Starting a fluval edge 6 Gallon tank - need advice

[pmzebo]

I got a fluval edge 6 gallon for christmas and I have finally decided to do salt water with it. I just wanted to see if you have any advice before I order all the additional things from Amazon.

I will get
5 LBS live sand
hydrometer
magnet cleaner
50W Heater
Salt
Thermometer
Fish Net

LED Lighting - I am getting LED strip lighting 6500k light and 460nm blue lights.
I will get live rock locally for $2/LB which seems pretty fair to me (from an established tank).

Do you think I will need a power head?
Am I forgetting anything important for the tank?
Did you use the stock filter?

My plan with the tank is to start with 1 fish, maybe a damsel? To get things going. Evaluate health of the tank and lighting. Add a cleaner shimp of some kind. Trade up damsel for Clown fish. Add a few small corals. And eventually add a blue starfish.

Thanks for any insight or help!!!
Patrick

 

[Travis]

Hi Patrick, and welcome to RS!

Others seem to have a much better set of links handy and I'm sure they'll be along soon... for starters, I would recommend against the damsel. It's not necessarily about the well-being of the fish (though that should be a factor, we all lose fish all the time so I find it mildy ironic) but also if the fish does die, then you've interrupted your cycle. You need a consistent source of nutrients in order to properly cycle the tank. Also, they're not as easy to catch as you think! You'll have to tear your tank apart to get it out of there.

Depending on how much live rock you get from a fellow reefer, there's also a chance that the tank will be "warm cycled".

Where are you planning on getting the live sand? I'm not up to date on my substrates but you could see die-off from the sand that could cause a spike similar to a cycle. Depends where you get it from.

I'll let others chime in now... best of luck with the tank!

 

[pmzebo]

Thanks! How much live rock do you think I should put in the 6 gallon tank? What fish would you recommend starting with?

Do you think i need to get anything else to start up my tank??

 

[Travis]

You'l find all SORTS of stuff you "need" haha. Including another tank.

To start with though, you need some test kits - Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate for starters. For these I used a cheap kit like this: Link - Basically anything above zero for ammonia and nitrite is bad, it's less about the actual number.

Also, you need another heater and container for your water changes. With a tank as small as yours, water changes need to be carefully matched in terms of salinity (hydrometer) and temperature.

 

[Travis]

Rule of thumb is 1-1.5 lbs/gallon of live rock by the way.

 

[pmzebo]

Excellent! I will be sure to get a nitrate/ammonia testing kit. I already have a Bucket and heater for water changes.

I will get about 8 lbs of live rock! Do you think 5lbs of live sand is good? I will order that from amazon - its by CarribSea

 

[DianaKay]

Hello pmzebo Patrick
Starting a small (6 gal) tank is more of a challenge, even for the most experienced SW hobbiest than a tank with say 35 gal volume.
You'll be limited to probably one fish.
And I agree that you should WAIT until AFTER your tank completes the nitrogen cycle before you add a fish or any other live critter. There's other ways to cycle that no fish has to die or live a damaged life. A small deli-shrimp from the grocery store (the kind we buy to eat) will work to feed your cycle.
Good news is, water changes (after your tank cycles) shouldn't be much of a chore.
Definitely get a test kit that has ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & Ph you will need them from the beginning.
Where will you be getting you rock from?
Please post pictures as you go and ask any ???s you think of...there is usually someone here at RS that has been there, done it & willing to help.
& VERY BEST WISHES!!

 

[DaveK]

I got a fluval edge 6 gallon for christmas and I have finally decided to do salt water with it. ...

In my opinion, get another, larger tank for your first attempt at SW. Use the Fluval edge for something else.

The Fluval edge looks cool, but it's got some major issues, especially in SW. The size is one. Also the water is in an almost sealed cube. This means that if the filtration stops, there is little or no gas exchange, so the livestock can easily suffocate. It is also very difficult to clean, and most SW systems do require that you scrape down the class fairly often.

Keep in mind that by the time you add live sand and live rock, that volume of water is down to about 4 gal. How many fish can you keep in that much water? It's about one fish 1" long. Are you going to be happy with such a tank. If you want fish, this isn't going to work out. If your content with a few hermit crabs, snails and corals, then the tank can be a real gem.

 

[pmzebo]

Thanks Diana! I know the 6 gallon can be challenging, I am trying to make sure I have all the proper equipment and know the procedures before I begin. I am planning on getting the live rock from someone local on craigslist with a well established tank. I can also get water from them to fill my tank the first time. I will make sure to add a test kit to my amazon cart! I am guessing the power head is not necessary since no one has mentioned it? What would I need it for? certain fish or corals?

Dave - I understand the limitations and challenges of the small tank but I'm going to do it! I have only planned on 1 fish, 1 shrimp, and corals. I can also trade in fish as they grow at my LFS. Also gives the opportunity to trade up!

Can't wait to get it going but I'm being patient and getting all the advice I can before I get it started.

 

[Travis]

The powerhead will be beneficial long-term but you won't need it probably until you start adding corals. To dave's point, if you think about it, investing in a 29-35 gallon tank wouldn't cost much more and would give you significantly more margin for error. We're here for you either way but it has to be said.

 

[pmzebo]

The powerhead will be beneficial long-term but you won't need it probably until you start adding corals. To dave's point, if you think about it, investing in a 29-35 gallon tank wouldn't cost much more and would give you significantly more margin for error. We're here for you either way but it has to be said.

Thanks Travis - I was gifted the tank for Christmas and know the additional difficulty but like that there are smaller investments along the way. (less sand, less live rock, less salt, less lighting, only one fish at a time, less corals to die) All given that it is easier to screw it all up more quickly... But I guess I need to start somewhere and this is my way into the hobby. I love scuba diving and the reef environment, can't wait to someday have my own little example of it.

What exactly does the powerhead benefit? I will get one for the initial setup if it is going to help me.

 

[Travis]

The powerhead will add flow for corals once you add them. Also, if the filtration system were to fail (to Dave's point above) you could still have some circulation and surface exchange.

Honestly, until we're talking about corals (and which ones) you don't need it.

 

[DaveK]

Thanks Travis - I was gifted the tank for Christmas and know the additional difficulty but like that there are smaller investments along the way. (less sand, less live rock, less salt, less lighting, only one fish at a time, less corals to die) All given that it is easier to screw it all up more quickly... But I guess I need to start somewhere and this is my way into the hobby. I love scuba diving and the reef environment, can't wait to someday have my own little example of it.

What exactly does the powerhead benefit? I will get one for the initial setup if it is going to help me.

One thing to keep in mind. It only takes a few losses at $30 to $50 or more to pay for that larger system.

 

[blazend]

So i actually have a fluval edge 6 gallon that i run saltwater at my office. If you would like some good ideas let me know.

Here is something i have figured out with this tank though. You need 1 mini powerhead literally buy the hydor korilla 240 gph (its small and works great for the edge).

Find 1 small fish you want and stick with it. If you can keep 1 fish alive while doing water changes with this tank then you are doing well. As soon as i added a second fish they seemed to only make it a month before i lost all the fish.

I did mine as a 3 shrimp 1 fish setup. I removed the lights and did 1 spot light 10K bulb. I was able to keep zoas,mushrooms and green star polyps.

If you have any questions feel free to ask i ran this tank for 7 months at my office.

 

[blazend]

BTW out of my 4 tanks this was by far the hardest for maintenance and also keeping things alive (stable) If you don't do water changes slowly using a 70-80 gph pump and small hosing to add water slowly instead of pouring you will kill all livestock.

 

[pmzebo]

BTW out of my 4 tanks this was by far the hardest for maintenance and also keeping things alive (stable) If you don't do water changes slowly using a 70-80 gph pump and small hosing to add water slowly instead of pouring you will kill all livestock.

The tank is going ok so far, I have a Rock anemone, peppermint shrimp, 6 hermit crabs, and a large xenia colony probably at least 10 stalks and 100 polyps. I am running (2) Marine Innovations 14000k 8W LEDs on the tank. I have the Koralina 240 in this tank.

I do a 1 Gallon Change every week and have not been killing my livestock, maybe the slower change would be better for them.

I lost my clown after week one so waited a few weeks and just have a black/white striped damsel.

I have 5 lbs live sand and about 7lbs live rock. The live rock had many many hitch-hikers, I probably have 10 brittle stars in the tank and some bristle worms that are getting pretty large.

---- Now we get to my problem. Algae. In fact the algae is starting to agitate my rock nem so i think tonight when he balls up to sleep i will try to pull some of that off the rock. Any Ideas for getting rid of my algae problem?

 

[pmzebo]

So i actually have a fluval edge 6 gallon that i run saltwater at my office. If you would like some good ideas let me know.

Here is something i have figured out with this tank though. You need 1 mini powerhead literally buy the hydor korilla 240 gph (its small and works great for the edge).

Find 1 small fish you want and stick with it. If you can keep 1 fish alive while doing water changes with this tank then you are doing well. As soon as i added a second fish they seemed to only make it a month before i lost all the fish.

I did mine as a 3 shrimp 1 fish setup. I removed the lights and did 1 spot light 10K bulb. I was able to keep zoas,mushrooms and green star polyps.

If you have any questions feel free to ask i ran this tank for 7 months at my office.

I will send a current picture when I get home, to show my algae problem.

 

[blazend]

I had red algae break out in mine (cyano). This is when i used a bubbler instead of a powerhead. I fixed this by adding the hydor 240. It still seems to happen on the back side where the heater sites and on some of the ground area of the tank.

Every 3rd water change i take a razor blade and scrape the bottom of the tank and around the heater. Then suck up the cyano. Its not fun but it works and looks amazing when im done.

I was able to keep 3 fish total in it for 1 month. (Firefish, baby clown fish and tail fin goby)

Because of the bio load i was doing 50% water changes which worked fine till my 5th water change the water temp was to cold and i wiped everyone out but my clownfish. I then ran it with 1 clownfish till now.

I would stick with the 1 fish and 1 gallon water changes. I have turned mine into a shrimp heavon with some frags.

I also switched out my light for a 20watt 10k spot light. It does great covering the whole tank. I would like to add blue lighting soon using rope lights or something along those lines.

Now to answer your question. Can you test the tank for phosphate? I would think if you can control your phosphate you might get rid of algae the right way.

 

[blazend]

This was after a scrapping the glass looks clean. But this was before i added the goby and clown. Also no frags in it at this point.