I bought it from a local reefer for a fair price. . As far as the stock light was treating corals under my tank, the zoa under the stock light were stretching towards upwards. It's an indication of light deprivation. So I had to upgrade. This is just my experience though

Brett28 · 02/14/2016, 08:33 PM

A couple weeks ago I included some blue LEDs into the original light. I have a rainbow BTA, Hollywood stunner chalice, some zoas and a couple different brains. The blues really helped with the looks of the corals. I threw in a green birds nest and it's slowly browning. I decided to order up the euphotica 165w LEDs. Thinking that should do it for the light....

I also changed salt to IO reef crystals. Needles to say I'm going back to regular instant ocean. I don't think I have enough corals to eat up all the alkalinity they put in that salt. It's at 16.8 dkh....

Other then that all seems to be going good. I'll upload some pics of the new light when it comes.

nanO352 · 03/03/2016, 12:05 PM

Have you got the new light yet? I wanna see yo gear!!!

-m

Brett28 · 03/06/2016, 03:46 PM

Here is the led. It covers the whole top of the tank. Haha

Brett28 · 03/06/2016, 03:54 PM

My small plate

Brett28 · 03/06/2016, 03:57 PM

The led works great for me. I run it at its lowest setting. It took the brown out of the birds nest in a week at 50% so I turned it down to try and get some color back

Brett28 · 03/06/2016, 04:11 PM

A few more pics

nanO352 · 03/13/2016, 04:11 PM

@Brett28 your nano is lookin good!! I have a similar light to the one you have, are you dosing your aqaurium to keep the lps corals happy?

Brett28 · 03/13/2016, 09:26 PM

Thanks nano!! I do a 1 gal. Water change every week. I also use KALK. I don't drip it to replace evaporated water though I add 10 to 15ml every other day. I have been using IO Reef crystals so I figured that probably has plenty of magnesium. I only test for Alk. and PH. As I get more corals I will purchase
Magnesium and calcium test kits and dose accordingly. Though the KALK does add both ALK and CAL.

I want to keep it super simple.

This last week I purchased a green clown gobie. Unfortunately I think It had ICH. I seen it for 2 days then gone. Then my clown was covered a day later. The next morning he was dead....

Looks like I'll be coral and shrimp only for a couple months.

Brett28 · 03/14/2016, 08:18 PM

Feeding time!!! It's amazing how much these little corals will eat. Every other day I load them up with PE mysis and copepods.

Brett28 · 11/14/2016, 07:32 PM

Been a while since i have been on, still got the tank going and an occasional addtion here and there.

A quick update, in june i added a war paint gobie, 2 days later my original clown and gobie appeared to have ich. Both died. I let the tank sit empty with just corals until mid September. Then thought i would try out a pygme hawk. Love the little guy. He is doing great. My daughter wanted a black clown so mid October we picked up one of those. So far everything is doing good. No really big issue.

I was adding kalk by hand everyday. It got old so i decided to drip it in. Began dripping in auguast sometime. Since then the corals have really taken off. Hollywood stunner is 4x the size it was when i first purchased it. Along with a couple others i picked up.

About a month ago i did start to get alot of alge build up on the rocks. I put in some Activated Carbon and am hoping this will help clear it up a bit. A little hair algea and some other type i believe to be some sort of calurpa.

Let me know what ya think.

Thanks for looking.

Brett28 · 11/14/2016, 07:39 PM

Here are some of the corals

Bugboy2020 · 11/15/2016, 08:44 PM

How are you dripping in the Kalk? I also have a 5 gallon nano, and I would love to try to replicate your method.

Brett28 · 11/16/2016, 07:08 AM

I have a gallon jug on a shelf above the tank. i have ran some IV tubing with a IV dripper into the tank. I should but havnt measure how much alk/calc. My tank uses in a day to get the correct drip rate need but for now i have the dripper set to drip about 5 to 6 drops per minute.

I pre mix the solution in another jug and transfer the clear kalk solution to my dripping tank about 1 a week.

More common then using IV tubing, a 1/4" poly tube is used with a needle valve.

If you have never used Kalk before, make sure you read the mixing instructions.

Brett28 · 11/25/2016, 11:43 AM

Cuaght the shimp out scavenging.

