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Skrillex
12/04/2009, 09:05 PM
Hello, About 5 months ago I bought a used 12 gallon nano cube from a friend never started it up. I plan for it to be a mini reef tank. The lights, and pumps all work, i was just wondering if somone could tell me where to start first. Not sure of which order i shall add the live sand/live rocks and water. I would appreciate any tips or advice you may have to offer a newbie :rollface:.

Thank you.

csueeman
12/04/2009, 10:14 PM
Well, you probably want to add water, then sand and then rock. You can probably do the sand and then rock before the water if it makes it easier for you to aquascape since you don't need to fill up a large volume. Just try to keep the rock moist.

As for your sand, I doubt it will be live. If you bought it from the store in a bag, it is worthless. Plus, in a 12 gallon tank you really don't have the room to do a deep sand bed to keep it to 1" or less and don't worry about the live part. Can be regular old sand.

Chris27
12/04/2009, 10:18 PM
1. Mix up 12 gallons of fresh saltwater using RO/DI or DI water or buy pre-salted water from you local fish store.
2. Get some live sand and put it in the tank.
3. Get 10-12 lbs of live rock and put in in the tank.
4. Very slowly fill the tank, let the water pour in across the rock so that you're not dumping it directly on the sand.
5. Sit back and admire how nice your tank looks - this is a good time for a frosty beverage.
6. Get yourself a couple of test kits (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH)
7. Let the tank cycle, this won't take too long if you used good quality cured live rock and live sand.

Sisterlimonpot
12/04/2009, 10:21 PM
[welcome]
start here (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074)

slchurch
12/04/2009, 10:28 PM
You are in for a great adventure. Make sure to take it slow, very slow. Don't get in too big of a hurry to add fish, corals, and inverts, it will be more benificial to your system.
Good Luck and have Fun!!!

potterjon
12/05/2009, 09:17 AM
I wouldn't use just any old sand from just anywhere. I believe that al ot of sand can leach silicates into the water that can contribute to algae blooms down the road. Not to make it too complicated, but stick with the sand from the LFS.

fishguy84
12/06/2009, 08:43 AM
Welcome! Congrats on entering the hobby and best of luck to you!

When mixing the water, it is always good to have extra saltwater on hand. Should something go wrong, you don't want to have to worry about making it. In addition to the test kits, get a refractometer. Making the water the same every time is important, and a refractometer will help you do just that.

rangerD275
12/06/2009, 09:15 AM
First thing..Get yourself a good test kit, and either pre-made salt water (which will be more expensive in the long run, or an RO/DI unit, some salt, and a refractometer. Get at least 12 pounds of rock (you can use base rock as long as you put in some live). Put in the water (not full) and arrange the rock the way you want it on the bare bottom of the tank. Then add your substrate, and finish adding water to the level marker. you can use sand crushed coral, whatever, but I would recommend using Live sand since you have a small tank it will not cost that much and will help your tank cycle faster. Then you need to wait for your tank to cycle (many good articles on here about the cycle). After the tank is cycled you should add a clean up crew. Whatever you do, do not be in a hurry Make sure you test your PH (use reef buffer is necessary), make sure you check Nitrates and Ammonia before adding anything.
Also make sure your temperature is stable, in a small tank like that you will see a temp increase over the course of your light cycle, but depending on your light it should be okay.

Just take your time and read as much as you can. Before you do anything to your tank read about it. If you are going to buy a fish, read about it before you buy it. Same with coral.

I made the mistake of jumping in to the hobby and rushing things, and it cost me some money (even with a small tank) and almost made me mail it in.

Just remember smaller tanks are harder to keep, don't over feed