First setup

[nickfmc]

Hi everyone, Just started my first 14G biocube. I'm looking for someone to point me in the right direction. any good links to step by step setup on a nano reef tank or answer a few of my questions.

1. haven't found much info on temperature control for nano's ? heater/cooler's needed or not?

2. I got some uncured liverock from the LFS, I did not hyper Salinate one piece especialy is covered in all sorts of Crap (it's only been in the take 1 day so far so it came this way) after reading some posts here I'm a little bit worried of bad hitch hikers and wondering if I should HyperSalinate it in a bucket and mabey scrub of some of the dead anemone looking things.

3. if you hard cycle the live rock do you kill bad worms ect. or are they to hardy?

4. should I pull my filter out and rinse it off every couple days when I cycle do to all the crap in the tank??

5. what kind of gloves are good when poking around in my tank, just new kitchen dish gloves??

 

thanks guys Great site here, can't wait to share my photos in a few months.

[CarterNichols]

1. you will need heater but you shouldn't need a chiller with that tank.

2. truly bad hitchhikers are few and far between, but if you are worried then you can just take it out and use hyper-salinity to evacuate any worms/shrimp...

3. It depends how high your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels get, but it may kill them, it may not.

4. don't mess with the tank while it is cycling just sit back and wait...

5. i wear rubber kitchen gloves (yellow).. make sure they have no powder on/in them.

 

HTH

 

-Carter

[SaltWaterNewb]

1. haven't found much info on temperature control for nano's ? heater/cooler's needed or not?

Get a heater that is rated for the tank size you have. Chiller if needed.

2. I got some uncured liverock from the LFS, I did not hyper Salinate one piece especialy is covered in all sorts of Crap (it's only been in the take 1 day so far so it came this way) after reading some posts here I'm a little bit worried of bad hitch hikers and wondering if I should HyperSalinate it in a bucket and mabey scrub of some of the dead anemone looking things.

Couldn't hurt anything. If it will give you some peace of mind do it. Keep in mind that the possible bad hitch hikers may have already left to rock and are now in your tank.

3. if you hard cycle the live rock do you kill bad worms ect. or are they to hardy?

It totally depends on what is in the rock. There is no guarantee what will live and what will die during a cycle.

4. should I pull my filter out and rinse it off every couple days when I cycle do to all the crap in the tank??

I wouldn't even filter unless you are soft cycling. You can use the filter for water flow but leave out the media. Soft cycle might be a different story.

5. what kind of gloves are good when poking around in my tank, just new kitchen dish gloves??

Non-powered. The yellow (or whatever color) dish washing gloves are fine and pretty thick so they would be good and cheap.

[rhunter513]

Hey nickfmc welcome

 

I am not an expert but can answer your question with my opinion and experiences.

 

1. Nano reefs are usually kept betweeen 78-80. For a 14g a 25watt heater will be fine. Best to go with a high quality heater - one with auto shut-off if dried out - ones with rubber coating..."stealth"! What you really want to work at is keeping temp fluctuations down to under 3 degree - 1 degree being ideal. Keeping a nano cool is usually more of an issue than heating it. The best method for cooling is evaporative cooling - yet that means finding a way to keep up with top-off as that can cause specific sravity (SG) fluctuations - many use auto top off.

 

2. Uncured rock is not the best way to go - imo - but you'll work with what you got. Yes scrub off what you can BUT if its aiptasia then be careful. You can spread aiptasia easy that way, broken pieces of aip grow into new aip. It should look obvious what is rotting and should be scrubbed - scrub in seperate container.

 

3. By hard cycle I assume you mean without any mid cycle water changes. Yes "hard" cycles have huge ammonia and nitrite spikes that kills off lots of stuff. You can use a protein skimmer or partial water changes to keep the ammonia from getting too high. Yet you'll be very surprised at how much life is in your tank after the cycle...amazing!

 

4. Yes Yes keep all filter media as clean as possible. Be sure to rinse it in old tank water

 

5. I don't use gloves but I would not go with the kithen kind. Check online for tank gloves.

[Jakesaw]

Hey nickfmc welcome

 

I am not an expert but can answer your question with my opinion and experiences.

 

2. Uncured rock is not the best way to go - imo - but you'll work with what you got. Yes scrub off what you can BUT if its aiptasia then be careful. You can spread aiptasia easy that way, broken pieces of aip grow into new aip. It should look obvious what is rotting and should be scrubbed - scrub in seperate container.

