my nc12dx... yayyyyuhhh!

[Finding Paulo]

ahh

 

so i went to the lfs and end up leaving a nanocuber!! hahah so far its been tooo funn. love it love it. after a lot of questions and a bunch of friendly member's advice i took the leap.

 

thanks to Gena, Cbandotho, Steelhealr, and everyone elsee!!

 

March 2nd.

brought the sucka home ...

I think its a pretty good deal but iff you live in the OC. there's a tropical fish store on imperial across the street from brea mall that sells the nano cube 12dx for $150.00 cash. wish i bought mine there!!!

 

 

March 4th.

i bought some live rocks and live sand.

14 pds of fiji live rock .... 1pd/$4.00

the live sand i got from a display tank at the LFS(already cycled?)

 

 

doing some research i found out a lot of people on the forums take one of the foam sponge thing out of chamber 1 because they say it is a "nitrate trap".

 

im trippin out about the nitrate so i just ordered an in-tank media basket from http://www.mediabaskets.com/ i will probably just add cheato somewhere in there and take the other spong thing out.

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Nano-Cube-12-...sket-NC12MR.htm (direct link)

post pics later when it arrives.

 

in chamber two i took the media out and added LR rubble.

this stuff is the best filtration right? thinking of leaving the carbon for crystal clear water.. is that a problem??

 

 

yayuhh its cyclin' baby!!!!!

cycle date: March 4th, 2011

 

for my heater i found a space on the side to slip the power line out.

 

also because it takes so much time to cycle your tank i will hold off on the tests for a bit.

but i bought this one from a LFS for 40 bucks.

 

March 14.(one of the best days of my life!!! look downn)

IT CAME IT CAME. i decided to do the maxi jet 900 mod and the water deflector for more flow.

 

used original parts just replaced the pump

what does this mean..? haha i just threw it away.

 

very tight fit but got it

 

once i got the maxi jet 900 on .. my water levels in all three chambers instantly went down. especially in chamber 3 ... my display was looking like a snowglobe due to the lack of water in the third chamber causing oxygen to pump out.

easily fixed by adding more water to the back. dont worry playa

 

I used marinedepot.com

fast shipping and great products.

direct link for maxijet 900 and water deflector http://www.marinedepot.com/Maxi_Jet_Powerh...-FIPHFF-vi.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/wavemakers_filt...aerobic-ap.html

 

 

TESTIN

my salt level is high

since salt doesn't evaporate like water can i just add pure water into the tank? and what is the best way to lower the salt level?

 

test for ph ammonia nitrite & nitrate

looks good but maybe the nitrate needs a bit more time.

dont want any dead corals on my hands so i will wait nd be safe

 

guess what i bought todayyyy!!!!

 

break timeeeee!!!!

 

questions i had were:

 

1. what should i use in the other two slot of the in tank media basket?? i have chaeto in the third.

2. in the 2nd chamber i took out the carbon and ceramic tubes it came with and added LR rubble... can i just keep the carbon in there to keep the water clear??

3. i keep having to adjust my heater .. i dont know if its because of the extra heat coming from the light but i can never get my temp to stay at 78.. what do i do??

4. easiest way to lower salt level

5. whats next?? when do i get the CLEAN UP CREW??? tanks been cycling for a week.

[Macron]

1. I have an intank media basket in my 12 gallon and I just run filter floss on top with chemi-pure in the bottom chamber. A lot of people do the same thing, except with purigen in the middle chamber. You have to change the floss out about every three days if you plan on using it.

 

2. Personally I don't find much use in putting LR rubble in the back chambers of the cube but thats completely up to you. The LR rubble will eventually collect detritus in it and become a nitrate factory because there is not enough flow to dislodge the detritus from all the nooks and crannies. If you want you can run the activated carbon in your intank basket but just remember to change it out after a while. You have most likely done your research and know that the ceramic rings will become a nitrate trap as well.

 

 

3. All I can tell you is keep playing with it and eventually it will become stable, the lights will be raising the temperature.

