Hard to maintain

Discussion in 'Fish Tank Brands and Kits' started by 3snacks125, Sep 27, 2013.

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  1. 3snacks125

    3snacks125 Plankton

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    Aug 31, 2013
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    Location:
    Overland Park kansas
    Hello I would like to start a 5 gallon nano reef. I would get about 5 lbs of live rock and 5 lbs of live sand. Other than water changes and top offs, will it be hard to maintain? Thanks
     
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  3. fps110

    fps110 Plankton

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    Sep 18, 2013
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    Location:
    Bergen Country, NJ
    I hope someone else will comment on this because I am not that experienced enough that my word should be taken as total truth BUT, i did start a 10G reef about 2 weeks ago and they are a little tricky. Anyone will come on here and tell you that you cannot do it, and that you have to be super experienced, which would help, but it is not impossible. But you have by the tank a lot to monitor. I test mine 3X a day. I only have live rock, two hermits, and 2 cromis in right now. Im waiting to do clowns but I'm nervous because the water can change very quickly, and if you're not on top of it, you can **** everything in the tank in a day, not even.
     
  4. sailorguy

    sailorguy Torch Coral

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    The answer to this pretty much depends on what you would like to keep in your tank.If you keep some easier soft corals and a small fish or two it may not actually be difficult but the tank will need more frequent attention (topping off,water changes)than a larger system would.Upside is water changes and topoffs needed are very small and east to do,downside is you will have to be diligent with the maintenance and the tank cannot go for days without it.
     
  5. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    Location:
    Florida
    I have a 20 gallon SPS tank (had a struggle early). However, I also have a 10 gallon sump, phosphate reactor, skimmmer, macro algae and intense halide lighting.

    It can be done, but I would read and become familiar with water chemistry first.
     
  6. Inertiatic

    Inertiatic Bubble Tip Anemone

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    Location:
    Carlsbad, CA
    I kept a 3 gallon with some acans and a crocea clam for about a year and three months. It is doable, but it is not easy. One bad day could crash the tank, which happened to me. There was a hot summer day and I was gone for about two days. Enough water evaporated to kill my clam and then the whole tank followed.

    If you're diligent, and not just in the short term, it can be done. If I were to do it again, I would have some sort of ATO for sure.
     
  7. sailorguy

    sailorguy Torch Coral

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    I forgot to mention temperature,if the 5gal. tank is kept in a place that might become too warm the rise in temp could be a big problem.
     
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  9. Blue Falcon

    Blue Falcon Fire Goby

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    I started this hobby with a 10g tank, and would not want to do one that small again. With such a small tank, temp and salinity fluctuations are a big problem. Also, its hard in such a small tank to find a wide enough gradient of light and flow to be able to place corals where they would like to be. Make sure you top-off regularly and DO NOT overstock.