Larnie's Nano-Cube DX 92w

[Cesar]

The tank looks very nice Larnie. It looks (from my view) as if you have some nice space there to keep adding things in it. Nice.

[dragon79]

Originally posted by larnie

Maniac  

 

Check out Nanocustoms.com for prices on Nano-Cube lighting upgrade options. I have the 3.24 + 2 T5 actinics and the R2 moonlight.

 

 

Ninh

 

I purchased the T5's with my lighting upgrade from Nanocustoms.com.

 

 

Josh

 

I give, the ricordea are whatever you want them to be... haha. I'll shoot a picture of my blasto tomorrow and post it.

 

larnie, I like your tank, and i like the lights and how you have it set to simulate the day and night.

 

I have a few questions about how you have changed the filtration though.

 

I noticed you took out the sponges to add chemi-pure and put a sponge back in. You change them frequently too, would it last longer and be more benefical to add them to the second compartment? I know that some put it in the second compartment, and then you can add the live rock on top of it. I haven't done it yet, but was thinking of going that route, and keeping the first compartment to grab all the waste and particles through the three sponges, then having compartment two for the chemipure and live rock, then as the last compartment, leave it as it is.. (it has the digital temp guage sensor, heater, and upgraded pump MN-606 159GPH) Only thing I would like to add would be that Y-nozzle. Where did you pick that up so I can change out that stock nozzle??

 

Here is a picture I got from the 3 stage filtration off some website (sorry the pic is small, couldn't find a larger pic), I drew some green arrows, as to how I'm guessing the water flows through...correct if it's wrong, I just want to learn more of how the system works.... Thanks!

 

[lou52onu]

Larnie - think you could post a pic of your bi-directional flow nozzle? Also where did you find it? I'd like to get one.

[larnie]

Hello dragon

 

Here's the logic behind my filtration choices:

 

The flow of water through the filtration compartments begins at the top of compartment one. It exits compartment one at the bottom and enters compartment two. Water from compartment two then overflows towards the top into campartment three where it is then pumped back into the show area of the tank.

 

I use the sponge in comparment one to capture any debris that might enter through the intake. A single sponge is sufficient for this task during a one week period. Leaving a sponge here for a longer period would allow for a build up of nitrates and therefore be harmful to the tank. Some Nano-Cube owners don't use any sponges for this reason. If you do use them, they must be cleaned often.

 

The Chemi-Pure is placed at the bottom of compartment one for a couple of reasons. Although it is not its intended function, the fine mesh bag of the Chemi-Pure also captures debris limiting water flow through it. Although the sponge protects it from the majority of debris, the Chemi-Pure bag must be rinsed often and replaced every couple of months (I replace it monthly). Therefore, the Chemi-Pure bag must be easily accessable during maintenance (more difficult if it is under the rubble).

 

I place the rubble in compartment two as additional biological filtration. By placing the rubble after the mechanical filtration (sponge) in compartment one it remains free of clogging debris. I also gently pour my replacement water into compartment two during a water change. This flushes out the rubble and avoids disturbance of the show area.

 

I like to have my temperature probe preceed the heater so it is not overly impacted by its proximity to the heater. Heated water is then pumped from compartment three into the show area.

 

I picked up the Y fitting and round nozzle at a lfs but I have seen them offered at drsfostersmith.com in the plumbing supplies.

[lou52onu]

OK, so here's what my filtration looks like (with the exception of the bio-balls which I removed today). From RIGHT to LEFT my compartments house 2 sponges, 1 sponge and the bag of charchol, 1 sponge (and prior to today the bio-balls), and in the compartment furthest to the left is just the pump and my heater.

 

 

I think I drew the water flow as it occurs in the tank, but I may be wrong. My nitrates have been high (20). Could some please advise me what I need to do to fix this?

 

 

I also cleaned my sponges today for the first time...how often should I be rinsing them?

[larnie]

Lou

 

You must be running an original Nano-Cube as opposed to the Nano-Cube DX configuration that Steven and I have been discussing. I am not familiar with the original's water flow, however, the same principles should be considered. The high nitrates are characteristic of Nano-Cubes that utilize sponges (that have not be rinsed often) and biio-balls.

 

I would suggest that you only use a single sponge in the first compartment, which you thoroughly rinse weekly. Don't use any sponges in the second or third compartment. You may consider filling the second and third compartments with cured live rock rubble to enhance your biological filtration.

