10g Panda Goby Tank

BootyPup · Dec 23, 2017

Hey there, so maybe 3 weeks ago I bought a panda goby thinking about putting him into my main, 29 gallon tank, but after rethinking that idea, I decided I am going to instead set him up a 5 gallon sps/zoa tank.

Knowing this is such a small tank, I am almost 100% this goby will be the only fish in the tank, I am decided however if there is anything else I might add to the tank such as inverts.
I was thinking some kind of shrimp?
Along with that, I am not too sure what a good CUC would be for this, I would like to stick away from crabs since the panda goby might become a snack for them.

As for coral I am thinking a green birdsnest, maybe a monti (the same kind as the one I currently have if I can possibly find one, as I don't know what kind it is) and then just a good amount of zoas.

For the lighting I am thinking of going with this-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GFTK7CQ/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1RHPEC1MPGDEM&colid=24ZHODCANRJJ6&psc=1

For the layout of the tank I am thinking of going with a 1/2 inch deep sand bed with two rock structures in the left and right back corners/sides the sps corals to go on. Then in the sand bed maybe several other rocks to put the zoa frags on for them to grow.

And lastly the filtration. I am planning on doing a sump for this, I am not sure what I will use for it though, I will have to see what petco has to offer, or my lfs (they're closing though so sadly they don't have much left).
I might use a plastic container even, as long as it holds water I am fine with it.
For the return pump I am probably going to use this-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FRMWC..._rd_r=P5B8QEG13R290F2YC763&pd_rd_w=VfdxJ&th=1
For the water to go into the sump I will just be using some pvc pipes, I will try and find exact dimensions of the pipes I will use once I am ready to start that process.

Also, would it be good to take sand and water from my tank that has been running for around a year and use it in this tank to get already setup?

That is all I can think of for now. If there are any suggestions or comments then feel free to add your thoughts. I cannot wait to start building this, I think it will be an amazing experience!

SashimiTurtle · Dec 23, 2017

A sump will always add water volume and in turn stability to your tank, but being only 5 gallons and only stocking with one small goby... I'd just do water changes and maybe a HOB with some carbon for water clarity. 10% weekly comes out to half a gallon of water, and should keep up with just a birds nest and a monti.

As for the established sand and water... absolutely. If you have enough bacteria moved into the new tank, and could maybe steal some small rocks from the set up tank you can "skip cycle" your tank. Which means it'll be ready for fish as soon as the sand cloud clears.

SashimiTurtle · Dec 23, 2017

Just looked at your light and pump. That light will not grow your SPS, the zoas might be ok up high. The pump will only push water vertically 2 feet, so your tank would have to be almost sitting on the sump for it to work.

BootyPup · Dec 23, 2017

Robin Haselden said:
A sump will always add water volume and in turn stability to your tank, but being only 5 gallons and only stocking with one small goby... I'd just do water changes and maybe a HOB with some carbon for water clarity. 10% weekly comes out to half a gallon of water, and should keep up with just a birds nest and a monti.

As for the established sand and water... absolutely. If you have enough bacteria moved into the new tank, and could maybe steal some small rocks from the set up tank you can "skip cycle" your tank. Which means it'll be ready for fish as soon as the sand cloud clears.

Robin Haselden said:
Just looked at your light and pump. That light will not grow your SPS, the zoas might be ok up high. The pump will only push water vertically 2 feet, so your tank would have to be almost sitting on the sump for it to worker volume and in turn stability to your tank, but being only 5 gallons and only stocking with one small goby... I'd just do water changes and maybe a HOB with some carbon for water clarity. 10% weekly comes out to half a gallon of water, and should keep up with just a birds nest and a monti.

I might use the sand from my tank but I will probably only use a little bit of it if I do as I would like to use a larger grain size for this smaller tank. But as for the water I will definitely do that then, and I will see if there is a good rock I can pull out for a tank of this size.

For the sump, that was the main reason for it, just to have the added water volume and also so that I could use the return pump for the flow. I should have included a picture of where the tank will be going.
The main tank would be on the upper shelf while the sump would be on the bottom, I measured it and the two feet wouldn't be an issue, however I agree with finding a different pump as that was just something I was looking at at the moment.

And thank you for pointing that out about the light, I completely forgot to check that part out, is there anything for a tank of this size you would recommend?

Thank you again for your input!

SashimiTurtle · Dec 23, 2017

There actually is a light that's available cheaply on amazon that I think will work for your needs. Let me find it.

BootyPup · Dec 23, 2017

Thank you, I just started looking and I found this-
https://www.amazon.com/LED-Aquarium...-2-spons&keywords=saltwater+coral+light&psc=1

I don't exactly "care" if it isn't some pretty cheap, I will of course buy what is needed for what I would like to do. I picked my first option mainly because of its size.

For a different return pump I am also now considering this as the top contender-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FRMWC..._rd_r=P5B8QEG13R290F2YC763&pd_rd_w=VfdxJ&th=1

SashimiTurtle · Dec 23, 2017

That light will probably do great over a 5g tank and looks way better than the one I was going to show you...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LJC8HL/ref=twister_B072LPR2HR?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

That return looks good too. I can't remember the cost but look at the Cobalt MJ pumps too. I've heard very good things on them.

BootyPup · Dec 23, 2017

Thank you, and I was actually looking at the one you showed me as well, I am still considering it.
Once I get the tank in place, I plan on going out today to buy the tank, I will see how much room I have for lighting, then I will be able to decide on which one is right.

