Tank Diary: 28g Nano Cube

[image]

Hey all,

I'm new to this forum (and hobby), but thought it would be nice to document my experience. I'll use this thread as a diary and am open to any and all suggestions along the way.

Tank Info:
28g JBJ CF Quad Nano Cube
100w Jager Eheim Heater
1/15 Current USA Chiller
Vortec MP10wES
1 Stock Powerhead
1 MJ1200 Powerhead (chiller connected through this)
AquaMaxx HOB-1 Protein Skimmer (not yet connected)

2/18/2012 - Filled tank with RO/DI and Reef Crystals salt mix. I know that sometimes people advise against mixing in the display, but it seemed easiest. Water changes in the future will be mixed separately.

2/19/2012 -
Measurements:
Salinity: 1.025
PH: 8.0
Calcium: 460
KH: 10°

2/19/2012 - Got live rock and placed it in the tank

2/20/2012 - Rearranged live rock


Current photos:

Front:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6742/imag0279t.jpg


Side:
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/1093/imag0280ny.jpg

The side shot colors are washed out, but you can see a few hitchhikers off to the right side. Either majano or aiptasia... of course. I'll try to kill these with aiptasia-x I guess.


Current To-Do:
-Hook up protein skimmer
-Add sand
-Wait (this one is hardest... but you all knew that already)

[sjames]

Hi anf welcome. Thanks for sharing your tank with us. Looks like you have a nice start to your new reef. However since you have such a small tank i would either change your rock out now or be 100 percent sure you got rid off all pest prior to adding livestock. Best of luck and enjoy.

[image]

Oh? I guess I got the impression from reading forums that aiptasia was a pretty constant battle for most tank owners. I was pretty resigned to just killing them as they poked out. Is this something that would warrant a return of the live rock to the LFS that sold it to me?

[Acefspds]

You do not really want majano or aiptasia in the tank to be fair. I have a 28g NanoCube myself. I love it. You may be able to get lucky with a green matted filefish later down the road and have him take care of the problem for you. Since you are just starting off tho I would agree and just get rid of them before you get into it.

[image]

Hey guys,

I called the LFS and they'll trade out the pieces of live rock with aiptasia on them. Do I need to worry about other pieces since they're in the same tank? Or should it be fine to just remove those pieces where I've seen the buggers?

[slicktoppomp]

Welcome! I love Nano Cubes. I had a 12 gallon for my 1st SW tank. They are fun tanks. Looking forward to seeing it stocked.

[sjames]

Impossible to say. But the norm is if you have 1 there is more you do not see as of yet. Smart choice to change the rock.

[image]

Thanks for the advice guys. Exchanged the infected live rock yesterday and I have the new stuff sitting in a pile in the tank. I'm relatively sure I'm pest free after searching for a couple hours last night. I'll post pics after I get a chance to rearrange it.

[image]

Bleh... well... scratch that. Rebooting.

The replacement pieces from the LFS has aptasia too.

So... I'll be emptying the tank and starting over with dry rock this time. Hopefully I'll seed it with one or two pieces from a clean established tank, or I'll be in for a long wait.

[image]

I'm back! Here are some pics of the new rock in the tank:

Front view (you can see a cave in the back):
36504


Side view (through the arch, though a bit difficult to see with no substrate):
36505


View from front upper left to back bottom right (attempt to show cave and arch):
36506


Ammonia levels are... well... let's just say there's plenty of food source for nitrifying bacteria