Fluval Edge 6 gallon

[ixotuckeroxi]

i too just went apesh!t on my edge.

i already have the mr11 led bulbs, added a 10w pc bulb in the front, have a 25led superflux panel for inbetween the mr11s, and about 2 feet of blue leds for moonlights.

yep, about 200 worth of lighting for a 100 tank. will post pics soon...

 

[ixotuckeroxi]

double post :ack:

 

[minicrazy592]

It could be worse, at least yours is only twice the price. I added up the cost of my 10g planted tank the other day. I have spent roughly $300 on a $15 tank.

 

[Cloudburst2000]

I am back! I haven't had time to post as I just started a new job a couple months ago and then my motherboard on my computer crapped out on me. Just got my new computer yesterday. Almost a month without a computer was torture.

Anyhoo, I have since added some sexy shrimp to my Fluval Edge. They are doing fine. I plan on adding one or more pom-pom crabs, and perhaps a very small goby. I'd really like a flaming prawn goby but they cost around $100 so I will probably just go with another species of small goby.

I still have the Coralife fixture on the tank. Haven't had the chance to mod the cover yet. I like what that guy in the youtube video did with his Coralife fixture but I'm not a tech savy person so I'd probably just electrocute myself attempting something like that. I plan on just modding the cover unless I can find someone to do the light fixture mod for me. And the few corals I have placed in the tank seem to be doing fine. I have taken corals from my main tank to put in the Edge. A green hairy mushroom (because the one in my main tank has split like crazy), a ricordea, a small colt coral that split off from a larger colt, some zoas that were growing well in my main tank, and a hammer coral frag from my main tank. All the corals are doing fine so :makefun: to all the detractors I'll post pics soon...as soon as I figure out what I did with my camera. *whispers* I lose stuff all the time :dummy:

 

[nickao]

Hey guys, I also picked up one of these tanks.

I read this thread and looked at the videos and was really inspired. However, I've never done a SW aquarium before so I was really intimidated and overwhelmed and the guys in my LFS were totally against it.

Anyway, I pursued, with many pitfalls and a steep learning curve, I think I am at the point of some sort of satisfaction. This is a pic of my tank after 6 weeks, everything seems to be going well (fingers crossed).

This was taken last week

This one was taken a couple minute ago. As you may see the Xenia has grown a bit, it has also spread onto the rock.

How you guys like it so far.

I am struggling with my Nitrates, but it coming down slowly, it's at 20 at the moment. My next mod would be an algae scrubber. After reading SantaMonica's thread on it, I am really keen. I plan on added it to the back and running a couple pumps, to get the water in and out. I've ordered some acrylic, so as soon as I get a free weekend I will get this project going. Will keep you posted.

Thanks again guys for the inspiration.

 

[Johnny]

This site is great... I'm just setting my first saltwater tank up and decided I wanted it to be a fluval edge.... I've already done the halogen to led mods... Take pics later... Plus I plugged a aquaclear 50 pump motor into the edge filter that way I'm not trimming or cutting anything..!as for my led's I've done it so the stock light switch still works and I don't have to worry about condensation... I am going to hook up 2 small PC fans though, that was a great idea....!! I'll post again with some pics....!!! Thanks for the tips people..!!!

 

[Cloudburst2000]

nickao, looking pretty good there! You got a pic of your light set-up? What type of lights are you using? It looks darker around the edges of the tank which is one of the drawbacks to this tank. That's why I was thinking of modding the cover so I could put a larger light in there. I have the light on it...just haven't modded the cover yet. And I think an algae scrubber would be hard with this tank unless you had something sitting above the tank and flowing down into it...or you would have to put something under the tank but then you would have to drill the tank. Unless you could somehow sit something above and 'hide' it and the tubing, it would definitely take away from the sleek look of the tank. The main way in a tank this small to keep nitrates down is water changes. Also, don't overfeed. I only feed every three days. And do, at least, a 20-25% water change each week...about 1 1/2 gallons. That should keep nitrates in check.

 

[Cloudburst2000]

This site is great... I'm just setting my first saltwater tank up and decided I wanted it to be a fluval edge.... I've already done the halogen to led mods... Take pics later... Plus I plugged a aquaclear 50 pump motor into the edge filter that way I'm not trimming or cutting anything..!as for my led's I've done it so the stock light switch still works and I don't have to worry about condensation... I am going to hook up 2 small PC fans though, that was a great idea....!! I'll post again with some pics....!!! Thanks for the tips people..!!!

Post pics of your set-up and everything you did to get there!

 

[nickao]

nickao, looking pretty good there! You got a pic of your light set-up? What type of lights are you using?

Here is a pic of the lights. I got the LED MR11's (Cool White) and blue flexible led's. As you can see I wrapped one into a circle and fixed it with tie wraps to the center of the lighting arm. It's really messy and I don't like it , but, it works for now. I am taking my time with a new upgrade on the lights cause as with you I want to keep the tanks nice clean finish. Anyways, this is where I am at the moment.

It looks darker around the edges of the tank which is one of the drawbacks to this tank. That's why I was thinking of modding the cover so I could put a larger light in there. I have the light on it...just haven't modded the cover yet.

Too true! as i said above it will need a better lighting upgrade.

And I think an algae scrubber would be hard with this tank unless you had something sitting above the tank and flowing down into it...or you would have to put something under the tank but then you would have to drill the tank. Unless you could somehow sit something above and 'hide' it and the tubing, it would definitely take away from the sleek look of the tank.