BeachVacationer · 11/28/2016, 10:23 PM

Nice tank, but you do have a bit of an algae issue. Have checked your phosphate level? You may want to up your WCs to lower it if it's high. I do about 75% WC once a week in my 5 gallon Fluval Spec V.

jmcdaniel0 · 11/30/2016, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett28

Cuaght the shimp out scavenging.

I really like your tank bud. Looking great so far.

Brett28 · 11/30/2016, 07:31 PM

Beach Vacationer
I havent checked phosphates, i have RODI, figured i probley would have a issue with them. Always worth a check i spose. I do a 1gl. WC every week, have been using carbon every other week. Thanks!!

Jmcdaniel0,
Thanks!! Its a work in progress.

I picked up a Blue Digitata and seasons greating monti. They seemed to be good so far. Ill post some pics shortly.

jmcdaniel0 · 11/30/2016, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brett28

Beach Vacationer
I havent checked phosphates, i have RODI, figured i probley would have a issue with them. Always worth a check i spose. I do a 1gl. WC every week, have been using carbon every other week. Thanks!!

Jmcdaniel0,
Thanks!! Its a work in progress.

I picked up a Blue Digitata and seasons greating monti. They seemed to be good so far. Ill post some pics shortly.

I like both of those. I am in the process of setting up and cycling my new 14g bio cube. I am going with the Kessil A160WE for lighting. I plan on doing some heavy SPS, so I will be sticking with the tried and true reef crystals. I still hove my business license and wholesalers account with my favorite coral supplier, so once my tank is ready, I am going to stock her up lol.

Brett28 · 01/04/2018, 01:34 AM

Ok, so im back from the dead. Big updates. Shut down the 5 gal packed the house and moved. Managed to keep some corals during the move too. I picked up a IM 20gal peninsula now that we have got settled into the new home and got it going, so far a few corals and clown fish.
Being we moved back home to to washington i have access to my old reef equipment that has been boxed up for years. In it is a PFO 400W HQI ballast, and reflector with VHO retrofit kit. Im thinking of running this over the new 20gal?!?! Think it may be a bit much? Right now i have the blackbox LED's. The sit about 3" off the water surface and seem to keep color on most corals. But i want the corals to thrive, not survive. Any opinions?

Brett28 · 01/04/2018, 01:38 AM

Thinking the 17500k giesman megachrome bulb. I used to have a 180 years ago and used 3 of the 14k reeflux bulbs. Bit the megachrome seem to have decent reviews.

01/18/2016, 08:28 PM	#26
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	I'm a sps fan. Though it has been years since I had a tank I'm thinking a purple rim monti. A few acros that color up nice like velita and Oregon tort. Maybe a nice pink birds nest. I would like to try a couple acans aswell since they were not to hardy when I first started, now I should be able to find all aqua cultured specimens. And a head or two of frog spawn. I have 2 kiddos and this is kinda OUR tank so I want to make it fun and colorful. The fish I want aswell are a warpaint goby, pygmy hawk. And some sort of shrimp goby with a shimp. Anything more I think will be way overboard if that isn't already. If I went with another tank I would get a 29 cube just for the extra water volume, from what I here the fluvo is quite a good setup though!!

01/22/2016, 04:47 PM	#27
nanO352 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 564	Hey Brett28!!!! I found a top fin 5 g at a neighbors garage and bought it for a fair price. love it so much, although I had to upgrade the light to sustain corals. Otherwise I am elated to see your aquarium. Be honest and ask yourself if 5 fish are REALLY gonna fit comfortably in it though. I cannot wait to see how your tank develops

01/22/2016, 09:11 PM	#28
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	Cool deal!!! I'm leaning towards no. I've been cruising the LFS's and nobody has been carrying the fish on my list. I'm reluctant to buy fish online cuz u don't know how long they have had them and can't watch them eat b4 you buy them. Realistically MAYBE 3 since I put a baby Clown in it. That leaves me with 2 more. The war paint gobie for sure. And possibly a shrimp gobie. What lights are you going with? So far the candy cane and the zoas are doing great under mine. They just don't really look cool since I don't have any actinics, or blue.

