Hi! Wow, glad I found this site... 6.5 pico tank...

[Brie]

New 6.5gal pic tank.... Edit: new pic added

So.. i'm about to delve for the first time into the keeping of a nano, well, technically pico, tank keeping.. I'm having trouble getting answers on other larger forums so maybe you guys can help me out.. I just really want some opinions.

Here's the set up I have planned.. Today I purchased the tank, heater, filter, a coralife digital thermometer and 12 gallons of prepacked sanitized sea water... So now all I have left to buy is the skimmer, substrate and a powerhead/pump.


I plan on sticking with Softies and LPS. I've read that they're the easier to maintain and are forgiving(as far as corals go) to n00b errors.


Tank

6.5gal elongated tank
24 x 8 x 9

Skimmer
AquaC Nano Remora sounds good. But does anyone have any other suggestions to a very small nano skimmer thats worth buying?

Lighting
Coralife 24 Inch Aqualight With 1-65W Actinic / 1-65W 10,000K Lamp Straight Pin Base (with fans)

Edit: Ok i've decided on this T5 hood... Thanks guys..

Heater
25w Visi-therm Stealth

Filter
The tank kit comes with a small HOB filter, but I personally think its way too small, so I picked up my filter of choice, an Aquaclear 20. I'll probably only use a peice of floss pad, and carbon once a week or so. Or is this a bad idea? Thought on filters?

Circulation
Eheim 1212 Aquaball Powerhead (Would this model be too powerful?) or a
Tunze Turbelle NanoStream Pump 6025

Substrate
I really would like to use CaribSea Aragalive Indo Black sand. But is buying live sand in a prepackaged bag worth it? Or is it just going to be loaded full of dead bacteria and nitrate? I might also just snag some sand from a friends 240gal reef as well since I'll only need 6-7lbs of it. I just really like black sand. lol

Also, any good recommendations as to test kits? Especially calcium?

Now for what i'd like to stock it with.

I'm thinking Colt, Hammer, Mushrooms, Ricordea, and green star polyps.. For shrimp i'd like a Fire shrimp. And 1 goby, species i'm still deciding on. I wanted a Catalina REALLY badly, but alas they're a cold water fish. So I might end up going with nice green clown goby, or maybe a red headed goby.

And I know everyone is going to explode when I say this, but i'd like to try to keep a young maxima clam, once the tank is firmly established and all the bugs are worked out. I'll be giving it to my friend with the 240g after about a year or so(or as soon as the clam gets too big). I understand all that is required for keeping clams, so no worries. I know what i'd be getting myself into. lol. The question is lighting. Is it at all possible to keep soft corals and LPS in such a shallow tank along with a clam?

Anyone, any wise words or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Alrighty, its now filled with about 7lbs of live rock. Waiting for the sand to arrive at the LFS on thursday to finish it off. After that I'll probably bring home a little Blue Fin Damsel from work and see if I can keep it alive. lol. How long do yall think cycling will tank with live rock + live sand in a 6gal? And should I hold off on adding a fish or will the fish be beneficial to the cycling process?

Anyhow, so far its just running with the filter and light that came with the kit.. I'm going to be buying a dual bulb T5 hood next payday, along with the skimmer and powerhead.

Don't mind the wierd little filter on the right side, Just have that in there for added circulation until I get the powerhead.

 

[Damsel13]

Welcome to RF!
You have alot of stuff!

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF!!! Hope you enjoy it here and find all the answers you seek! I'll answer a few for starters

Skimmer
AquaC Nano Remora sounds good. But does anyone have any other suggestions to a very small nano skimmer thats worth buying?

I think the AquaC nano will be perfect for that tank and really no need to look for another one IMO. I used the exact same skimmer on a 24gal Aquapod and it worked great!!!

Coralife 24 Inch Aqualight With 1-65W Actinic / 1-65W 10,000K Lamp Straight Pin Base (with fans)

But do you think this would cook such a shallow tank with softies and LPS? I really wanted something with an actinic light as well... If anyone has a better suggestion, please tell!

Hmmm...That's a good one. PC's tend to get pretty warm and that is quite a bit of wattage over such a small tank. I'd wait for the others to chime in first, but my guess is, it may really heat up things and definately more wattage than you need IMO...

The tank kit comes with a small HOB filter, but I personally think its way too small, so I picked up my filter of choice, an Aquaclear 20. I'll probably only use a peice of floss pad, and carbon once a week or so. Or is this a bad idea? Thought on filters?

Aquaclears are great filters and will be nice for adding a bit of surface aggitation for gas exchange as well as a nice place to run carbon. People even covert aquaclear's into refugiums! As for the floss, if you do plan to use it, be sure to change/rinse it out every 2-3 days max. The reason why is if detritus/waste is allowed to settle on the floss too long, it will rott and degrade water quality so you will need to keep it clean. Where any form of biological filtration is concerned, the filter is not needed. Your live rock will do the work for you

Eheim 1212 Aquaball Powerhead (Would this model be too powerful?) or a
Tunze Turbelle NanoStream Pump 6025

I ran a nano stream on my 24gal aquapod and loved the wide pattern which I think is the way to go. Most powerheads give you a very narrow stream that blasts only a small area with flow. The nano stream will give you full coverage of the tank and provide to with great flow however it "may" be too much especially if you are using a sand bed. The fact that the tank is 24 inches long makes it a bit better but the tank is still pretty small. Another option would be to run maxijets. They are very reliable and and you can't beat the price. That may be a better option for that sized tank like the MJ1200 (295gph).

