View Full Version : Nano-Cube 24 Help!
gemmasicolo
12/29/2008, 10:03 PM
I just got my first SW tank (nano cube 24). I've set it up and have some live rock and live sand in it. One of the live rock has a green brain coral and I also have some zoas.
Because this is my first time with SW I'm completely confused and trying to get a grasp on how things work.
My question is on how long to keep the lights on. Do I follow the manufactures directions......12 hours light, 12 hours moon?
Or do the brain coral and zoas need different light hours?
I'm still in the process of researching everything...there is soooo much to learn!!
Any input of any kind, even informative websites, would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
marioensf
12/29/2008, 10:28 PM
you can do 12 or 10 and the moon are for looks, not necessary.
Some people consider them as they claim to stimulate growth too.
The best input you will get it here, on RC
stricknine
12/29/2008, 11:06 PM
You dont want the lights on too much, it will permit algae growth. (and not the good kind) 10 hrs of both the daylight and actinics (at the same time) at the most. If you want to run a bit of a dusk dawn thing, run the daylights at 8 hrs/day and the actinics at 10/day overlapping by the 1 hour. Both lights will aid in non beneficial algae growth.
My first "learner" tank was a 24G cube too.(and still goin) It wasnt even 8 weeks before I started on a larger tank, but here are my tips for a successful tank - I learned from making the mistakes myself. Keep in mind a smaller volume of water is more volatile as a small amount of pollutants will have a greater effect than in a larger volume;
- Use ro/di water only - I had trouble with buying 5G jugs which was helped with good rodi water.
- Do not overfeed. That goes for corals and fish.
- Rinse your food (with ro/di) You'll notice there is a bunch of "juice" with frozen food. This is all phosphates when added to the system and will cause lots of pollution problems.
- Add slowly: this goes for corals, invertabrates, and fish. There is not a whole lot of beneficial bacteria in a 24, so you have to give it a chance to catch up with your bio load.
- Not too sure what is in the back of your cube, but keep it clean. On water changes I pick two of the four chambers to clean per water change. Rinse out the sponge, bio balls, ceramic tubes, skimmer, or return pumps alternating per week and use a gravel vac to suck up the junk that settled to the bottom.
- Water changes:10% weekly, or 20% bi weekly (at the minimum). Searching on here for a solution a while back someone passed on a quote: "dilution is the solution to the pollution", keep the water clean. Not only does it help dilute the junk, but adds beneficial nutrients.
- For now, stay away from dosing any chemical at all. It will cause more problems than cure. Before you add anything to the tank, check here first. If it wasnt for RC I'd be in a big, big mess now. Its the #1 tool for a SW newbie.
Thats all that I can think of for now, will advise if I remember something else I fudged along the way.
Almost forgot, set a monetary cap per week or get a second job!
Good luck, and be careful out there!!
gemmasicolo
12/29/2008, 11:18 PM
Thank you!! You answered a lot of my basic questions.....I think the most helpful one was about getting a second job!! lol
nmbeg
12/30/2008, 01:40 AM
how do you rinse a small cube of frozen food? i know people say that all the time.... but practically, how do you do it without having it melt and flow down the sink?
stricknine
12/30/2008, 02:06 AM
not something you would worry about in a 125G, but heres my modus operandi;
Pre Packaged;
I have prepared mixes in mini ziplocs which I would thaw under the sinks hot water flow until thawed, and rinse in the tank to feed. Now I thaw that pkg, use a 500ml bottle of ro/di to rinse the food into a strainer, and fill the empty bag a second time to pour over the food in the strainer.
For the pre pkg cubes, I push one into a small dish half full of ro/di, let it thaw, and again rinse iti n a strainer prior to feeding.
I read soaking food in fresh water (RO/DI) helps the fish digest the food better, but I started the rinsing method to help battle my hair algae and cyano. It helped!
http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/20/c/AAAAApjLz2QAAAAAACDCKA.jpg
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14040676#post14040676 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nmbeg
how do you rinse a small cube of frozen food? i know people say that all the time.... but practically, how do you do it without having it melt and flow down the sink?
Cold water.
Tho I don't bother. Right now the "excess" nutrients are helping to build up my refugium. Not sure it would get any otherwise.
gemmasicolo
12/30/2008, 10:15 AM
Another question........
Once the tank has cycled I plan on introducing a cleanup crew first. I already have 3 snails (I don't know what they are, they just have whitish shells with some green/purple on them) and from reading posts I was going to add some Nassarius and Cerrith snail, peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp. What to you all think?
I want the peppermint shrimp because I found two aptasia on the live rock I got. I already did the boiling water seringe on it but I want to make sure I have something to control them if they reappear.
I eventually want an anemone with two clown fish and a mandarin gobie. Which do I introduce first?
gemmasicolo
12/30/2008, 10:18 AM
Here is what it looks like so far:
<a href="http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n271/gemmasicolo/?action=view¤t=Tank122808019.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n271/gemmasicolo/Tank122808019.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
spleify
12/30/2008, 11:05 AM
Here is a GREAT starting point.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1031074
stricknine
12/30/2008, 12:33 PM
sounds like a plan, but make sure the tank is cycled and stable prior to adding. I added cleaner shrimp 6 weeks or so in and the tank was cycled but not too stable. Had a nitrate spike and lost them both.
Everyone has their preference, but I would stay away from hermit crabs. They are a complete and utter nuisance.
The anenome is going to take months and months to add. I read anywhere from 6 months to a year to make sure the tank is stable. I would suggest against the mandarin, there arent enough pods in a 24 to keep him fed. I got lucky with a spotted mandarin that eats frozen, but dont count on it.
gemmasicolo
12/30/2008, 01:43 PM
I'm defenetly going to make sure the tank is cycled before I add anything. As exciting as it is I'll be patient and make sure I don't kill anything just because I was too anxious to put something in. I'll enjoy watching what comes out of the live rock for now!
I didn't include hermit crabs because I've seen so much negative feedback in the forums and I would rather not take the chance that they eat or kill anything.
I should have done my homework on the mandarin but I honestly have been non stop reading books and info about the tank and I haven't gotten there yet. So much to absorb.....
By the way, from reading the articles, I'm assuming that since the clownfish don't need the anemone that it's ok to get a pair and then eventually get the anemone?
stricknine
12/30/2008, 03:16 PM
correct with the clownfish, thats my plan as well. I have a pair and am waiting on the new set up to get going before adding the anemone. Dont have the lights for it in my current tank. My understanding is the tank raised clowns are fine without it, but will host if it is around.
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