Vesian's JBJ 28g Nanocube LED

[Vesian]

Well, here I am, the proud owner of one of the new JBJ 28g LED's :-) The tank was born on December 9th, with water being added several days before that. As it is now, 22lbs of Figi liverock from drfostersmith.com has been added, with 3 pounds added afterwards from my current BC14 tank (a total of 25lbs currently).

 

A list of my current equippment:

 

Tank: JBJ 28 gallon LED Nanocube

Rock: 25lbs Figi Liverock

Sand: 20lbs Live Sand

Pumps: Stock

Heater: Jager 125w

Powerhead: 1x Koralia 1

Controller: Reefkeeper Lite 1, currently controlling lights+heater

 

When the tank is done cycling, I plan to move over the lifestock from my current BC14, including a pair of Occ Clownfish, a Firefish, and a few soft corals. I've learned much over the past 10 months in the hobby, have had my share of losses and catastrophies, and am always looking for new ways to improve the life of my tank inhabitants.

 

A current FTS of my BC14, in limbo until the NC28 completes the cycle:

 

 

 

and without further adeau,

 

 

FTS - Daylights

 

FTS - Nightlights (shimmer-tastic!)

 

Right Side

 

Left Side

 

LEDs

 

Reefkeeper Lite location

 

Unorganized cords ;p

 

 

Video of the nightlight's shimmer (bad quality camera)

 

 

Some lessons i've learned over the past 10 months:

 

1. Water can and will find its way outside your tank, and inevitably onto the floor. When that floor is carpet, bad things happen. Solution: Buy plastic floor mats, place under tank before you set it up to prevent carpet damage from water.

 

2. Consistency is key. Keep up on those water changes!

 

3. Turbo snails can and will bulldoze your corals off the rock, regardless of where you place them.

 

4. Astraea snails are too clumsy to bother with.

 

 

 

Some things/skills that i'm still working on, but still encounter trouble with:

 

1. Water changes. Still a mess, water gets everywhere, siphoning out debris (from sand bed?)

2. Coral placement in the tank: Conflicting information on the net as to what goes where

3. Coral feeding? I rarely do this.

[clownfish14]

wow looks great i will be following this keep up the good work.

[Dustin C Mills]

More pictures!!

 

lol

[Vesian]

Picked up a Tunze 9002 today from a fellow reefer. Also ordered the skimmer cup from inTank to make it compatible with the 28g's back chambers. Still considering whether to bother running it during the cycle or not; i've read several arguements by both sides. Also currently considering how to get chaeto in the back chambers, as I need some way to maintain the pH in the aquarium. Perhaps at the bottom of the two small chambers outside the center chamber?

[cdalmost]

3. Turbo snails can and will bulldoze your corals off the rock, regardless of where you place them.

4. Astraea snails are too clumsy to bother with.

 

3. Coral feeding? I rarely do this.

 

I've had very good luck with Trochus and Cerith snails, and with the ringed cowrie, Cypraea annulus. None too big, and they do a great job of keeping my tank free of micro algae.

 

I've heard feeding your corals is generally good. It's fun too, for me at least. Get yourself some long tweezers and frozen Mysis shrimp and you're all set; it only takes ten minutes, two or three times a week.

[Vesian]

I've had very good luck with Trochus and Cerith snails, and with the ringed cowrie, Cypraea annulus. None too big, and they do a great job of keeping my tank free of micro algae.

 

I've heard feeding your corals is generally good. It's fun too, for me at least. Get yourself some long tweezers and frozen Mysis shrimp and you're all set; it only takes ten minutes, two or three times a week.

 

 

I'll be stocking Cerith's for sure, I love those guys :-) As for feeding corals, up until now i've never really done it, i've just relied on their feeders catching some of the flakes I put into the aquarium. Not exactly optimal, and i'm willing to learn. Frozen mysis, you say. I'll have to do some research into that and what exactly is available.

 

In other news, the tank is now 1 week old, and the Diatom bloom is in full swing :-) I'll post pictures of the ugly tank tonight ;p

 

Still no signs of life from the rocks yet.