I really would like to use CaribSea Aragalive Indo Black sand. But is buying live sand in a prepackaged bag worth it? Or is it just going to be loaded full of dead bacteria and nitrate? I might also just snag some sand from a friends 240gal reef as well since I'll only need 6-7lbs of it. I just really like black sand. lol

The pre-packaged shouldn't contain any dead bacteria or nitrate once it isn't expired which I think they do or once the bag doesn't have a hole in it and all of the water leaked out and dried out the substrate. As for extra benefits, they say it contains beneficial bacteria, but you will get these same bacteria's once you introduce live rock to the tank or start the cycling process. The prepackaged sand is supposed to speed up things, but I guess it is debateable. Sometimes it's not worth the extra money, but nothing at all wrong with using it and there isn't any disadvantages at all I can think of using it so if you want to go that route then by all means. As for getting sand out of an established tank, that is always a plus "IF" the tank is healthy and you wouldn't be transferring any parasites or other harmful things over. If not, then seeding from an established tank is always the best way to go IMO

Also, any good recommendations as to test kits? Especially calcium?

If you did a search here, you'd find that the majority go with Salifert test kits. They are pretty much the best way to go and the only kit I trust

As far as the stocking list goes, I'll leave that to the experts Just take your time with it and you'll be happy you did. Good luck!!

 

[spongebob lover]

welcome to RF dood .
i agree with Krish's post .

 

[c0yote]

Here's a thread about turning an Aquaclear into a refugium
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24363&highlight=aquaclear+refugium

 

[btuck]

Hmmm...That's a good one. PC's tend to get pretty warm and that is quite a bit of wattage over such a small tank. I'd wait for the others to chime in first, but my guess is, it may really heat up things and definately more watage than you need IMO...

I agree PC's will heat up. Why don't you look at getting some T5's? They are just as bright it not brighter and put out less heat!!!

 

[Brie]

I agree PC's will heat up. Why don't you look at getting some T5's? They are just as bright it not brighter and put out less heat!!!

But do they make the corals color as vibrant? Thats my only question. I could stick a T5 in the hood that came with the tank I guess..

 

[Krish]

You will be surprised at how well T-5's will make your corals look, but it isn't necessarily the type of bulb (eg pc, T-5, metal halides etc), but the color temp of the bulb being used. Some people like higher kelvin rated bulbs to give them more "blue" while some prefer lower kelvin ratings for a crisp look with usually better growth. Personal preference there

 

[Meche]

T5s work great but they require special electronics to run (balast). You will need to invest in a fixture capable of driving the T5 HO bulb. I love mine and think it was worth the investment.

Heaters have thermometers built into them and turn off automatically when the temperature gets above the set point. Do not worry about your (working) heater toasting your tank; a properly working heater will not over heat your tank.

Which brings me to my next point. I have had two visi-therms fail in the last 6 months. I won't buy another visi-therm heater. A temperature controller is a very good idea, although I would feel like a hippocrite if I didn't tell you that I don't have one (although it is on the to-do list).

If temperature becomes an issue, you can use a fan to blow air over the surface to remove quite a bit of heat, before a chiller is required.

 

[theJ]

But do they make the corals color as vibrant? Thats my only question. I could stick a T5 in the hood that came with the tank I guess..

You could retro 2 bulbs with reflectors in your hood maybe, something like 1 actinic, 1 10000. In my opinion that would be a smart way to go, the t5s will really make your colors pop without adding too much temp into the tank, keep an eye out on efficiency.

You mentioned you are looking at some ricordia, here is mine under a t5 BluePlus actinic. They make a 24w BluePlus that is like 22 inches, that should stuff in your hood with a readyfit kit. Maybe add something like an Aquasun for 'day light'.

 

[Brie]

Thanks guys..

I found a T5 fixture that I like.. I'll probably pick it up next pay day.. Along with the Nano Remora skimmer.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...uct_Code=CU-USA01124&Category_Code=Current-T5

Comes with 1 10,000k and 1 actinic bulb.. Just what I was looking for.

Ordered some Indo pacific black live sand by Agralive from a LFS which will arrive Thursday. The live rock I ordered at my own store came in today, way earlier then I expected it, so I'm going to pick up a chunk that I like now and just toss it in the tank sans substrate til the sand comes in. Will need to chisel it into a few pieces since its one big 8lb chunk, covered in various coraline algae. This won't harm anything will it?

 

[btuck]

Hey I think I sold one of those a couple of weeks ago!!!

 

[c0yote]

With such a small system, a small amount of evaporation will lead to a large salinity swing. Do you have a plan for fresh water top off?

 

[Brie]

With such a small system, a small amount of evaporation will lead to a large salinity swing. Do you have a plan for fresh water top off?

Daily buffered RO FW top offs.

 

[Krish]

Daily buffered RO FW top offs.

What about RO/DI rather than just RO

 

[Damsel13]

ya know Brie I am suprised that is not a diet pepsi can hehehe... nice can tho

 

[Meche]

Daily buffered RO FW top offs.

Buffered? Why?

I would just stick to FW.

 

[Brie]

ya know Brie I am suprised that is not a diet pepsi can hehehe... nice can tho

You calling me fat?

Its ok, I am fat. But I hate diet soda. lol. In fact I hate most soda in general. The pepsi is my boyfriends. lol.

 

[Brie]

Buffered? Why?

I would just stick to FW.

Will do.

 

[Brie]

Here's a thread about turning an Aquaclear into a refugium
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24363&highlight=aquaclear+refugium

Thanks for that link, I think i'll do this... I have like 4 old AC filters laying around that I don't really use. And I have a few spare clip on CF lights I can use to grow the macro algae...