24 g Nano Cube dx

[Matorral]

I just set up a new 24g nano cube. It has been two weeks of cycling period with live rock. I have not turned the lights on yet. For now Im using tap water (no water changes yet) and for replacing evaporated water Im using distilled water. My goal is to keep it simple, dont spend a lot of money and to be able to go for vacations and have a neighbor to take care of my tank. The things I have done so far with the tank are:
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1. Didn?t use the bio balls and ceramic rings that came with the tank.<O:p</O:p
2. Leaved the foams in the first back chamber. <O:p</O:p
3. I have one of the activated charcoal bags in the second chamber.<O:p</O:p
4. Third chamber has the return pump (the one that comes with the tank) and the heater.<O:p</O:p
5. Removed part of the black plastic that covers the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> chamber and placed a home depot bulb 27W 5500K with a clamp that hangs from the light cables.<O:p</O:p
6. Filled the tank with 20 lb of sand, 20 lb of cured live rock with coralline and tap water salt mix.<O:p</O:p
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My levels: salinity 1.025, temp 79-80F, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, no spikes yet.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

 

[Matorral]

Plans: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o:p></o:p>
1. Get testing kits for Mg, Ca, KH, pH, Nitrates and Phosphate<o:p></o:p>
2. Fill the first chamber with LR rubble and remove the foam<o:p></o:p>
3. Place chaeto algae in the second chamber and hope it grow with the home depot light. I hope this helps with the phosphates and nitrates of the NYC tap water J<o:p></o:p>
4. Start populating my tank with soft coral and maybe LPS (don’t know if I have enough light for LPS). The tanks come with 2x36W 50/50 CF.<o:p></o:p>
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For now the total is:<o:p></o:p>
aquarium w stand $239<o:p></o:p>
sand 20 lb $25<o:p></o:p>
20 lb live rock from member $45 (thanks albfelix)<o:p></o:p></SPAN>
75 W heater (aquarium system) $15<o:p></o:p>
CF from home depot $10<o:p></o:p>
clamp with bulb socket $5<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Dilemmas: I have a RO unit but since I live in a studio I don’t know where to install it. Where to put the waste line? What if I forget to close the valve and it overflows? Before I lived in a house with backyard were that was not a problem.

 

[Matorral]

24g nano cube in my studio

 

[Matorral]

24 g NANO CUBE 2 WEEKS AND HOME DEPOT CF LIGHT FOR CHAETO

 

[Matorral]

4 weeks

Now added 10 lb more of life rock with some cloves polyps, green star and kenya.

 

[crox99]

It looks nice but those clove polyps don't look too happy.

 

[Lenny718]

Looks like your off to a good start. I would have used RODI water from the start and since you already have a RODI unit you can just hook it up to your kitchen sink and let the waste water drain there.

 

[noelskii]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=41652&d=1212441808
cool bulb...what is it for?

 

[Matorral]

5 weeks

Today added the cleaning crew, 20 nassarius snails, 20 hermit crabs, 1 peppermint shrimp. For now doing water changes (tap water) once a week, about 3 gallons each. No additives, no feeding, just light periods of 10 hours. No fish yet.<O:p</O:p
<O:p
All the corals are opening, the 2 green star polyps are alredy attached and spreading, the clove polyps are also growing and budding new polyps. Not too much opening of the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

<ST1:pKenya</ST1:p</st1:country-region> tree.
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Parameters nit 0, ammonia 0, pH 8, Phos 0.10, Nitrate 0, Kh 6.2, temp 79-81F, salinity 1.025<O:p</O:p
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Also placed in one of the back chambers smaller pieces LR and took out the foam.<O:p</O:p
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Noelskii: The light on the back of the tank is for future spaghetti algae or chaeto, have not found that yet.<O:p</O:p
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Lenny 718: Any ideas on how to connect the RO in my kitchen? is small and is a rented apartment so no major thing can be done there.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

 

[Matorral]

2 months

Everything is doing fine, nitrate and phosphate 0, 10 hours light cycles, 3 gallons per week water changes (NYC tap water), minimal top of water (distilled water from supermarket). PH 7.5 in the mornings 8.0 afternoon. Kh low in the 5-7 but soft coral and coraline still growing. No additives, feeding few dry pellets once a week. No algae and beatiful white sand bottom, all cleaned by the hermits and nasarius snails... except for the glass.


