clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hey all of you nano reefers out there Most recent FTS: 4-22-11 Fish Occ. clownfish (2) Purple firefish goby Inverts cleaner shrimp peppermint shrimp tuxedo urchin red starfish Coral Red Acan Yellow Polyp random zoas green digita christmas tree favia green star polops orange ricordia purple montapora Cali tort Green slimmer Lots of sps whoes names i dont remmber Equipment JBJ Nano Cube HQI Radium 150 watt 14k Metal halide 200w heater Stock Protien Skimmer Two Stock Return Pumps Coralife Digital Thermometer vortech mp10 JBJ LED Nano-Glow upgraded media basket Two little fishies phosban reactor Diy Auto top off Filteration Poly-Fill Chetmorphia algea BRS high quality carbon BRS GFO Original post starts here I just got a nano cube hqi and have had it for about a week I have to say it is great. I wanted to share the experience with every one so I thought why not start a huge thread about the life of my tank. To start it off heres a picture of it right after I got it when I was testing it for leaks. After this I emptied the water and filled it up with r/o water. It looked great. That night I went out and bought salt. After I put it in I tested it with my hydrometer it read 1.025. I left the light off until two days later when I bought cured live rock and live sand. I brought it home and put it in sand then rock. It was really foggy after I put in the sand so I left it alone with the rock just in a pile in the middle. The next day the water was clear so I thought I would aquascape. This was hard. I had small enough rock but I wanted it to look amazing in the small tank so I made this Not perfect but i liked all the holes and tunnels so I let it sit and got advise from my family. They told me that I should make it into a horseshoe shape in the corner. I didn't care for that because the rock has a great shape to it and I wanted to use that. So I decided to move it into the back corner and move the rock on the left side to the right side in order to make a nice sand bed. This looked awesome here let me show you. Front shot After I tested the water (using API's salt water test kit) and got 8.4 PH, 0.25 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, and 15 ppm nitrate I went to my LFS and bought two Green Chromis Damselfish thats what the guy (Andrew) at my LFS recommend. I got home and started to acclimate them to my tank. After about 45 minutes of that I put them into the tank. They immediately found a hole in the rock to hide. I couldn't get them out so I tried feeding them wow let me tell you they weren't scared once I did that. They loved the frozen brine shrimp that Andrew at my LFS sold me. That was yesterday. They are doing fine today and look great I will get more pics up tonight. Thanks, clownfish14 Ps: Any and all comments are appreciated and any ideas on how to change any thing will be useful. Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hey guys Here are a couple of more pics of the tank Here is a pic of one of the fish the other one is camera shy Here is a FTS Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
Militant Jurist Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I really like the rock-scape. It looks like you've got a wicked cave! Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks Militant Jurist ya the cave is very cool here is a better pic of it. Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hey guys Well i just tested the water and there has been no change in the ammonia levels. How long does it usually take to cycle a nano cube hqi 28 gallon? Thanks, clownfish14 Thanks got2envy for your reply -clownfish14 Link to comment
got2envy Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Since you used fully cured live rock you will probably experience a soft cycle...be prepared to do a 10% water change when you see the diatoms on the sand (brown dusting) and add your clean up crew then. I would have waited on the fish, most don't use fish for the cycle any more ( stresses the fish out) I would wait a few weeks before adding more bio load to the tank. HTH clownfish14 M Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks got2envy so the tank wont go through the entire cycle with the high ammonia and nitrites. Another question is how long should i wait and how do i know the cycle is done. Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
Militant Jurist Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks got2envy so the tank wont go through the entire cycle with the high ammonia and nitrites.Another question is how long should i wait and how do i know the cycle is done. Thanks, clownfish14 I did mine with fully cured LR, a lot of dry rock, and dirty WC water to jump start the cycle, and mine still took about three weeks. The ammonia didn't spike very high for me, but the nitrite did spike. You'll still see increases in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, but it shouldn't be as bad. You'll know the cycle is done based upon having seen the spikes (or mini-spikes) and if it's a new tank, you'll see a LOT of diatoms (looks like brown dust over everything!). Once you've hit that point, it's a good sign your cycle is done. Also, if you've been using clean RO water throughout, you'll see a final increase in your nitrate, which is the last stage (other than denitrification) of the nitrogen cycle. The biggest thing with fish and inverts is to take your time. If you add too much too early, you'll end up setting things back further. I made that mistake with my first tank. Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks for the reply that is great info I will watch for the diatoms. Also should I give the fish back to the store or let them go through the cycle since it wont be that big? And do I do water changes at all during the cycle or just let it go? Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
Militant Jurist Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Also should I give the fish back to the store or let them go through the cycle since it wont be that big?And do I do water changes at all during the cycle or just let it go? If you wanted the fish anyways, I think you'll be fine with it as long as you do actually have a soft cycle. If you got it just for the cycle, you could probably take it back. There's a bit of a debate about whether partial WCs help with a soft cycle. There's a good thread actually attempting to test it, which is somewhere in the General Discussion forum. It's an individual choice, because you'll hear positives and negatives from both sides! Personally, I go with no WCs, but I use a lot of dry rock so I want a good and thorough cycle. Plus, it lets me be lazy for a while! Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hey guys Thanks for that last reply and i agree i dont think i should do water changes. I got some bad news one of my fish died it was the one that was camra shy. I dont know why he died so if any one has any ideas let me know he was over by a rock in the corner upsidedown. I will put up a couple of pictures and my water test results a little later. Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 ok i just did my water tests my ph 7.8 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 15 let me know what you think Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 I wanted to show you guys some more pics corner view moonlights fish (scooby doo) shaggy was the one that died Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
asting Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 What are you testing with? The fact that you're cycling with these fish can add stress. Also, Chromi's are typically schooling fish, and keeping less than 3 is stressful to them (not that keeping more fish for cycling is good, just noting). I would leave the one chromis in until you're completly cycled, then either get rid of him or add a few friends. I like your cave btw! Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 thanks asting for the reply it has great info now should i get rid of him if i want clownfish gobies and jawfish and lots of coral or will he be alright because i dont want more than 2 of them in my tank the just dont have much personality. Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Quick question do my pumps need to break the surface of the water or does the filter in the back do enough? Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
oceanbreeze Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 clownfish 14, love the tank rock work looks great sorry to hear your loss on fish they are lovely fish too! keep pic`s coming everyone loves pic`s Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Thanks for the reply here are some more pics . Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hey guys Well my tank is looking great there are lots of diatoms. They are making lots of bubbles on top of my rocks and sand also my fish is doing great. Here is a question for all of you experts out there, if the diatoms or dusty brown things all over my tank are making bubbles does that mean my cycle is done I did my water tests and this is what I got PH 8.2 Ammonia 0.25 Nitrite 0 Ntrate 20 Saltinity 1.025 Temp 82-83F Thanks and let me know, clownfish14 Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hey guys Here are some pictures of what I think are diatoms. This one is of them on the sand In this one you can see the bubbles on the rock Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hey guys how long can i leave the lights on for? Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hey all of you experts out there I need some help this brownish stuff is spreading all over my tank i was told they are called diatoms. I need to know should I add my cleanup crew now or wait until I am sure my cycle is over. My water test is the same as a cupple of posts ago. Thanks, clownfish14 Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 New pics just took some new pics of the diatomes and the rest of my tank so here they are diatoms Fish Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 More pics FTS More diatoms top view with hood up more diatoms Link to comment
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