Good Morning Everyone!
It's been a long time since I have had a reef tank, or any fish tank in general besides a koi pond! Right now I am currently looking very seriously into getting back into a reef tank in the next week or two. Currently to date I have not had a reef tank for 6 years!
The planned tank:
Right now I am planning on utilizing my Ecoxotic Pico Tank (5 gallon rimless cube) which will be situated on my desk. I've had this tank for almost 5 years now planning to do a tank, but it has never seen water.
Live Rock:
Planning on using 1 - 1.5 lbs per gallon TOTAL: 5 lbs to 7 lbs (depending on room)
Corals:
Mainly LPS corrals and possibly a few SPS depending on the lighting situation (see below)
Fish:
1 Firefish OR 1 Ocellaris OR 1 Orange Spotted Goby
However, after being out of the reef tank game for so long, it seems much has changed, or I am that out of it and starting fresh again.
Lighting Question:
Currently I have the Ecoxotic Ecopico Arm with 3 LED strips in it. Below is an image i found online of what it exactly looks like right now:
It currently has the following breakdown:
6 - 12,000K LEDs
3 - 453nm LEDs
Total - 9 LEDs (~9 Watts total)
Is this enough lighting for the planned tank? Or should I spend the money on a new light system since this is discontinued?
As I am new to LEDs I am currently worrying about burning the corals or providing too little light.
Sand Question
In addition to the live rock I plan on doing either Hawaiian Black Sand or Fiji Pink Sand. With this small of a tank, should I just omit the sand?
Protein Skimmer
Since this is a tiny tank, would 1-2 gallon water changes suffice a week or would it still be beneficial for a small skimmer?
Mechanical Filter or Standalone Power Head
I am currently exploring the ideas of a mechanical filter. All of my previous tanks utilized an overflow with a refugium. However, since this is so tiny, a refugium will be pointless.
Would a mechanical filter still be needed or would the live rock be enough natural filtration? If no additional mechanical filtration is needed, what size power head would be needed for current?
Thank you in advance! I am still currently refreshing my memory on reef tanks, but I have been so long out of it I am finding it a little mind boggling.