New 12g Aquapod!

[huskerdan25]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here though I have been participating in discussions on another forum.

I had purchased as Aquapod 24g HQI from my LFS a couple weeks ago but after three failed attempts to get one that wasn't either scratched badly or cracked, I finally decided to go with the 12g version for my first nano-reef. Beautiful tank and the leak test has gone well. I'm going to be ready to add saltwater, live rock and live sand to the tank starting tomorrow, so I'm excited as you can imagine.

I am upgrading the stock pump with a maxijet 900. Will this provide sufficient water flow? The stock pump seems to do ok but I've read enough to where it is clear that I needed to upgrade it, if only to get a more efficient pump that doesn't put out so much heat. I love the Y connector that came with the tank to get the water flow in more than one direction. Should I continue to use it and should I point the ends down to get the water flow lower in the tank or is it fine to keep them pointing more towards the top of the tank?

I plan to put 12-15 lbs of live rock (most likely carribean) and about 12 lbs of live sand in it. I have a refractometer and the Seachem test kit on order from premium aquatics. I plan to keep the tank pretty much stock with the exception of replacing the pump with the maxijet 900.

Here is a question. Tomorrow, when I start putting the saltwater into the tank, should I add the live sand first and wait until it settles into the tank (most likely will get cloudy for a while) and then add the live rock a day or two later? I don't need to add both the sand and the rock together right? Probably a dumb question because it would be difficult to aquascape if I can't see what I'm doing in the tank

I bought a timer to control my lighting. Plan to turn on the actinic lighting an hour before my duals and turn off the duals one hour before the actinic. Moonlights will obviously be turned on when the other lights are off. Probably will run the lights 12 hours (9am - 9pm) so that I see the tank while I'm home with the lights on but also get a hour or two to observe the tank with the moonlights on.

What would be a realistic cleanup crew size for a 12g? I understand I shouldn't put more than about 2-3 inches of fish total in my 12g tank. I assume that includes shrimp?

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions and I look forward to sharing the progress of my nano with you. If you feel I am making a mistake with some of the things I have said or some of the products I plan to use, I welcome your recommendations.

Dan

 

[daveat]

i don't includ shrimp in my opinion, i think ONE turbo snail and a small hermit (if you choose) would be enough to start. but you need to wait until they have something to clean up first (after the cycle)

i filled my tanks with water first waited a day for it to thouroghly mix, then sand waited a day for it to settle, then rock that was FULLY cured and transported from LFS to home in 5gal buckets FULL of saltwater.

doing this i have NEVER (in four tanks) had a cycle longer than a week or two

 

[huskerdan25]

I didn't mean to imply that I would add a cleanup crew before cycling was done

I like the plan you used for putting in the saltwater, sand and then live rock. I think I'll do something similar. I've waited a long time to get this started so I don't feel the need to start rushing now

Thanks for your input, daveat!

 

[blade25]

Lets see some pics, beginning to end : )

 

[daveat]

i pre paid for my rocks at my lfs and they held them for me the last tank i set up... that made sure they were well established. in 4 weeks it never cycled so i imagined it was already steady and i haven't had problems yet (tank set up 2 months now)

just don't rush yourself

 

[allent17]

I have an Aquapod 12 as well with a 70w metal halide. The tank may have a small cycle but you are liable to get an algae bloom and this is a sign of the tank maturing which is very important to allow it to happen. We don't just wait a couple weeks to put stuff in for the tank to cycle, we also wait to let it mature. It takes time for parameters to stabalize in the water like phosphates, and other things. Once the algae starts turning green, that is a good indication its time for a cleanup crew.

HAHA, I know from experience that no matter how many times you say you aren't rushing, its hard to wait with a tank sitting in front of you. Just let things do their thing in the tank for now and soon enough, you'll have a nice tank environment.

I would highly suggest doing a refugium in the middle back chamber of that Pod...it made a huge difference in my tank and I rarely ever have to scrub my glass now. I have a pair of clowns and they rule my tank. The suckers bite me whenever I stick my hands in.

