Saltwater prep - do I need RO/DI?

[janky]

You bring up a good point!

(sorry to keep getting OT here, but I have tons of questions for SW...)

For the lights, I was advised to use something closer to the 10,000 K spectrum? I think they're CFL bulbs? (not sure, they're the "twisty" kind that screw into the ballast)
That, and an LED strip for "moon light".

Does that sound right?

 

[cosmo]

What are your oplans for the tank? FOWLR, coral, etc.

I'm not real sure what lights you are referring too, sorry

 

[janky]

Here's a picture of the light:

And this is the tank:

It's in our son's room, and I think initially my gf wanted to get a clownfish for him, buuuut I feel like a 6 gal hex is WAY too cramped for even a dwarf clown.

If anything I'd say maybe a goby or two, or a couple shrimps.
I do want to build a nano reef though... some zoas/beginner corals/etc

 

[carey]

Hiya. that squiggly light isn't going to be enough light for any corals i'm sorry to say. :-(

The idea of a small goby and shrimp and inverts sounds like a good idea. Here is a link with nano fish and their requirements

Nano Fish

 

[janky]

Hiya. that squiggly light isn't going to be enough light for any corals i'm sorry to say. :-(

The idea of a small goby and shrimp and inverts sounds like a good idea. Here is a link with nano fish and their requirements

Nano Fish

Oh yeah. I'm going to upgrade the light right when it finishes cycling The light in there now sucks lol
Do they make the "squiggly lights" in a spectrum that will work for some beginner corals? 6700k - 10000k?
If so I could prob. just pick those up at home depot. I really don't want to search for a whole new ballast, fixture, etc. etc.

 

[carey]

sorry, but a squiggly bulb no matter the spectrum isn't gonna work out. :-(

What is the length of the tank, left to right? maybe I can find you a cheap fixture that will grow some corals.

 

[cosmo]

I'd get a par 30 bulb from boostled! I think about $75 and done!

 

[carey]

They won't fit in the socket he has, but a par 38 is an option.

 

[janky]

sorry, but a squiggly bulb no matter the spectrum isn't gonna work out. :-(

What is the length of the tank, left to right? maybe I can find you a cheap fixture that will grow some corals.

It's like 12 3/4 inches - but keep in mind it's a 6 gal. hex, so nothing will really "fit" the shape of it. The measurement I took was from the widest edges of the hex, left to right.
If anything I'll more than likely have to scrap the light portion of the hood and find some "clip on" arrangement.

Also $75 is a lot more than I'd want to spend any time in the near future
I was hoping to just get a $5 bulb from home depot haha

 

[nohika]

It's like 12 3/4 inches - but keep in mind it's a 6 gal. hex, so nothing will really "fit" the shape of it. The measurement I took was from the widest edges of the hex, left to right.
If anything I'll more than likely have to scrap the light portion of the hood and find some "clip on" arrangement.

Also $75 is a lot more than I'd want to spend any time in the near future
I was hoping to just get a $5 bulb from home depot haha

Unfortunately lighting for reefs is generally considered one of the most expensive parts. 75$ to light a tank is considered quite cheap imho.

 

[Saratj1]

Check out ecoxotic panorama led strips, They are a little more than $75, but would look good on your tank and probably support some softies. They are 19w for a 13" strip, and have different color combos, like 8000k and actinic blue, I would be looking at those for a nano tank.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+24015&pcatid=24015

 

[janky]

Oh wow. Maybe the salt water thing is going to have to go on hiatus for a while then. I just had a filter seize up on my 75 g fresh and dumped a bunch of cash on that and I don't really want to spend tons of $$ now.

Lighting for SW is really that expensive? Wow. My T5 HO coralife for fw were only $30 with a spare bulb!

 

[Gboy66]

Oh wow. Maybe the salt water thing is going to have to go on hiatus for a while then. I just had a filter seize up on my 75 g fresh and dumped a bunch of cash on that and I don't really want to spend tons of $$ now.

Lighting for SW is really that expensive? Wow. My T5 HO coralife for fw were only $30 with a spare bulb!

How long is the tank again? You might have said so before

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

This is one of the cheapest and best lights i know of. Will grow you all low, medium, and some high light corals.


http://www.fishneedit.com/3ft4bulbs-with-l34.html

 

[Saratj1]

T5ho's would be good also, if you could use them. They are probably one of the most popular lighting options.

 

[Mrc8858]

Ya I think before you buy anything else you should figure out what you want as a finished tank first and then see if it will fit your budget because SW tanks can become very expensive very quickly even on small tanks like yours a finished setup could cost close to $1000 depending how "high end" you'd like to go with it but if you did want just some Softies and some what common stock imo after its all said and done that tank will run you $300-$500

 

[janky]

How long is the tank again? You might have said so before

12 3/4 inches from the widest part, left to right, and it's a 6 gal hex.

Ya I think before you buy anything else you should figure out what you want as a finished tank first and then see if it will fit your budget because SW tanks can become very expensive very quickly even on small tanks like yours a finished setup could cost close to $1000 depending how "high end" you'd like to go with it but if you did want just some Softies and some what common stock imo after its all said and done that tank will run you $300-$500

Thank you for the heads-up.

I may just go FOWLR and forget about the reef stuff for now. We discussed transferring the rock we have over to our 12 gal hex and maybe getting a dwarf clown, or a couple gobies, a couple firefish, shrimps... stuff like that.

fowlr set ups don't need fancy $100 lights, right?

 

[Mrc8858]

Nope fowlr can be lighted with whatever you feel looks best..setting up a fowlr is pretty much the same as a FW so price will be a lot lower then a reef

 

[janky]

Nope fowlr can be lighted with whatever you feel looks best..setting up a fowlr is pretty much the same as a FW so price will be a lot lower then a reef

Perfect. I'm sold!

Since everyone's been so helpful I have one more question (rather than starting new threads)...

for the 12 g hex, would a small nemo be ok with a fire fish or two and some goby (1-2?) + shrimp?
I'm not sure how the stocking would work out?

My gf seems to think that clowns will die if they don't have an anenome to host, but I'm not sure that's the case.
Thoughts?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

A clown should be ok as long as you get a smaller one like an occ clown. I would say 1 clown, 1 firefish, and 1 small goby should be fine. She is wrong, clowns dont need an anenome at all. If you do want to add one make sure you wait 8 months before adding because the nem needs an established tank