6 Gallon Nano

[Xebadir]

Now, I know that Nano tanks are not reccomended for Marine Newbs, however Id like to run the ideas for a 6 Gallon Nano past you guys. This is because space is an issue, however i am willing to do whatever maintenance time are required and am researching everything in detail before progressing.

Intial: FOWLR progressing to 'Reef' in full time.

25W heater, Inbuilt filtration Powerhead

Aragonite Substrate

Live Rock:How much for this size tank would be appropriate weight wise?(i will remember size constraints)).

Lighting: Has brackets installed but what sort of strength lighting is required, in particular to allow coral growth(not many but in the long run id like to have one or two corals in there)?

Cleaner Crew: First of all is this required for this smaller tank? Second of all what would constitue a good cleaner for a tank this size.

Fish Species: I know that I am severly limited in fish size, however what would constitute good size fish(besides Occelarius Clowns) for a tank this size. I do not want to stock fast or overstock.

Corals: With limited size(and of course allowing sufficient time before adding them) what sort of corals/inverts would be appropriate?


Finally, i have seen a tank exactly this size in action, and the inhabitants: 1 Damsel and 2 Dark Occelarius Clowns looked extremely happy. Can anyone suggest any good reading to research much of this stuff further? There is also the option of going to a Slightly Larger 28L tank (7.25 Gallon) However most of this is in depth in water column. Any Comments and suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[xNOTLOCx]

well clowns may look happy but they will get more territorial towrads other fish in such a small tank so 1 is probably the maximum unless they are mated but they will not be happy, and you will have fry and thats no good for a 6 gallon tank.... live rock will probably be 6-7 pounds and thats not very much, clean up crew arent neccecary but for this size ide reccomend it because you might not think it but they will help immensly, your clean up crew will have to be small it can't be large.... for inverts, a shrimp can make a nice addition and are relativley easy to keep depending on the type you get... cleaner shrimps are durable but liek all shrimps need iodine to molt properly and grow back their new shells.... for corals, well there are alot out there that are very hardy and can get huge, and just the opposite there are alot out there that can stay small and are usually more expensive and sometimes not as hardy... but there are plenty exceptions, a toadstool, frogspawn, kenya tree, polyps, are some good types but in a 6 gallon theres not much room for space to grow, so you might find some of these to fastly overcrow, sponges are extremely durable, and will be the last thing to go inside of your tank, they will help with filtration and they come in great colors like neon blue... one clown some say would be cutting it close and two is just mean, certain types of blennys can be cool and help clean, but im not sure if they can be in small tanks your very limited i think 7.5 would be a little better even though its still small, i wont try to change your mind on a bigger size , i think for live rock its roughly 1 pound per gallon....

 

[Chac]

Your main conciderations in a Nano is stabiity, due to the snall qty of water you will have to keep a sharp eye on things like

Salinity (Will increase due to evaporation)
Temp (You may need some fans to keep temp down - this will increase your evaporation - so keep an eye on your salinity - Maybe an idea to use a Auto topup)

A softie reef is not really a massive jump from FOWLR

You will need around 0.5 kg of LiveRock per g

Lighting depends on the corals you are looking to keep - have a look at T5 Power Compacts

Clean Up Crew - I would get some ceriths, turbo snails maybe a few hermits

No Starfish as your tank will not support them
Shrimps cant really be concidered Clean up crew as they dont really clean, but they can make good addittions

A 6g is very small for fish, I would suggest only a pair of clowns

Corals- Muchrooms are very hardy & some are relatively small
Have a look at Live Aquaria for some ideas

Have a read throught the nano section, this will give you stock, aquascaping etc ideas

There is also the option of going to a Slightly Larger 28L tank (7.25 Gallon) However most of this is in depth in water column. Any Comments and suggestions would be much appreciated.

The larger the better

 

[JJ1234567]

In all honesty I wouldnt put a marine fish in a tank under 10 gallons. However if you cant be dissuaded from this goal, I would say pick one of the smaller gobies. Neon gobys or the such.

 

[Xebadir]

Thanks Guys. Having done alot more reading, and seen some awesome tanks(Goooo Mr Miagi) ive decided to bide my time and when i set up go for a 100L (26 US Gallons). Been speaking to the friendly folks at my LFS, and the owner is gonna sell me a 26 gallon for 20$(exdisplay tank), so when i go for it its gonna be nice and with far more flexibility. Biding my time though as i want to have all the funds to intially start it at once, and as i am also looking to move out from home, gonna wait until the move occurs first . Ill let yall know when i do it, and will run a start to finish progress thread, its these that inspired me to consider marine, and i would like to do the same for others.

Thanks

 

[demonmagus]

same here lol. I am gonna buy a 20 gallon with metal halide and wait

 

[steelhealr]

Sounds like a plan. IMO, fish don't belong in nano tanks smaller than 10 gallons. Essentially, a 6G is bordering on a pico. You may see clowns in or damsels in them, but, I would class that as 'unconscientious aquarism'. If pressed, perhaps you could put a neon goby in, but, 6G's and under should be invert only. SH