 

4. The easiest way to lower salinity is to take some of your water out as if you were changing it and replace it with RO/DI water. Just don't do too much at a time. If you want to raise the level let some of your water evaporate in the tank and instead of topping off with RO/DI water, top off with salt water.

 

5. I'm sure a few hermit crabs would be fine to add right now. Keep in mind that adding them will add more ammonia to the tank, causing it to cycle more, so don't add too much crew at a time.

 

Also I would recommend saving up for a refractometer as those hydrometers can be inaccurate. Good luck!

[Finding Paulo]

1. I have an intank media basket in my 12 gallon and I just run filter floss on top with chemi-pure in the bottom chamber. A lot of people do the same thing, except with purigen in the middle chamber. You have to change the floss out about every three days if you plan on using it.

 

2. Personally I don't find much use in putting LR rubble in the back chambers of the cube but thats completely up to you. The LR rubble will eventually collect detritus in it and become a nitrate factory because there is not enough flow to dislodge the detritus from all the nooks and crannies. If you want you can run the activated carbon in your intank basket but just remember to change it out after a while. You have most likely done your research and know that the ceramic rings will become a nitrate trap as well.

 

 

3. All I can tell you is keep playing with it and eventually it will become stable, the lights will be raising the temperature.

 

4. The easiest way to lower salinity is to take some of your water out as if you were changing it and replace it with RO/DI water. Just don't do too much at a time. If you want to raise the level let some of your water evaporate in the tank and instead of topping off with RO/DI water, top off with salt water.

 

5. I'm sure a few hermit crabs would be fine to add right now. Keep in mind that adding them will add more ammonia to the tank, causing it to cycle more, so don't add too much crew at a time.

 

Also I would recommend saving up for a refractometer as those hydrometers can be inaccurate. Good luck!

 

 

Hey thankkks alottt for the advice!! yeah im probably gonna go with the filter floss purigen chemi-pure set up in my intank ... i wanted to do chaeto so maybe put the chemi pure and purigen together in the middle? so i was just wondering what you're using for your second chamber? and since i have LR rubble and dont want the nitrarte factory to start up can i just clean them out every month or something?

[gena]

woohoo...you have a tank thread! I will be following along

 

 

I don't think you really need the rubble in the middle. I just put my heater and a bag of carbon (GAC) in that spot. You could leave the rubble...just make sure you vacuum out that area with regular maintenance.

 

edit: forgot to say it looks GREAT! I love the rockscape...can't wait to see this grow

[Finding Paulo]

woohoo...you have a tank thread! I will be following along

 

 

I don't think you really need the rubble in the middle. I just put my heater and a bag of carbon (GAC) in that spot. You could leave the rubble...just make sure you vacuum out that area with regular maintenance.

 

edit: forgot to say it looks GREAT! I love the rockscape...can't wait to see this grow

 

 

thankssss GENA u really helped me start this whole thing.

as for the filtration ... im gonna go with the intank media with filter flow, purigen, and chemipure elite. and in the 2nd chamber take out the live rock and add the light you have and some chaeto. hopefully thats enough. just feels like theres nothing really filtering it because in my fresh water tank i have all this media .. but they say the live rock and sand in the display is the best filtration.

 

anyways ill have more pics up as soon as i receive the filter parts and my new clean up crew!

[gena]

Sounds like a great plan. Don't worry about the filtration. Your live rock and sand will get the job done. Looking forward to more pics!!!!!!

[Finding Paulo]

March 21st, 2011

Test 2

 

water level ... it was at 1.028 before now in between 1.025 and 1.026.. no ones perfect.

so i just tested the water and everything looks really good. so i decided to check out some potential members of my clean up crew. on my way outtttt..... COULD IT BE??! yessss it is!!! this is my first sign of lifeee!!! i found two flower looking things.. i couldnt take a picture due to bad angles but i tried my best to draw it out for you guys ... its attached to the live rocks.

 

it looks like its a bad thing ... is it?? anyways if he's an enemy what should i do to the intruder?

