Fluval Edge 6 gallon

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by Ready4Reef

I have the same aquarium. Got it about a month or two ago. I liked the cool modern look as well. I'm new to reefing and I'm learning with my 34 gallon RedSea Max (5 months now). Currently I only have some FW live plants and a Betta in the Fluval. Figured that was easy enough.

I'd be interested in seeing how this would work as a SW tank. My first question was what about skimming, there's no portein skimmer with the tank and I thought that was integral part of maintaining SW tanks?

Good luck, will be watching and learning.

I like your place. I was taking a gander at the furniture behind the tank...what I can see of it anyway. Is that mid-cemtury modern decor? That's my other hobby. I'm a mid-century modern whore

[l3fty999]

Originally Posted by Cloudburst2000

Well, when I upgrade the lighting, I'm thinking of putting a few small pieces of coral (only after a lighting upgrade though) and possibly a shrimp and a porcelian crab. I don't have any crabs but hermits in my main tank because I'm worried about them and my fish. But since I won't get fish for this one, I'm thinking it might be a good place for something like a crab. I'm open to other suggestions also. Any cool smaller animals that you don't have the guts to put in a larger aquarium. The one thing I won't consider is a mantis shrimp. I'd be too worried that it would break the glass.

And I wouldn't really give away my BennyBoy (the cat AKA Benson). Even though he's often a pest and doesn't realize that he hasn't been a kitten for two years, he's my baby.

I've heard that mantis shrimp that can actually break glass are not that common, and the few species that can only would do so if teased a lot. You would do well to research on them in my opinion. I've considered this myself and I'm watching my LFS for an appropriate specimen.

Aaron

[kwijobo]

Take a look at the below from another forum but they were able to direct replace the halogens for MR11 LED's which you can get at home depot.

My 6 Gallon Fluval Edge - Office Tank - Nano-Reef.com Forums

[kwijobo]

Take a look at the below they were able to direct replace the halogens with MR11 LEDs which you can get at Home Depot.

My 6 Gallon Fluval Edge - Office Tank - Nano-Reef.com Forums

[Ready4Reef]

Originally Posted by Cloudburst2000

Is that mid-cemtury modern decor? That's my other hobby. I'm a mid-century modern whore

Not sure if it is considered mid-century modern or not. The couch is pretty old though, it is by American Leather. I tend to like a more modern look. Thanks!;-)

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by Ready4Reef

Not sure if it is considered mid-century modern or not. The couch is pretty old though, it is by American Leather. I tend to like a more modern look. Thanks!;-)

Me too. I'm a sucker for Eames, Saarinen, etc designs. Most of their stuff goes perfectly with newer modern designs That's one of the reasons I like the Fluval Edge so much. It totally fits into the modern decor...not many aquarium designs do.

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by kwijobo

Take a look at the below from another forum but they were able to direct replace the halogens for MR11 LED's which you can get at home depot.

My 6 Gallon Fluval Edge - Office Tank - Nano-Reef.com Forums

Yeah, I've been checking that thread out too. I like the one guys idea about replacing the two blubs with MR11 LED lights and then attaching extra strip lights to it using zip ties. He showed a pic of where he attached strip lights with the zip ties. An extremely simple fix that I never even thought of. I think he also attached some moonlights that way.

[johnc43113]

Originally Posted by Cloudburst2000

I had thought about that, but how hot do those lights get? That's the problems with the halogens. They heat the water up too much besides not being very bright and having a spotlight effect. That's why I was thinking about LEDs since they put out so much less heat. I guess that I can always cut a hole in the back of the canopy and put in a fan to help with heat issues if need be.

Here is my fluval edge. I never had heat issues with these bulbs. It's a little different now, I made a new hood.

Anyways, here's what I did. I used (2) 10w coralife 50/50 bulbs.





Before I fitted the hood

[JNicho]

I love those tanks...very nearly set up one in my office...in the end I just used a 10G I had collecting dust...can't beat the look of those though if you like more modern/minimalist design...keep up the good work guys!

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by johnc43113

Here is my fluval edge. I never had heat issues with these bulbs. It's a little different now, I made a new hood.

Anyways, here's what I did. I used (2) 10w coralife 50/50 bulbs.





Before I fitted the hood

Can you show some pics of how you secured the lights in the hood? Did you take out the swing are assembly? And you said you made a new hood. How does it differ from the one that came with the Edge?

[djustice]

I've had one up for about 6 weeks. I'm in mod mode, though. The filter is a standard AquaClear20. Since I'm doing away with the wimpy halogen lights, I removed the light bar and cut away the supports in the corners. Now an AquaClear30 fits nicely. Flow is turned down to the lowest setting. Filtration is handled by tribase pelletized carbon and a 1/2 kit of ChemiPure Elite. I have a 6 gallon Marineland Eclipse that has been running this filtration combination for over 2 years, with 10% water changes once a month or so. The lighting will be replaced by 6 3W LEDs with optics and heat sinks. 4 will be white 10000k, 2 will be 460nm actinics. I'm currently using a Coralife twin 9w setup perched on the top with a single CurrentUSA PowerBrite strip until the LEDs get here. I've also toyed with the idea of 4 9w CFLs like the ones in the Coralife unit. I'll probably build both setups and see which one I like the best. Otherwise, a pretty neat little tank. 3in of CaribSea Live Sand and 10 lbs of live rock were transferred from my other tanks. Have a Yellowhead Jawfish, a small maroon clownfish, a brittle star, a skunk shrimp, and several soft corals, mushrooms, etc.

