1 gallon

[AWestphal]

I have a beautiful one gallon hex tank that I would like to turn into a nano reef for my desk top. It has a new 25 watt bulb will this be enough? I am not sure as to what corals to keep in it yet, any suggestions would be great. It also has an undergravel filter with an air pump, do you think I could achieve enough water movement with this air pump? In a tank that small would I be able to keep any shrimp or other interesting inverts? I would never put a fish in there of course but I would like to watch some thing else besides the one hermit and one snail I have planned for the tank. One last question...what kind of heaters do you buy for a tank that small?


Thanks for the Help AJ~

[steve1s]

I wouldn't bother much with the heater. I find that ambient room temprature for the most part and lighting will provide sufficient heat. You just need to be careful in the workplace for aircon and if the building heat is reduced/shut off nightly. If that's the case look for something like this (http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?aquariums&1056330596)

25w of light for 1 gallon of tank is a bit much I think. I am currently running a 7w PC light on mine and it's more than enough. I would also be very concerned about overheating with that much power.

I don't like UG filtration at the best of times, but I am unsure at how effective it would be on a tank of this size. Azoo makes a great HOB filter that works great if you can find them.

I would choose either the hermit or the shrimp, but not both. I see no reason why you should not be able to keep one. I would suggest a type of anemone shrimp (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=23&pCatId=700) though. They stay fairly small, although I am not sure how well it will do without a host.

Cheers
Steve

[AWestphal]

The tank will actually be @ my desk @ home. I'm nurse so we are not privleged to desk...jut mailboxes and med charts. LOL The temp. gets to about 55 in the winter @ our house...we like it cold. And stays to about 76-78 in the summer.

Any corals you would recommend...

AJ~[/quote]

[steve1s]

I think in a tank that size you should be fine with just about any coral except branching LPS or other corals with long stinging sweepers.

You should actually be somewhat successful with certain less demanding SPS like montipora, porites and possibley anacropora. Zooxanthellae gorgonian frags and sea squirts would also be an option. What I do for mine is keep an eye out at the various LFS in the area for >1" frags. They are usually quite cheap and relatively hardy. Just keep in mind that more frequent water changes will be required to maintain the chem for stonies.

You could also frag from ones in your other set ups. Just be mindful of coral chemical warefare and if possible run a good carbon to reduce the risk of corals becoming damaged from poisoning.

Cheers
Steve

[AWestphal]

Thanks for the help. That is neat about the sps because I thought I would have to wait a very long time before I got any. I plan on setting up my current 54 gallon fw to an SPS and Clam tank, but I need to get my 110 going first.

Anyway Thanks Alot
AJ~

[steve1s]

I was talking in terms of what was possible. I still think you should give the tank the opportunity to properly mature before attempting more difficult to care for corals.... :wink:

Cheers
Steve

[AWestphal]

Yes I totally understand you. I have mushrooms in my 76 gallon that after the cycling of then nano I would try those first and maybe 6months to 1year down the road I will try some SPS.

Thanks Anyway
AJ

[phistio]

sounds like plans for a cool tank...

but don't completely rule fish out. there are some tiny coral fish such as coral gobies, that get no bigger than a quarter...i think that would be sweet! abunch of them can be seen here:

http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/~dd/g/einfn0.htm

http://uri.sakura.ne.jp/~dd/g/f/g160a.jpg

the only problem is, they're hard to find. rare, and sometimes expensive, as they are often solf with the host coral. often they come shipped still in a coral. have seen quite a few acro's that come in with these little gobies perched in the colonies. it's awesome to see these little guys nestled right in the middle of the coral! :D