New 6G Nano Tank (first time)

[Nada]

G'day from AUS!

Hello, my name is Nada and i have been in the aquarium hobby for around 7 years now. I have 3 FW aquariums housing fish from top end predetors to peaceful community fish. After much comtemplating i decided it was time to give salt water a go, i decided i would convert my 4ft into a new salt walter but the task made me buckle at my knees, while researching one day i came across someone who had established a 5G nano tank and the thought of it made me curious.. i then finally came across this awsome website and seeing all the threads people have posted gave me the courage to go salt water... but just nano!

Ok, so i went out and bought a JEBO R331 it holds 23 litres (6 Gallons) and comes with a flourescent light which is a F8W/T5 and a top filter 300L/H (79.25G/H)

I have a ton of questions! and if you think ive missed any please feel free to add!

First is will the filter it came with be fine to run? or should i adjust/modify it... if so how?

Is a protein skimmer really necessary, or could i just change my water when need be.

A 25 watt heater should be fine, do i need any power heads and if so how many and what flow?

Do i need an air pump to aireate and oxygenate the water?

Something still feels like its missing am i missing anything?

Below is some pictures to help answer some questions.

This is one of the top halves of the hood which holds the light.

the filter is sort of a mini sump, those white beads are biochemical ceramic noodles

Just the filter half of the hood.

The filter media goes over the ceramic noodles

Thank in advance, and any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[SaltWaterNewb]

First is will the filter it came with be fine to run? or should i adjust/modify it... if so how? Not sure as I don't know much about the AIO (All In One) setups but I will tell you that you don't want to use the sponge or the tubes that came with it. Reason being is that they have a nasty habit for trapping a lot of gunk that will quickly muck up your water, especially in such a small tank. With the filter you will end up using it mostly for water flow and you can possible mod it to act as a fuge by adding some chaeto in there for nutrient transport. You should also place the heater in one of the back compartments so it is not in the main tank. Another thing that the filter is good for is to hold chemical media like Chemi-Pure which is really good stuff especially for nano tanks.

Is a protein skimmer really necessary, or could i just change my water when need be. No need for a skimmer on such a small tank. Make sure you keep up with water changes every week to 10 days or as water tests dictate and you will be fine.

A 25 watt heater should be fine, do i need any power heads and if so how many and what flow? Depends on the flow of your filter. You want to shoot for no less than 10x turnover rate and possible as high as 40x depending on what you are keeping in the tank. With a small tank like that, you would probably be okay with the filter and maybe a small power head. A Maxi-Jet 400 will give you just over 100 gph and a Koralia nano will give you 240gph. There are also some pumps that are very small and adjustable from about 20gph up to 106gph, so at least you have a few options.

Do i need an air pump to aireate and oxygenate the water? No. Just make sure the surface of the water is getting agitated so you have good oxygen exchange.

Something still feels like its missing am i missing anything? There is lots more to cover but not knowing what you know would make it hard to add anything else. Maybe post up your complete plans for your setup and then people can comment. Or ask away if you have questions or specific concerns. This board is not the most active but everyone that does post here are nice and very helpful folks.

 

[reefman23]

:welcome to the site nada!

Saltwaternewb covered your questions well already. A 25 watt heater would be fine and I would suggest the koralia nano powerhead as it has a very gentle flow.

Here is my suggestion though. Return this tank if it is possible. I say that for a few reasons. One, that lighting fixture isnt going to be nearly enough for even low-light corals. Secondly, that filter is also going to be a problem for saltwater.
If you don't have access to the "standard" AquaPod, Nanocube etc then your best bet may be to get a standard 10 gallon tank and pick up a hang-on-the-back power filter and a lighting fixture. Generally the watts per gallon rule is rather useless but I would aim for 4-6 watts per gallon of power compact lighting. With other forms of lighting such as metal halide and T5HO the watts per gallon is different.

Anyways, I hope I haven't discouraged you or confused you. I am just trying to make your saltwater experinve go as well as possible and I think you will end up getting rather frustrated if you try to build that tank into a nano reef.

Jesse

 

[Nada]

You should also place the heater in one of the back compartments so it is not in the main tank.

