New Nano - Opinions and Advice Please!

[Malenurse]

I just ordered this 5 gallon, CAD Lighting nanocube system. Take a look at it:

https://www.showeryourpets.com/p-10...d-lighting.aspx

My plan is keep mostly zoanthids and maybe a few mushrooms.

I'd love your opinions on this set-up - especially in regard to keeping zoa's happy and healthy!

Now a few questions:
1. Does a 2" sand bed make sense in this set-up? If so, I calculate this to be about 14 lbs.
2. Should about 10 lbs of live rock be enough?
3. After adding the sand and rock in a system of this size how long should I wait before adding anything else? What should I add next - snails maybe? How long should I expect it to take to be stable enough for zoas and maybe mushrooms? Would it be a good idea to avoid fish altogether?

Lots of questions! As always, I really appreciate your help!

Thanks!
Chris


:)

[EvilE]

congrats!! I also have a 5 gallon nano that I bought from Steven (sjm1978). I really enjoy it!! He made a custom canopy for it, it is nice! I have about 7 or 8 pounds of LR in there, and a powerhead (MJ 400) it came with an Aquaclear 30 powerfilter, that I can use as a fuge if I want. I run carbon in it right now. Between the powerfilter and the powerhead, there is good water movement, so I use an inch or so of CC as my bed. It doesn't blow around! You'll find with a SB in a tank this small, the powerheads etc, will cause a sandstorm. I have a few reef hermits, a few snails, and shrooms, kenya tree, GSP, and zoos in there right now. It looks good! I also have a small clown in there, but he will outgrow it eventually, and I'll have to move him to my bigger tank. It's funny to watch, he LOVES to play with the pieces of CC---he picks them up and carries them around and spits them out around the tank! Anyway, good luck, and enjoy!!
Oh yeah, I do a gallon water change a week, and top off about 32 ounces of water a day--it evaporates fast! With a nano, you need to keep on top of top offs, because the salinity will spike very easily if you don't!

[Malenurse]

OOPS! For some reason the web address I gave doesn't seem to work. If you want to see this set-up, go to showeryourpets.com
click on "Aquariums," the click on "5-10 Gallons." The 5g CAD Lighting set-up is on the top row, second from left. Just click on it.

[Malenurse]

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb36/cpeluso_photo/CAD5galnano.jpg

Here's a photo of the CAD 5 gal reef I ordered. The lighting is a total of 28 watts T5NO (2 tubes 10,000K, 2 tubes actinic). I'm a little concerned that this may not be enough light for zoas. I was reading Eric Borneman's "Corals..." book and he mentions that zoanthids need bright lighting since they are especially dependent on their zooxanthellae. What do you think?

[unda_da_see]

from what i've seen., you have more than enough light for zoos and palys. I love nano tanks, they are a little more challenging than a bigger tank, inexpensive, and you get all the benefits of a larger system. whats not to like:rollface: