Chills1026's 28 gallon jbj nano cube- a dive into the deep end

[chills1026]

so i decided to take the plunge into nano reefing and purchase a 28 gallon nano cube. since its been only a week its only got the live rock and sand and begining its cycle. i am very excited about the prospects. in another wekk i will test the parameters hence no listing for them the lights are stock as well as the pumps but will plan to upgrade the pumps. hopefully plan on getting a ro/di system as well as ATO system for now heres a FTS of the aquascape

[chills1026]

so i tested my parameters since its a bit early to test for ammonia i tested the salinity and ph the salinity is 1.023 so thats good the ph is a bit low at 7.8 is there any way i can increase it. plus would it be better for both pumps to be running at same time or alternate. a side note my wife looks over at my 50 gallon african cichlid tank and asks how many fish could we put into it since the nano cube will most likely only have one in it and what will it take to turn it into a reef tank. hows that for a spouse.

[chills1026]

so i did a little research and found out my specific gravity was low and per reefkeeping magazine online decided to increase it to 1.026. also noticed some cyano growing in the tank. plan on testing the ph tomorrow

[chills1026]

yesturday i was wondering why i havent seen any critters by now when i hear other people seeing stuff but i guess i should be patient. i came home from work today and took a glance inside my tank and was very pleased to see some critters swimming around so needless to say im happy. will be adding one more piece of rock,which i wil be picking up tomorrow then wait a couple of weeks to test my parameters.

[djhuma]

I've been out of the hobby for 5 years and just got back into it a few weeks ago. Setup the tank 2 days ago and Im also excited. Things have changed alot in the hobby. After one day of setting the tank up I tested the water for kicks. The ammonia is actually at 0.25 and PH at 8.1. Nitrates are going off between 30-40PPM. The LR was completely cured from a LFS unless they were blowing smoke. I was totally robbed at $6.99 a lb but needed some LR fast. The LR was defintiely live but almost NO coraline algae. Only critters I saw on the rock were bristleworms so far.

 

I have to say a 12gallon is way too small. Downgraded from a 20. I got 20 lbs of LR which is way too much already. Didnt think about saving room for future additions. Oh well, I'll figure it out when it finishes cycling. I shouldve got the 28 g like you. Keep us updated.

 

oh yeah here's a FTS of my 12 after 3 days for kicks...

 

[chills1026]

yes i originally only planned to add one more piece and winded up adding two. my wifespotted rock she liked while looking for some rubble for back chamber. i decided to bring my specific gravity down so it would match the store i will be getting my livestock from so it will be an easier transition for livestock. yeah i redid my aquascape for the fifth time. will post picture of new one tomorrow

[Falcon789]

$6.99 sounds about right. Every store I go its the same for live rock. I got lucky on a store that was moving and got it for 5 a pound. 12 gal is kind of small but the 6 gal I have is even smaller. Especially if your coming back into the game, I would've thought you would get bigger.

[chills1026]

so finally got around to taking a picture of the new scape.heres a FTS. once i get this up and running and few corals(going the minimalist route) we plan on setting up the 50 gallon. love the dimensions on the 50(48x18x12)

[geezers11]

so i decided to take the plunge into nano reefing and purchase a 28 gallon nano cube. since its been only a week its only got the live rock and sand and begining its cycle. i am very excited about the prospects. in another wekk i will test the parameters hence no listing for them the lights are stock as well as the pumps but will plan to upgrade the pumps. hopefully plan on getting a ro/di system as well as ATO system for now heres a FTS of the aquascape

 

I have the 28 g LED pro. Tried both alternating and running pumps simultaneously. Found simultaneously is too much for the overflow if you have any media in the baskets. So, I run them at 30 sec intervals. Seems to keep the pumps fairly cool and produces a nice random flow.

[chills1026]

i havent been on this thread for a long while considering i had turned it into a multi tank. for those who have cichlids you will know what multis are,but me and my wife decided it would serve better as a shroom tank considering the lights.the 50 will be a lps tank and some easy to keep sps like montis and keep this as shroom tank. i plan on setting the pumps on alternating currents considering the future occupants.