New to the forum

[Thomas B]

Hello all,

I have decided to get back into the game of sw. its been about 6 years since my last sw tank. and im a little rusty.

i have a 6gal. eclipse system that i plan on turning into a mini mini reef tank.
upgraded the lighting (as best as i can with a single fluorescent)
I just added my substrate (bahamas oolite) and my s.g. is holding steady at 1.021 . havnt checked my ph since adding the substrate yet. (too cloudy), want a good test. hopefully my levels are good and i can put in my first couple of pounds of live rock on friday.

my question is has anyone tried this system as a reeftank

[Shawnie]

welcome to fishlore Thomas!!!! Im so lost with sw but wanted to welcome you (again LOL) we have some amazing sw experts here tho..im sure they will comment

[Lucy]

Hi Thomas, Welcome to Fish Lore.

[Tumbleweed]

Hi Thomas welcome aboard. First off your specific gravity of 1.021 is low. you need to bring it up into the 1.024-1.026 range. As for the lighting can you be more specific on what you upgraded with? Also if your aquarium info in your profile is correct your PH is way too low. You want a PH of 8.4 for a reef tank. I don't believe your lighting is going to be addiquit enough for a reaf tank. You will need power compact, or VHO, lighting to have a reef tank.
Good luck and welcome aboard.

[Thomas B]

Tumbleweed,

I tested my ph tonight it was at 8.2 and my s.g. is now around 1.023 and on a slight rise. hopefully it will stabilize by the time i get home from work and might need to only bump it up a little. I will buffer my ph as well. As for the lighting a found a coralife 12" "saltwater bulb" and am currently using it to light the tank. I have a wholesale lighting/bulb supplier that carries many of the common bulbs and fixtures, going to check with them and see if they offer a double 9" fixture that i can replace my single 12" with. or if they have sub-compacts that might be even better. If not then its a fish only tank and will convince the wife that we need a bigger tank (75 gal sounds good...)then i know that everything will fall in place.

[Tumbleweed]

Thats good glad to hear it. Readings look good. Just need to let it cycle and you are good to go. No matter what happens with the lights, I would recomend some Live Rock, to the tank. It helps with the water conditions, and will start your cycle for you.

[Thomas B]

Tumbleweed,

I am stable a 1.024 and ph is still a little low 8.3. if all goes well i plan on 10-12 pounds of LR on friday. hopefully by august i will be ready for fish. heres to hoping

[Tumbleweed]

1.024 and 8.3 are just fine. The general rule of thumb is 1-1.5lbs of live rock per gallon. With a 6gal tank 6-10lbs is enough, and in a 6gal I would go closer to the 6-7lbs. mark. That would soot your needs just fine.
With the live rock you should be cycled by mid June. Fish would be ok after that. Just moniter you water and when Ammonia, Nitrite are at 0 and Nitrate is under 10 you will be ready to go.

[Thomas B]

Havent got my rock yet, needed to go out of town on business and just got back tonight. I will head over there tomorrow and pick some up.