millerman Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Wow, does it ever feel great to return to this hobby. I started my first venture into a nano reef (accidentally) in 2009. The tank had its ups and downs. Life's surprises steered me off track and my nano suffered. I went on hiatus and stopped the reefing hobby I so dearly loved. Recently, I had a chance to visit my local LFS. I instantly fell in love again. Now I'm back with a brand new project --- Cube25. Cube25 will be my second attempt to do this right from the start. To eliminate the mistakes I made from the first tank and to stick to a plan from the start. Specs 25 Gallon Amano-style cube tank AC110 Fuge (contemplated going the sump route..but that can wait for my 3rd future tank) Aquatic Life Metal Halide lighting (20k). [Left over from old tank] Concept KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) --- soft corals, 3-4 fish Lessons learned from my old tank -Purchase a RO/DI unit (done) -Aquascape so that you have access to all panels of the glass -Metal Halide lighting -Stocking Plan -Plan and conceptualize before spending -Research Day 1 - Prep Tank Went to my local hardware store to pick up a can of Krylon Fusion. Can you spot the typo? I was so close to notifying the manager. Cube25 Paid $180 even for the stand and tank. Padding Prepping 8 Coats later The white spots are actually glare/reflection. The color and texture of the satin black turned out perfect. -M Link to comment
JR! Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 thats a sick deal man. following along Link to comment
boosted chemist Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Its kinda nice building a tank after you built a tank, allows one to correct previous mistakes. Following. Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Day 2 &3 - Prep and set up! Highlights: Aquascaped Equipment: 550GPH Hydor Koralia Evolution, Eheim Jagr heater (100W), Hydor Slim Skim Nano (waiting to be delivered) Lighting: 150W Metal Halide (Aquatic Life), 14,000k bulb. Dry fitting 550 GPH Hydor Koralia Evolution. Notice the anti-vibration suction cups? Rock scaping. Yes, i'm going bare bottom. Might need more live rock though. More pics to come! Link to comment
pyrocreep Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Very nice looking tank there and a great deal for it at that. Really I like your scape as it is. I see what you mean by maybe needing more live rock. It does seem like it's not enough. Personally I think I would almost go with it as is just to keep the scape like it is or maybe add a little bit to the back right to give it a little more height there. Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Very nice looking tank there and a great deal for it at that. Really I like your scape as it is. I see what you mean by maybe needing more live rock. It does seem like it's not enough. Personally I think I would almost go with it as is just to keep the scape like it is or maybe add a little bit to the back right to give it a little more height there. Thanks! I'm still waiting to add the Hydor Slim Skim. I'm forgoing the AC110 cos it detracts form the look. Down the line, if i need to run carbon/ phosban, I may add the AC110. But for now, i'll only use live rock, skimmer, and water changes as my filtration. I'll see if the tank can handle the bio load with the current rock set up. I only plan to add 2 clown fish, a skunk cleaner shrimp, and maybe a 3rd fish. I'm planning to under-stock the tank since I dont have an extensive filter system. Oh, and corals Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 thats a sick deal man. following along Thanks! The deal was too good to pass up. Its kinda nice building a tank after you built a tank, allows one to correct previous mistakes. Following. Definitely. Reefing is such a journey. I see so many beautiful nano reefs in this forum and it's amazing what people can do with limited space. Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 I like it.... Thanks! I'm taking it slow so that I won't screw it up. Gonna cycle this tank for 2 months or so, while "feeding" the tank with fish food to jump start the cycle. Link to comment
JoelRHale Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Cool scape you got going on Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Thanks!I'm taking it slow so that I won't screw it up. Gonna cycle this tank for 2 months or so, while "feeding" the tank with fish food to jump start the cycle. Damn.... 2 months? That thing can be habitable in 3 days.... I know I'm a 'cycle'-whore, but the stuff really works. Even if you wanna wait that long, I would suggest using it to boost bacterial mass. Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Damn.... 2 months? That thing can be habitable in 3 days.... I know I'm a 'cycle'-whore, but the stuff really works. Even if you wanna wait that long, I would suggest using it to boost bacterial mass. Ok... How about 6 weeks What would be the best way to increase bacterial mass? Cool scape you got going on Thanks! Trying to keep it simple, and easy to maintain --- two oversights from my first tank. And it begins... Link to comment
siwelk Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think it's half-full. Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Use NutraFin cycle.... Follow the directions. Do a water change on day 4... Then you have a set tank. It's concentrated bacteria. Your essentially force feeding so much beneficial bacteria, That ammonia and nitrite never form in harmful amounts. Think of it as yer cycle on steroids. I swear by the stuff.... Ask my clams how they like it... Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think it's half-full. I ran out of ro/ di water .... Making more now Use NutraFin cycle.... Follow the directions.Do a water change on day 4... Then you have a set tank. It's concentrated bacteria. Your essentially force feeding so much beneficial bacteria, That ammonia and nitrite never form in harmful amounts. Think of it as yer cycle on steroids. I swear by the stuff.... Ask my clams how they like it... Wow... How does nutra fin cycle compare with: Bio spira Regular tank cycling ? Link to comment
millerman Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 I ran out of ro/ di water .... Making more now Wow... How does nutra fin cycle compare with: Bio spira Regular tank cycling ? Just found this with my supplies... Should I use this? Link to comment
JR! Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 i like where this is going Link to comment
millerman Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 i like where this is going Thanks! I'm trying to take things slow and do it right from the start. I'm contemplating if I should add a fuge to the tank, or even run Phosban (i have the reactor left over from my previous tank). The part that worries me most is not the initial cycle --- it's the green haired monster (green haired algae). Link to comment
JoelRHale Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Get a species of algae blenny My Starry Blenny runs a train on GHA. Link to comment
siwelk Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Get a species of algae blenny My Starry Blenny runs a train on GHA. nom nom nom Link to comment
JoelRHale Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I'm really glad I knew exactly what scene you were linking too Link to comment
millerman Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Get a species of algae blenny My Starry Blenny runs a train on GHA. I could try that. But i want to attack the problem at the source! I tried running chaeto in a ac70 fuge in my last tank, the chaeto bleached and withered away. I suspect that the light i used was too intense. I used an Ikea puck light. Link to comment
siwelk Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I'm really glad I knew exactly what scene you were linking too great minds Link to comment
millerman Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 nom nom nom LOL! Thanks, i totally missed that reference! Get a species of algae blenny My Starry Blenny runs a train on GHA. Would any blenny do the trick? Any specific blenny that would be better than the other? Link to comment
JoelRHale Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I'm not sure on just any blenny, but ones from the genus Salarias and Atrosalarias are commonly referred to as "algae blennies." Lawnmower and Starry are pretty easily found. Here's a good spot about algae blennies. Between each outbreak (starting the tank, then upgrading) my starry has removed any and all gha in 3 weeks or less. Link to comment
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