I dont think even a 25 watt would fit in the compartment, the only place it could go is in the main tank, sigh that sucks guess i cant get any shrimps. So you suggest i should take out them noodles, and filtermedia and replace them with some chaeto macro algae and some layers of chemi pure? I'll also have a live rock so i think that should be pretty good filtration. Thanks for the help, very appreciated ;-) once the tank gets underway ill make a new thread in the tanks and ducumentation, under 20 gallon.

oh and also! do you think my light will be enough to have coral?

 

[KidNano]

You should also place the heater in one of the back compartments so it is not in the main tank.

I dont think even a 25 watt would fit in the compartment, the only place it could go is in the main tank, sigh that sucks guess i cant get any shrimps. So you suggest i should take out them noodles, and filtermedia and replace them with some chaeto macro algae and some layers of chemi pure? I'll also have a live rock so i think that should be pretty good filtration. Thanks for the help, very appreciated ;-) once the tank gets underway ill make a new thread in the tanks and ducumentation, under 20 gallon.

oh and also! do you think my light will be enough to have coral?

I think you missed what jesse said while you were typing your reply. I second jesse's thoughts. Also I think saltwater newb didn't notice that you don't have back compartments. The heater would have to go in the main display. Good luck.

 

[SaltWaterNewb]

I think you missed what jesse said while you were typing your reply. I second jesse's thoughts. Also I think saltwater newb didn't notice that you don't have back compartments. The heater would have to go in the main display. Good luck.

The second picture down from the top it looks like compartments but then after I looked again at the last 2 pictures I can see that they are not. Yeah, after a closer look I agree with Jesse. I was under the impression that this was a small AIO tank but instead it is an Eclipse style tank designed for freshwater.

 

[Nada]

:welcome to the site nada!

Saltwaternewb covered your questions well already. A 25 watt heater would be fine and I would suggest the koralia nano powerhead as it has a very gentle flow.

Here is my suggestion though. Return this tank if it is possible. I say that for a few reasons. One, that lighting fixture isnt going to be nearly enough for even low-light corals. Secondly, that filter is also going to be a problem for saltwater.
If you don't have access to the "standard" AquaPod, Nanocube etc then your best bet may be to get a standard 10 gallon tank and pick up a hang-on-the-back power filter and a lighting fixture. Generally the watts per gallon rule is rather useless but I would aim for 4-6 watts per gallon of power compact lighting. With other forms of lighting such as metal halide and T5HO the watts per gallon is different.

Anyways, I hope I haven't discouraged you or confused you. I am just trying to make your saltwater experinve go as well as possible and I think you will end up getting rather frustrated if you try to build that tank into a nano reef.

Jesse

Dont worry it makes sense i guess, yeh i dont think they sell aquapods here in aus, i reallly wanted a nano set up :sad: and to be honest i dont really want to go back to the lfs and return the item, i feel kind of bad couldnt i replace the bulb with a higer watt one and modify the filter with chemi pure and some chaeto?

 

[reefman23]

Unfortunately you cannot just put in a higher wattage lamp. The ballast must match the lamp. I guess you could get a light fixture with legs and run the tank topless. As for the filter, it is more like a trickle filter that is designed mostly for freshwater tanks and maybe fish-only tanks.

Again, I am really sorry for sort of raining on your parade I just want you to be as successful at this as possible.

Jesse

 

[Nada]

No seriously its ok, thanks for being so concerned and stuff, means alot to me :loveface and yes i do want this to go as smoothly as possible, so ill go and return the 6Gallon and look for something more suitable i dont think they do have any nice suitible nanos for saltwalter lol and i dont think they would approve it being used for a salt water set up :burningup oh well what can they do about it.

Any advice in buying a new tank? oh or better yet could you link me to a aqurium shop site that ships to aus and has fairly decent prices?

 

[reefman23]

i dont think they do have any nice suitible nanos for saltwalter lol and i dont think they would approve it being used for a salt water set up :burningup oh well what can they do about it.

Any advice in buying a new tank? oh or better yet could you link me to a aqurium shop site that ships to aus and has fairly decent prices?

Yeah cruising the internet I am noticing the lack of choices for you. Have you seen the Orca tanks? It appears that they may be one of your better choices.

Do you have any links to any of the major Aus retail websites for aquatic stuff?

Jesse

 

[SaltWaterNewb]

Have you considered just putting something together? Get yourself a simple 10g tank, HOG filter modded in to a fuge, power head, heater, and a nice PC light setup and you are ready to rock and roll.