01/23/2016, 03:29 PM	#29
nanO352 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 564	a "Black box led" it is lacking a brand name. It has solid output and dimmable blue and white spectrums. I bought it from a local reefer for a fair price. . As far as the stock light was treating corals under my tank, the zoa under the stock light were stretching towards upwards. It's an indication of light deprivation. So I had to upgrade. This is just my experience though

02/14/2016, 08:33 PM	#30
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	A couple weeks ago I included some blue LEDs into the original light. I have a rainbow BTA, Hollywood stunner chalice, some zoas and a couple different brains. The blues really helped with the looks of the corals. I threw in a green birds nest and it's slowly browning. I decided to order up the euphotica 165w LEDs. Thinking that should do it for the light.... I also changed salt to IO reef crystals. Needles to say I'm going back to regular instant ocean. I don't think I have enough corals to eat up all the alkalinity they put in that salt. It's at 16.8 dkh.... Other then that all seems to be going good. I'll upload some pics of the new light when it comes.

03/03/2016, 12:05 PM	#31
nanO352 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 564	Have you got the new light yet? I wanna see yo gear!!! -m

03/06/2016, 03:57 PM	#34
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	The led works great for me. I run it at its lowest setting. It took the brown out of the birds nest in a week at 50% so I turned it down to try and get some color back

03/13/2016, 04:11 PM	#36
nanO352 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 564	@Brett28 your nano is lookin good!! I have a similar light to the one you have, are you dosing your aqaurium to keep the lps corals happy?

03/13/2016, 09:26 PM	#37
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	Thanks nano!! I do a 1 gal. Water change every week. I also use KALK. I don't drip it to replace evaporated water though I add 10 to 15ml every other day. I have been using IO Reef crystals so I figured that probably has plenty of magnesium. I only test for Alk. and PH. As I get more corals I will purchase Magnesium and calcium test kits and dose accordingly. Though the KALK does add both ALK and CAL. I want to keep it super simple. This last week I purchased a green clown gobie. Unfortunately I think It had ICH. I seen it for 2 days then gone. Then my clown was covered a day later. The next morning he was dead.... Looks like I'll be coral and shrimp only for a couple months.

11/15/2016, 08:44 PM	#41
Bugboy2020 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 127	How are you dripping in the Kalk? I also have a 5 gallon nano, and I would love to try to replicate your method.

11/16/2016, 07:08 AM	#42
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	I have a gallon jug on a shelf above the tank. i have ran some IV tubing with a IV dripper into the tank. I should but havnt measure how much alk/calc. My tank uses in a day to get the correct drip rate need but for now i have the dripper set to drip about 5 to 6 drops per minute. I pre mix the solution in another jug and transfer the clear kalk solution to my dripping tank about 1 a week. More common then using IV tubing, a 1/4" poly tube is used with a needle valve. If you have never used Kalk before, make sure you read the mixing instructions.

11/28/2016, 10:23 PM	#44
BeachVacationer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 546	Nice tank, but you do have a bit of an algae issue. Have checked your phosphate level? You may want to up your WCs to lower it if it's high. I do about 75% WC once a week in my 5 gallon Fluval Spec V.

11/30/2016, 07:31 PM	#46
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	Beach Vacationer I havent checked phosphates, i have RODI, figured i probley would have a issue with them. Always worth a check i spose. I do a 1gl. WC every week, have been using carbon every other week. Thanks!! Jmcdaniel0, Thanks!! Its a work in progress. I picked up a Blue Digitata and seasons greating monti. They seemed to be good so far. Ill post some pics shortly.

01/04/2018, 01:34 AM	#48
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	Ok, so im back from the dead. Big updates. Shut down the 5 gal packed the house and moved. Managed to keep some corals during the move too. I picked up a IM 20gal peninsula now that we have got settled into the new home and got it going, so far a few corals and clown fish. Being we moved back home to to washington i have access to my old reef equipment that has been boxed up for years. In it is a PFO 400W HQI ballast, and reflector with VHO retrofit kit. Im thinking of running this over the new 20gal?!?! Think it may be a bit much? Right now i have the blackbox LED's. The sit about 3" off the water surface and seem to keep color on most corals. But i want the corals to thrive, not survive. Any opinions?

01/04/2018, 01:38 AM	#49
Brett28 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Spokane Posts: 62	Thinking the 17500k giesman megachrome bulb. I used to have a 180 years ago and used 3 of the 14k reeflux bulbs. Bit the megachrome seem to have decent reviews.