I was thinking of doing it to the back. But, what I will do (when I get some time) is mock up a drawing in Illustrator and post it up for you guys to let me know where you think I may have drawbacks.

The main way in a tank this small to keep nitrates down is water changes. Also, don't overfeed. I only feed every three days. And do, at least, a 20-25% water change each week...about 1 1/2 gallons. That should keep nitrates in check.

Thanks for this advice!!! I was feeding a small amount everyday... creating my own nightmare. Will take your advice.

Here is the latest pic, added some hermit crabs and 2x turbo snails. algae is almost none existent in the tank.

 

[Cloudburst2000]

Also, watch out with the hemits. I found mine in my larger tank chewing on some of my corals. They were immediately taken out of my tank and put in my brother-in-law's FOWLR tank where there was no coral for them to snack on. They seemed to start snacking on the corals when they got larger. They would pass up the food I gave them and go after the corals instead. Stupid hermit crabs *grrr*

 

[Cloudburst2000]

And while I like the sexy shrimp, they are very small and can be hard to see. You have to really search for them sometimes. I think they are probably better for pico aquariums of like two to three gallons. I might try to catch them and give them to a friend who has a tiny pico tank and get a larger species of shrimp for this tank.

 

[GrendelPrime]

tank is comming along great cloud

 

[Cloudburst2000]

Okay, I have had this tank running well as a reef tank for about 8 months or so. It's doing well. Corals doing fine. Out of the three tanks that I have including the Edge, a 25 gallon reef tank, and a 12gallon nano cube, this is the one that gets the most comments from visitors. The tank style is just so cool.

Anyhoo, I've been considering upgrading the filtration on this sucker. Right now, I'm using the stock filtration that includes a HOB filter with a sponge, biomedia, and carbon. I'm considering adding some type of overflow (I believe life reef makes custom overflows) and using a sump under the tank. I have an unused 10g sump/fuge with an included skimmer that I got off a friend. Another person said that instead of adding an overflow like that, they simply carved teeth into the back plastic part where the hood sits so it acts like a regular overflow instead of using a siphon. Anyone else heard of someone doing this? And if I do the sump idea below the tank, I will also be adding an ATO and have the ATO top off the sump.

I also still have the coralife cfl fixture on the tank. Does well and supports corals well. However, my eventual aim is to replace all my lighting with LED lights. I saw that nanotuners makes an LED light fixture that would fit inside the hood. I've never bought anything from them before. I've heard several good things about them but was wanting everyone's opinions on their LED lights.

Also, I currently have a nano Koralia pump in this tank. I really like the Vortech MP10 pumps style and the more compact design. Would an MP10 be overkill for this tank? Would it be too much flow? Price really isn't a problem because I'm planning on upgrading the Vortech on my 25g. Once I do that, I will have an extra MP10 lying around. I probably wouldn't sell it even if I don't use it. I'd keep it as a back up, but if I have it lying around, I might as well use it. So if it's not overkill, I'd like to add it to this tank.

Still no fish in this set-up. I'm still housing several sexy shrimp and a pom-pom crab. I might eventually get a small goby, but not really sure.

 

[nickao]

Hey Cloud, I am thinking of doing exactly what your talking about. I need to post another pic up of where my tank is at the moment. It's coming along really nicely, considering this to be my first attempt at SW.

I've seen this lighting upgrade as well.
www.LEDwholesalers.com - 50 Watt High Power WHITE + BLUE LED Aquarium Reef corals grow light
www.LEDwholesalers.com - 50 Watt High Power WHITE + BLUE LED Aquarium Reef corals grow light
and I believe you were refering to this Evilc66 Picolamp 12.3 LED nanocustoms

I think I might go for this one Aquabeam 1000 HD Ultra LED Tile - Reef White


I haven't found any nano overflow boxes, and I am still wraping my head around the whole pump issue, on which one I shoud put n the sump. I was even considering buying a ready made sump, but, they are a little pricey, so i my just build one (which is what i prefer... like to get my hands dirty)

Anyways,it would be good to compare note on this upgrade

 

[lj22s]

Hey guys,
I am actually in the process of modding my light completely. I'm following a great article that will show three different retrofits using CREE LEDs. I'm planning to remove the stock swing arm and using a heat sink with CREE royal blue and cool white LEDs. I also found a great site selling full CREE LED kits. I will post my updates here probably sometime next week. Below are links to information mentioned.

Reefing On The Edge:
Reefing on the Edge: Week 4 | Coral Magazine

Rapid Leds:
Results for DIY Retrofit Kits

 

[lj22s]

Sorry for the over sized picture above. I just wanted to share a few pictures of my tank including the night LEDs.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Looking very nice !

Don't be sorry for the larger pics... in fact most like them even bigger so we can see more details.

 

[lj22s]

I forgot to mention that I did change the stock lights temperalily. I replaced the stock sockets for the MR16s and I'm using MR16 LEDs that are mentioned in the article. They are a huge upgrade from the stock ones but I can't wait to get those CREE LEDs in there. I will probably have to incorporate a fan for cooling so that's my next heardle

 

[lj22s]

Just a picture of the LED bulbs I'm using.

 

[lj22s]

Sorry about that. I'm trying to upload pictures using my iPhone. Let's see if it works this time. If so, notice how much larger these bulbs are from the stock ones.
Here's the link for the bulbs.
www.LEDwholesalers.com - MR16 240 Lumen White 15 SMD LED Wide Angle Flood Light