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Six Gallon New Setup


ezcompany

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:huh:

Hello everyone, I'm new to the saltwater world. (freshwater wise I have a 75 gallon tank with an Asian Arowana back home)

Yesterday I bought a 6 gallon eclipse tank, because my girlfriend bought me a 1 gallon tank with live rocks, peppermint shrimp, a fiddler crab, and a anemone fish for my birthday. As all of you may already know, the fish is dead, which saddened her greatly, I didn't know whether to sympathize with her or call her stupid, but that's okay.

ANyways, to save the rest of the specimens, I purchased the 6 gallon. I have crushed coral in there, cuz the manager only sold the live sand by 25 lbs minimum. I guess I'm currently "cycling" the water right now (it's been a day now). I managed to kill the shrimp by plopping him in the water thinking I was saving him...the crab is doing well though. (the manager told me that both are hardy creatures and good for cycling the tank, what bs)

My heater is a 25 watt heater which I think is adequate, and set at 72 F. (which I will raise to 78 tonight)

so basically, my tank has 1 small crab, crushed coral, and around a pound of live rock. the filter is two stage i 3 stages i believe, one cartridge with spongy crap and carbon and one bio wheel. THe lighting is one flourecsent light, nothing special.

I took out the shrimp already, but then i realized it'd have been better if i left it in there to produce ammonia for the whole cycle bit.

Anyways

 

What step should I take next? Originally I was interested in a anemone clown fish set up, then I found out how difficult anemones are to keep. So i was thinking more on the lines of soft coral/s and a tomato clown. I was thinking of adding more live rocks today. Should I also go ahead and add a Damsel soon? I don't have a tester/kit to measure nitrite and stuff so I guess ill have to purchase one of those.

 

Thank you all in advance and I look forward to having a great nano along with you guys!

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First off dont add anything until the cycle is complete. You should buy a test kit as soon as you can and begin to test the water for the ammonia spike that will occur. You should also buy a hydrometer so you can check salinty and S.G. (a refractometer being best but more $$.) You should add more live rock, most people go for 1lb to 1.5lbs per gallon, since you already have a crab in there you should buy cured rock from a lfs as to make the cycle as small as possible. I think a tomato clown will be to large for a 6g. I would also take the bio wheel off of the filter once you get enough live rock in there. You would also most likely have to upgrade your lighting in order to corals. The 25 watt heater should be ok provided that you dont keep the room that the tank is in alot cooler than the tank.(like keeping the room more than 10 to 15 degrees below the temp of the tank).Good luck with the tank and remember to take it slow, the tank needs to mature.

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why would i take off the bio wheel? doesn't beneficial bacteria grow there too? i was told to leave it and never change it...

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why would i take off the bio wheel? doesn't beneficial bacteria grow there too? i was told to leave it and never change it...

 

 

You will want to take the bio wheel off because it will cause a build up of nitrates. Nitrates are bad for a salt water tank. The bio wheel in the 6 gallon eclipse is marketed for fresh water not for salt. That's why you will want to get rid of it.

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brent-konieczny

Even more reason to take off the bio-wheel is because your tank will rely on just that for ammonification/nitrification. Anything goes wrong with it and BOOM toxic spike. With the wheel removed the live rock can properly do its job and then some. You will only need water movement.

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so when should i remove the bio wheel? as soon as possible?

also, i added the live rocks as soon as i put in the new water, does that mean most of the stuff died on the rock? bubble stone for water movement?

argh...why did the store manager say that the bio wheel is a must then? he's the owner of a pretty reputable store, even sells some sharks and maintains larger reef systems...

and i visited this really ghetto pet store, i'm guessing i shouldn't buy live rock from there as it would be low quality...they didn't even know what "cured" rock meant, and they said their live rocks are from the Atlantic.

again, thank you to everyone for helping me out :)

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I agree with getting rid of it and the sooner the better IMO (no need for it and you want the LR to cycle without it). I rarey listen to my LFS until I really get to know them--remember they are in business to sell you stuff.

 

Just take it VERY slow and read all you can (I did much of my research right here on this site). Good luck man!

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coffeejunkee09

six gallons is too small for any clownfish.

 

check out Igreen's fish guide, and airstones will cover your hood with salt.

 

take the cartrige out of the Bio-wheel, and use the filter for aeration and movement.

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six gallons is too small for any clownfish.

 

check out Igreen's fish guide, and airstones will cover your hood with salt.

 

take the cartrige out of the Bio-wheel, and use the filter for aeration and movement.

 

i think one clown fish that doesn't exceed 1.5 inches is fine, especially with 10lbs of live rock i'm gonna be putting in there :)

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One Eyed Bunny

Most clownfish that I can think of are all rated for a minimal of 10gal. and some 15gal. So I'd say a clownfish in a 6gal. is a no go. Small blennies or gobies would be nice additions however. They've got pretty awesome personalities when left to their own devices or when they're use to living in a tank.

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ok, i've just got 10 lbs of live rock from the marshall islands for my eclipse. now its PACKED. i've paid good money for the rocks, (close to a hundred from premium aquatics) and removing some feels like an awful waste! WHAT TO DOOOOOO :tears:

 

also, i'm thinking some of the live rocks are from fiji...whats the main diff between fiji and marshall LR that you can tell off the bat???

