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


steelhealr

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steelhealr

Excellent pickup Seaneweb... a good starter considering it is free. I wouldn't say it is the best combo or total numbers, but, I would have gone for it earlier on and supplemented that package with what I needed from my local lfs. SH

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Stealhealr,

How do you use your refractometer? I think I have the same one as you from the Docs. To be more specific, how do you compensate for "ambient" temp of 68F. In winter, that's about where we keep our house, but in summer, it's not going to be that cool and the aquarium will be more like 78-80 all the time. I assume I can take a small sample of water from the tank and let it sit in the dropper at room temp and then measure it. I just wonder how temp will actually affect salinity.

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steelhealr

Hi Limulus..as I understand mine, it is already calibrated to adjust to temps...you can put the water on the refractometer and just wait about 30 seconds to let the water temp and refrac temp adjust to be equal. I love the one I have and couldn't go back to using a hydrometer..the amount they can be off is amazing. SH

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VBAQUARIUM

Nitrate Mission

 

Thanks SH and Co. for the advice on the back chamber mods.

After a 20% water change, my nitrate level dropped to 20. However,

I'm still going to wait until it drops to 0-10 before I put in the Percula clowns or any coral.

 

Here are some of the things I have done:

1. Cut the sponge in half in the first chamber.

2. Put in a MJ 1200 in third chamber.

3. Took out sponge and ceramics out of chamber 2 and put in Tonga live rock rubble and Spaghetti.

 

Some questions for SH and Co.....

 

1. Would the Spaghetti die if I have no light back there? And where is a good place to get the light for the best price?

2. Question on Snail/Hermit excretion... On the sand bed, I see alot of their waste, more than the fish itself.. Is there a snail that eats that and is it a contributor of my nitrates?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Keep on posting SH.

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steelhealr

Hey VBA...great job...sounds like you are doing great and EXCELLENT calls there....good idea to wait for the nitrates to come down before adding livestock. A major error here is putting everything in right after cycling, then either overloading this system or then watching in horror as the bubble, hair and red slime algae (cyanobacteria) come. We all see the magic '0 nitrate' here, but, if you can keep it 10 and under..not too bad......5 and under..slap yourself on the back. 0....then shake hands with Tighaboy, Uchicha and Shao-lin.

 

Eventually, you'll probably do like most of us and ditch the sponge period. Mine is out. Just used it for emergency filtration purposes. My first chamber has ChemiPure, Purigen and SeaGel.

 

As for the spaghetti (chaeto), I have seen some people post that the spillover light from the main tank can keep it alive and others have posted that it slowly died without a light. There are many posts here on how to light the middle back chamber refugium. Some are posting using LED lights....I have a submersible 10 watt quartz halogen light ( Egglite)....others put a ? 13watt CPF light over the middle, but this has to be wired. You could do a DIY and see if you can get a simple spiral CPF bulb from the local store to fit over it. I think you'd have to drill a hole in the top hood tho'. There is a submersible CPF out there but I coudlnt' find it..supposedly made by Odyssea.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the 'excreta' from the snails and hermits. They are NOT the major contributor to your bioload (unless it dies of course). Some of them will eat it believe it or not. However, it probably isn't a bad idea to lightly vaccuum the substrate once a month. You can use airline hose...or airline hose attached to plastic tubing...or a gravel vac although this will stir things up a bit.

 

I think, unfortunately, that the sponge after awhile becomes a contributor because no matter how much you rinse it, it won't clean out all the way. The other I found is that you MUST vaccuum out the LR rubble area 1-2X a month. The flow thru the rubble itself traps detritus. SH

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Hey SH,

 

How is your Macroalgae doing in the back chamber with the 10 watt light?

 

I believe this is the link to the Odyssesy T5 fixtures:

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageA...ATS&Category=28

 

You have to remove the colored T5 bulb and replace it with a white one. They're only $10 if this is the correct link. How much was the underwater halide lamp you purchased SH? I believe you got it at Home Depot?

