Here’s a list of a few products I’ve used that you’ll need to get your tank up and running. This is the bare bones hardware list. Other posts will contain more information about salt, chemistry, and water filtration.
Pumps
FREESEA Aquarium Submersible Fountain Pump Buy on Amazon
This small pump has been surprisingly reliable, quiet and affordable. My Pico tank is on my bedside table and I rarely notice the pump running. It’s so cheap I bought another one as a back up and to mix salt water. I have been running it nonstop for almost a year now and it is still working like it was new. For the WB ClearMini 6 I recommend the 160gph model. It fits well and provides enough flow.
Heaters
No Name Adjustable Mini Aquarium Heater 5-10 Gallons Buy on Amazon
This little heater has worked very well for me and I love that it displays the current tank temp. I bought two to have one as a back up. The 50w version works well for my clear mini 6. The size that works best for you will depend on many factors like the ambient temp of your home. For peace of mind you could get an Inkbird controller (which I use on my larger tank) This would give you the option to automatically run cooling fans when needed.
Lights
Noopsyche K7 Mini: I really like the Noopsyche K7 Mini but really its overpowered for such small tanks and there are cheaper options. The app is also a little annoying to use, but once you set it you shouldn’t need to change it much. You can great a custom schedule using three different channels independently. All that being said its a great light, it does everything and a great bargain. K7 Mini
ABI Tuna Blue PAR38 bulb: This is the light I started with on my pico tank. I used the par38 bulb in conjunction with an Amazon smart plug. This works great and a lot of people use it. I switched to the k7 mini though because I wanted to be able to ramp up and down and I found the light to be too bright for my eyes. The light is either full on or full off. There are no adjustments. Also by the time you spend $38 on the bulb and and $25 on the smart plug I think there are better options for the price now. ABI 12W Tuna Blue PAR38 Bulb Amazon Smart Plug
Those are the only two options I’ve tried personally. I know there are tons of options out there for lights. I will include more in the future that I think would work well or that I would want to try out myself.
For more information on lighting see my blog post LED Lighting for Small Reef Tanks: A Comprehensive Guide
Plumbing
For the bulkhead I used Lifegard Aquatics 1/2-Inch Bulkhead Fitting Kit that comes with an elbow that has a barb at the end just use a short length of silicone(preferred) or vinyl tubing to connect to the return pump. On the opposite end is just open. I found a solution that works using VCA adapter. It was a little loose but I added some silicone and it works alright. For my next build I would recommend a threaded fitting on this end for ease of use. It is certainly possible to glue different adapters into this end to make just about anything work. Lifegard Aquatics 1/2″ Bulkhead Fitting Kit
I used a VCA adapter to plug into the female end followed by a 1/2″ to 1/4″ loc line reducer and then connected a few links of loc-line to the VCA random flow generator. I do think that the random flow generator is worth it. I will do a write up in the future, but basically I don’t have to have a wavemaker in the display.
Look for updates to the plumbing section in the future. I think there has to be a cheaper way. I used so many different adapters that plumbing ended up being a major expense.
BONUS: ATO
You don’t technically need an ATO. I manually topped off my tanks for a while before switching over. But I really really really recommend getting one. It’s one of the best things I’ve bought for my tanks. I thought I was doing a great job maintaining salinity by manually topping off but as soon as I got an ATO I could tell I wasn’t doing a great job. These keep the water level basically constant so salinity practically doesn’t change. It makes going out of town way easier and safer. Get an auto top off, its worth it. I’ve gotten a couple of different no name auto top offs. They’ve both run flawlessly. I brush off the sensor with a toothbrush whenever it starts to get look grimy and make sure that the reservoir always has water in it. I’ve noticed that the no name ato’s come with a couple of different devices to prevent a back siphon. They both have pros and cons but I personally prefer the one with the check valve over the type that is open and allows air in to break the siphon. It seems like the pump has to work harder to fill the tank because the tube has to be completely filled up with new water every time and water is always leaking out slowing down progress. The pump runs less and everything just seems to work more smoothly with the check valve. No Name ATO
My AIO Reef 