[cdalmost]

As for feeding corals, up until now i've never really done it, i've just relied on their feeders catching some of the flakes I put into the aquarium. Not exactly optimal, and i'm willing to learn. Frozen mysis, you say. I'll have to do some research into that and what exactly is available.

 

Yeah, you just thaw the mysis (or whatever) out, rinse it off, and then drop it one-by-one on the feeders. Depending on the species of coral, the feeders are sticky, so you might not even need to turn the pumps off. When I feed my Ricordea I have to turn the pumps off because otherwise it'll get blown away before it gets swallowed.

 

Chopped up seafood from the grocery store might work just as well, and I'm sure there are other things in the fish store. I wouldn't recommend krill; they're huge! One krill fed everything in my tank (after I cut it up). I read somewhere that it's best to feed corals the whole animal (i.e. not just the "meat") because they need the vitamins and minerals present in the shells, so it's probably best to find the right size food for the corals you have.

[Vesian]

Diatom bloom still in full swing! Just added my clown f.....heck no :-)

 

In other news, just ordered the CPR Aquafuge HOB refigium to have a safe spot to house my skimmer and chaeto. Looking forward to it arriving tomorrow!

 

Tested some params just for the heck of it...Ammonia and Nitrite were the highest possible readings, lol.

[jame]

LEDs

 

Nice thank you got there! I'm also thinking of getting the 5.6 LED retrokit from NT for my BC29....

 

Just curious what your LED arrangement is? (ie. WWBWW or WBWBW)

I also heard that 50/50's make a big difference....

 

any advice if spending the extra $$ on the optional upgrades are actually worth it??

[Vesian]

Nice thank you got there! I'm also thinking of getting the 5.6 LED retrokit from NT for my BC29....

 

Just curious what your LED arrangement is? (ie. WWBWW or WBWBW)

I also heard that 50/50's make a big difference....

 

any advice if spending the extra $$ on the optional upgrades are actually worth it??

 

Jame, this isn't the nanotuners upgrade; this is the new LED tank from JBJ. All of this is stock in the hood :-)

[jame]

Jame, this isn't the nanotuners upgrade; this is the new LED tank from JBJ. All of this is stock in the hood :-)

 

 

SHOOT!! Why didn't I wait?!? It would pretty much run me about the same price

 

Well I look forward to more updates... keep posting pics, I'll be watching this post!

[Vesian]

Cycle is still progressing. Ammonia is decreasing, but Nitrites are still off the chart. Nitrates are at 20ppm at the moment.

 

Got the CPR HOB Small Refugium hooked up and placed on the back of the tank. Am having some issues with the placement of the intake pump (it's unable to pump water straight up so I have the tubing angled at the moment. Still need to purchase/aquire chaeto + sand or miracle mud for the refugium bed.

 

Green algae is also ALL over the tank. Seriously considering getting at least some CUC in there asap.

[clownfish14]

Cycle is still progressing. Ammonia is decreasing, but Nitrites are still off the chart. Nitrates are at 20ppm at the moment.

 

Got the CPR HOB Small Refugium hooked up and placed on the back of the tank. Am having some issues with the placement of the intake pump (it's unable to pump water straight up so I have the tubing angled at the moment. Still need to purchase/aquire chaeto + sand or miracle mud for the refugium bed.

 

Green algae is also ALL over the tank. Seriously considering getting at least some CUC in there asap.

 

sounds good keep up the good work.

[Vesian]

The tank is now 2 weeks into the cycle, yay!

 

Ordered a second PC4 unit for more programmable inputs on my reefkeeper, plus a SR2 unit to monitor pH and Salinity. Also ordered the digital aquatics Float switch kit, will be a first for me tinkering with that stuff. The algae buildup continues, it's proven useless to wipe it off the glass as it appears again a day later. Going to the LFS tomorrow to pick up a few cerith snails as the beginnings of the clean-up crew.

 

I've also fixed the placement of the HOB Refigium (after loosing small pieces into the bottom of the chambers twice, GRRRR). Once I pick up a small bag of chemi-pure, i'll replace the basket in the now free center chamber with some filter floss on the top to catch large debris.