 

[Nada]

We dont havemuch online sellers, and im not sure if any of them sell nano's but you can try have a look, if you have any ideas please feel free.

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/
http://www.aquaticlifeaquariums.com.au/
http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/
http://www.theaquariumshop.com.au/
http://www.aquamail.com.au/
www.aquariumproductswholesale.com
www.fishsupplies.com.au
www.prettyfancyfish.com
www.livefish.com.au
www.aquastoredirectory.com/au/
www.thereefshop.com.au

Thats pretty much all i know. And once again thanks very much for the help and support, ill bbl im off to return the tank :neutral: what should i say? lol wasnt quite wht i was looking :???: lol ill think of somthing. I'll also take a look at some other nanos, but before i buy this time ill get some links and consult with you guys first! :razz:

 

[reefman23]

WOW thanks for the links.

I would just tell them that you are looking to set up a nano reef tank and that tank just isnt going to cut it. Also PLEASE take everything that the LFS's tell you with a grain of sand. They will generally tell you whatever you want to hear to make $$$. You will want a tank that has at least 2x18 watts of light if it is 12 gallons or under... twice that amount if the tank is larger than 12g.

Please continue to ask any and all questions that you have!

Jesse

 

[Nada]

Have you considered just putting something together? Get yourself a simple 10g tank, HOG filter modded in to a fuge, power head, heater, and a nice PC light setup and you are ready to rock and roll.

Yeh i have condidered it, but i want to start of with a simple nano before i get into the more complicated stuff like a diy fuge etc i like the look of a wire free set up and what not but i think if i have no other choice ill just go with that.

 

[Nada]

WOW thanks for the links.

I would just tell them that you are looking to set up a nano reef tank and that tank just isnt going to cut it. Also PLEASE take everything that the LFS's tell you with a grain of sand. They will generally tell you whatever you want to hear to make $$$. You will want a tank that has at least 2x18 watts of light if it is 12 gallons or under... twice that amount if the tank is larger than 12g.

Please continue to ask any and all questions that you have!

Jesse

LOL they wont mean much to you considering they only ship to aus mainly lol

i saw a nice 12G nano but they dont ship to aus, and for a pretty decent price my 6 galllon i bought was 90AUS, heres the link for the aquapod.

http://www.petsolutions.com/12-G-Nano-C ... 12032.aspx

sigh i wished there wer more nano fanatics here in aus lol!

 

[reefman23]

Wow. I really am surprised by the lack of access to the basic all-in-one type setups.

Jesse

 

[Nada]

Ok, so i went to get a refund... BUT he said he couldnt do cash, only a store credit, and i was like oh ok yeh ill do that, and he was "like why not have a look around maybe u can find something better and we can do an exchange, because then i wont have to write down all these details and stuff" i was like sure why not. So yeh i came by this Heto HR 330B its a 35 litre (approx 10g) and has a pretty big back compartment the light is a 11w 8000k, and i figured i could just replace the ballast and install 2x18w lights or just buy a clip on light off ebay. it also comes with a 600L/p power head.

Below are some photos:

The 11W 8000K light, the guy said it should be fine if i just replaced it with an 11W Blue/White light bulb to have a few coral?

The filter is supplied with 3 types of filtration media: foam, carbon and ceramic within the 6 chamber filter

The back compartant i can take out aswell.

Sigh please tell me this tank is more suitible then the other one, because this is pretty much the best nano they had for a saltwater set up. and yeh i dont want to go back there. ive realised all they try do is upsell me.

 

[KidNano]

you'll be much happier with that tank. After you upgrade the lights and get rid of the foam and ceramic then it should be great.

 

[Nada]

ok so what should i replace the foam and ceramics with? they dont sell chemi pure at the lfs, and they dont have much other filter media, thats similar infact they dont have any, could i just use live rock instead?

Also i went out and got the 36/40 ballast that should be able to hold 2x18W so yeh all i need now is another lamp adapter and the 2x18w lamps.

 

[SaltWaterNewb]

No LR in the back. It will trap detritus and cause you water problems, same as the filter sponges and ceramic rings. Try to find Chemi-Pure but if you can't, regular activated carbon will work but you will need to change it out more often. Chemi-pure will last several months while carbon only a couple weeks. Other than that, your heater and some macro in the back and you are set.