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by djustice

I've had one up for about 6 weeks. I'm in mod mode, though. The filter is a standard AquaClear20. Since I'm doing away with the wimpy halogen lights, I removed the light bar and cut away the supports in the corners. Now an AquaClear30 fits nicely. Flow is turned down to the lowest setting. Filtration is handled by tribase pelletized carbon and a 1/2 kit of ChemiPure Elite. I have a 6 gallon Marineland Eclipse that has been running this filtration combination for over 2 years, with 10% water changes once a month or so. The lighting will be replaced by 6 3W LEDs with optics and heat sinks. 4 will be white 10000k, 2 will be 460nm actinics. I'm currently using a Coralife twin 9w setup perched on the top with a single CurrentUSA PowerBrite strip until the LEDs get here. I've also toyed with the idea of 4 9w CFLs like the ones in the Coralife unit. I'll probably build both setups and see which one I like the best. Otherwise, a pretty neat little tank. 3in of CaribSea Live Sand and 10 lbs of live rock were transferred from my other tanks. Have a Yellowhead Jawfish, a small maroon clownfish, a brittle star, a skunk shrimp, and several soft corals, mushrooms, etc.

I'd like to see a pic of your light set-ups when you get them finished. My tank is still cycling so I haven't been too worried about the lighting at the moment. Been putting more time into my main tank. I'll concentrate more on the Edge when it is finished cycling.

And two fish in that thing is really over-stocking that tank. One fish is pushing it, IMHO. And aren't maroon clowns rated as needing, at least, 30 gallons? Are they only in there short term?

[djustice]

That's the beauty of the filtration systems I use. The water never goes out of spec. I monitor every other day on my pico and this new nano. The tribase pelletized carbon is for housing bacteria more than anything else. The ChemiPure elite is well capable of handling any pollutants. Lots of live rock that is very porous, taken from a tank that has been up for over 5 years. The larger AquaPod30 gives me a much larger filter bed. I have a bag of live rock rubble, topped by a bag of tribase carbon, topped by the ChemiPure 1/2 kit.

The maroon clown is very small, (only 3/4 inch long). He'll take up residence in another tank soon. They're very hardy, but I don't abuse my fish with bad water quality. I have a maroon clown that is 9 years old and almost the size of my hand.

I have been keeping salt since 1972, way before all of the newer technologies like salt mix and live rock filtration. I also have a degree in Marine Ecology with a minor in Conservation Biology, so my approach to experimentation is more structured, very well researched, and well documented.

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by djustice

That's the beauty of the filtration systems I use. The water never goes out of spec. I monitor every other day on my pico and this new nano. The tribase pelletized carbon is for housing bacteria more than anything else. The ChemiPure elite is well capable of handling any pollutants. Lots of live rock that is very porous, taken from a tank that has been up for over 5 years. The larger AquaPod30 gives me a much larger filter bed. I have a bag of live rock rubble, topped by a bag of tribase carbon, topped by the ChemiPure 1/2 kit.

The maroon clown is very small, (only 3/4 inch long). He'll take up residence in another tank soon. They're very hardy, but I don't abuse my fish with bad water quality. I have a maroon clown that is 9 years old and almost the size of my hand.

I have been keeping salt since 1972, way before all of the newer technologies like salt mix and live rock filtration. I also have a degree in Marine Ecology with a minor in Conservation Biology, so my approach to experimentation is more structured, very well researched, and well documented.

Okay, just checking. Since you mentioned, you had other tanks I kinda figured you were using it as a short-term holding tank, but I had to check. I've seen people keep fish that were way too big in small tanks. It's often not so much an issue of water quality with some fish as it is that they don't have adequate swimming space to lead a healthy, happy life. Even I might occassionally use my tank as a temporary holding cell for fish...as long as they won't eat the sexy shrimp I plan on getting

[djustice]

Not a problem. I found a potential mod source today at Home Depot. They have a CFL flood light for $37.00 that has a 27 watt 6500k bulb in it. Lights of America 27 Watt Flood Light - 9027 at The Home Depot. Have it apart, and am trial fitting it in the hood. Comes with a reflector that fits nicely, and a plastic diffuser that should surrender to the Dremel tomorrow to fit it in. Have to do some wiring to move the socket from the circuit board, but I think it's very doable. Might add a fan if the heat is too much. Add a couple of blue LED strips from the local computer store, and there might be another solution. That should be enough light to do some hard corals and a clam maybe. I'll post the source of my LED test parts if folks are interested.