F1SHYS 6g Fluval Edge Reef

[F1SHY]

Hello Reef Central!

Other than a simple 10g freshwater tank, I am new to this hobby. Due to my tight budget, I saw the have chosen a 6g edge as my first tank due to its good appearance as well as its included lighting and filtration, at a decent price.

My tank has been running for 4 days now.

Here is what I have so far

~6 gallon black fluval edge
~Viaaqua 50w Heater
~Stock ac20 with carbon, floss, and ceramic rings
~Caribsea live sand
~3 lbs live rock
~Stock 3w led lighting

Current Water Conditions:
Nitrate: 5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm

I have countless questions I could ask, but the main ones are:

~Am I using the correct media in my filter?
~What is the cheapest way I can upgrade my lighting to support coral?
~Starting with live rock and live sand, how long should it take to cycle?
~How can I safely add a small clown as soon as possible?~How can i monitor the progress of my cycle?

This is a project I have been hoping to begin for 3 years, and I want to do it right.

Thanks for the help,
F1SHY

 

[Bennett67]

I've had mine running for 3 weeks and it's still going thru a mini cycle your best bet it to sell it and get a bigger tank especuLl if your new smaller tanks are a big challenge and the smallest thing could throw it off

 

[Psittac]

I have two wavepoint led 50/50, one 8w the other 16w and they put out a load of light in a small tank, and they're rather cheap, got them at lfs for less then amazon.

Doing a reef in a fluval edge, or anything in a fluval edge is a pain. I just took down my edge planted tank because I couldn't work in it. When I had my edge as a fish and live rock tank it was rather simple. Honestly I wouldn't try a reef in it not to mention your completely new to saltwater.

I have done saltwater tanks before and every time I tried to put coral it was a mistake. I finally did a pico with a refugium and it's easy peasy. Algae is the biggest problem I find.

oh and I think carbon is a bad idea in saltwater tanks, can't remember really.

 

[F1SHY]

Thanks for the advice Psittac. I plan on starting with fowlr for a while. What fish did you keep in your edge?

 

[Psittac]

Thanks for the advice Psittac. I plan on starting with fowlr for a while. What fish did you keep in your edge?

Here is a video of it, just a pistol shrimp and watchman goby. I set up a 29g for them because I felt bad for them being in a tank that was to small.

There are smaller gobies and shrimp if thats your route

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHn88zT4woA

 

[Psittac]

also having some kind of macro algae in the system makes it WAY easier to keep. Just keep in mind that plants and soft corals don't mix, the softs will grow onto the macro and eventually kill of the soft corals. Not sure about lps and sps

 

[F1SHY]

also having some kind of macro algae in the system makes it WAY easier to keep. Just keep in mind that plants and soft corals don't mix, the softs will grow onto the macro and eventually kill of the soft corals. Not sure about lps and sps

Could I keep the macro in a refugium? Perhaps in the back of an AC hob? Nice edge!