24G Nano Cube DX Startup, Setup, Manual for newbies, in the works

[Babycakes]

i love this thread! I'm still a beginner myself and you're helping me lots keep up the great work!

[steelhealr]

WTG Babycakes....low intensity thread here so we can ALL catch up to Tighaboy and Uchiha's tanks....(that's a compliment if you two guys check out this thread..LOL).

 

Just adding some info:

 

--having a small second algae bloom..you can see some of it in the pix here next. I added three margarita snails today. Total cleanup crew to date:

1) 5 astrea snails

2) 5 Nassarius snails

3) 3 margarita snails

4) 2 mithrax (emerald ) crabs

5) 4 hermits, 2 scarlet and 2 blue legged

6) 1 skunk cleaner shrimp.

 

 

I'm starting to get some nice areas of coralline algae:

 

 

SH

[steelhealr]

Nano Cube Animals to Avoid (or Where Did My Fish Go?)

 

OK...some thoughts about what NOT to put in our cube. Remember how great the iridescent sharks looked in the tank at the lfs?? Who knew as a newly cycled FW tank owner that it would grow to 30 inches and overload the tank? Well...same here. It's very important to research your livestock before adding them to this system: compatibility with other fish, eating requirements. size, difficulty in care and aggressiveness. Here are just a few animals that should probably be avoided until some experience is gained:

 

Fish

 

1) Fish that will overload your system: This includes any fish that will grow larger than 'nano' size. Angels, puffers, tangs, lionfish, morays, etc

 

2) Mandarin Goby (Dragonette): I saw one at the lfs the other day..it's just an incredibly beautiful fish. Very tempting to buy. They eat the copepods and other small crustaceans in the tank. However, a nano cube is very small and the possibility of the fish starving to death is high. Posts say that they do not take other food readily.

Here is a good article to read on them before you decide to buy one:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&...=showpage&pid=3

 

 

Invertebrates

 

1) Certain starfish

2) Nudibranchs

3) Some snails....many posts say bumble bee snails are aggressive; Turbo snails can get very large and knock over things

4) Sally Lightfoots and Arrow Crabs if you are going to have corals

 

Corals

 

1) Frogspawn...can sting other corals

2) Galaxia...same

3) Gonipora..don't do well in captivity

 

Anemones, Special Mention

 

Just one note...there are many disaster posts about keeping an anemone in a nano cube. These animals can live for many years and require extremely high lighting setups and also nearly perfect water conditions. They should not be in a nano cube for starters if at all. The animal, when it notes conditions are not right, will begin to move in an attempt to find a better 'spot'. When the anemone dies, it pollutes and poisons the entire tank. One person posted that when it died it got pulled into the suction grate and was shot into hundreds of pieces into the tank. Food for thought. AND..yes..'Nemo' can exist in a tank without an anemone. SH

[woobycat]

Hey SH, Wooby checking in. Finally received my undamaged 24g Cube today. Just completed Tighaboy's first chamber PH mod and the flow is superb. I like the workaround that you did on yours. If I did not already have the tools to drill out the 1.1/8 hole, I would have used your method. Your tank is really coming along. This is the first time that I have checked in since my last post. Having to wait for the new cube was frustrating to say the least, and reading here would have been like pouring salt in the wounds(no pun intended)...... Temp on the tank is coming up fine.....I did put in an egg crate bottom to help support the LR which is due manana. I went with 3 inches on white sand and aggregate from an established reef tank. As soon as everything settles, I will post some pictures. Thanks again for all the encouragement and inspiration.......

[steelhealr]

Way to go and welcome back Woobycat. I would have tried the bulkhead too if I had known before setup. Anyway, looking good for you...take your time setting up and don't feel funny re-arranging the rock a few times. Your plan sounds good. Will follow your progress. SH

[gats]

Hey, Bogie....I have been following this thread since its beginning. I found a refugium light (the kind one would install under kitchen cabinets for a little extra lighting) that I have installed on my 24 cube. It is made by Hampton Bay, halogen accent light kit. It has 20 watts, 120 VAC. They are in single packs, fit directly in. Have been running it now for 2 weeks and algae has not deteriorated. If you want anything further, I'll post a pic.