 

I've read this a bunch - Re: Scrubbing rock - what exactly does taht mean. Are we talking about a stiff brush like one would use to clean a floor - scrubbed firmly - are we talking a toothbrush meticulously cleaning small areas - or something else. I'm really interested i this - b/c I'm leaning toward online retailer for uncured - First Live Rock - A few posts tonight I've dialogued in have shifted me from a small nano to a larger FOWLR tank to get started and Rock will be the significant cost if I end up that way.

 

5. I don't use gloves but I would not go with the kithen kind. Check online for tank gloves.

 

Any reason why not kitchen gloves.

[Kraylen]

I let my clean up crew do all the work.

[Daemonfly]

Many kitchen gloves come with various chemicals on/in them.

 

As for scrubbing, depending on whats on the rock, you should only need a soft to medium bristle brush. It's mainly to remove any dead/dying material. If you find anything that looks like it's still alive, I would try to keep it.

 

I rarely scrub, but do give the rock a good rinsing (in SW) to work out all the detritus. The way I do this is just pop a powerhead in a 5g bucket of water, get the gloves on, and dip the rock in, swishing it around, and using the powerhead to blow out any holes.

[nickfmc]

Thanks for all the advice, learning lots here.

 

when is a safe time to add a cleanup crew to a newly cycled tank?? after ammonia and Nitrites are 0'ed?

 

what type of cleanup crew does everyone add first? snails? crabs? shrimp?

[SaltWaterNewb]

You add the CUC once the cycle is finished. That means ammonia and nitrites are zero and you have done at least one water change to bring your nitrates down to as close to zero as you can. Usually at the end of the cycle you will get diatoms (brown powdery like algae) that looks really bad but it is a good thing because it means the end is near. Usually the first things added are snails and hermits, though many people don't use hermits at all. Shrimp you need to wait a little longer as they are more sensitive to water parameters. Remember that even though ammonia and nitrites are zero and your cycle is done, it isn't really complete. Your tank will go through algae blooms and not be 100% stable for several months. It is just part of the process.

[Stryprod]

what type of cleanup crew does everyone add first? snails? crabs? shrimp?

As far as cleanup crew "CUC", my research on this site shows opinions vary and you'll get many different answers but certain CUC members seem to be the most popular. I'll list the most popular ones my research came up with along with + and -'s. (Granted there are probably many more than I will write down, these are the main point I came across)

 

Cerith snail: Seems to be an all around cleaner.

+ Great glass, rock and hard surface cleaner, sometimes cleans the top of the sand bed. (All of mine) Bury themselves in the sand from time to time thus adding a bit of sand sifting, albeit a small amount. Love algae

- Perfect victims for death by hermit crab because of their shells. Sometimes just buries in the sand and takes a few days off while collecting welfare.

 

Nassarius Snail: Seems to be the bottom feeder garbage man and a great sand sifter

+ They sift sand quite a bit. They eat leftover fish food in case you over feed fish (should you choose to have fish).

- Although mine appear to eat both algae and meaty foods, they always prefer the good meaty stuff thus negating any algae benefit.

 

Hermit Crabs: Possibly the most fun to watch!

+ Fun to watch, typically active (varies by species). Can host in a hand-picked shell by you. Omnivores.

- Walks all over corals like they mean to p!$$ you off and actually do so to the corals. Knocks loose items all over your tank (correct by gluing or wedging large pieces or avoiding hermits). Will kill snails for their shells if you don't provide them with some.

 

Sorry, I know its a lot of info but I just saved you 3 hours of time!

 

Wait whats that you ask... how many?... well opinions vary but throw as many in as you like but realize that just like fish, you'll have to supplement feed them OR play it safe and lazy... place 1 cerith per 2 gallons of REAL water volume to start and add .5 Nass to the same. Yes this is an arbitrary mathematical equation but it is plays it conservative and if algae or gunk on your sand bed continues to accumulate, add another snail here and there to work it out.

[Hoosierfan]

Wait whats that you ask... how many?... well opinions vary but throw as many in as you like but realize that just like fish, you'll have to supplement feed them OR play it safe and lazy... place 1 cerith per 2 gallons of REAL water volume to start and add .5 Nass to the same. Yes this is an arbitrary mathematical equation but it is plays it conservative and if algae or gunk on your sand bed continues to accumulate, add another snail here and there to work it out.

 

I have an 11 gallon tank...Is there someplace online where I could find half a Nass? I've been to every LFS, but I always get a weird look when I ask about one!

[Stryprod]

I have an 11 gallon tank...Is there someplace online where I could find half a Nass? I've been to every LFS, but I always get a weird look when I ask about one!

Just like all the good coral deals are in SoCal, so are the half Nass too!