3 of the 4 have passed away. Luckily my sea urchin thinks escargo is yummy and he thrives on the carcasses. Not sure what is going on with the snails, constant water changes and water testing shows the tank is balanced. I do have a bit of an issue with hair algae that I just can’t seem to get rid of. I’m going to have to work on that! I’ll keep ya’ll posted!
]]>Nano Cube 24G #2
The NanoCube has been taking shape slowly but surely. I have been replacing about 10% of the water (or close to it) with RO/DO water every Friday, rinsing out the foam pads and cleaning the glass.
I have also been adding one livestock item every couple of weeks. So far I have added about (in addition to what was already in the tank) ten more small, blue legged hermit crabs, a cameback shrimp, a black brittle sea star, a small sebae anemone and a couple of small coral frags. I have also had numerouf fan worms pop out of one of the live rocks and they are growing big everyday. I feed them every two days with small peices of “Prime Reef” and with a couple of drops of phytoplankton. The False clown eats readily from my fingers and the rest of the food gets moved around the tank before the hermit crabs, the anemone and the starfish finish the food.
Now for some gory details on the livestock. The sebae and the camelback shrimp were probably a bad idea, but they are there nonetheless. The sebae was creamish in color when I brought it home from the LFS with purple tips on its tentacles. I understand that a healthy anemone is a lot darker with pigments. I also did not realize how finicky the anemone can be in the tank. I had placed him on top of the rocks with lots of light and water flow. He kept moving till he ended up in the bottom wedged between rocks. In trying to be a good samaritan, I tried moving him to a better spot, only to find him back to where he was in the first place. I have left him there to get better situated. He eats peices of prime reef that I break off for him and place close to his mouth though I have not seen him actually keep it inside him for long. The camelback shrimp is very skittish and hides all day to come out only at night or during feeding times. The brittle star is great. He eats anything and everything. I will put small capsules of dried shrimp in front of him just to watch him manipulate the food and put it in his mouth. He too is a night crawler.
I have a small zooanthis frag that opened up its polyps in a few minutes after being introduced into the tank. The other is a tree like soft coral the name of which escapes me at the moment. They are both very new and time will tell how they do.
I still like the Nano Cube but I wish there were some things that were different about my setup. The curved glass of the NanoCube is very annoying since the magentic glass cleaner needs quite a few more strokes to get the glass clean. The filter compartment is hard to clean and service. That design needs to be changed or they need to provide better access to that section. There also needs to be space for tubes and fitting to get into the tank without leaking light. I really want to use a protein skimmer but there is no way to put that into the tank without cutting/breaking the plastic top of the tank. I am going to use some kind of a organic matter filter in the immiediate future. Also, there are a few too many biological filters in the tank (bioballs/ceramic rings). I am going to remove both for the time being since the tank is cycling nicely and they will just build nitrates in the tank.
Check back in another couple of months for an update! PS: I spend about 50 bucks every two weeks on livestock, water, salt and other ingredients.
[EDIT] removing the bioballs and ceramic rings makes my water a little more cloudy than I want which means that the live rock is not providing sufficient biological filtration (yet). This would be indication that the tank needs to be cycled some more. I am replacing more water now than I had mentioned in the post to make sure that the ammonia and nitrate levels remain at a constant low.
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Glad to see your reef comming along well. Removing bio filtration media in a tank with sufficient live rock shouldn’t cause your water to cloud. In a freshwater setup or saltwater with little or no live rock this could occur and is due to a bacteria bloom. I’d ditch a little of the bio media at a time and test everyday untill you get rid of them. You really don’t need any additional bio media as long as you have enough live rock and don’t overstock the tank. A tank is never really “cycled” since things are always changing like adding more stuff, stuff dying, feeding patterns change, etc. It can take 6mos to a year for a true “ballance” to occur as long as you don’t go overboard with adding more livestock. Since you, like myself, run a skimmerless system it would be wise to use carbon and change it every other week. You can also use (http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=PB1111) and it will remove a lot of the same bad stuff a skimmer does. Pulsing Xenia is also great for soaking up excess nutrients in the water, it will grow like a weed and need to be cut back or it can take over a tank. Also you’ll find that you don’t need to target feed most anything in a skimmerless system since skimmers pull out bad as well as good things. The food that gets by your fish is more than enough to feed soft corals, shrimp, fans, etc. Ocean water is far more nutrient sterile than you could ever come close to in a captive tank and the corals and critters there seem to do pretty good. I only feed my fish every other day with frozen Formula-1 and add 4-5 drops of phytoplankton once a week in a 10 gallon reef for a year and everything not only survives but a lot of soft corals are outgrowing the tank. Now the anemone may need target feeding but I’ve never desired nor attempted to keep one mostly due to the fact that they have a very low survival rate in captivity without the proper intense lighting and specific husbandry requirements. Keep an eye on it because if it gets caught in a powerhead or dies it can crash your system FAST. Good luck and enjoy.