New spendings:
Added a koralia nano in the back of the rock work for more circulation $25
The new live rock 10lb with green star polyps, clove polyps and kenya tree $40
cleaning crew 20 nasarius snails, 20 hermit, 1 shrimp $80
heater and water pump for water changes $20

Total $ spent from the day started:
around $500, not including the salt mix and test kits

Next:
still looking for chaeto, will add more coral (softies) form MR member, maybe see how lps do in my 36X2 compact flourescent.

No fish yet!!

 

[crox99]

Definately looking better.:splitspin

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Where is the beef? Oh, I mean fish. Couple small fish could add a lot more fun to the tank.

 

[Matorral]

Bad event

Finally got ton of chaeto (maybe too much) 2 days ago. Push it down the back chamber and gave it some light periods. Today came back from work and the top part of the clove polyps (most of them) were white and falling of the main stem. Check the levels and ammonia went up one color level (from 0 to 0.25ppm). The other corals (nephtea, zoas, toadstool, xenia and shroom) are all looking fine. Made a 4 gallon water change and took out the majority of the chaeto. Hopefully no more dying coral.

Julian

 

[Matorral]

recovery

After the dying clove polyps I did water changes every day for about a week (3 gallons each day), got rid of the dying coral and obviously trim off most of the chaeto algae. I lost two colonies of zoa (which dyed a few days after the clove polyps) and half of the toadstool. The remainder of the zoas, the green star polyps, the xenia and the neon green <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

palau</st1:country-region> were unaffected by the bad event. The death of the coral was due to the increased bioload after adding the huge amount of chaeto algae.

Now the tank is doing really well, the clove polyps and the remaining toadstool are growing back. All the other corals are growing nice too; I even fragged the neon green <st1:country-region w:st="on"><ST1:plpalau</st1:country-region> in 4 pieces and is already attached to the LR. Also the guilty chaeto is growing well in the back compartment of my 24 gal JBJ nano cube with the Home Depot light; I have to trim half of it once every to weeks because it fills the small space really quickly. There are also lots of copepods and tiny swimming shrimps in the back chamber with the chaeto.
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Since the initial setup Im still using only once a week water changes as for mantainance (about 3 gallons of NYC tap water that runs for 24 hours with a power pump and a heater before adding to the tank). No skimmer, no additives, no feeding and levels are super nicely undetectable with Salifert kits (nitrate 0 and phosphate 0). The light periods of 10 hours seem to be enough to feed my hermits and snails, and the thousand copepods. So for now I have kept up with my goals of keeping it simple and cheap. Im planning my vacation for 2 weeks this November and Im thinking I wont need anyone to take care of my tank, even evaporation is not that much.
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Since everything seems to be back on track I decided to add my first fish, a small Green Mandarin. Lets see if he likes my copepods, Im planning not to feed anything. Ill let you know how long he survives.

 

[Melt]

looking nice

 

[rookie07]

I would be carefull with the light...its touching the back of the tank...which will add heat....and they have mercury in them, if it breaks your in big trouble, and they must be disposed of properly.
I would also remove the filter pads from the rear chamber(when you remove them, you will be forced to squeeze them, thus allowing most of the bad stuff back into the water).
I would get more Live rock I had 30 lbs in my 24.
The cheato shouldnt add to the bioload, if anything, I would think they would help correct any problems...
Also, cheato needs a decent amout of light(time, not strength), so a long light cycle would help...I did the reverse cycle of the main lights, that way it will help keep the PH consistant(which drops when the lights are off), and allows like 10 hours for the cheato

I AM A ROOKIE...DOUBLE CHECK ANY ADVICE I GAVE.....good luck

also, if you dont have enough algea, the hermits will need food, and the shrimp will def need food...also, your mandarin is going to starve to death in a tank that size...it will pick your tank clean of pods, and then starve. I had one in my 24 as well...I didnt see pods until I gave it away after 3-4 months, it was very skinny.


If you go away for 2 weeks...you will lose about 10-12 gallons of water...you will need someone to take care of it.
Get a skimmer!!!!!!!!!!!!, hang-on would be best way to go.

 

[rookie07]

you can connect the RO by hooking it up to the faucet...you should be able to buy an attachment that will connect to where the water comes out of the faucet

You can put the waste line into the sink, and leave what ever you are filling in the sink, that way if it overflow, it will overflow into the sink...I learned that the hard way...put 10 gallons of water into the building walls...thank god I rented there and no longer live there.

 

[rookie07]

OH...I thought you had a aquapod...my advice on the filter pads may be inaccurate

 

[jackson6745]

Those damn smiley faces.........:irked:

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

It's a cut and paste from somewhere else Rich, the smileys are probably read by a program as paragraph breaks or something like that having to do with grammar and when cut and pasted here looks like :p