eolith's JBJ Nanocube 28g LED (Reef)

[eolith]

Latest FTS (1 Feb 2014):

 

Tank Details also at AquaticLog.

 

--10 Jan 2014--

I've been wanting to do a saltwater aquarium for some time now. However, moving around following my now ex-wife's active duty career (ex-USAF myself) made aquariums an impossibility. However, during my ex-wife's last overseas assignment, she decided she no longer wants to be married. So, long story short, kids and I are making a family project out of starting an aquarium.

 

I decided on a 28g JBJ Nanocube LED system as a starter set before jumping in to what will be a much larger aquarium in the future. It was nearly half-price during Fosters and Smith's black friday sale at $389 with stand, and that was just too good to pass up, considering the local Gerber's (Moraine, OH) wanted $599 for just the LED tank.

 

A friend of mine (CycleGuy0623 His Thread) is also doing an aquarium, and today we picked up some Pacific dry rock from a shop in Waynesville, OH called Marine Installations. We purchased probably 120lbs of rock for the price of 100lbs and cleaned them out of their Pacific rock. We divvied it up, and I'm now home running some tap-water and vinegar through the system to get it cleaned out before putting in the sand and rock tomorrow. I'm also rinsing/soaking each piece of rock in some RO filtered water from my sink drinking tap.

 

Kids and I haven't decided on fish yet, but we will be doing a reef setup and we're taking it slow so I can figure out how to control the parameters needed to make this work. We've done some shopping around. One thing I decided on is that I want a blood red shrimp. Those are quite beautiful.

 

I've only had freshwater before, so this is a new experience for me, and I'm open to advice, comments, suggestions, corrections, etc. I'll be doing plenty of research as I get this underway.

 

So, my experience with this so far:

So far, the first tank was cracked, Foster's and Smith immediately sent out a replacement, I had it in 3 days, the new one appears to be holding up fine, but I am finding myself surprised at the volume of the pumps. I was under the impression this was a quiet set up?

 

Tank Equipment (will be updated as I gather stuff):

• JBJ Nano Cube 28g tank, Intermediate LED ($390 with stand) Product
• Aqueon Pro 100 Heater ($21.43) Product
• Coralife Digital Thermometer ($6) Product
• InTank Media Basket with Floss, Chemi-Pure, and Purigen ($50 for the basket) Product
• Hydor Koralia 600 circulation pump ($37) Product
• Seneye Reef Aquarium Kit ($130 from eBay; float was $6 also on eBay) Product
• BrightWell Aquatics NeoMarine 50 Gallon Salt Mix ($27) Product

Modifications:

• 2 x SilenX IPX-34-08 fans ($12 each; in place of hood fans, far quieter) Product

Support Equipment:

• InTank Drip acclimator kit Product
• Manual Hand-pump water siphon (from PetSmart, $6)
• Water Storage: Gas tanks for water containers, one for RODI for top-offs, one for Premixed salt water for changes
• RODI: SpectraPure® CSP RO/DI System w/ Manual Flush - 180 GPD ($292 from MarineDepot.com) Product
• Fish Net (only to be used with this tank) Product

Quarantine Tank Equipment (1 coral, 1 fish):

• 10-gallon glass tank from PetSmart ($14)
• Tetra Whisper 10i In-Tank Filter ($11) Product
• Hydor Koralia Nano Circulation Pump/Powerhead 240gph ($21) Product
• ViaAqua 50 Watt Quartz Heater ($13.50) Product
• Coralife Digital Thermometer ($6) Product
• Fish Net (only to be used with this tank to prevent cross-contamination $6) Product

Measuring Equipment:

• API Saltwater Master Test Kit - Marine (pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, $15) Product
• Red Sea - Reef Foundation Pro Test Kit (Ca KH Mg, $40) Product
• Milwaukee Instruments MA887 Digital Seawater Refractometer ($86) Product
• Hanna Phosphorous Checker ($35) Product
• HM Digital TDS-3 Meter ($22) Product
• Distilled Water Wash Bottle for cleaning measuring equipment with RODI water. ($7) Product

Reference Materials:

• Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms by John Tullock (used $5) Product
• LiveAquaria.com for fish compatibility and parameters Website
• Drs Fosters and Smith beginner articles Website
• ReefKeepers.com for general reef articles Website
• AquaticLog Website and Android App - measurements, graphs, equipment log, diary, etc Website

Future Purchases:

• Protein Skimmer (we'll see) Possibly
• Eventually a Refugium in the stand Like this
• Cobalt Aquatics MJ1200 Powerhead/Pump x2 Product

Lighting Plan:

• Moon lights on 0600-2300 (17hrs, overlapped with Day lights to provide different frequency)
• Day lights on 0900-2100 (12hrs)
• Off from 2300-0600 (7hrs)

Life:

• 2 Snails, 1 Nerita, 1 Margarita ($4 each) Image
• 3 Hermit Crabs (69 cents each) Images
• 1 Emerald Mithrix Crab ($2.50) Images
• Reef Cleaners CUC: ~50 Dwarf Ceriths, ~10 Florida Ceriths, 10 hermits, 6 Nerites (~$25) Images

Now for pictures (also to be updated as time goes on):

 

--11 Jan 2014--

I've completed my rock build (thanks to several small tubes of super glue). I tried Goop Marine epoxy and it wouldn't hold on the rock, so I abandoned that. I originally built it on a piece of cardboard cut to match the floor of the tank. I used another piece of cardboard the same height so I could make sure I didn't go too high. I made sure I have "shelves" for the coral.

 

Picked up a piece of live rock for seeding the tank, live sand, and some bio-spira (not yet added). Tomorrow once the particulates settle I'll do my first baseline water testing.

 

Time to start researching the life forms.

 

 

 

--end--

[reefernanoman]

Cool, good luck to you. I got the same tank with good results without a protein skimmer and have been doing this for years, so I would suggest to skip it and invest the money in live stock instead! Chemipure, purigen and filter floss together with intank media basket (the stock media basket is garbage).

[eolith]

Thanks for the tip about the protein skimmer. I'll wait on it, do some more research. More photos added.

 

I've completed my rock build (thanks to several small tubes of super glue). I tried Goop Marine epoxy and it wouldn't hold on the rock, so I abandoned that.

 

Picked up a piece of live rock for seeding the tank, live sand, and some bio-spira (not yet added). Tomorrow once the particulates settle I'll do my first baseline water testing.

 

Time to start researching the life forms.

 

Images in the original post.

[smiz]

I've also had very good success with a fully packed mixed reef, from clams to sps to lps, with no skimmer. With that being said though I'm now starting my biocube back up after a year break and jsut purchased the tunze 9002. It has gotten great reviews and will allow me to add more fish. Id stay away from the biocube skimmer if you go that route.

[specore]

Cool, good luck to you. I got the same tank with good results without a protein skimmer and have been doing this for years, so I would suggest to skip it and invest the money in live stock instead! Chemipure, purigen and filter floss together with intank media basket (the stock media basket is garbage).

 

+1 to the media basket. Best $ I've spent on my Nanocube.

[eolith]

Here's my starting numbers after testing. Calcium is high.

 

[reefernanoman]

Oh yeah, I NEVER test for anything other than salinity, temperature, PH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Other than that, I test for nitrites, nitrates and ammonia only if I see that my livestock is acting distressed. Why? most experts agree that in a tank so small, like yours and mine, it's hard to really know how much calcium and other stuff like that is really in your water. Periodic water changes would keep things in check. Looking good BTW and thank you for your service!

[eolith]

So I'm currently digging deep into the media basket/chemical filtration/macro algae issue. I'm going to get an InTank media basket, and I'm seeing some positive support for a refugium (for the macro algae) in addition to the media basket (with the chemical filtration).

 

Any tips or resources or comments I should consider while I'm researching?

 

Edit: ordered the InTank media basket with appropriate filler items (floss, chemi-pure, purigen) plus a drip acclimator and the Hydor Koralia 600 circulation pump.

[eolith]

I've ordered a Hanna Checker Phosphorous HC Ultra Low Range based on what I've read here, it's better than the phosphate checker.

 

I've updated the equipment list.

 

Looks like the cycle has started. I have ammonia and nitrates. I'm having difficulty with the KH Red Sea kit and coloration.