Comment by stack 4/8/2005 @ 1:14 pmtest
Comment by Mark 5/9/2005 @ 1:26 pmMark, I too bought a nano cube. I purchased the twenty four gallon… I do not like the filtration system at all… and do not like all the features you named. I even went so far as to email the company to ask about a protien skimmer that might work with the tank… They came with no answer… just a short email stating… sorry… none available. I did refer to several websites on nano cubes…. and came up with this… use it only at night – placing the skimmer on the front of the tank- with the flap partly open. It helps allot. The stuff it takes from the water is amazing… I left my bio balls and rings in.. (only because I have more fish in the reef system than I should) everything is doing well for me so far though. I haven’t lost a fish… nor a coral. Today I purchased a bubble anemone…. hopefully it will do ok… I placed him on the floor… and it looked like he was moving upwards when I left for work this afternoon. I am curious to see where he ends up.
Comment by Debbie 5/11/2005 @ 7:06 pmDebbie@orchidattic.com
Debbie,
However, if you are looking for some friendly suggestions on what has worked for ME, read on.
If you are an experienced reef keeper and are not looking for any davice, I would not read any further.
Actually, my system runs much better WITHOUT a protein skimmer. I don’t quite like some of the features like the filtration system, but I have found little tricks to get around almost every annoyance with the system and I am glad that I did purchase the Nano Cube.
I added a nice powerhead to the system with a wave maker which really helps with the corals. I have seen considerable growth with all three of my frags and the corraline algae is everywhere now. I also use something called “Poly Filter” that works much better than a protein skimmer. I could try to explain, but this website does a much better job.
http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/?article=3 (read through the other articles if you want, very good advice)
Everything is getting more stable as time goes on. The bio load on my 24g is not that high and since I am about to move to another house, I am not going to add any more livestock till I get there and things settle down again.
Good luck with your reef!
Comment by Mark 5/11/2005 @ 8:47 pmIt seems to that a 20%-25% water change once a week with plent of live rock, you shouldn’t need a skimmer. Am I wrong?
Comment by Toby Williams 9/4/2005 @ 1:27 amOh, and the Anenomes don’t do well for very long, from my experience. I have to agree with Stack. I had a Long Tenticle that was doing well for about 8 Months and died overnight.By the next night my $100.00 “Blue Regal Tang” had Ich and then developed “Marine Velvet” and Parished.My “Clown” fish soon followed. They will wipe out a tank! Once I had them quarantined my “yellow tang” came back around, but it took about a month of TLC.
Comment by Toby Williams 9/4/2005 @ 1:38 amIf I were you I would take the anemone to a LFS and try to trade it for something hardier that would be beneficial like two margarita snails. Another option that is interesting and easy to care for not to mention cheap, try a lettuce nudibranch. Remember some key features for a nano are pleanty of live rock (1gal:1.5lb), weekly 10% water changes, keeping salinity stable by topping off with RO/DI water everyday, powerhead flow, and refrain from overfeeding. I know feeding time is exciting but remember that everytime you feed them you are adding fuel to the fire since nitrates only build up in a nano system unlike a much larger mini reef setup where the full nitrogen cycle can be achieved. Honestly the live rock and power head should be a the filtration you need granted the flow is great enough and you have the proper amount of live rock and the appropriate bioload. You could try getting some small pieces of live rock to replace the bioballs and rings.
