Nanocube 28g, my second adventure

[r2d2]

Hi all, this is my first chonicle but is for my second reef tank.
After two months of selling my 75g tank I received yesterday a new JBJ NanoCube 28g, this is PC lighting version.
Im planning to keep most LPS, softies and inverts like shrimps, feather dusters and CUC. For fish Im planning just 3 or 4 medium size like ocelaris clown, royal grama and maybe a dwarf angel like coral beauty or flame, not sure yet because size of tank.
Setup must be done by weekend to start cycle.
From last tank I kept some small pieces of LR in QT with a lot of coraline and life as well as some chaeto, there are about 15lb of LR. Im planning to add another 15 or 20lb of new LR which will cycle tank. When cycle is done Ill add my older rock to display to start introducing CUC.
Pics very soon.
Greetings

 

[Uslanja]

Hi Arturo! Congratulations on the new tank! We're looking forward to lots of photos and see what your doing! We're excited for you!

 

[ReeferMan420]

hey brother..you may want to upgrade the PC lights if you want to keep LPS..Those PC lights just don't put out enough. I have made some mods to mine to make it easier to house LPS, SPS, and clams. You can house certain LPS with those stock lights, but I have been tweaking the spectrums and notice they will do way better under higher PC's. I went with the nanocustoms 10000 k whites and the dual actinic blues PC-R. So sweet...

 

[r2d2]

I know PC lights are not best option for far... MH is not an option because of heat problems. Im planning to switch to LED lights in about one year, once my tank is really stable to introduce most delicate LPS. Thanks.

 

[Uslanja]

LED Lighting! Very nice! Looking forward to seeing that!!

 

[r2d2]

My tank is now setup and running and I had a nice saturday reefing morning with it.
I went a LFS and bought 24lb of LR, two large pieces as I want to try a different rockscaping.
Here is tank just after starting up pumps:

Water was cleared after just 8 hrs of filtration but not yet pic of that.

After cycle Im going to add my older LR:

I have some chaeto too so media chamber is going to turn into a fuge.

As a funny story... when I was paying at LFS I saw a stand just like mine, but noticed a huge difference in horizontal panels setup.
I had read some reviews about miss labeling on panels and some problems during assamble in JBJ stand.
So, I came home, look for some pics of JBJ stand and yes, mine was wrong!
I had to drain all water, reassamble stand in correct way and start all over again.... but its all part of the hobbie.

Greetings

 

[r2d2]

I present to you an exclusive of my new rockscaping and first inhabitant... cycling shrimp!

There is basically two large pieces of LR one very large that will serve as reef's base and other laying at back panel. A good part of bottom rock is covered by sand so my guessing is that it will seve as a good base for anaerobic bacteria to keep Nitrates low.
I think now it looks very "artificial" but once cycling is over I'll add my older LR from previous pic to build a complete reef with a lot of space to corals.

What do you think?

 

[Reefmack]

Good start on the new tank!

 

[GrendelPrime]

i like it alot and i think ur off to a great start

 

[r2d2]

After two days with shrimp in, its decomposing but no Amonia or nitrites are yet detectable.
Rocks was supposed to be cured and in a cycled tank at LFS so it may have some bacteria already. Will continue to test...

Greetings

 

[r2d2]

I've added my old LR to display tank.
Im very pleased with rockscaping.
Here some pics...

There is a lot of spots for corals, all LR is arranged in an ascending pattern so it should be very easy to fill with colors and life.

At this point my inhabitants wish list is:

CUC
2 cleaner shrimp
2 or 3 feather dusters
1 Royal gramma
1 ocellaris clown
And looking for 1 more fish in blue colors, not sure which yet.

All water test shown good water quality after cycle:

Amonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 15

Any way I'll wait two more weeks to add CUC. Chiller is broken and need to fix it first because temp is around 88°F.

Greetings

 

[r2d2]

Im having a real issue with heat and that in part becasue of closed top. I want to upgrade my lighting and was thinking about LED but during weekend a new Idea came to me:
What about JBJ K-2 Viper HQI 70W?

 

[r2d2]

A little update of my new nano tank... Its been a week since I introduce my old LR.
Chiller is still broken and temp is very high, I hope it gets fixed in next days.
Here are some more pics:

Front view

Side view

Other side view

The legacy from old 75g tank to this new nanco cube... a tiny frag

At this time diatom bloom is evident. Besides temp issue I'll wait another week or two to introduce CUC.
Now cycling shrimp is almost gone.
I've seen some copepods on rocks and sand.

Greetings

 

[Corailline]

Looks very nice, like the scape. I love my JBJ 28 gal. So what are you planning with this tank?

 

[r2d2]

Thanks. Im planning mainly softies and LPS. Im looking for a light upgrade and thinking in a 70W HQI from JBJ or nanotunners, if so I want some SPS too.
As for fish, a royal grama, a goby and ocellaris clown. Lots of inverts like cleaner shrimp and feather dusters.
Greetings

 

[r2d2]

I have just went to an LFS and they has a very nice and little royal grama... too bad is not time yet for it... although I may start with quarantine for it...

 

[QuentinB]

Hey, I've been meaning to give you a shout here, awesome tank. I like the idea of the monster bottom rock for the base, too, should make it easy to move stuff around.

I can't believe your temps are so high, are they up even in the morning after the lights have been off? I'm actually on the opposite end, I'm considering buying a new heater. With lights on or off, it runs 74-75.

Good luck!

 

[r2d2]

Thanks. Our Outdoor temp right now is about 100°F so....
Lucky me chiller is now working again, fan motor was blocked but after some cleaning and lubricant is back on bussiness.
Since yesterday temp was 83-84°F stable and I've just change temp setup to 81.
1/10 CHiller is quite big for this 28gal tank so it should have no problem dealing with our high temperatures.
Im preparing first water change and planning to setup again QT to begin quarantining either a royal gramma or an ocellaris clown.
I want to introduce CUC after that water change and wait two or three weeks quarantining fish to introduce him to display tank.

Greetings

 

[QuentinB]

100... oh, that would be nice. we're already dipping down towards freezing, sadly.

I just got a new stealth pro heater, and I'm not sure whether to trust my $2 thermometer or the thermostat of the heater itself, but I have it set at 80, and it's still reading about 76 on the thermometer. I think I have a better thermometer laying around somewhere from my FW, I'll have to try that out.

 

[r2d2]

So... this weekend part of CUC was introduced. At this time is 5 snails and 3 hermit crabs.
I'll look for two cleaner shrimps and some more snails.

First water change was a 20% and no problem at all.
Chiller was working very well all weekend and now temp is very stable at 81°F, planning to move it to 79-80 this noon.

Greetings