Rehabilitating a Nano Cube 32

[OscarB]

Hi Nano-Reef Forum,

 

I recently got a Nano Cube 32 that was neglected.  It doesn't look too bad, I'm sure it could be worse.  It has 3 live rocks, some crabs and snails, and a clown.  The previous owner wanted a hobby, but didn't  do any maintenance and lost interest.  It's about a year old, and has had maybe 2 water changes since new.  The filter is saturated with brown goo.  The protein skimmer is full of what looks like root beer. He has been adding filtered water from the fridge for evaporation.  

 

So now I have it, and I am also a beginner.  I've been looking at forums for about a year and wanting to get into reef tanks.  I know a little, and have a lot to learn.  I checked the ammonia level, which reads "ideal".  

 

I plan on going to a store tonight to get more testing supplies, and filter media.  It has an in tank upgraded media basket.  I plan on filling the bottom with live rock rubble.  I don't know what to put in the middle.  I see a lot of people leaving the middle empty.  

 

Other than a good cleaning, I am open to any suggestions for rehabilitating this tank.  I don't want to shock the system and kill everything, but the sand in the bottom looks awful. Is there a way to switch this out for something more coarse? It's super fine, and clouds up whenever anything touches it.  Also, if I do change out the sand for something else, what do you guys usually do with the snails and crabs while maintaining the tank?

 

Any helpful advice is appreciated.  

 

Thanks

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome to the community @OscarB!

 

How long has the tank settled into its new location? Any photos you can share?

 

I think a slow and methodical cleaning is the right approach, you can get the tank back on track without any big disruptions. Replacing the filter media, cleaning out the skimmer cup, and start a more regular water change routine. Do you have a plan for mixing new water? You may want to pick up some small tubing to manually siphon out detritus from the bottom of the rear chambers during a water change.

 

Removing the sand is definitely an option, a number of hobbyists have done it before. To avoid disrupting your bio filter though, you should do it slowly over time, a few cups with each water change until you can siphon out the last of it. Then you won't have to worry about the crabs and snails either.

[StevieT]

Do you mean a Nano Cube 28?  There is no 32 model.

 

Do not put rubble in the rear chambers.

[OscarB]

It must be a 28 then.. I was told it was a 32. I moved it to my house on a cart from my neighbors house. It's been settled in its spot for a day.

 

So far I've scraped the green algae off the glass, changed the floss filter, and cleaned the protein skimmer. I was going to do a 20% water change on Saturday.

 

I'm at work right now, but I'll take some pictures and post them tomorrow morning. 

 

What would be a good setup for the media basket besides rubble? I was also thinking of a GFO reactor to keep the green algae in check.  

 

 

[FISHnChix]

2 hours ago, StevieT said:

Do you mean a Nano Cube 28?  There is no 32 model.

 

Do not put rubble in the rear chambers.

Could be a biocube 32?

[StevieT]

29 minutes ago, Weikel said:

Could be a biocube 32?

Yes.  And after reading more it probably is.

[OscarB]

9 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Welcome to the community @OscarB!

 

How long has the tank settled into its new location? Any photos you can share?

 

I think a slow and methodical cleaning is the right approach, you can get the tank back on track without any big disruptions. Replacing the filter media, cleaning out the skimmer cup, and start a more regular water change routine. Do you have a plan for mixing new water? You may want to pick up some small tubing to manually siphon out detritus from the bottom of the rear chambers during a water change.

 

Removing the sand is definitely an option, a number of hobbyists have done it before. To avoid disrupting your bio filter though, you should do it slowly over time, a few cups with each water change until you can siphon out the last of it. Then you won't have to worry about the crabs and snails either.

Thanks for the info! I've been interested in reef tanks for over 10 years, I'm glad to finally be able to realize this hobby. 

 

So, it says "nano cube" on the lower right corner. I'm guessing it's a 28. It's not a bio cube. 

 

Also, another concern I had is that the clown is kind of aggressive. When I was cleaning the glass, he kept attacking my hand and the scraper. Is this normal behavior? I'm concerned that if I introduce new fish, he will attack them. An I stuck with just a one fish aquarium?

[StevieT]

Nano Cube 28

There is also a Nano Cube 24

 

Very normal.  Clowns need a bitch slap AKA flick in the nose when they step out of line and think they run the show.

 

They are a damsel but usually get along with other fish, well most depends on the type you have.  They are very territorial but usually just a small area of the aquarium.   Other fish can be added.

 

 

[Tamberav]

What type of clown is it? 

 

+1 no rubble... floss, a bag of carbon, purigen. Done.

 

You can just siphon out some sand with each water change.

 

I've also replaced it all in 1 go but you need a bunch of other buckets to hold the rock/fish and a bunch more for new water, ect. 

 

Yikes at losing interest after just 2 water changes 

[Clown79]

There's 2 ways to go about getting the tank in a good condition.

 

1. During waterchanges remove sections of sand and wash it thoroughly until it runs clear. Then replace. Each week do this until the whole sand bed has been thoroughly washed. (this will take a few weeks)

 

Blast rocks with a new turkey baster

 

During your water changes, scrub back chambers with a new baby bottle brush and siphon out the water.

 

 

 

Or 2.

 

Major overhaul in 1 day

 

- make salt water

 

- Siphon water from tank into a bucket, place livestock in it.

 

- Siphon more water into another bucket place rocks in it

 

- Siphon sand out and throw out.

 

- Rinse new sand (can be done a day or 2 ahead of cleaning)

 

- scrub back chamber with baby bottle brush and siphon water out.

 

- scrub rocks if full of  pest algae, replace in tank, add new sand, add new water.

 

Once tank is clear and temp is correct, add livestock.

 

Keeping the rocks in water during the clean up prevents die off so there should be no spike in ammonia.

 

It's always good to have seachem prime on hand for emergencies.

 

It's a days work but essentially it's the same as a tank transfer and you start with  fresh slate.

 

After this it will be about maintaining the tank.

 

 

[OscarB]

[FISHnChix]

10 hours ago, StevieT said:

Nano Cube 28

There is also a Nano Cube 24

 

Very normal.  Clowns need a bitch slap AKA flick in the nose when they step out of line and think they run the show.

 

They are a damsel but usually get along with other fish, well most depends on the type you have.  They are very territorial but usually just a small area of the aquarium.   Other fish can be added.

 

 

Ha yea my clown is an ass hat too. Every time I stick my hand in there it’s a battle. I can flick at him and swat him away and he still comes back for more. It really pisses me off on w.c. Day. If I have to do a deep cleaning I just take him out and put him in a bucket until I’m done.. and yes I do have other fish but the clown does seem to rule the tank.

[Clown79]

My clown used to attack my hand all the time.

 

She was relentless but she stopped doing it when I changed tanks.

[Micro]

The tank doesn't actually look as bad as I was expecting from the original post.

The said...

Personally I would do the overhaul with new, well rinsed sand that @Clown79 suggested. @brandon429 and some others have some well documented step by step threads on this method of "rip cleaning" that works wonders for problem nano-tanks, without hurting the biological filtration. Small, partial sand rinsing will improve conditions eventually, but never truly get the sand or tank as clean as they could/should be.