New 6 Gallon Nano

NanoReef · #1 08-24-2011, 02:37 PM

Hey guys. Just had a few questions for ya. My girlfriend and i bought a 6 gallon tank and a 150 watt HQI metal halide from a forum member and have it set up. We are gonna have it just as a zoa tank and maybe the odd Lps and sps. How high over the surface of the water should I run the halide? And also, what's a "safe" temperature fluctuation throughout an entire day? Thanks for the help guys, and we will post pictures of it in the next few days!

skabooya · #2 08-24-2011, 05:09 PM

If there is nothing in the tank yet i would put a thermometer in it and raise the lights and see what the temp fluxuations are. The less the better. Most with small tanks and halides have fans blowing across the surface of the water to help keep it cool.

#3 08-24-2011, 06:19 PM

I run the same setup on a 24 gallon nano cube. I found that the temperature would swing by 8 degrees and worst on really hot days. Now, I no longer have to worry about it. I would highly recommend that you purchase a controller such as the Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper lite. Have it hooked up to your HQI, heater and tank mounted fan.

I would also suggest an Auto Top Off as the fans will cause a lot of evaporation.

NanoReef · #4 08-25-2011, 02:17 AM

it actually has an auto top off built right into it. i set it about 12" off the water and the temp fluctuated 2-3 degrees all day. the next thing im curious about is how long should i have the light on per day?

Bblinks · #5 08-25-2011, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cugio

I run the same setup on a 24 gallon nano cube. I found that the temperature would swing by 8 degrees and worst on really hot days. Now, I no longer have to worry about it. I would highly recommend that you purchase a controller such as the Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper lite. Have it hooked up to your HQI, heater and tank mounted fan.

I would also suggest an Auto Top Off as the fans will cause a lot of evaporation.

Great advice. 25W per gallon seems a little over kill to me, but you can just about grown anything you want in the tank if the parameters are all in check. I would keep the light on for 5-6 hours for starters and see what kind of nuisance algae you get, gauge it from there. If you got algae growing crazy then throttle back to 4 or 5 h/day. Since you have an auto top off already, you know you don't have to worry about water vapor but a controller will still come in handy.

NanoReef · #6 08-26-2011, 02:45 PM

Sounds good guys thanks for the input. I have had it up for 4 days now and with the fan and everything on, it fluctuates 1.5 degrees through the whole day which isn't bad at all. I want to run a moon light or something so I cAn see the zoas and stuff even after the halide is out. What would be the best kind to run? All the ones I have found are like 6-10 LEDs and are ment for like 30 gallons... What should I run

#7 08-26-2011, 03:22 PM

Any 1 watt moonlight would work. If you decide to go with a controller, they often sale a moonlight module that is really nice. But also quite expensive and not a necessity.