 

I'm getting ready to turn my 2nd chamber into a fuge. I purchased some caulerpa, as a test, and watched it start to go asexual and yanked it from the tank. I'm going to pick up some chaeto tonight.

 

Also, I bought a Maxijet 1200 and moved the original pump to the first chamber, per your mod, and was surprised how much clearer my water got. I don't like the looks of the tube but it has made a difference. Is there a safe way to cut a bulkhead hole with the tank populated or do you need to drain everything and break out the drill, if I wanted to go to a bulkhead model?

 

On a different note, my royal gamma had finally decided to come out of the rocks and swim around, after 1.5 weeks hidden in the back of the tank in the rocks.

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steelhealr

Hi Billio...after several months, my halimeda is still alive but I will admit that it is NOT bright green. However, I added chaeto to the back and THAT is growing and green. The light I used was an Egglite and got that at a local nursery type place that does outdoor ponds.

 

I'm not sure why people use Caulerpa for exactly the reason you describe, it can go asexual. I believe that it is one of the least recommended macros to use in the main tank because of a 'rhizome', so, if it spreads there, it might be tough to eradicate.

 

Cool on the outflow. I don't mind how mine looks..I think it is pretty unobtrusive considering having the entire pump in the tank would be worse. Now that our tanks are 'stocked'....drilling it might be messy and shake up the aquascaping...but....you'd have to dremel a hole in the back wall and put in a bulkhead, I believe it's

1 1/8"...and put your outflow thru there. You'd have to lower the water and drill and catch all the pieces. Short of empyting out the tank, I'm not sure of a safer way to do it. Just be careful you don't break the glass as you know the NC tank glass can crack.

 

I was afraid in the beginning that putting the pump in chamber one would pull out detritus from two but that doesn't seem to be the case. The pump in chamber 3 keeps a constant 295 gph pulling thru 1/2, 2/3 and the pump in one has less resistance pulling the water in thru the intake grate than from between walls 1/2. The two together in chamber 3 was too much pull, unless more holes were drilled in the back chamber walls. JMO. SH

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Billio,

 

You could put the bulkhead in the upper part of the chamber and only have to drain the tank partially. There will be shards of plastic expelled by drilling but these won't hurt anything (fish may try to eat them though and that won't be good) So, to eliminate the problem you could remove them to a holding tank/bucket. Or float papertowels or saranwrap on the surface to collect the shards then remove the plastic when you are done drilling. Install the bulkhead and then plumb it.

 

Of course the safest/best practice would be to drain the tank. If you don't have any livestock yet, best option. Just keep the water and live rock in a tub until you finish the plumbing and then restock the tank back.

 

I installed the bulkhead in the 2nd chamber before I filled it. I wish now I had installed it to the top of the chamber 1. hindsight is always 20/20 though. :)

 

Sorry SH, just had to put my .02 in here :)

 

HTH,

Trekbear

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SH, if I had black tubing, like you, instead of clear tubing, I might like it better. I'm going to see if I can find some at one of the local stores. So far, I've only seen clear.

 

I'm also using the cassette case surface skimmer mod. One interesting thing I noticed with both pumps, my tank level remained constant and evaporation effected the rear chambers 2 & 3. I have my heater in chamber 3 pushed all the way down but noticed some bubbles coming from the maxijet. I looked and the water level was down in chamber 2 & 3, about halfway. I removed the skimmer mod and the chambers leveled out and the level dropped in the tank. I had already cut grooves in the cassette case and may cut them deeper to increase flow.

 

I do have to move my tank a few inches forward and plan on draining it and putting the existing inhabitants in a holding tank. I have another small tank I may turn into a nano and I'm going to remove some of the LS from my tank to help cycle it. I'm still uncertain if I want to drill the bulkhead but this would be a good time to do it, if so.

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SH, I have my LR and rubble in a plastic bin w/an MJ606 powerhead. I'm going to transfer that to the 12g tonight. I looked back on the first page and I know you are only running one sponge. Do you recommend that I eliminate everything else? I have rubble for the 2nd chanber and a digi thermometer for the 2nd chamber. I have 2 Mini-Jet 606 pumps and I'm going to use them both if possible. I'll use the original for mixing sea water. I also plan to make a fuge in the 2nd chamber.

