Your Favorite 6 Gallon

[Kasdyn Rafie]

Hello everyone, my name is Kasdyn and I live in Utah. Let's get started. I'm new to fish tanks and I've never had a freshwater tank or a saltwater tank but I moved to Provo and made a friend who has been into reef keeping for a while and he has been helping me out. I fell in love with these tanks after seeing some on Instagram and YouTube and I had to have one.



After searching for a nice nano aquarium for quiet some time, I finally found one. It was a Fluval Edge. The ad stated that the tank was left in the home when the new owner had moved in. The new owner was asking $45 which I found to be very manageable. I showed up, and to my surprise, this tank was brand spanking new, still had everything in the packaging! I asked him of he would accept $30 and he said yes, so I threw it in the car and I was off.

While scrolling ads online, I saw some free Red Sea coral pro salt, and while I was there I talked him into giving me a free jug so I could grab some RODI water from the local fish store. I went by Rusty's Reef in Orem and all I can say is wow, absolutely great guy and he had a beautiful shop filled with some beautiful fish and coral.

So after a long day of driving and window shopping, I finally made it home. I took the tank out of the box and set it up so I could water test it. Everything went very well and I am very excited to get some Live Rock and Live Sand into this tank and start cycling.

I was very lucky because my friend had a pump lying around and offered to let me use it. It is an EcoTech wireless MP10 quiet drive. I am excited to see it working in the tank! Stay Tuned!!

 

[Shep]

Looks like you are off to a good start, cant wait to see it get stocked!!

 

[Hunt3r]

I had the same tank for a year. I loved how it looks so modern and clean. What light are you going to get?

my tank before i upgraded. My light is an ai prime. Back panel of the hood was cut.

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

I had the same tank for a year. I loved how it looks so modern and clean. What light are you going to get?

my tank before i upgraded. My light is an ai prime. Back panel of the hood was cut.

Well this is my first fish tank, so I am unsure on what lights to use. My friend said that this light is like mini Halides and should support softies and LPS corals. However, if I want to keep the really pretty sticks (SPS) then I will have to fork out some more cash. Do you have any affordable options you would like to recommend?

 

[Hunt3r]

Well this is my first fish tank, so I am unsure on what lights to use. My friend said that this light is like mini Halides and should support softies and LPS corals. However, if I want to keep the really pretty sticks (SPS) then I will have to fork out some more cash. Do you have any affordable options you would like to recommend?

That depends on how much your willing to spend and if you still want to keep your hood. If you want to keep your stock appearance with a better light there is a seller on ebay have a retrofitted light for the edge. Its going to be around $180+ depends on your addons like wattage and controllability. Ai prime like i had you can find the lowest for 130 but average price used is around $150 shipped. That you need to do some diy if you want to keep the hood and you need your rockscape onA flatter design since your going to have a shadowing on the sides. You can also get a led bar like current orbit or the pro version since is going to be shallow tank. I think you'll be fine. That lighting comes with your edge will be a pain cause they tend to fall off or be carefull with salt creeps. I would do a splash guard if you want to keep that. Again there will be more option but it really depends on your likings. Those are just my experiences when i was deciding for my lights. With my prime i was able to grow monti, birdsnest, slimmer and milli with no issue being in the center of my tank.

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

That depends on how much your willing to spend and if you still want to keep your hood. If you want to keep your stock appearance with a better light there is a seller on ebay have a retrofitted light for the edge. Its going to be around $180+ depends on your addons like wattage and controllability. Ai prime like i had you can find the lowest for 130 but average price used is around $150 shipped. That you need to do some diy if you want to keep the hood and you need your rockscape onA flatter design since your going to have a shadowing on the sides. You can also get a led bar like current orbit or the pro version since is going to be shallow tank. I think you'll be fine. That lighting comes with your edge will be a pain cause they tend to fall off or be carefull with salt creeps. I would do a splash guard if you want to keep that. Again there will be more option but it really depends on your likings. Those are just my experiences when i was deciding for my lights. With my prime i was able to grow monti, birdsnest, slimmer and milli with no issue being in the center of my tank.

Thank you for the useful information. I will definitely take this into account when thinking about my lighting needs. Hopefully I can find something that fits my budget and my liking!

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

So today I got very lucky. I posted to the Reefers page on Facebook asking if anyone would like to donate some live rock to my nano build. Within a few hours, my Facebook notifications were going crazy. Five people had responded and wanted to donate some! So, I drove to the closest one and grabbed some amazing looking rock (or at least that is what my friend keeps telling me). There were a few recovering corals on them. I believe one is an Orange Cyphastrea coral and the other we are not too sure on. It was also covered in Coralline algae, feather dusters, Copepods, and Brine shrimp. SO A HUGE SHOUTOUT TO MARCOS, he really hooked me up.

I hope you all like the Aquascape. I love the little cave I made, but it will need to be glued so it does not fall over. The other rock is so cool sideways. The rock gives some good levels for future corals. Im a big fan of the minimalist look.