[larnie]

Lou

 

Here's the pic of the modified outlet that you asked for. It consists of a Y Fitting and a Round Nozzle attached to the ball socket of the original diffuser. These parts are available from drsfostersmith.com.

 

 

I have the Round Nozzle directed at the water surface and the second oulet of the Y Fitting directed at my rock pile.

[Sushi]

i had that w/my old nano-cube and flow was reduced drastically...

 

those Y fittings just kill flow in my experience. i had to add an extra powerhead in order to keep up with decent flow. but if it's working for you, that's great! btw, nice tank... money on the nanocustoms hood was well spent.

[larnie]

Without a doubt Uchiha, anything that interferes with the flow from the pump will reduce its output. It is definately necessary to use an upgraded pump with this configuration (an MJ606 or greater). However, it is beneficial to provide more than a single direction of flow within the tank.

 

Another option I evaluated was the Hydor Rotating Deflector. I found that it was more of an impediment to flow than the Y Fitting and it was unable to direct water flow to the the back half of the tank. The most effective, but visually disruptive, option is to add a powerhead to the other side of the cube near the intake.

 

By the way, as I stated earlier, your tanks (NC and Via Aqua) are the models for what I want to do with my NC.

[lou52onu]

Yes I am running an OG nano cube and thank everyone for there input.

 

 

One more question.. you'd reccomend taking out the charchol AND all of the sponges except for 1? There are 2 in the first compartment and 1 in each additional compartment.

 

What would I expect a custome 3.24 hood to run me from nanocustoms?

 

 

Thanks in advance again!

[larnie]

Lou

 

Yes, I would use 1 sponge (overall) at most and I would thoroughly rinse it once a week. Dirty sponges equal high nitrates. You could also use a Chemi-Pure bag underneath the sponge. The other option to consider is the use of cured live rock rubble in the other compartments for added biological filtration.

 

At Nanocustoms you have many options in equipment and effort. I would recommend that you visit their site and see for yourself. If you have questions you can contact Chris at Nanocustoms.com via the methods offered on the site. I highly recommend Nanocustoms. Chris is knowledgeable, friendly and fair. The upgrade made a dramatic improvement in my Nano-Cube.

[dragon79]

Originally posted by larnie

Lou

 

Here's the pic of the modified outlet that you asked for. It consists of a Y Fitting and a Round Nozzle attached to the ball socket of the original diffuser. These parts are available from drsfostersmith.com.

 

 

 

I have the Round Nozzle directed at the water surface and the second oulet of the Y Fitting directed at my rock pile.

 

Awesome, so there are two pieces as opposed to one? From the pic it looks like one piece added on. I went to gain a visual from the site you said we could order it from, but it's temporarily down it says. Uchiha is saying that he got restricted flow on his cube, but did not mention that he upgraded his pump like us. You have it going, would you say you are getting good flow?

 

As for the three chambers in our tanks.... thanks for the explanation on how it works. I was almost right, just wrong with how it flows in the first chamber. Hey would it fit to have two sponges as opposed to just one? Would it better help with the filtration? I was thinking better, chemi-pure in first, then two sponges. It's not too bad cleaning those, it may help the chemi-pure last longer than 1 month. I was hoping I could stretch it out at least 3 months. (range says about 1 to 6 months) depending on size and being nano is so small i'd figure it would last longer than those with bigger tanks like 30 to 40 gallons. I really like the idea of the second chamber containing fully cured/cycled live rock. how much did it take to fill? meaning how much would I have to buy to fill that compartment? Well that's it for now, thanks for your feedback, it's made me more confident in the things I want accomplished with my nano. If you ever want to see some pics, they posted at nanotank.com under nano's 20 and under. Thanks again.

[larnie]

Yes, it is two pieces in addition to the ball joint. Sorry the angles bad and the pics not very good... Uchiha did have an upgraded pump in his NC and it definately reduces flow. However, this configuration in my NC provides significant agitation to the water surface as well as direct flow to the rock pile. I have a torch coral on that side of the tank and sometimes I think it gets too much flow. Many NC owners still choose to add a small powerhead on the opposite side of the tank. If you don't mind how it looks, its a good idea.

 

I checked out the pics of your tank and I really like what your putting together.

[dragon79]

Originally posted by larnie

Yes, it is two pieces in addition to the ball joint. Sorry the angles bad and the pics not very good... Uchiha did have an upgraded pump in his NC and it definately reduces flow. However, this configuration in my NC provides significant agitation to the water surface as well as direct flow to the rock pile. I have a torch coral on that side of the tank and sometimes I think it gets too much flow. Many NC owners still choose to add a small powerhead on the opposite side of the tank. If you don't mind how it looks, its a good idea.

