Just got a JBJ 6 gallon nano tank from a friend for helping him move his large reef tank.

This is what it came with:

• foam filtration media
• elbow tubing for pump
• peice of tubing
• two nice size chunks of LR
• water

I'm new to the whole SW thing and have been reading articles (this site is great!) for the last two days.

So far I have:

• filled bottom of tank with ~ 5lb. bag of aragonite sand
• poured in water that friends LR came in
• mixed and poured in the packet of bio magnet that came with sand
• installed Hydor Pico Evolution Mini Pump 800
• placed foam in back left compartment
• have been running lights ~ 10 hours a day

Pictures are on their way and I should have some updates soon, but I just wanted some feedback.

Pictures!
You really should aim to keep the water around 78 or 79 degrees, so the lack of a fan shouldn't be a problem. Not sure if that will change during the heat of the summer.

+1 - I would go get a heater for the tank and set it to 77/78. I use a Stealth.

Also, do some searches for JBJ 6g mods. I'm sure there are tons out there that are useful.

I'll have to find a good 50w to throw in the compartment with the pump.

As promised, here are some pictures.






Here's the hood, I know the fans are missing, but if anything else looks out of place or is missing, let me know.





This came on the rock, what exactly is it? (keep in mind I'm a complete noob)

Aiptasia. Bad.

A quick bit of research showed that red-legged hermit crabs should help, I'll have to add them to the list of cleanup crew. Anyone know how effective crabs really are at getting rid of Aiptasia?

I have a peppermint shrimp that eats the hell out of it. I'm not sure about crabs. I have an emerald and a porcelain crab and they don't touch it...

Crabs won't eat it, peppermint shrimp might but the easiest solution would be Joe's Juice or AiptasiaX (I like them both).

I want to add sexy shrimp, can I add both the peppermint and sexys? How safe are those additives, I don't even like to add stuff to my 46g FW let alone a little 6g tank.

those are some hairy rocks your buddy gave you.

If you want to stay away from chemicals you can use lemon juice or boiling water in a syringe on the Aptasia. Just inject it into the stalk. As for sexy shrimp/peppermint shrimp, I have 4 sexies and a pepp in my BC 14 and they just ignore each other. Even when I feed, they do not get snippy. Most people think sexies are really fragile cause they are so small, but they are anything but! Mine will pick on anything to get thier way!

Tank was set up 11/14 with pretty much everything already established.

I plan on getting a clean up crew in there this weekend. I bought live sand and got the live rock with water, which would lead me to believe I'm ready to add some crabs & snails - or - does it need to cycle for longer before I add hermits and snails, I'm not trying to rush anything - I just want to get some stuff in there to mow down the unsightly algae...



Thanks for the ideas, I think I'll go with the peppermint and a couple sexies. Additionally, I've heard/read that Aptasia isn't anything to get too worried about. If the articles about red legged hermits are correct then I will have those working for me too.

Well my Aiptasia farm new nano tank is doing well. Just a quick status update with photos:

For my FW tank I cut my own filter media, because it's cheaper, however I always end up with scraps



My center chamber in the back of the cube was only half full with LR chunks, so I threw some scraps on top of it and the water is crystal clear now! Should I keep doing this or should I fill that chamber the rest of the way with LR?

I was also digging through my collection of aquarium gear....... and found an old 50w Visi-Therm submersible !score!



The heater has also been added to the same chamber that my return pump is in, there's an inch or so of clearance between them - is that enough?



welp, that's all I got for today

YOUR TANK LOOKS BETTER THAN MINE AND MINE IS ALMOST 2MONTHS OLD

but you said it was already established so ......

How submerged is it in the water? It'll cause some issues if it's not submerged, and the return portion runs lower than the rest.

The LR that I put in the display portion and the back chamber are already established, the sand wasn't... I don't know if this means a shorter cycle period or what...? Sand is live sand:






Good point, it's sitting just below the rim of the return pump's chamber, with the adjustment dial just out of the water. I'll try and push it down a little, so there's no chance it will run dry - even if I get a little evaporation.

