Questions about tank

[Chummyy]

Hello! I am new and I have a few questions about my new tank. It's an imagitarium 6.2 gallon aquarium. Right now it has live sand, water, and 2 small pieces of live rock. I ordered a heater off of Amazon and it will arrive on Friday. It has a weak pump and I'm wondering what pump would be good for such a small tank? 

What light should I buy if I decide to buy coral?

What are some good tips or tricks for it?

Can I put the heater in the filtration compartment? 

 

Thank you!

 

[Clown79]

Hello

 

You may need a bit more liverock in the tank. That's your biological filter.

 

You will need to measure the pump to upgrade it but good pumps are Sicce and eheim and they both make small pumps.

 

Maxijet are decent but not small in dimension.

Another option is going on Amazon and getting a pump.

 

For lighting it will depend on budget and stocking options. Here is a list of lighting options.

 

I have 3 on the list and I like all 3.

 

Par38 (Abi, rapidled, coralcompulsion)- use Abi on 5.5g

Aquamaxx nemolight - use on 10g

Current orbit

Chinese led box

Ai Prime - use on 25g

Nanobox

Kessil 

[seabass]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com.

 

Get a small powerhead for the display (you can likely leave the return pump as is).  Maybe like a Koralia Nano 240.

 

Yeah, a heater should fit in the back chambers.  But don't put it in the same chamber as the return pump (as the water level changes in that chamber).

[Subsea]

On 1/31/2018 at 1:24 PM, Clown79 said:

Hello

 

You may need a bit more liverock in the tank. That's your biological filter.

 

You will need to measure the pump to upgrade it but good pumps are Sicce and eheim and they both make small pumps.

 

Maxijet are decent but not small in dimension.

Another option is going on Amazon and getting a pump.

 

For lighting it will depend on budget and stocking options. Here is a list of lighting options.

 

I have 3 on the list and I like all 3.

 

Par38 (Abi, rapidled, coralcompulsion)- use Abi on 5.5g

Aquamaxx nemolight - use on 10g

Current orbit

Chinese led box

Ai Prime - use on 25g

Nanobox

Kessil 

Clown has outlined good lighting options as did Seabass on pumps.

 

While this may be a beginners forum, I think beginners can research just as us “old schoolers” need to research.  In any case, I think biofiltration is very important.  For nitrification, I know that substrate is the most efficient surface for bacteria colonization:  efficiency as defined by surface area per pound and $ per pound.  Considering that bacteria will colonize on anything, I follow my dollars.

 

@Chummyy

The rock you have will seed bacteria and coralline to your  tank.  The substrate will be the major component in your biological filter.  With seeded bacteria in your tank, you should feed nutrients to your tank.  Some use ammonia for a fishless start up.  What do you want in your tank for a theme?  Peaceful community, pivital species, macro lagoon.  Easy to care for and inexpensive to stock.

The last description is me.  I want my tanks to be easy to maintain.  Depending on the livestock, determines the amount of maintenance.  Softies in a macro lagoon are the easiest.  After 45 years of reef keeping, I am a “Laissez Faire” reefkeeper.

[Subsea]

When you consider aquascaping, rock provides structure for fish & things to hide.  If fish and shrimps do not have a safe hiding place, the behavior of these inhabitants can become neurotic.   For economies sake, dense dry rock can be used for structure and placement of  corals in the vertical plane.

 

For now, with your tank cycle, I would add nothing else, with the possible exception of a fish.  It would be best to wait until nitrogen bacteria are established.  I have mature reef tanks that I dose ammonia twice a day.