6 Gallon Hex - Good for anything but a betta?

jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I currently have an empty 6 gallon hex tank (my betta did not survive our last week long vacation). Any suggestions of something to put in it besides another betta? I was tempted to try shellies, but I don't have any experience with them and though that the tank was probably too small.

It is an Eclipse 6 gallon hex with the filter built into the hood.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I was thinking about doing a planted tank, but was concerned that the hood has an incandescent fixture. Not sure if I can get more than a 5 watt bulb for it.

I'm a noob when it comes to live plants. I'm trying in my 75 gallon tank at the moment, with marginal success. The 6 gallon tank has sand substrate. Can you grow plants in sand, or would I need to change it to something else?
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Sand

There are some low light plants that don't care about substrate, such as anubias, java fern, and java moss. Tie them to a rock or a piece of wood and they'll be fine.
 
DonkeyFish

DonkeyFish

Members
jonclark96 said:
I was thinking about doing a planted tank, but was concerned that the hood has an incandescent fixture. Not sure if I can get more than a 5 watt bulb for it.

I'm a noob when it comes to live plants. I'm trying in my 75 gallon tank at the moment, with marginal success. The 6 gallon tank has sand substrate. Can you grow plants in sand, or would I need to change it to something else?
Click to expand...

Never Fear! It *is* possible to do what you're thinking... just be realistic. If using a low-light fixture you won't be able to grow everything, but you'd be surprised at how much you can grow. One of my project tanks is an Eclipse 6 (not a hex though). It is actually one of my favorite tanks. Currently I'm keeping a ICUN red-listed blue-eyed rainbowfish group that's been spawning (yay!) with pygmy cories and some shrimp. It's not impossible to use a small tank, in fact the opposite is true a lot. It's more rewarding to create a whole environment in such a small space :)

You just have to be fair with your expectations.

I also would suggest going with a better plant substrate if that's the direction you want to go. If you're starting from scratch might as well give yourself the best odds possible, right? '

<WARNING: Shameless plug> And if you want more info about plants and a supportive network of gurus, check out GWAPA (Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association)! We're another local club here in the DC area that sits squarely on the "green" side. www.gwapa.org

:)
 
rsanz

rsanz

monster tank newbie
I would do a pico planted, if it were mine, with some galaxy rasboras. Very cool fish, just got some. :)

And I'll second the GWAPA plug. Just went to my first meeting this past Saturday. It was great!
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
No experience from me with salt, so I'll leave that for another time. I ended up going with three amano shrimp and a pair of endler's. I need some java moss to finish things up. Everything is doing well so far.

Thanks for all the ideas.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
I have a Biocube 6 gallon reef on my desk at work. While it is fun to stare at during the day, it is also a pain in the rear sometimes. You need to worry about flow, steady salinity (daily RO/DI topoffs, depending on temperature), light and imo, the most critical thing, a narrower "safe" temp band.

I have twin 18W PCs over mine and they work for rics, shrooms and zoos. I have a couple of small LPS (trumpet corals) and while they're still alive, they do not grow very much.

If you really like the idea of a nano reef, I'd stick with live rock, some shrooms and zoos. Feather dusters are also great for a low-light tank. The flow from the filter should be good enough for these guys if you position them correctly in regard to the filter outflow.

I'm not sure what the fan configuration is on the hex tanks, but having an incandescent bulb in there may worry me about temperatures getting above 85 degrees. If this happens, you will most likely lose any corals you have in there. They have thermostats that automatically shut things off when heat gets too high, but they're a bit pricey.

Get a small goby and maybe a peppermint shrimp, along with 2-3 snails. I have a watchmen goby/pistol shrimp combo in mine and love it. Tiny tanks are perfect for them as they'd get lost even in my 26 gal reef at home.

Get creative and go on nano-reef.com for ideas. It's a great site. I'm sure someone has even used this tank for a setup before.

Alternatively, planted tanks are also very cool. :)



EDIT: Sorry, took too long to type and John had already replied before I hit send.
 
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jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Sadly enough, one of the females did not make it though the night, and was floating this morning. I have yet to spot the male today. The other female seems to be doing well.
 
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