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steelhealr

Billio...I can mail you some black tubing if you want. The tubing that runs up the chamber and over the wall is Eheim green tubing and is soft....makes it possible for the hood to close nicely without interrupting flow. The short pieces between the elbows are stiffer black tubing that let me rotate the nozzle. I'd be happy to ship you some if you'd like, gratis, if you want some temporarily until you dremel. Obviously, drilling in a bulkhead is aesthetically nicer, tho', as you can see, is functionally equivocal to running it over the wall. Granted, the elbows may increase resistance slightly, but, I think this is negligible. Trekbears info is right on if you want to do the DIY. If you have Costco near you, I've seen a complete Dremel kit in the tool section.

 

If the cassette tape moves too high it can restrict flow in the back chambers and the level can drop. I find that if the 'cascade level' is about a 1/4 to 1/2 inches below the cassette edge, it's fine for me. Trekbear suggested that the agitation can help oxygenation and I think this is correct.

 

Limulus....great job on your stuff...I think you are doing great and with your background, I'm probably going to be asking YOU questions soon. This is what I would do....I actually don't use a sponge anymore. I put one in after I had the brain problem, but, it is now out. For your startup, I would leave a small sponge in during your cycle to catch debris and detritus while you are cycling. After your rock cycles and the water is looking good, do your big water change to decrease the nitrates when your params hit zero and tne nitrate spikes. Then I'd pull it and see how you do.Tell me what your first sponge looks like when you wash it out. It's scary...and..that is the stuff that is hard to remove with rinsing. You'll really be surprised how clean your water stays and I think what isn't caught by a sponge, gets removed with water changes. I was hesistant also about moving out the sponge but my nitrates hit zero after the sponge came out. No bioballs or ceramics for me. If you want to use them, they must be cleansed carefully and frequently.

 

Also, after you've cycled and a couple of weeks after settling in, get in that back chamber and gravel vac out the LR rubble. You'll be shocked at what comes off during cycling and gathers back there.

 

I'll share a piece of info with you. I don't think that there is anything better than experience to help guide one thru all this. The other day at an lfs near me, I bumped into two reefers: one had a 200 gallon tank for years and the other was the treasurer for the largest reef society in my area. Thru the conversations I had with them, both recommened ChemiPure which is a popular media insert here. They also recommended a phosphate binding insert. Both felt that even tho' the test kits we have read zero, there is a level of phosphate present that could contribute to algae blooms. Personal choice, but, you may want to decide what media to put in now....that is what replaces the area where my sponge was. Other inserts include Purigen, Phosguard, Matrix and SeaGel. I elected to go with ChemiPure, Purigen and SeaGel. Interesting note, one of the two reefers recommended an insert called Algone...I'm researching this just to see what it is. SH

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SH...I went to that Algone website. Its got a ton of info on it covering all subjects. They also make a good case for buying their Algone but after all that's the rason to advertise. Looks interesting, I'll probably get some even though my tank is clear.

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steelhealr

Looks interesting as an insert. Everyone will make comments about water 'husbandry', but, I don't think it hurts to have a cushion....bottom line..it's an art here.

 

My next inquiry...a page back, there is a link for a submersible T5 Odyssea light, 14inches. That would probably make a good fuge light...only thing....they come in colors. Now...the BIG work is to find out where there is a white one to replace the colored ones. SH

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This is an awesome thread. I'm reading through it for the second time! I'm thinking of starting a 24G cube in a couple months (when I finally get some time again to put a new tank together). This has been quite the inspiration to finally get me to try SW.

 

I live about 20 minutes from Premium Aquatics, so I don't have to deal with the shipping on the biggest stuff (tank, LR, etc.).

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SH,

I have checked on the Algone link too. http://www.algone.com/

 

It sounds really good. The customer reviews for REEF TANK owners seem really good. I would think this would be something for those w/ Hair Algae would try this stuff before ripping the tank apart to clean all the rocks off.

