I've been a long time freshwater enthusiast who decided to set up a small reef tank. I went to the local fish store and they gave the usual advice and, IMHO, the typical aggressive approach although they toned it down a little with me. 
SETUP: I bought 5 pounds of live sand, 8 pounds of live rock and Nutri Seawater to get the tank started and properly cycled. They believed everything was pretty much ready from the go and you could start adding fish in a few days, a week max. I'm a bit more conservative and think a week is the minimum, 2 weeks is probably a more realistic approach. Given what I see hear, even a month isn't considered super conservative, but I'd like to hear thoughts on this. Right now the water is clearing up after just an hour and I didn't use the Carib Sea "Bio Clarifier" at all. I'm using a throwaway filter which I'll replace with my actual filter since the sifting of silt and small junk in setup is usually best this way.
EQUIPMENT
STOCKING: I'm not sure what to get. I have probably too much rock but can always remove as and if needed. Aquascaping typically is better (albeit a tad expensive) getting a little too much rock, using the best rocks I found fit best, removing the one or two that didn't. I'll probably end up with 4-6 lbs at most. But it will obviously depend upon the type of stock that may go into this small tank. If I have more corals then more rock will be helpful. Otherwise, I'm finding that in a small tank 1 pound of rock to water is probably a better idea than closer to 2.
In the LFS they have the 10" high 17" long tank (only 5-6" depth) with live rock and 3 baby clown gobies in there. They believe 2 should easily be able to fit and my experience is that there is a big difference between "can live" and "thrive." I just don't know what fish will actually be happy in a 5 gallon and thrive, other than boring freshwater fish (like neon tetras) or 1 betta in a planted tank. My research says that the dwarf hermit crabs are probably a better choice but there aren't really many fish that will be happier. The typical online fish stores cite 10 gallon minimum tank size and they are usually pretty good about those estimates.
SEEKING: Any suggestions you can regarding setup, stocking, equipment, etc. Right now the live rock is sitting in the tank, salinity is 1.024 (slightly diluted), temperature is 76F, water is starting to clear up. Thanks... pretty excited!
SETUP: I bought 5 pounds of live sand, 8 pounds of live rock and Nutri Seawater to get the tank started and properly cycled. They believed everything was pretty much ready from the go and you could start adding fish in a few days, a week max. I'm a bit more conservative and think a week is the minimum, 2 weeks is probably a more realistic approach. Given what I see hear, even a month isn't considered super conservative, but I'd like to hear thoughts on this. Right now the water is clearing up after just an hour and I didn't use the Carib Sea "Bio Clarifier" at all. I'm using a throwaway filter which I'll replace with my actual filter since the sifting of silt and small junk in setup is usually best this way.
EQUIPMENT
- 5 gallon glass 10"W x 10"D x 12" H tank.
- 5 pounds Carib Sea Ocean Direct live sand
- 8 pounds live rock (looks like this)
- 9 watt white light (needs to be replaced. Trying to find best square lightning, see below.)
- hydrometer
- marine test kit
- Nutri Seawater and pure filtered water
- Aqueon 25w mini heater (not really necessary where I am but available)
- Custom small in-tank filter which moves water very well, half with a sponge and half with a very fine sponge (right now cleaning out the silt)
- Wave-point 6-Inch 8-Watt Super Blue and Daylight Micro Sun LED High Output Clamp Light. This looks nice but is probably not optimal for a cube and many also complain it's too blue.
- Buy a gooseneck clamp with par 30 or 38 bulb, attach a timer. Probably 15 watt bulb, which is the recommended minimum. Will take suggestions on whether to get something more aggressive with remote control.
- There is a stock lamp which I'll need to get replacement parts which doesn't overwhelm. They have blue actinic LED strips but these proprietary parts can sometimes be a total pain.
STOCKING: I'm not sure what to get. I have probably too much rock but can always remove as and if needed. Aquascaping typically is better (albeit a tad expensive) getting a little too much rock, using the best rocks I found fit best, removing the one or two that didn't. I'll probably end up with 4-6 lbs at most. But it will obviously depend upon the type of stock that may go into this small tank. If I have more corals then more rock will be helpful. Otherwise, I'm finding that in a small tank 1 pound of rock to water is probably a better idea than closer to 2.
In the LFS they have the 10" high 17" long tank (only 5-6" depth) with live rock and 3 baby clown gobies in there. They believe 2 should easily be able to fit and my experience is that there is a big difference between "can live" and "thrive." I just don't know what fish will actually be happy in a 5 gallon and thrive, other than boring freshwater fish (like neon tetras) or 1 betta in a planted tank. My research says that the dwarf hermit crabs are probably a better choice but there aren't really many fish that will be happier. The typical online fish stores cite 10 gallon minimum tank size and they are usually pretty good about those estimates.
SEEKING: Any suggestions you can regarding setup, stocking, equipment, etc. Right now the live rock is sitting in the tank, salinity is 1.024 (slightly diluted), temperature is 76F, water is starting to clear up. Thanks... pretty excited!
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