As for the Cobalt MJ pumps I just looked at them, and they do seem good. However the shape of them just seems a bit weird to me. However as I have said, everything is an option currently and I am open minded to everything. So thank you letting me know about those pumps, and helping with everything else!

BootyPup · Dec 23, 2017

Update #1-

So after looking in my basement I actually found a 10 gallon tank. I will be using this for the display portion of the setup other than the 5 gallon tank I was previously going to use, but the sump will still be 5 gallons.
While I am now actually thinking that I might use this 10 gallon as a sump, and I might buy a 15 gallon high tank as the display since it is the same width and length as the ten gallon, just taller, which I think would be better for the rock work.
The only downside is that I have to build a new stand though-eh, not really a downside but just a hassle. Should be fun though, I will be ordering everything sometime early January, and will be drilling the tank near the end of this month and putting most of the piping in and setting up the basics of the sump.
Over all I estimate this tank will be set up and running by the middle of, to late January.

Oh one last thing, so I know for certain that my panda goby will be in it, but also my smaller yellow watchman goby will also be in the tank as well.
Because of that I will more than likely up the sand bed to 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch, maybe even more as well, and some kind of shrimp for the ywg. I am thinking a candy stripe pistol shrimp. I have another YWG and a tiger pistol shrimp in my main tank so I figured I would get a different kind of pistol shrimp for this YWG and tank.

Since the tank is a little bit larger now, I am thinking of having pretty much the same layout, the two rock structures in the back left and right corners, but now also on the bottom back connection the two rocks another rock in the sand bed. Then maybe smaller rocks around the corners.
I'm not too sure, I will have to see what I feel like in the moment.
As I have said before, everything is an option.

MSB123 · Dec 23, 2017

Pls dont use either of those lights- I have tried them both on a 7.5-gallon cube and a 10-gallon standard- neither of them worked for even softies- I tried and everything died within a week or two. Just spend the extra 40 and get a current usa Led strip- they look nice, and work really well- Here is the IC one which is the better line they make, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDP0N01/ref=twister_B01N5E9L5S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 - it's 130
Here is their baseline LED- I love it and it works great for me-https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GFTK7CQ/ref=twister_B00YTXD58I?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

BootyPup · Dec 23, 2017

MSB123 said:
Pls dont use either of those lights- I have tried them both on a 7.5-gallon cube and a 10-gallon standard- neither of them worked for even softies- I tried and everything died within a week or two. Just spend the extra 40 and get a current usa Led strip- they look nice, and work really well- Here is the IC one which is the better line they make, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDP0N01/ref=twister_B01N5E9L5S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 - it's 130
Here is their baseline LED- I love it and it works great for me-https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GFTK7CQ/ref=twister_B00YTXD58I?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Wow seriously? Thank you then. I will definitely go with one of those instead then.

MSB123 · Dec 23, 2017

Yeah, no probelm

BootyPup · Dec 24, 2017

So I have some bad news, today I woke up, went downstairs to turn on my tanks lights, and my panda goby was dead.
While I am upset, I knew this was a possibility since the fish is so small and I know some times they don't like to eat, but I thought mine was going to live since he was taking food every now and then. However I guess he just wasn't eating enough like he should have to survive as it couldn't have been anything else really since I kept him in a breeder box in my main tank and everything else is doing well. His breathing was fine and really nothing seemed wrong.
While I am upset, I tried not to get too attached, again, knowing this could happen.
This will not discourage me from making this tank build however, I am going to go through with it still and I still want to have panda goby(ies) in it.
I just thought I should give an update about what happened,
have a good day, merry Christmas, and happy holidays.

SashimiTurtle · Dec 24, 2017

Sorry for your loss... small fish are hard to get acclimated sometimes and often are too weak from shipping to recover properly.

BootyPup · Dec 24, 2017

Robin Haselden said:
Sorry for your loss... small fish are hard to get acclimated sometimes and often are too weak from shipping to recover properly.

Thank you, I know that is a factor too. It sucks being drawn towards small fish, at least they're good looking.

SashimiTurtle · Dec 24, 2017

I keep only small fish. I have a 35g cube. 20"x20"x20". The biggest fish I have is my female clownfish. I have her mate, a tail spot blenny, a flame cardinal, a pair of hi fin red banded gobys... oh and I have a 10" dwarf moray eel, but he's long and skinny and a big scaredy pants.

BootyPup · Dec 24, 2017

Robin Haselden said:
I keep only small fish. I have a 35g cube. 20"x20"x20". The biggest fish I have is my female clownfish. I have her mate, a tail spot blenny, a flame cardinal, a pair of hi fin red banded gobys... oh and I have a 10" dwarf moray eel, but he's long and skinny and a big scaredy pants.

Yeah I read through your build thread, its pretty nice. Currently in my tank my biggest fish is my pair of clowns too, followed by my large ywg, blue/green chromis, then my smaller ywg. However I have a baby hippo tang in there as well thats around the size of a quarter, but once she grows she'll be one of the biggest in my other tank (150 gallon + tank) that I am building later as well.

illest · Dec 28, 2017

Honestly I've been running the Hipargero LED on my Nuvo 20 for over a month now and I love it for the price. The fact that it can be run with a ramp timer pro is pretty cool as well. I wouldn't hesitate to get the Hipargero over the Current marine since I've had both. Use an outlet timer and it should be perfect on your goby tank.