Fluval Edge

Thats one giant cleaner shrimp!

nice work there sir

thank you. i first had a lot of problems with this tank but after a lot of modifications, it is stable.

If you have this tank stable then you're an absolute genius! Well done, awesome setup and great looking tank.

I am a newbie to the hobby and this Fluval Edge tank is actually first tank I've ever had. I did a lot of research and asking around, and found about the problems (especially the ones pertaining to this tank which seemed to be lighting and pH instability). My first try I managed to destroy some Green Star Polyps, Colt Coral, and a red Montipora Cap. A cleaner shrimp was also a casualty, and a clownfish although the clownfish died of ich.

After a 100% change, I tested the water for a month and what I found out was that the pH would swing wildly and so would the salinity and temperature. It was empty for a month because of the ich.

What I did to fix the pH instability is I aimed the powerhead to where the water from the filter came out to create increased surface agitation. I also sealed a part of the opening with acrylic that is easily removable to reduce evaporation and to prevent my lighting from heating up the water. This fixed the swinging water parameters.

After that, I started "re-adding" the corals (GSP, Zoanthids, torch, kenya tree, etc). After a month, they were thriving and I even had to frag the GSP. So I tried adding another red montipora cap. which resulted in tissue necrosis a week after. After more research, I learned that SPS cannot do well under less than intense lighting. The problem wasn't with the lighting as the LEDs are super bright, but it was the spotlight effect that the hood of the Fluval Edge created. So, I went to Home Depot and made myself a new acrylic hood. I sanded it down to get a diffusion in the lights and some electrical tape for style (if you can see in the picture). Lo and behold, another month later, all my corals and inhabitants are thriving.

The xenia is the only coral I had from the beginning that survived the horrible ideals of my mistakes.

You're a newbie and have made this work.....incredible. This gives me confidence. I'm awaiting the release of the Juwel Vio 40, so slightly bigger tank but at least now I know it can be done smaller!

wow, very nice. i have one that im scared to make salt, so now it sits with fresh

but after seeing this now i have the comfidince

By no means was it easy, a lot of money and time was "wasted" on mistakes but I hear that comes with the hobby so...but after a lot of effort, it's definitely worth it.

Isnt 2 Clowns too many for a 6g?

nice tank got a freshwater 1 was going 2 convert it but 2 scared

I have an edge as well and my ph swings like crazy. After the lights have been on for a while the ph is about 8.6 after lights off its 8.3. I would like to get a better idea of what of surface agitation. I have an mp10. It is pointed at the return it basically makes ripples, pushes water upward but water doesn't splash around. How would you describe your surface agitation now that you have stabilized your ph?

Hi, I use a Hydor Koralia Nano on the side of my tank pointed upwards where it meets the flow of the water coming out from the filter. It creates violent ripples on the top similar to a river flow I suppose. However, this is not the only thing that stabilized the pH. I covered the aperture with a piece of acrylic (easily removable) a few cm above the water brim. This prevented the lights from heating up the water and reducing evaporation which helps the tank be more stable I suppose. I don't know anything much about the water chemistry, but if there is one thing I learned in science class is that salt makes the water more alkaline, raising the pH. As water evaporates from the heat, the salinity increases (or I should say the water content decreases) and makes the water more alkaline. Being able to control the temperature at the aperture and reducing evaporation helps, it's my hypothesis anyways because the lighting is so close to the water brim.

update: i have moved the ocellaris out, returned him back to the store. I accidently squished my xenia and it subsequently died and replaced it with a very small sebae anemone (didn't do proper research here, but it has been doing good for a week so far).

eye candy!

lovely aquascaping

another update: i am starting to feel the repercussions of such a small tank! we hit a heatwave recently and ambient temperatures rose to nearly a 100 degrees! even with the A/C on, temps hit in the mid 80's. casualty was the torch coral and green montipora cap and a hermit crab.