# Your opinion on my 2.5g set up



## Yankee boy

It will be a 2.5 aga with a 12" 18w Current USA sattelite light, AC20, auto top off system, 2 pounds of LR. STOCK:1 hermit 2 snails and maybe a hi fin goby. what do you think? dont lecture me about it being to small


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## Fishfirst

well aside from the lecture, I'd make it into a shrimp tank instead of getting fish for it. 2.5 gallons is VERY small, but with autotop off it should be fairly stable without much of a bioload. If I had a tank that, that I turned into a nano saltwater, I'd get a pair of sexy shrimp, 4 Nassarius snals, and maybe a porcelain crab. Could make a very interesting combo.


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## TheOldSalt

Well, if you don't want a lecture, then I have no comment.


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## Yankee boy

:roll: :roll:


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## Jonno

why not just fork out some money and get a bigger tank


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## Chazwick

You could just get a Betta and a snail? 
Anything more, other than the shrimps alone or something will be too big.


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## Jonno

he wants to setup a nano tank and last i heard bettas live in freshwater


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## AshleytheGreat

Yeh I know honestly, just buy a bigger tank.


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## Yankee boy

hmmm dont worry I shall prove you all wrong and post a pic of it when im all done with it remember this thread.


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## Fishfirst

Just to clarify something, I don't "doubt" it can be done, it CAN, but its very HARD to maintain! If you have another tank with sw I would do the following: Get a hob filter and put the intake in one tank, and the output into the other. Then get some sort of tubing/pvc pipe, and connect the tanks with it. Before putting the tubing in, fill it with water and cap it so no air bubbles are in it. Then put both ends underwater, uncap it and vuala you've got two tanks connected to eachother.


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## Jonno

i have seen it done before but the guy said it was very hard to do and i just thought it would be easier if you got a tank that was a bit bigger


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## TheOldSalt

Dan, why do you even want to bother? It's terribly unfair to any poor fish you might put in the thing. Even a pair of Neon Gobies wouldn't like it one bit.


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## Lara

I agree, keep it for snails or shrimp, not swimming critters


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## Yankee boy

the thing is i just want a small goby as a fish which just sits around on corals it will most likely be a clown goby which gets to what 1 inch? LR and some soft corals couple inverts I will most likely get a bigger AC to act as a fuge and just put an impeller in it to reduce all that flow


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## Fishfirst

the problem isn't with the fish you are chosing to put in... its with the volume of water your trying to do this with.


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## Chazwick

I agree... the tank is too small!


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## amelia

Yankee--2.5 gallons is much too small to be a suitable environment for anything OTHER than a few small shrimp or a few fish fry. My 2.5 gallon is currently holding about 6 shiner fry and 1 mosquito fish fry that are wild caught---TEMPORARY, as they'll be moved to a 10 gal once I get a sponge filter. Fish don't have a lot of space to move in a 2.5gallon, even if they are only 1 inch long. Bettas sure won't be active in a 2.5 gallon, so why would a 1 inch saltwater fish? Do you really think it's big enough for live rock AND a fish? Even if the fish does mostly sit around on the rock (when you're watching it), it will more than likely want to swim around to other places instead of being confined to a rock. 

Why not just save up some money and start with a bigger aquarium? 2.5 gallons are very hard to maintain, anyway. It's hard to balance everything out and to calculate how much of what to put in. Sure, it's "cute" to have a little fish staring out at you from a desktop or tabletop while it's sitting near lifelessly on a rock, which it shares with a couple inverts that hog all the food and poke at it every now and then because they're bored and have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do.... It's very "cute" to see a little fish suffer in an undersized tank. 

I find it funny that tons of people get steamed to the point of no return with wal-mart overstocking tiny aquariums, and yet those that agree with that being cruel (what wal-mart does to those little fish) think it's okay to put a fish and some inverts in a tiny tank and don't want to be lectured on the size, when they know it's wrong (and we know this because you clearly stated "don't lecture me on the small size") but go against that and insist on "showing us" that we're wrong about needing a bigger tank for any sort of saltwater set up, even one with just a few inhabitants. We're not saying it can't be done. We're saying it won't work WELL or EFFICIENTLY and that the best interest of the fish would be to get a BIGGER tank to put it in. 

...Enough of my little rant.

:x.


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## Fishfirst

indeed, although I think this subject has been beaten to death... I'll have no further comments or suggestions, but I will monitor this post for personal attacks.


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## Yankee boy

interesting what you had to say, do you know much about SW?


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## amelia

I know nothing about saltwater other than what I learned when I was reading up, considering keeping a seahorse in a 5 gallon. I quickly found out that even a five gallon would be hard to keep up and that I didn't want to buy a huge aquarium just for a few seahorses, so I let that dream die. 

Saltwater aquariums are harder to maintain than freshwater aquariums. If it's harder to keep up a small freshwater tank than a large one, then it's going to be harder to keep up a small saltwater tank than a large one. It's hard to keep everything balanced. 

Every fish has it's limits on how little space it will comfortabley live in. Even a small, compact fish is cramped in a 2.5 gallon tank and doesn't live a wholesome life. 