 

and lastly,,,can anyone give me a list of recommended fish for a 6 gallon...

I love you guys to death, thanks!

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Fishy-Business

10 Lbs of live rock is a lot for a 6 gallon. I think I have about 8 total in my NC6 (about 7+ lbs. in the tank and 3/4 of a lbs. in the 2nd chamber). Maybe you can place some in your filter? I would really try to restack it or try to get as much to fit in there as you can. I feel your pain!

 

I would probably only look at adding just 1 or perhaps 2 small fish total, along with your cleanup crew. I'd look around the posts and see what others are placing in their 6 gallon tanks with success. I would say you could have 2 fish maximum. I would add 1 and then check your levels over a couple weeks to see if your tank can handle another.

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i'm just gonna add one fish later on, nothing over an inch.

ok, question time. i had what i think was a feather duster on the live rock, now its gone, and i saw my fiddler crab scurry over it.

 

DO FIDDLER CRABS EAT ALL LIFE? that little bastard...i don't think that feather duster could hide...is the fiddler worth to keep? or should i give it to the LFS and get a scarlet hermit crab???

:angry:

 

and ummm...my stupid heater is set at 77F, u know how the red light turns on? well, its on, even when the water is reaching mid 80s right now....is the light on the heater on all the time? i have a Visi-Therm Deluxe 25 W from Marineland.

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Fishy-Business

If your heater is on and you have it physically set to a temperature the tank is now above, I'd pull it out and take it back/exchange it or buy another one.

 

I have a Hydor Theo 50 watt in my NC6 set at around 78 and if I see 79 on the thermometer, my light is not on. Runaway heaters are bad news.

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the heater was set on 77, and when i checked the temperature it was on 86. now thats messed up, i'm glad i didn't have fish to boil. i removed the heater and the temperature has dropped to 82. gonna yell at my LFS tomorrow.

 

so my tank now has 10 lb of Marshall and Fiji mix LR, today i added a mini-jet MN 606 at the upper left of tank! works great! also added: 1 Astrea snail, 5 Scarlet Hermit (those things are so cute), also bought a filter sponge that says its 100% reusable, as in you can clean it with running water! though i just plan to get new ones. anyways, thats my update. water testing will begin very soon!

:lol:

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Can we get a FTS I havnt ordered the live sand for my tank yet. Im trying to keep my wife as into this tank as I can :D . Im interested to see how the pink sand looks and how the 10lbs of rock look in your tank. Good luck with th heater.

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sure thing, i just need a damn cable to connect my digi cam to it though :angry:

and i have no idea why they call it fiji pink....its white! it was looking cramped before, but i did a few arrangements to it, so its not AS cramped, though I still think it would look much better if i removed about a pound of LR. Just having the most difficult time choosing the ugly pieces, cuz i personally like all of them :huh:

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Okay thanks for clearing that up I had wondered about that name since id never seen pink sand in a setup. On a side note Arrowana's are one of the best looking FW fish. Congrats

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yes, that baby (asian arowana) is around 20 inches big now and only munches on live fish...go figure...

 

ok so this morning i wake up, and find little pieces of scarlett hermit crab everywhere...i'm blaming it on my fiddler crab cuz he's one strong mofo. now i placed him in a cup so i can give him to my lfs whenever i get the chance. i guess all crabs aren't compatible with each other. too bad no one knew...

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how should i place my MN 606 PH? currently its at the upper left back of the tank facing me, so it shoots water across the face and gets dispersed. I have it set at the minimal setting..whats the rule of thumb for flow? i'm assuming i don't want dead spots in my tank as I have a lot of LR for the 6 gallon eclipse (10 lbs) I will try to post pics!

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Alright people time for some pics!

Here's a main shot of my tank

 

IMG_2355.jpg

 

Here's what I can't identify, is it a tubeworm?

 

IMG_2352.jpg

 

Another one

 

IMG_2371.jpg

 

Is my powerhead positioned properly?

 

IMG_2357.jpg

 

Why is this rock so funky looking? Looks like limestone.

 

IMG_2359.jpg

 

And lastly, my nano has a mix of live rocks. Are they mainly Marshall Island or Fiji? I know its a mix of the two, but I can't tell which one is which. I especially like the dark one next to the orange one on the top middle

 

IMG_2377.jpg

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Here's what I can't identify, is it a tubeworm?

 

Definatly a tubeworm, on both counts.

 

Is my powerhead positioned properly?

 

If you are happy with the current pattern and nobody in the tank seems to mind, you have it positioned properly.

 

Why is this rock so funky looking? Looks like limestone.

 

It is limestone. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is what corals and coralline alge lay down. What you see on this rock is dead crustose coralline algae. Your coralline will put down a thin layer of CaCO3 under themselves, and if you give it time, it could make all of your rock look smooth like that.

 

Are they mainly Marshall Island or Fiji?

 

I can't say much about that one. I have rock from both places, but I don't have enough experience to differentiate between the two kinds.

 

All in all, the tank looks good.

 

I don't know if you already have, but I would ditch the fiddler. Crabs are omnivores and some prefer meat to algae. If you don't want to keep you clean up crew alive, I would sell the fiddler back to the LFS and stick to smaller hermits.

 

Some people forego crabs all together and rely on snails, but I am not one fo those people. Until I start running into problems with my dwarf bluelegs I am going to leave them in my 5.5g.

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