 

[eolith]

Clear FTS (with sides) from tonight, much clearer. I added a couple pieces of a frozen shrimp to aid the cycling. Added these photos to the OP.

 

[eolith]

tonight's test results:

[eolith]

I picked up a couple cheap 10g tanks from PetSmart, $14 each for fish and coral quarantine tanks. I'll add the necessary equipment soon. I'm close to deciding what fish I want. I need to research corals now. I'm also a bit undecided between a DI add-on system to my existing RO, or a whole new RODI system, as the price isn't that far off, and I'm not sure of the kind of pressure I'd get from the add-on.

 

I threw a couple pieces of a frozen shrimp in yesterday to boost the process. Water is even clearer today. Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite is up. Today's numbers:

 

[eolith]

I now have the InTank media basket installed.

[eolith]

I also installed the Koralia 600. I've mounted it under the left powerhead aimed 45 deg across the tank. I have it set to run at the same time as the right powerhead so their flow combines at the front-right corner of the tank. The left powerhead runs on it's own pointed toward the front-left corner. This is on the other plug, so one flow is lower than the other, I think this might work out well. Also, I found that bits of the shrimp were stirred up and circulating so clearly the flow is better now, reaching places it wasn't before.

 

My TDS-3 Meter came in today, OOC I tested my tap and RO drinking water. Tap was 247ppm, drinking water was 16ppm, clearly not enough for RO/DI quality.

 

Here are images of the pump setup and flow. It tucks in nicely under the powerhead outlet.

 

The paramters show ammonia, nitrite (NO2), and nitrate (NO3) all increasing quickly. I'm also seeing spots of green algae showing up on the rocks.

[Cycleguy0623]

Found ya! I think I have seen this tank before some where........

[eolith]

Quarantine Tank parts are ordered.

 

Response from John at www.reefcleaners.org:

Thank you for stopping by www.reefcleaners.org. This is what I would get for your tank:

 

20 Dwarf Ceriths - small effective cleaners

7 Nassarius

9 Florida Ceriths

6 Assorted Hermits

6 Nerites

1 Emerald Crab

[eolith]

added bio-spira on Saturday after that last test, looks like it's doing it's work. Ammonia is down, nitrites and nitrates are way up.

 

 

Parameters tracked over the last week:

[eolith]

Looks like the cycling is going well, Ammonia and Nitrates are going down, but Nitrites are still high. I took out the shrimp bits (all but one small piece) and topped off, hence the lower salinity.

 

The hard numbers:

 

In graph form:

[smiz]

what program are you using to track all of this?

[specore]

what program are you using to track all of this?

 

I believe that's Aquaticlog.com

[Cycleguy0623]

It is Aquaticlog.com

 

He and I are both using it.

 

20 bucks a year is not to bad.

[eolith]

the initial pictures are from an android app called aquarimate ($10 once), but I'm tending towards aquaticlog ($20 annual), as cycleguy stated, because it's a lot easier to share my results, and build a complete aquarium profile with log, diary, equipment, timeline, etc. Thanks to CycleGuy for pointing me toward it.

[eolith]

last night's measurements, no real change in the numbers, except ammonia is zeroed and I received my Hanna Phosphorous checker. Trying to figure out the KH and Ca tests.

 

Some pictures of the rock and the algae (green, brown, purple) growing on them.

[eolith]

The results of my test tonight. Ammonia creeped up a tiny bit. I think it's because I left that last bit of shrimp in there. Note that my calcium is much lower, turns out my first Red Sea test kit was in bad shape. KH and Ca were both testing poorly.

 

 

 

 

The remainder of this post is copied from the Red Sea KH Alkalinity Thread.

Ok, so the new kit worked according to the video shown above, and NanoTopia's pictures. The new card, #22770.B13 (old was #22770A11) still shows an orange color, though with more of a red tint.

 

So, if you are getting the orange end color, call them and get a new kit. I also had a bad Calcium test in this same kit, new kit resolved that, too.

 

 

Videos as promised:

 

Incorrect, Teal -> Green -> Orange:

 

Correct, Teal -> Purple -> Salmon/Pink:

[Adam_Bobomb]

Great job on the scape.