 

[Witfull]

Welcome to RS~

 

[huskerdan25]

Thanks for all of the advice and the welcome.

For those with the 12g aquapod or similar tank, is the maxijet 900 going to provide sufficient water movement over the stock pump? If anyone can chime in on this issue and how I should use the Y connector, I'd appreciate it.

Got my tank stand last night and finished my leak test. Looks like I can move forward so I will be putting in the saltwater and live sand tonight. I will take pictures and post. I will be very interested in your comments on my aquascaping once I have the live rock in I plan to do something like a C formation and make sure there are plenty of little caves.

Again, thanks for the advice.

 

[daveat]

I have an Aquapod 12 as well with a 70w metal halide. The tank may have a small cycle but you are liable to get an algae bloom and this is a sign of the tank maturing which is very important to allow it to happen. We don't just wait a couple weeks to put stuff in for the tank to cycle, we also wait to let it mature. It takes time for parameters to stabalize in the water like phosphates, and other things. Once the algae starts turning green, that is a good indication its time for a cleanup crew..

small tanks don't have a shorter or longer cycle time than large tanks

HAHA, I know from experience that no matter how many times you say you aren't rushing, its hard to wait with a tank sitting in front of you. Just let things do their thing in the tank for now and soon enough, you'll have a nice tank environment.

very true although some people can be patient

I would highly suggest doing a refugium in the middle back chamber of that Pod...it made a huge difference in my tank and I rarely ever have to scrub my glass now. I have a pair of clowns and they rule my tank. The suckers bite me whenever I stick my hands in.

my 24 nano cube gets the glass magfloated once to twice a week AT MOST with no refugium but i do have several different macroalgaes in the tank. p.s. maybe you should feed more frequently

 

[daveat]

oh yeah.... welcome to R.S. allent17

 

[huskerdan25]

Hi everyone! Got my 12g Aquapod set up today with saltwater, 16.5 lbs of live rock and 15 lbs of live sand. I purchased these from my LFS and set the tank up today.

When I was in the process of purchasing the above as well as purchasing my saltwater from my LFS instead of making my own, I began to ask my LFS some questions about expected cycle time and when I could expect to start seeing life in the tank. They caught me off guard when I was told that because I was using their saltwater and using cured live rock along with the live sand, that I would not have a cycle and I could actually start putting fish in the tank as early as tomorrow.

Now, I have read all along here and in books that these things take time and that I should expect the tank to go through a cycle that could last a few weeks. My expectations where that I might be able to add my cleaning crew in a couple of weeks and once the tank is cycled completely, I could add fish and then ultimately corals after the tank matures for a few months. Yet, my LFS, who has been fantastic so far and confirming much of what you all have been saying about setting up a nano threw me for a loop with what they told me today.

I am not in a hurry and am more than willing to wait for the tank to cycle. But is it possible that by purchasing my LFS saltwater and placing that into my tank along with the cured live rock that I won't see a cycle? Won't there be any die off from the live rock? When I asked that question to my LFS, I was told no.

I'm sure everyone would like to be able to add some livestock so quickly in a new tank but I'm very hesitant to do so even though my LFS told me I could.

I would appreciate your comments and suggestions on how to move forward. I'm as excited as anyone can be getting into this great hobby, but I want to be successful at it and don't want to see livestock killed off because I followed some bad advice. If in fact my LFS is giving me bad advice (no reason to think so until today), then I may purchase anything for my tank in the future from somewhere else.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Dan

 

[Woodstock]

The chance of some 'die off' is almost certain when transporting live rock. I would expect at least a slight cycle from even the cleanest rock.

I would add the rock and expect a cycle and be patient adding livestock. Test 1-2 times per day for ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes to keep track of it. Better safe than sorry~~

NOTE:
It is always recommended that newly purchased 'live rock' be 'cycled' in a seperate container if being added to an established reef or FO system. This goes for both precycled (live rock already allowed to cycle for several weeks) AND non cycled (live rock that was just shipped several days).