Do not go attacking my lack of knowledge of saltwater. Everyone else is telling you that it's too small and too hard to try as a first saltwater tank. If you're not very experienced with basic saltwater care, why would you try a nano? It also doesn't make sense to me why you want to "proove everyone wrong" when you asked a question and got replies. You've been nothing but rude to people who are KNOWLEDGABLE about saltwater and are telling you to try something bigger first, and then to single me out because I keep freshwater and not saltwater? I just think that's a bit rude. 

I may not know much about saltwater, but I've kept an array of freshwater fishes since I was little (Try 3 or 4 years old.) I love my hobby, and yes. My knowledge of saltwater IS very limited, but I've learned in studying up in the past that small tanks are hard to keep. 

I'm not critisizing you for what you want to try. By all means, if you feel like jumping into a huge, hard project when you haven't had much real hands on saltwater experience (no matter how extensive your knowledge), do so. Noone's telling you that you can't, we're just saying you shouldn't. I know how teenagers are. I AM one. Teenagers get ideas stuck in their head and then ask for advice but, knowing they should heed it, don't and get defensive about the corrections and critisism. Noone is critisizing you for wanting to keep a small tank, they're just saying that you shouldn't, and that it would be in the best intrest of you and your fish that you didn't start with a small one right off. Get some experience first, THEN try. You don't jump on a two wheeled mountain bicycle when you're three years old.. You ride a tricycle, then a bike with training wheels before you go to a two wheeler. You have to walk before you run, and learn from experience before you jump into any big project. 

Do as you will, but if it doesn't work or you find it's too much work, remember that everyone told you to start out with something easier. Sometimes it's best to take the advice of others, even when you don't really want to. Just a thought..

--last post on this thread--


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## Yankee boy

Its amazing how much people assume from such little things and statements people make. Please dont preach anything to me, you have no right because you dont know me at all.You may come off as trying to give me advice but your actually attacking me, I know of many people who keep 'small tanks' 2.5 and below if you can believe that. Ive done countless hours on finding the right tank for me and my budget and I want a challenge. BTW how do you know whether a fish will live a wholesome life in a small tank have you ever kept one to live its life to the 'fullest'?

BTW Ive kept a betta in a 1 quart tank for 4 years :wink: (this is the part when all the people who think fish are like people come crashing in)


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## TheDuckyOne

Ive kept a mini reef for quite a while. Its larger then yours, 6 gallons. Around 8 lbs rock, various soft coral and other inverts. Listen to these people when they tell you NOT to keep fish in the tank. I tried at first, and lost countless fish this way. There is simply NOT enough water to maintain a fish, particularly when you account for all the water the sand and rocks will displace. Your 2.5 will actually hold 1.5 when all is said and done. Its not the best enviroment for the fish, and you will kill it. There are many intresting shrimp (i think the sexy shrimp are a great idea) and crabs that you will enjoy much more then fish anyway (believe it or not) I understand wanting a challege, but you are setting yourself up for failure if you refuse to listen to advice from more experinced keepers.


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## Yankee boy

I understand you, now I take your advice into consideration because you have done smaller tanks unlike some other individual who thinks they know what they are talking about.


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## Fishfirst

I have 3 smaller setups as saltwater tanks yankee boy... 1 hospital tank 10 gallon, 1 feather duster breeding tank 7.5 gallon, and 1 cardinalfish fry tank 10 gallon (part of my fuge right now)... I have to monitor these daily, doing top offs, water tests, water changes, they are the MOST work I've ever done, which is why I don't recommend doing a 2.5 gallon, I have enough trouble keeping these tanks in check, and I don't have fish in 2 out of the 3 and the third is kept in tact with the main display. The fact is, many of us like tos, malawian pro, etc have small tanks or have done small tanks... and agree they are a lot of work and unstable.


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## TheOldSalt

Just what exactly do you mean by "put an impeller in it to reduce all that flow?" 

Soft corals are toxic, by the way, and a poor choice for a small tank.


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## fishboy

man i wonder if Yankee boy ever did this, I remebered the post and went searching. He was on 4 days ago mybe he'll find this agian. i'm also thinking about a 2.5 gallon dwarf seahorse tank, I'll see how it plays out. problem is with Dwarf Seahorses the bigger the tank, the worse it is because it's harder for them to get food


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## fishyshawn

if you want a small tank the smallest i say you should go is 20g and in a 2.5g tank the fish will have almost no room to move. How would you like it if someone put you in a 5ftx5ft room and make you live in there your whole life.


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## Fishfirst

well dwarfs are an exeption... however thats what makes them so tricky.


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## FishGuy1564

i know ALOT about freshwater and not alot about saltwater but I do know that a 2.5 gallon tank is not enough for fish. How about saving money and buying a 5 gallon, and then maybe even a 10 gallon.


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## AshleytheGreat

Yankee boy said:


> I understand you, now I take your advice into consideration because you have done smaller tanks unlike some other individual who thinks they know what they are talking about.



Amelia knows what she's talking about.


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## Guest

I think some people can be so rude. That isn't a very small tank. Be nice.

-Tessa.


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## Yankee boy

I didnt do the 2.5g but did do a 5.5g and things are going GREAT.
Love, Yankee boy


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## Fishfirst

tessa, there is a very good reason for our disapproval of a 2.5 gallon tank, especially one with fish in it from the ocean. We aren't rude, just rational, and succeeded in helping yankee boy make a better decision, especially since a 2.5 gallon is very unstable in saltwater.


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