I have a year old six-gallon Nano with a False Percula, Yellow Tail Damsel, 2 Hermit crabs, 2 Cowrie snails, a Feather Duster and a Fire Shrimp set up in an Eclipse 6 system with a 2 inch sand bed and about 8lbs of
live rock. I have wanted some coral for a long time, but you just cannot get enough light into an Eclipse 6. This past weekend I jumped in and bought an Oceanic Bio Cube 14, a Mini-Jet 606 (so that the total flow will be about 280
GPH), 15 lbs of
live rock, and a Fission Nano
Skimmer. I really wanted the Bio Cube 29, but I just do not have enough room in my den with out getting rid of some furniture or speakers or the big screen TV or something, so I ended up with the 14 that will sit on the end table between the couch and overstuffed chair. I set up the cube with the
live rock to cycle. I plan on moving the sand and
live rock from the Eclipse as well as the livestock after the new tank has cycled. At this point I am setting the cube up like Oceanic designed it (with the
wet/dry), because I do not want to enlarge the overflow between the first and second chambers (do not want to make irreversible changes to a new tank). This means I cannot fit the Nano
Skimmer into the rear of the tank. Question – Should I return the
skimmer, or should I place it in the front feeder door and use it overnight once a week? Next question – Once I move the sand, I should have about an inch in the bottom is this enough (any difference between ¾” and 2 ½” besides appearance)? I know that a
DSB is preferable, but in a cube that would take up a significant amount of the already scarce volume as well as raise the level of the sand bed above the lower water intake grid.
Last question – I have never had any corals. I know what I am doing with fish and to a smaller degree with inverts, but have no clue with corals. From past experience I am not real trusting of
LFS advice. Help with some advice on what corals are “easy” and best to start with and how fast can you ad them and how many can go in a tank. Right now I feed my fish and shrimp mostly flake and my feather duster
DT’s. I would like to keep it simple and not add a complicated feed schedule for the coral. Thanks for your input.
to TR!
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