 

Some updated pictures of the HOB Refigium, as i've seen quite a few questions around the net as to how this looks:

 

 

Shot of the rear chambers:

 

 

The Tunze 9002 skimmer, doing its thing:

 

 

Updated Full tank shot, with a huge amount of green algae all over the place:

 

 

Side shot:

 

[pismo_reefer]

Looks like yer growin SeaMonkeys in derr....

[Vesian]

Looks like yer growin SeaMonkeys in derr....

 

yarr :-)

 

So I took some readings last night and came up with:

 

0 PPM Ammonia

highest possible reading on Nitrites

 

bah :-( Going to hold off on the snails until that nitrite comes down.

[Super six 5]

Some updated pictures of the HOB Refigium, as i've seen quite a few questions around the net as to how this looks:

 

The Tunze 9002 skimmer, doing its thing:

 

 

Can you please tell me more about the HOB Refigium? Where did you get it, how's it set up? How's that Tunze Skimmer? I'm running a HOB Aqua C Remora right now that's loud as the dickens. If I do something like you, this may solve my issue.

[Vesian]

Can you please tell me more about the HOB Refigium? Where did you get it, how's it set up? How's that Tunze Skimmer? I'm running a HOB Aqua C Remora right now that's loud as the dickens. If I do something like you, this may solve my issue.

 

Can you please tell me more about the HOB Refigium?

It's the CPR AquaFuge 2 HOB Small Refigium. It's designed to be hung on the back of a tank to create a space outside of the tank for you to house beneficial bacteria, macro algae, and other invertibrates/things that don't belong in the display tank.

 

Where did you get it, how's it set up?

I bought mine from MarineDepot.com. It comes almost completely assembled in the box; you just need to take the included pump out of the box and connect the plumbing to the refugium. The way it works is that the right side (in my pictures) is connected to a pump, which intakes water into the refugium and lands at a baffle. The water flows through the middle of the refugium, where you keep LR rubble, cheato, etc. This is currently where I have the skimmer. The water then flows over another baffle onto the right side, where it drops through more plumbing back into the AIO tank via gravity.

 

How's that Tunze Skimmer?

Pretty quiet IMO. Definately liveable. The most noise comes from the included pump with the refugium, i'm thinking of switching that out for a quieter pump (Maxi-Jet 600/900, probably). The skimmer itself is pulling out tons of nasty crap already, works like a charm

 

 

In other news, the new outlet+RM2 for my Reefkeeper Lite arrived. I installed them and moved all of the cords inside the tank to create a safer tank area (100% less chance of electrical shock! lol). I still don't have a pH or Salinity probe to hook up, but that will come with time and funds :-)

 

Got a giftcard to the LFS from my GF for xmas, went and had them order a Vortech MP10 for me. Should be in Thursday-ish, so excited :-)

[Super six 5]

Excellent, thanks for sharing!

[clownfish14]

any updates?

[Vesian]

any updates?

 

Tank water is still pretty hazy even after adding Purigen and Chemi-pure, nitrites are still high 3 weeks after starting the tank. No idea why.

[Vesian]

So here I am, 3 weeks into the cycle...and i'm not seeing any progress at all.

 

Tests are reading as follows:

 

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 5+ ppm

Nitrates: 80-160ppm

 

I would have thought that the nitrite levels would have decreased by now...

 

Additionally, the tank is UGLY. Brown+milky white all over, can't even see into the cube at all. I added chemi-pure+purigen to try to clean up the water, no luck.

 

Here's a current picture:

 

Any advice? Water change?

[cdalmost]

Tests are reading as follows:

 

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 5+ ppm

Nitrates: 80-160ppm

 

You can take some solace in the fact that most nitrate tests work by first converting the nitrate to nitrite, so presence of nitrite in the water throws the nitrate test results way out of whack.

 

Any advice? Water change?

 

Patience is probably your best course of action. Let nature take its course...

[Vesian]

You can take some solace in the fact that most nitrate tests work by first converting the nitrate to nitrite, so presence of nitrite in the water throws the nitrate test results way out of whack.

 

 

 

Patience is probably your best course of action. Let nature take its course...

 

Yeah, but....should the tank be THIS cloudy 3 weeks into it? ...

[clownfish14]

Yeah, but....should the tank be THIS cloudy 3 weeks into it? ...

 

mine took about 4 weeks to cycle