 

should i wait a bit for the clean up crew??

 

i was thinking for my CUC:

 

3 - nasarrius snails

2 - cerith

2 - nerites

1 - astrea

1 - turbo snail

2 - blue leg hermit

2 - scarlet hermit

1 - shrimp (maybe add a goby later)

 

any thoughts? any help would be greatly appreciated.

[gena]

Kind of looks like a clove, depending on how big it is. Not sure with the fern like leaves on there.

 

I highly recommend www.reefcleaners.org (they are a sponsor here). You can do the "custom clean up crew" and John (the owner) will tell you exactly what you need, and quantity, for your tank. My total was $12ish dollars. Everything was able to be shipped priority mail. I chose not to go with the crab he suggested because then my cost for shipping would have been overnight charge $25ish dollars. I can buy a crab here for $5 max. Anyways...the crew is amazing. Does a fantastic job.

[Finding Paulo]

COOOOl! yeahh reefcleaners.org is perfect for me! highly recommend this site for the CUC. Jon responded really realy fast. thanks again. ill post pics after i get my batch.

[gena]

COOOOl! yeahh reefcleaners.org is perfect for me! highly recommend this site for the CUC. Jon responded really realy fast. thanks again. ill post pics after i get my batch.

Excellent. Looking forward to the pics. Did you order chaeto from him too? I think he usually has that in stock as well.

[Macron]

Hey just an idea about the cheato thing - I havnt ever ran anything in my middle chamber and there is plenty of space. You could make that entire area your fuge for cheato. Just use egg crate or something to keep the cheato in place and rig a light in there somehow. It seems to me that the intank basket might be a little more difficult to maintain a fuge in but it will definately work. I know if I ever put a fuge in the back of my tank it would be in the middle chamber.

[thewire]

Toss that hydrometer out, get a reflactometer. You can find one use for $20-$30 shipped.

[Finding Paulo]

i know i didnt update this at all and im sorry. i forgot how to post pictures so as i test here for my next 50 gallon project im currently building, here's what happened to my12gnc. hope this works

 

acclimating my first shrimp and fish.

so red. i had to get him. and still my favorite shrimp. only downside is he doesnt clean. i think.

finding nemo for the girlfriend.

 

 

little cuties. they really have great personalities and go crazy when i feed them.

 

i went by the lfs and guess what they hadd????

 

 

 

ooh and by the way i sold my bike! ahhhh i miss you like crazy! maybe if i get sick of my 50g ill sell it and buy another one, but like a friend told me aquariums are much safer!

 

first corals added!!! with success!!!

 

hosting!! which i still think is by far one of the coolest things about this hobby.

 

more corals!!

unfortunately, i had to give away the clam.. didnt want it to die as i was using power compacts.

 

first rare coral. its so funny how i use to think that spending 50 bucks on any fish/coral or 280 on a mp10 was crazy silly... now im spending thousands on equipment alone.

 

i got 2 of them! HAHA luckily the rose anemones chose great spots infront of the tank and never moved.

 

no photoshop just an iphone4. (maybe im the only one that thinks this picture is really neat.)

 

took a break went to hawaii w the girl.

most awesome place .. hanauma bay near honolulu.

 

only photo underwater suckss..

 

foods must try if youre there. seriously THANK ME LATER FELLOW MEMBERS

keepin it real with my jelly fish shorts eating my fav dessert @matsumotos

 

 

and then i moved to LA... long story short.. ended up selling my tank to a former nano-reef member and started with my 50g build!(i will start the build thread soon LOOK OUT!)

[Squared]

what nice little story...was all excited then boom no more tank...do you have a new thread for your 50g??

[Finding Paulo]

what nice little story...was all excited then boom no more tank...do you have a new thread for your 50g??

 

HAHA!! yeah sorry about that! haha didnt take lots of pics so i couldnt show more. yeah i was gonna start the thread today but ill wait a day or two. it'll probabbly be in the member aquarium forum tho.