Looking good so far. I have a couple of suggestions...

Unless you wash out the black foam at least once week, you should get rid of it. It doesn't do much anyway. the white filter stuff is ok, but make sure that it is changed regularly.

I wouldn't start adding any livestock yet, even a cuc. Don't rush it. Only bad things happen fast. Give the tank time to cycle.

Crabs wont eat the aiptasia. A peppermint might, but IME, peppermints that eat aiptasia will also it a lot of corals. I got a peppermint to get rid of an aiptasia problem once, and although i never saw aiptasia again, I never saw my yellow star polyps or clove polyps again either.

Thanks herranton,

Should I put anything in that empty first chamber if I ditch the black foam, more LR maybe?

I have plenty of white filter media scraps, so swapping them out weekly will work. (I knew I was keeping those for a reason) another filter question, should I have some sort of activated carbon in there, I really don't see an easy way to do it...

Got it, no live stock for a while - I had heard that I may not have a cycle period because of what I started with.

....maybe i'll have to try some of the other tricks people mentioned for aiptasia.

Made some changes to the rear chambers. Ditched the black foam and moved the heater to where the foam was.



Went out and bought a water jug and premixed saltwater. I plan on dropping in the small fountain pump I got from a garage sale to ensure the water is well mixed before doing a water change.



Saltwater was $0.99 a gallon, I figure with a two gallon water change per week, I'll spend $108 a year. Haven't done the math on the salt and buying RO water to mix, but it can't be much cheaper to mix it myself ...the convenience alone is probably worth it ...should I do the math on the salt?

Future plans:

• Two Nanotuners 2x50mm Cooling Fans (and 6g JBJ fan board that no one sells...)
• Submersible Marina LED Aquarium Light - Blue
  (unless someone can recommend a more efficient/compact alternative?)
• Light timer
• Rotating Water Deflector by Hydor, if it fits
• DX hinges (fits 6g/12g/24g (2005) - what's the DX, will they fit?
  (I've got one broken hinge, stock)
• Install emergency pump with airstone in first chamber, pump turns on when power turns off

More updates: I've removed the LR rubble from the back chamber and placed in the tank. The aquascaping looks way better now IMO.



I also started using an online log to track my water parameters, found it here on NR! Love this site. Plus now I have something to do while my tank cycles.

Oh, and I also set up my back up air pump for if I lose power, I ran the air stone into the middle chamber.

I totally agree. I don't think that statement can be said enough on this site.

Setup looks really cool so far too.

Hi Kuma,

I'd like to stick to a two gallon water change per week and premix is the only way it will happen every week.

Thanks, I'm still tweaking but I like what I've got so far. The only downside is the clearance between LR and glass.. just can't get the mag float in between there no matter how I place the rock. will just have to get a scraper.

Good start fellow NC6'er. I would suggest a surface skimmer to clip on that intake. They are made for our tanks and I think its only like 5$ Also a chemi pure elite would be a great addition to one of the chambers.

Added the surface skimmer to the Amazon wish list, high priority. That along with the rotating hydro flo head instead of the duck bill. I should be done with my mods soon.... yeah right.

I've been seeing a lot of people talk about the chemi pure, and then there's people that are saying - as long as I've got good LR, that's all I'll need. I'm torn on this one.

Look what I found while scrapping one of our old towers laying around! This whole computer probably cost just under $1,000 back in the day ( ~ 10 years ago). Now I'm scrapping it for a fish tank.



A quick fix, changed it from a three pin plug, to a two pin and we're ready to go!



It's admittedly a little loud, but the tank is in the dog's bedroom/storage room/guest room. Still one fan short of a full hood.

?

its to clean your rock off with....

lol, thats what the cuc is for

Diatom bloom in the sand today. I'm liking the NR online maintenance log, it will be nice once I have more data in there so I can look at my parameters and how they change.

Nitrate is at 10ppm, I need to get a way to test for ammonia.. right?