[steelhealr]

Sure Gats...post it here...where did you fit it in? Is it protected from the SW? Thanks. SH

[steelhealr]

Update

 

All my parameters are 0 except my nitrates are doggedly hanging in there at 10ppm. I have Chemi-Pure and SeaGel in chamber one. But...when I went to check out my macroalgae tonite, it looked like in certain areas it was covered with a fine dust, almost like fine sawdust( the macro is still doing fine btw). I had the stock carbon in here and moved it to chamber one to try and do some cleaning back there..and..since I'm going away for a long weekend, I did a water change. I started siphoning over the LR rubble and a ton of flaky stuff starting coming up. It looked just like the stuff that would come out of your gravel in FW tanks. I barely feed the few fish that I have as I am super careful about that. Probably debris from the LR from cycling. I"ll continue to vacuum back there and see what happens to the nitrates.

 

Interesting thought...we all read so much here about the 'nitrate traps'...bioballs, sponges, ceramic beads. Yet...isn't a pile of LR rubble a mechanical filter of sorts?? Why can't this area become a 'nitrate trap' as well?? Food for thought. SH

[gats]

I'm knew at posting pics, so bear with me. I have several I want to post.

[gats]

Here is another one.

[gats]

Side view.

[gats]

Light turned on.

[gats]

Lid partially closed.....side view

[gats]

Night shot of chili coral

[gats]

Day shot of Texas chili

[Esper]

Originally posted by steelhealr

Update

 

Interesting thought...we all read so much here about the 'nitrate traps'...bioballs, sponges, ceramic beads. Yet...isn't a pile of LR rubble a mechanical filter of sorts?? Why can't this area become a 'nitrate trap' as well?? Food for thought. SH

 

 

I am planning on running a small powerhead through the live rock rubble I will put in the back of my tank...Paletta's book and probably others emphasize flow through the rocks if they are to be used as filtration.

[burtbollinger]

I just set up a 24G Nano DX two days ago...what stuff should I remove from the tank as to avoid nitrate traps. What should I leave in?

[RandyO]

Originally posted by burtbollinger

I just set up a 24G Nano DX two days ago...what stuff should I remove from the tank as to avoid nitrate traps. What should I leave in?

What are your plans for the tank?

[robbyrob]

very nice thread!!!!!!!!!!

[dukester48]

Hey Gats.., I went to home depot and found that same light but Im curious how you connected yours.., if Im not mistaken it looks like you screwed it in.., but those chambers are full of wires arent they¿?¿. any info would be very helpful

[CubeDude]

I did the same undercabinet light mod last weekend. I screwed mine in and angled it back. My hood looks different than gats. I was able to mount mine all the way to the top of the hood above my first chamber. I didn't have any fans or a box blocking mine.

 

I coated mine in silcone gel to help make it water resistant. So far all is great.

[gats]

IMO, the chamber you are refering to is more like a pull box. There are two screws, one on the left and one on the right. If you pull off one-inch by six-inch cover, you will see your wires coming in to your lights. All I did was remove the left side of that screw, used one of the existing screws from the kit, took off lens for the light, placed screw in one of the holes, and put the lens back on. That way, you can swing the light where it needs to be, then tighten it down. Hope it helps.

 

As for your wires, just kind of run them over and up, and around the fan, or whatever, and do not pinch them. Then run your wires out where your pump wires are coming in.

 

See the attached picture of running the wires.

[gats]

i mistakenly ended up starting a new thread on screw mounts for lights, and have confussed everyone.see attached pic

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...4338#post494338

[genuck]

SH

 

nice thread, glad to hear everything is going so well. How is the clown goby? is it eating? i am thinking of getting one and would like to know what you think of him. TIA

[burtbollinger]

if I just want to host a maroon clownfish, a bi-color blenny, and a few simple corals...should I be freaking out about adding a refugarium? Also, I removed the ceramic tubes and all but 2 of the bio-balls. The temp. is steady at 77.4, and the 24 lbs of live rock was uncured, but had been curing for a week at the LFS. It's been in my new 24 nano since 4/23...I'm now starting to see reddish algae in the tank...how soon before I add the cleaning crew?

 

Also, the fish store guy said i could maybe just add calupra to the tank and make sure to trim it back every 3 or so weeks? Is that a bad idea?