 

I haven't found any local carriers of this product yet. you can order it directly from the Algone website though. I am going to get some of this to keep on hand for the "Emergency" kit. This site like all others state Excellent water quality is the best thing to do for algae problems, but just in case, use our products. :)

 

Don't flame me for getting this to use for emergencies. I have not had any algae blooms since my cycle. I just want to be prepared in the event it does happen. ;)

 

I don't see anything in the composition to worry about stripping the trace elements away and it works w/ carbon not against it. So it should not hurt water quality it should enchance it. I'm gonna get some :)

 

TrekBear

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shao-lin nano

steelhealr,

 

quick question and sorry if this is already asked here but haven't had time to read through all 14 pages of this thread.

 

What are the inside dimensions of the stand? I'm most interested in the inside width and depth.

 

thanks!

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steelhealr

Way ahead of you Trekbear...I ordered a three pack after I read the site too. The guy who recommended it has been into SW tanks for years and swore by it...figured I'd give it a try as well. SH

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steelhealr

Hi..there have been some nasty disaster posts on this forum. Well, I'm not immune to 'disaster' either. As you know, I had very good initial success with my 24 month old 24G Nano Cube until my tank suffered two insults, one unavoidable and one an error in judgement. I had achieved the '0' nitrates trophy and diatom scraping was down to almost once a week. Then, like others here, I got nailed.

 

Insult 1, accidental.....I purchased and acclimated a green clown goby which when released into the tank, bolted for the rocks and disappeared never to be seen again. Several weeks later I had my first cyano. Fortunately, it disappeared with a turkey baster, vacuuming and a great cleanup crew. I posted this pic on the cyano article above of my astrea eating it:

 

nano29.jpg

 

Insult 2, error in judgement.....I purchased a brain coral over the internet and when it arrived, I had strong suspicions that it was DOA. I tried to save it without success and the brain disintegrated and contaminated my tank. The resulting cyano bloom was disastrous. It's not easy to post these pix in front of everyone, but, if this helps someone else, my pride can take second place. Like many others, I have crystal clear water, good coralline growth and '0 params' except for my nitrates which rose to 10 ppm after the brain death (pardon the pun). I have 20X water flow and minimally feed my three small nano fish..by hand sometimes to avoid excess. Even wash off my mysid shrimp to get rid of the liquid. Check out what a dead coral can do to your tank:

 

cyano4.jpg

 

cyano6.jpg

 

cyano3.jpg

 

Would you believe that these pictures were taken one day after I completely scooped all that cyano off?

 

So, what do you do? I never added anything to any of my tanks, FW or SW, except buffer. Desperate times require desperate measures. I had that darn E-M tab over the rear chambers of my tank several times, pulling it away and refusing to drop it in. Well, I caved the other day. I started treating my tank. Today is day three of treatment, and, so far, I see 90% resolution and no loss to livestock or corals. I tested my parameters this morning early:

 

pH 8.0

nitrite 0

ammonia 0

nitrates 10

dkH 10

s.g. 1.026

 

So far, no sign of loss of my biological filter. I will be back to give people follow-up. I have to do a 25% water change tonite after work and several more days to go. Also, in response to my frustration with this, I posted a thread on cyano, as you see above.

 

I realize that erythromycin is not the answer to poor water quality, however, if a diabetic patient with out of control glucose comes in with a massive foot infection, you'd treat the infection and then get the 'sugar under control'. I made the decision to do the same. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS APPROACH at the present time as my results are premature and good water husbandry is the primary wat to go. SH

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Hey guys, I would like to post a picture of my progress on this thread, but i do not know how. Can anyone of you please help,

 

Regards,

 

WDM

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There's a few ways:

 

1) Use the "Post Reply" button at the end of the thread instead of just the "Submit reply" at the end. You can simply attach the file from your HD and it will show up.

 

2) "Post Reply" as above Then there's a button that says "IMG." Click it and enter a link to where it's stored on the Internet (if you're using another service.

 

3) You can manually insert IMG tags around the Internet location. The IMG tags are in brackets. Not sure how to show that here.

 

That's probably in order of easiest to hardest. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

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