What to do with a 6 gallon tank....

[wkopplin]

I won the 6 gallon Eclipse system at the last meeting and am looking for some suggestions as to how best to use it. I was thinking of using it as a stand alone pod growout tank for now and then making a mini reef out of it. What do I need to do to the tank if I wanted to keep a couple of mushrooms and a small goby / shrimp combo? Are there any filter changes I should do?

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Thanks and have a Merry Christmas.

[Jenn]

Congrats on winning that setup. Can't offer any help since I don't have one yet, but I would love to have a mini-reef w/ mushrooms and 1 or 2 little guys - think you have a great idea there. Merry Christmas to you too.

[Yano]

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=9291b541624557e8b95f2eaed204320 4&forumid=3 This is a good place for ideas

[GaryP]

How about a sea horse tank if you are able to keep it supplied with live brine.

Gary

[Jenn]

Oooh! Good one Gary. Thats an awesome idea!

[Tim Marvin]

You can feed the horse ghost shrimp also. They require feeding every day and are labor intensive. Think seriously about it before you buy one. VERY interesting creatures to watch though.

[wkopplin]

I am leaning more to a simple nano reef with some shrooms, zoos and the goby / shrimp combo with possibly a small black clown. Where do I get the power compact retrofit kit for the Eclpse 6?

[TexasState]

You should be able to keep shrooms for a while w/ the original light. If you wants to upgrade, click on the sponsor link to check out Hello Light's PC retro kit. Here's mine:
http://www.swt.edu/~xp42012/2003/5g-bowfront.jpg

[dan]

i think 6gal is to small for a fuge.i have a 40gal.fuge and it's to small
nice pics. texasstate.now that the right idea.

[wkopplin]

I like that tank. That is what I will do. I'll seed it with some good pods too. Does anybody have any of those little white stars? If you do not mind parting with a few, I could sure use some.

[GaryP]

Vinh, is there a reason youa re running a bare bottom?

[dan]

what kind of lights are you running on that?

[wkopplin]

Dan, did that CO2 regulator on eBay work out for you?

[TexasState]

wkopplin,
I have some white mini brittle stars in my rock, but I don't really know how to catch them w/out breaking them up since they're so small.
Gary,
I have alway had a DSB in most of my reef tank. The circulation in the Eclipse is really poor. I kept the Eclipse as a bare bottom to avoid collecting red slime algae. Just my theory that red slime algae are more prevalent in a sand bed tank. The bare bottom was a pita to keep clean due to the fish poops. I end up taking out about 40% of the water just to remove the fish poop every two weeks.

[GaryP]

I had a 20 gal. eclipse and put a couple of small powerheads to help with circulation. I think I used a small Aquaclear. A Rio 600 or Maxijet should be plenty.

[wkopplin]

I bought a couple of those minijets. That should be enough in there. Put one high and one low.

[TexasState]

yeah, I had two adjustable Minijets, but I didn't install it due to fear of them cluttering up the tank. The tank pictured above is about 2-3 months old when the picture was taken. I never cleaned the algae film off due to fear of scratching the acrylic tank.

[Instar]

A 6 gallon eclipse is too small for a regular seahorse. It could be great for a pair of the minature ones though and they are easy to feed on live baby brine shrimp. You don't need power heads in there in addition to the eclipse filter for just shrooms, zoos and miniature horses. It will need a sponge filter guard (costs $1.00) on the intake for miniature seahorses. Astrea snails will usually keep it fairly clean and then I also wipe algae film occassionally with a sponge. Still looks like new, no scratches.