I also started using Aquaforest Salt after doing some research and finding a great deal from a guy who just so happened to have a full-size basketball court underneath his massive basement. #GOALS

This is much more addicting than I thought it would be

 

[Marinebionerd]

I reccomend you put the pump on like close to the lowest setting I have one for my 45 gallon and I have it at about half

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

Corals Already??

Day 3 of the Nano build.
So my impatience got the best of me, I drove to grab some RODI water which lead to a huge spill in my trunk. So the lesson is to invest in a sturdy water holding container, the free ones aren't your best bet.. ;Doctor

After that and a conversation with my friends (who have been very successful in the hobby) we decided to go see another friend who had some coral for sale, and boy-oh-boy, did I hit the jack pot! $30

The corals I was able to get are so cool and I am super excited!! I'm not quite sure the names of things because I am very new to reef tanks. However, I grabbed a Duncan frag (2 heads), Green Candy Cane coral (2 heads), two Zoas (unnamed, but close to 12-15 heads), a Yuma Ricordea Mushroom, and some GSP (green star polyp).

After I dipped them, I realized why my friend was so adamant about it. Some nasty stuff ended up coming off! Also, getting rid of the frag plugs I think gave the corals a more natural look.

Everything was angry but they are opening up and looking much better now. I was excited to find a baby starfish as well and named him Ray Charles (or Little Ray Ray) because he is blind and I love the way he grooves across the tank haha. He is so cute! ;Happy

Little note, all my parameters are where they should be, and I decided to do a water change before adding the coral just to be on the safe side. If you want to check the perameters my friend is making me keep a log on the website Aquatic Log.[FONT=Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif] [/FONT]

I'll post some pictures of the Zoas opened up tomorrow so if you want to help me figure out what kind they are definitely check back tomorrow ;Happy

I'm sure I will get some comments about not cycling so lets hear your thoughts!;Wideyed​

 

[brett_schn]

Nice I’m 3.5months in and only have free mushroom frags in my tank lol

 

[Hunt3r]

Thats why this hobby is addicting. You just cant have enough. In my edge i almost had over 20 frags and colonies of coral in a span of 6 months. Then i decided i need an upgrade. Having a lr from an established tank helps a lot with cycling and even seeding your tank. The only problem i encounter with my edge is the alk and mg. Sometimes ph due to less surface agitation.

 

[Jisko]

nice going man, I really want a pico for my dorm but something tells me it would not go all that great haha.

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

Nice I’m 3.5months in and only have free mushroom frags in my tank lol

You should post to your local forum, just ask if any one wants to donate. My friend told me that people are always trying to throw away Xenia, GSP, Birdsnest, and a few others I cannot remember. Im sure someone out there would be willing to donate something to you.

Thats why this hobby is addicting. You just cant have enough. In my edge i almost had over 20 frags and colonies of coral in a span of 6 months. Then i decided i need an upgrade. Having a lr from an established tank helps a lot with cycling and even seeding your tank. The only problem i encounter with my edge is the alk and mg. Sometimes ph due to less surface agitation.

So true. Today I want to go back to look at more corals and fish! Im honestly SO ADDICTED ;Nailbiting

nice going man, I really want a pico for my dorm but something tells me it would not go all that great haha.

You will never know unless you try.

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

Update on the coral,

All are doing well. I glued them down and they are now open. The light seems to be doing well for now!

Water Parameters are still where I want them to be for the Aqua Forest program. I was also able to talk my friend into running Aquaforest and it was really cool seeing everything fresh from Bulk Reef Supply.

Trumpet Coral is looking good.

If you can name the Zoas, please comment below.

Happy Duncans, and one of the new snails! There are two total: a Trochus and an Astrea snail.

I was curious what Nano fish you guys have come to love??? ;Happy I have done a good amount of research and spoke to some friends and I really love Tail Spot Blennys, Chromis, Clown Gobys, Fire Fish and Clown fish. I think if I get one, maybe two fish I will be completely set.

 

[Katrina71]

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[Mikedawg]

I can almost see a yellow or green clown goby sitting on your big rock watching the firefish; good luck, you're off to a great start

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

I can almost see a yellow or green clown goby sitting on your big rock watching the firefish; good luck, you're off to a great start

Thank you, you guys are very kind.

 

[Mikedawg]

Thank you, you guys are very kind.

Southern hospitality.............

 

[Mwells]

Tank looks great!! I loved my tail spot blenny, a small one should be okay in your tank for a while.
Lots of personality in those little guys.

Do you plan on adding sand to the system?

 

[Kasdyn Rafie]

Tank looks great!! I loved my tail spot blenny, a small one should be okay in your tank for a while.
Lots of personality in those little guys.

Do you plan on adding sand to the system?

Thank you and good to know! I do plan on adding sand to my tank hopefully in the near future.