Twin 6 Gallon Bedside Pico Reefs

[thatbostonguy]

Hey whats up everyone.

I'm new here to the forums but I've been in the aquarium hobby for 2 decades but on the freshwater aquascaping side. Saltwater was always intimidating and I felt that I would take away the art and peace that freshwater aquascapes provided. It felt as if you NEEDED expensive equipment, big tanks automated dosing, everyday testing & huge amounts of time otherwise they would fail and you would waste $1000s or more. My wife had been begging me for years to build her a saltwater tank and I always told her it would be too much money and I didn't know enough about it. Then one day while planning my next freshwater scape I happened to be on Petco's website and they had Fluval's 6g premium betta AIOs on sale for $89 bucks each plus 20% off if you picked up in store. I had also racked up $80 in rewards so I paid like $60 out of pocket for both. I figured if the tanks were going to fail at least I didn't spend a huge amount of money on equipment and I could always just use them as freshwater tanks. I bought all the live sand and life rock on sale and setup them up as a surprise. My wife nearly bulldozed me through the bedroom wall when she saw them. That was a goooooood night. Anyways, I read as much as I could digest and told my self to just follow my instincts and start the cycle and add bit by bit. They have been going for about 8 months now and have honestly been waaaaay easier than I thought they would be. There is definitely more chemistry and husbandry than fresh water but the ecosystems are way more complex. Without further adooooo..

Equipment: Both Tanks
Fluval Premium Betta 6g AIO
Stock heater
Hygger H222 Mini Wave Maker
Fluval Reef Nano 4.0
Filtration is mostly stock. I removed the flow defuser pad, removed the stock carbon insert as they were too restrictive and added an Aquaclear 20 carbon bag that I change monthly.

Livestock: Tank 1
2 Black Darwin Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Sandsifting Sea Star
1 Tiger Conch
1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Emerald Crab
3 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Half Dozen or so various snails

Tank 2
1 Royal Gramma
1 Arrow Crab
1 Emerald Crab
1 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Half Dozen or so various snails

Thanks for having me!

 

[Calmwaters]

Hey whats up everyone.

I'm new here to the forums but I've been in the aquarium hobby for 2 decades but on the freshwater aquascaping side. Saltwater was always intimidating and I felt that I would take away the art and peace that freshwater aquascapes provided. It felt as if you NEEDED expensive equipment, big tanks automated dosing, everyday testing & huge amounts of time otherwise they would fail and you would waste $1000s or more. My wife had been begging me for years to build her a saltwater tank and I always told her it would be too much money and I didn't know enough about it. Then one day while planning my next freshwater scape I happened to be on Petco's website and they had Fluval's 6g premium betta AIOs on sale for $89 bucks each plus 20% off if you picked up in store. I had also racked up $80 in rewards so I paid like $60 out of pocket for both. I figured if the tanks were going to fail at least I didn't spend a huge amount of money on equipment and I could always just use them as freshwater tanks. I bought all the live sand and life rock on sale and setup them up as a surprise. My wife nearly bulldozed me through the bedroom wall when she saw them. That was a goooooood night. Anyways, I read as much as I could digest and told my self to just follow my instincts and start the cycle and add bit by bit. They have been going for about 8 months now and have honestly been waaaaay easier than I thought they would be. There is definitely more chemistry and husbandry than fresh water but the ecosystems are way more complex. Without further adooooo..

Equipment: Both Tanks
Fluval Premium Betta 6g AIO
Stock heater
Hygger H222 Mini Wave Maker
Fluval Reef Nano 4.0
Filtration is mostly stock. I removed the flow defuser pad, removed the stock carbon insert as they were too restrictive and added an Aquaclear 20 carbon bag that I change monthly.

Livestock: Tank 1
2 Black Darwin Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Sandsifting Sea Star
1 Tiger Conch
1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Emerald Crab
3 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Half Dozen or so various snails

Tank 2
1 Royal Gramma
1 Arrow Crab
1 Emerald Crab
1 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Half Dozen or so various snails

Thanks for having me!

Looks amazing!

 

[thatbostonguy]

Hey whats up everyone.

I'm new here to the forums but I've been in the aquarium hobby for 2 decades but on the freshwater aquascaping side. Saltwater was always intimidating and I felt that I would take away the art and peace that freshwater aquascapes provided. It felt as if you NEEDED expensive equipment, big tanks automated dosing, everyday testing & huge amounts of time otherwise they would fail and you would waste $1000s or more. My wife had been begging me for years to build her a saltwater tank and I always told her it would be too much money and I didn't know enough about it. Then one day while planning my next freshwater scape I happened to be on Petco's website and they had Fluval's 6g premium betta AIOs on sale for $89 bucks each plus 20% off if you picked up in store. I had also racked up $80 in rewards so I paid like $60 out of pocket for both. I figured if the tanks were going to fail at least I didn't spend a huge amount of money on equipment and I could always just use them as freshwater tanks. I bought all the live sand and life rock on sale and setup them up as a surprise. My wife nearly bulldozed me through the bedroom wall when she saw them. That was a goooooood night. Anyways, I read as much as I could digest and told my self to just follow my instincts and start the cycle and add bit by bit. They have been going for about 8 months now and have honestly been waaaaay easier than I thought they would be. There is definitely more chemistry and husbandry than fresh water but the ecosystems are way more complex. Without further adooooo..

Equipment: Both Tanks
Fluval Premium Betta 6g AIO
Stock heater
Hygger H222 Mini Wave Maker
Fluval Reef Nano 4.0
Filtration is mostly stock. I removed the flow defuser pad, removed the stock carbon insert as they were too restrictive and added an Aquaclear 20 carbon bag that I change monthly.

Livestock: Tank 1
2 Black Darwin Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Sandsifting Sea Star
1 Tiger Conch
1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Emerald Crab
3 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Half Dozen or so various snails

Tank 2
1 Royal Gramma
1 Arrow Crab
1 Emerald Crab
1 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Half Dozen or so various snails

Thanks for having me!

Looks amazing!

Thank you!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Beautiful tank!!