 

I checked out the pics of your tank and I really like what your putting together.

 

Thanks man. My brother is part of this site and nanotank. member: mikeguerrero He has that other powerhead thing going on, in the other side which I think is ugly, I'm trying to go with a more natural look with less clutter. He's had his tank for about 4 months I think, so he has more exotics going on. He also did the lights mods upgrade from nanocustoms. He went with the mods of 102 watts I believe. I think the only thing he's missing now is the r2's !! Hey I was asking about the r2's on nanotank and they were like it could possibly be too much overkill, but you run them...would you disagree and recommend?

[larnie]

Steven

 

I think the R2 is the best option I've seen with the exception of Sinistard's "DIY Cold Cathode Ray moonlight". Check out his thread in Do It Yourself. The R2 offers good broad coverage of the tank. Many other led moolights are more of a spotlight and don't provide much coverage. The R2 is great for a NC. Look at the picture on page 1 of this thread.

[drg0nzo1]

Very nice!

 

Did you buy the hood kit or an entire new one from nanocustoms?

[larnie]

I bought the hood with a complete NC package and had Chris at Nanocustoms put it together for me. I took off my old hood, put it on the new tank and sold it to a buddy at a good price.

[dragon79]

Originally posted by dragon79

Thanks man.  My brother is part of this site and nanotank.  member: mikeguerrero   He has that other powerhead thing going on, in the other side which I think is ugly, I'm trying to go with a more natural look with less clutter.  He's had his tank for about 4 months I think, so he has more exotics going on.  He also did the lights mods upgrade from nanocustoms.  He went with the mods of 102 watts I believe.  I think the only thing he's missing now is the r2's !!  Hey I was asking about the r2's on nanotank and they were like it could possibly be too much overkill, but you run them...would you disagree and recommend?

 

whoah larnie, those lights sinistrad made are dope, I like how they adjustable. That's hella cool. I lack the innovative talent to make my own, I know I'd either have to pay somebody to make it for me, or just go easier and order the r2's from marinedepot.com they are 29.99 there, 10 dollars cheaper than nanocustoms. Thanks again bro for your help, the pics you've posted and the other member you referred me to, it's helped incredibly. Thanks!

[warrior_boy]

thats a nice signature ya got there, and tank too

[larnie]

Thanks WB I appreciate you letting me borrow the template! The new additions to your tank are looking great. I especially like your candy cane.

[Brick]

I have been reading your information on your lighing. I noticed that you were going to add a 10000 in place of one of the 50/50's. Did you ever do that and if so what was the outcome? Thanks...

[larnie]

Brick

 

I'm still waiting to try this. I purchased the new Coralife 10K 24w from Innovative Lighting Solutions. These are great bulbs, however, they are slightly oversized and won't fit into my hood with its cramped quarters...

 

I'm now waiting for a JBJ 10k and a Jalli 50/50 (Daylight/Actinic). I'll post my findings once I try them out.

[ccjung]

Hey Larnie,

 

I dont know if you saw the post, but the direct replacement for the Jalli Actinic is available now. Its the Realux Actinic Blue.. I popped them in, had them side by side, by eye identical..

 

After being assured by Commodity Axis' owner Tat, I am certain this is a "true" actinic..

 

Chris

[larnie]

Thanks Chris,

 

Now if they can just come out with a 50/50 bulb 10K/actinic...

[larnie]

One of the things I like about the Nano-Cube is the lack of clutter in the tank. A limitation of the Nano-Cube is the lack of opposing water flow from its left side (as uchiha pointed out earlier in this thread). I have been interested in adding a powerhead or pump to fill this need, however, I haven't done it because I don't like the way it looks.

 

After looking at the possible locations to mount an additional pump within the NC, I think I have found an appealing and workable solution. I took my stock water pump (which has been out of work since I replaced it with a MJ606) and mounted it inside the first compartment of the sump, just behind the inlet grate. I positioned it so that its outlet was pointed at the lower left corner of the grate. When plugged in the pump provides flow along the left side of the tank towards the front glass.

 

 

The pump provides the opposing flow that I have been looking for without causing an eyesore. The other good news is that this location does not interfere with the water flow through the sump to the integrated MJ606 pump in the third compartment. Both pumps can operate at full capacity without effecting the water level in the sump. I position my single sponge in the first compartment just below the pump.

 

If you are looking to add more water flow to your Nano-Cube you might give this a try.