Starting a saltwater?

[Freakgecko91]

Ok guys, I'm a regular on the cichlid forum, but I have a buddy pushing me to try saltwater.

I have a 6.6 gallon fluval edge, brand new. It has 21 LED lights, 18 white/3 blue.

I want to know what are my options for this? Pico reef maybe? But I know I would need better lighting for stony corals.

What about fish? I really want a bonded pistol shrimp and goby. I love that. Not sure if they would work or not, mind you that the footprint of the edge is quite nice, more like a 10 gallon.

My next question is concerning media. My buddy has plenty of salt water tanks, would I be able to grab some filter media from him, seed the filter, and add live rock right away? Or would I be better of cycling it (which i am not a huge fan of having to do).

Any other tips, tricks, concerns, advice? Thanks guys!

 

[Criptix]

Ok guys, I'm a regular on the cichlid forum, but I have a buddy pushing me to try saltwater.

I have a 6.6 gallon fluval edge, brand new. It has 21 LED lights, 18 white/3 blue.

I want to know what are my options for this? Pico reef maybe? But I know I would need better lighting for stony corals.

What about fish? I really want a bonded pistol shrimp and goby. I love that. Not sure if they would work or not, mind you that the footprint of the edge is quite nice, more like a 10 gallon.

My next question is concerning media. My buddy has plenty of salt water tanks, would I be able to grab some filter media from him, seed the filter, and add live rock right away? Or would I be better of cycling it (which i am not a huge fan of having to do).

Any other tips, tricks, concerns, advice? Thanks guys!

If you use your friend's filter media and live rock you still need to cycle the tank;however, you may see a shorter cycle.Also as you have probably read,bigger is always better but if you intend to have just a Goby and shrimp you should be okay.As for the lighting and corals maybe someone else can be chime in.Good luck!

 

[MJSerik]

For lighting, I'd just google it. I think it'd be awkward. But as far as corals, you have so many options. I'd opt to stay away from Xenia and GSP, I've heard they're like weeds. Blue Sympodium is great, Zoas. There really is an endless amount of options

 

[Brilliant_Barbs_21]

Ok guys, I'm a regular on the cichlid forum, but I have a buddy pushing me to try saltwater. I have a 6.6 gallon fluval edge, brand new. It has 21 LED lights, 18 white/3 blue. I want to know what are my options for this? Pico reef maybe? But I know I would need better lighting for stony corals. What about fish? I really want a bonded pistol shrimp and goby. I love that. Not sure if they would work or not, mind you that the footprint of the edge is quite nice, more like a 10 gallon. My next question is concerning media. My buddy has plenty of salt water tanks, would I be able to grab some filter media from him, seed the filter, and add live rock right away? Or would I be better of cycling it (which i am not a huge fan of having to do). Any other tips, tricks, concerns, advice? Thanks guys!

The lights that come contain many small ones, instead of a few big ones. You want larger ones for penetration. So the lighting won't be sufficient for most coral. Pico reefs are amazing looking, but remember that they take a lot of work. It takes a lot more effort. And many people will say gobies are fine, but the sand sifting ones that will bond with shrimp need more ground territory IMO. In the wild they have usually over six feet of territory in each direction. If you want a goby that won't make a pair with a shrimp I recommend the clown goby. They are small and have a whole bunch of personality. 6.6 gallons isn't really sufficient for much other than the clown goby. It would be better for inverts and coral of all sorts if you want to go down that route.

 

[bribo12]

Is go with a par 38 bulb for lighting and you could keep anything you want with it. Even if you take cycled media from your friend the rock you add will probably have die off so you should still test the water for a week before any livestock is added.

 

[MJSerik]

Instead of fish you could get a pistol shrimp or something cool like that

 

[Freakgecko91]

Thanks for all the responses guys!

I know that bigger is easier and better, but a 6.6 is what I have to start with. I need to make sure that I will have a readily available supply of RO water (i think a pet store down the road from where I'm moving to sells it by the bucket, have to ask though). This tank wouldn't be going up until I move in February.

I really want to keep this simple, and I absolutely love the bonded pistol shrimp/goby idea, but if it's not enough space, then so be it. I would still like some species of invert/fish, so maybe harlequin shrimp if the goby/shrimp isn't an option?

As for corals, I really don't want anything too complicated, probably zoas (i think i've heard they are good starter corals) as well as mushrooms. I also have a small coralife fixture I can throw over top. I actually do this with my other 6.6 that is planted, but with a marineland double bright.

I figured as much with the cycle. I'd probably borrow the media, add some life rock, and wait for the die off. It's starting to become a question of whether or not I want to invest the money. I was thinking about doing a tarantula tank instead lol but that would be a different tank.

 

[Freakgecko91]

I would really want a yasha goby with a tiger pistol if possible