Dude nice looking setup so far! I wish I had cool schtuff on my rocks.. but i dont

Thanks, with the good comes the bad though I got a lot of aiptasia along with all of the "cool" looking stuff. I can't wait to get a CUC in there and watch 'em feast on the algae and asst other crap.

Aiptasia infestation:

Middle chamber media (basket) deal. I've been reading through some of StevieT's thread builds on media baskets and remembered I had some egg crate laying around from a stalled terrarium/dart frog tank.

I cut one layer:


And zip tied some handles to it:


Should raise it off the ground though - to force water through the media, second chamber actually starts a little ways up. I don't have any media in there yet (thinking chemi-pure.) Right now i'm soaking it in some extra saltwater to leech anything out, if that's even an issue?

I have some extra plexi glass laying around, however the top of the chamber has a sizable lip for the back of the tank and would make it difficult/impossible to fit a snug fitting box into the chamber. A friend suggested a squat pvc tube for a base, still at the "drawing board" though.

Ideas welcome

Yeah, and I'm pretty sure I saw someone else do exactly what I've done here in an NC6, just don't know who to credit.

your cuc needs help....they are there to keep it from becoming like that

So, you were serious about the toothbrush deal? Should I just scrub the rock in a bucket of tank water after my next water change?

yup......i know, its a PIA, but hit the problem areas good,...make sure your usin RO/DI for your mix and get yourself some chempure (GFO), or phos remover.

take a good look at the algea too when you break down and do this, does it look like a mini fern or is it stringy?

I'm using premix from a reputable LFS. Two gallons a week at $1.00 each is worth it.

What does the difference between the two algae types mean?

one is easier to keep in check,

turbo snails will usually eat the stringy stuff....

almost nothing eats the fern stuff, (bryopsis)

nice bit of knowledge

What is block climber a reference to?

So I've had a little evaporation, not much, but the water line is below the bottom of the black rim. I went to Wal*Mart and bought one of their one gallon jugs for their culligan water. I then brought that to my LFS for some RO water.

When I pour the water in, should I pour it into one of the back chambers? Will it mix well enough on its own or should I remove some water, mix, pour back in? Am I over thinking this?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This brings me to another question - the culligan machine at Wal*Mart says it's local water that is strained for sediment, ran through carbon, RO and then there's UV sterilization on the output. Can I use this water? People have said don't use grocery store water machines.

dude i pour my top off in the back chambers...no idea why that would be bad

I was just thinking that the sudden change in salinaty my have a negative effect. I guess it wouldn't be all that drastic of a change, unless I was topping off a lot all at once.

but when saltwater evaporates, it leaves behind the salt...

..which if I understand correctly increases your salinaty slowly. So, if I were to add fresh water (RO) to the system, it would change the paramaters in a short period of time. Probably not a big deal, just was curios as to how people do it. I'll just have to add it to the back chamber.

climbing the "block"...buildings in neighborhoods....mainly to write my name there....

I guess I can relate, I'm a rock climber. I've seen people do what's called buildering (?) - climbing buildings - looks pretty cool.

nanotuners sells ready to go 18watt retros for less than 20 bucks....easy way to bump up the light....

ive seen these tanks w/ as many as 3-4 18watt retros......

I know, there's even a 13w retro kit - only like $18.00 The rest of the complete kits, with everything you need seem to be closer to $100.00.

I'm still short one fan ...I don't even have a stock system... I think I'm going to leave the lighting stock for now, except for some moonlighting i'm going to leave on 24/7. anyone ever order from Ocean Pro? http://www.oceanproaquatics.com/shop/moonl...ons-p-1983.html

My highest priorities right now are:

• Replacement hinge
• Hydor flow rotator
• Two fans from nanotuners
• R2 moonlight system
• timer for lights
• chemi-pure elite

Do you think the stock lighting will be good enough for some zoas?

stock lighting can get you by, but your growth wont be amazing...

this is the plug and play retro from nanotuners i was talkin bout, its not as hard to retro pc as you think

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=493

Thanks. I had found that kit a while ago, just couldn't find it again, that's an amazing price! I think I would need their replacement heat shield as well though: http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=194