I am a beginner, please check out my plans
 

After seeing many beautful SW settups, I have decided to experiment w/my empty 6 Gallon QT tank(Not needed, my FW tanks are established)

Here are some plans and basic info about the tank:
Dimensions: 16 inches long, 10.5 inches tall, and 8 inches wide
Lighting: Only 1 WPG, not upgrading lighting because I may upgrade tank
Filtration: AC 20, and natural filtration, don't want a protein skimmer because I may upgrade
Stock:
1 Smaller species of Goby(Clown, Neon, etc)
1-2 Cleaner Shrimp OR 3 Sexy Shrimp
1 Mithrax Crab
4-6 Turbo Snails
3-5 Hermit Crabs

What is a good brand for powerheads and hydrometers? How often should I do water changes? What kind of Goby(If any) can I get? Invert numbers good? Can I use FW chemistry tests for SW?

All help is greatly appreciated:D.

its far easier with a bigger tank, good luck

Definately go bigger. Read the newbie thread that is stickied on the top.

I have been researching for 18 months, and i have finally gotten to put rock and sand in my tank last nite.

Patience, money, and trial and error are a few things i have learned so far.

you don't NEED to go bigger, but the bigger you go the easier for stablity. I wouldn't worry about the inverts yet, you have to cycle first. Before you start looking at fish and cleaning crew start looking for your live rocks live sand. Do a fish a favor and cycle with a piece of uncook shrimp (it works fine, that is how i cycled my big tank)

IMO, 6 gallons is too small. It will be really hard to keep your water parameters stable

I read the article, learned a few things about SW water chemistry.

My plans for live rock and sand are to get Aragonite sand, and live cured rock from my lfs. I read that the "live" parts of the rock will move into the sand, saving me some money so I don't have to buy live sand. Speaking of sand, how deep should the bed be?

For the AC filter, what media should I keep in? I am thinking about getting an AC 20 Powerhead, any opinions on that product?

Here is a link to Melevs 2g tank and Louist's 8g TOTM

[url]http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html[/url]
[url]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/totm/index.php[/url]

Their set ups may help.
I have to agree that keeping params stable in a 6g tank will be very difficult particularly if its your first experience with S/W

I started with a 7g minibow and ultimately ended up with a 75g, so I agree that keeping parameters stable in a smaller tank is going to be harder. It can be done, but requires attention.

I'd skip the hydrometer and invest in a refractometer. You'll get much better readings and it's a tool you should use a fair amount, especially with a smaller tank. FWIW, I've used both and can tell you the refractometer was one of the best purchases I made.

Since this is my first SW tank, is it really THAT diffucult to keep things stable? What things in particular?(Saltinity, SG, PH< Ammonia, Nitrate...)

It would be a good idea to invest in a refractometer, considering I will be able to use this if I upgrade. Any brand in particular you recomend?

Is it true that if you put Aragonite sand w/live rock, the sand will become "live" overtime? Do I add the live rock and sand before or after I put the water in? How deep of a sand bed should I get?

^Bump^

Wow this is an active thread :)

Hello, I don't think you are getting to much help on this IMO because you are going with such a small tank! I have never seen a tank that small,and to be honest I don't think you should waste your money on it! I hope you don't think I'm a jerk but it reminds me of a betta in a small little bowl with no place to swim.To me that is horrible.

Yes the living things in your rock will eventually move in to the sand bed and make it "Live". You can also get a handful of sand from different established tanks and add this to your sand as well. This will help to give a greater variety of micro fauna.

As far as test kits go, some API kits work in both FW and SW BUT need different color charts. (I think these are available online) I know some salifert kits also work in both and only use one color chart.

I keep mantis shrimp in 6g tanks and have to say they can be time consuming to keep perfect. Evaporation is pretty bad on small tanks which means it's hard to keep th S.G constant.
I top up each by hand twice a day, which is fine till I need to go on holiday or something...

Deb91, I don't think you are a jerk ;). I was looking around nanoreef.com, many people there obviously have tanks this size and smaller.

I really appreciate all the advice, I have learned a lot. I think I will hold off on SW until I can get my hands on a larger tank.