Getting back into reefs after 6 years. Need to refresh

[lbv]

Good Morning Everyone!

It has been roughly 6 years to date since I have owned a reef tank and decided to get back into it. Right now I plan on doing a Pico Reef since all I have ever owned were Nano/Picos. However, it seems a lot has changed since then, mainly the lighting!

The Planned Tank:
5.1 Gallon Ecoexotic cube (roughly 10 x 10 x 12)

Live Rock: ~7.5 lbs (shooting for 1.25 - 1.5 lbs per gallon)

Corals: Mainly LPS, possible a few SPS depending on the lights. Only have had reefs with LPS

Fish: 1 Occelaris OR 1 Firefish OR 1 orange spotted goby. Could possibly 2 fit in without stressing too much?

Since I am out of it for so long I have a few concerns.

Question: Lighting
As of right now I have the EcoPico LED arm with 6 - 12K and 3 - 453nm royal blue LEDs which is about 9 Watts total output. Would this suffice for the above corals?

Question: Lighting 2
I am currently looking at the AquaIllumination Prime HD LED light as a possible upgrade for this tank. Would this be overkill? My main concern is cooking the coral. If this is possible, how easy is it to setup? The main reason I am looking at it is due to the future upgrade to a larger tank (10 gallon - 20 gallon H) as well as being able to control the whole thing from an app!

Question: Filter or just power head?
As the live rock is the main natural filtration in the tank, should a HOB media filter be used or would a power head for movement just suffice? The current filter that comes with the tank is a piece of crap. Due to the size of the tank I am worried about creating a sandstorm.

Thanks in advance!

 

[kevin21]

I can't help you with the lighting for a 5g but as for filtration, your live rock will suffice and have a small nano power head in there for flow. I suggest doing weekly water changes of approx 1.5g. This should keep everything nice and replenished especially when you have coral. Very easy to maintain. I do suggest having an auto-top off system set up for a system this small. Salinity swings can be deadly in such a small nano. Tunze makes a great ATO for nanos. I have one on my 28g.

 

[lbv]

Ok so I have been doing a lot of research and probably will just go the way of a nano Power Head.

However, I am seriously flirting with the idea of an AI Prime HD. Main reason is its extremely controllable and I plan on upgrading in the next year or two to a 20 gallon. If i run this thing low around 40%, would it still be overkill on this 5 gallon?

Kind of using the philosophy of "buy once, cry once" for justification.

Thank You!

 

[kevin21]

I am not familiar with those lights or the strength but I can tell you that I run a kessil a-150 on my 28g nano and it is perfect for my mixed reef. I believe the a 160 came out with the option where it can be controlled. Others will definitely chime in to help with lighting. I do love my Kessil though.