Comment by Carrie 7/21/2006 @ 5:38 pmI have a 24 Nano, and it seems I have nothing but problems with it. I am recently having trouble with my filtration system. I have two different sponges in the first chamber (1 at the top and 1 at the bottom) and then a smaller sponge in the second chamber. I have never put in my Bioballs or my ceramic rings and my water stays cloudy all of the time, it seems that I don’t get enough filtration through my tank. If you have any helpful advice I would really appreciate it, it seems when you call the local fish stores they all tell you something different and all it does is confuse me. I also have a problem with alge growth. It seems to take over my tank at times. Could you please help! Thanks
Comment by Bonnie 10/4/2006 @ 12:18 pmBonnie,
I have a few of suggestions for you from my personal experience.
1) Take out the sponges. They are really terrible if not cleaned properly and very regularly and produce a lot of ammonia which you want to avoid. If you really desire mechanical filtration, replace the sponges with mechanical fiber media such as synthetic cotton (pillow filler material) found in most fish stores. Replace the cotton filler material every week to reduce ammonia buildup. This material is cheap and really helps in removing particulate matter.
2) Get more live rocks. If your aquarium is already established, this might be difficult because you might introduce unwanted organisms, but that is your call.
3) Use a combination of “chemi pure” and “poly filter” (search for those terms at http://drsfosterandsmith.com or on Google) to clean out the water thats already in the tank. I use both regularly and replace them every four or five months.
4) If you truly have an algae problem or have algae blooms, you might be leaving on the light for too long and/or have a lot of nitrates in the fresh water you are using to fill the tank. I suggest that you put the lights on a lamp timer and set it on for eight hours (or less) a day. I also suggest you either use reverse osmosis water from a store (like miejer or wal mart) or get yourself an aquarium tap water filter (again look on google or at drsfoster) and use that water. Also, feed your fish/corals only once every couple of days. The more you feed, the more waste, the more ammonia, the worse for your livestock. Stick with better food that is not wasted inside the aquarium.
5) As a last resort, if you really have an algae problem and none of the above resolves it, I would use a chemical algae destroyer like “algae magic” making very sure that the one you use is safe for reef and fish.
6) IMPORTANT: I suggest this wholeheartedly. Add a surface skimmer to your nano cube. I built one out of a cassette case, look here for ideas. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=JBJ-MSS-L&Category_Code=
Let me know how it goes.
Comment by Mark 10/4/2006 @ 12:48 pmHello,
I was hoping you might be able to help me, I bought a Nano cube tank about 6 weeks ago. I have spent time getting all my suplies and flling the tank with live rock, corals and sand, I have now added snails, star fish and 2 small clown fish but after puting the clown fish into the tank they seem to be struggling with the current in the water given off by the filter. I have had to now turn the filter off. Is their any way in which I could slow the filter down for the fish? I would really appreciate it if you send me an email back.
Thanks
Comment by rico 12/3/2006 @ 5:02 pmrico
If you take out the filter pump (It is attached to the bottom by suction cups), there is something on the side of it that will adjust the flow. Hope this helps.
Comment by Will 3/10/2007 @ 8:55 pmOk so I’ve had a 10 gallon tank (originally set up as a sea horse project for marine biology class). My Percula has been living quite happily in there for almost 9 years! Unfortunately…his tank has sprung a slow leak..so…low and behold with much research, I decided on a 24 gallon nano-cube. It just seemed that the smaller tanks were more vertical than horizontal which meant less room horizontally for Perky. The tank arrived today and I have to say, what a shock….is it just me or does anyone else think sponge changes be a HUGE mess?????????? I’m looking at the system thinking that when I pull that sponge out, any muck on the sponge is going to spew into the tank due to the tight fit? Also, I had originally though the fully involved canopy a good thing but now I’m wondering how I won’t scare the piss out of my fish when I’m cleaning out the filter??? There is a HUGE difference between reading about something and seeing pictures than seeing it in person. I’m used to a biowheel filter with a cartridge, eash to change, easy to care for…when the filter is dirty I can pop the entire thing off the aquarium and hose it down outside. Can’t do that with the Nano Cube. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated as right now I’m thinking FED EX needs to pay me a visit to return this thing!
Comment by maria 1/17/2008 @ 1:51 amDecided to keep the nano tank and just go for it. Its been running for a little over a week. I added oceanic sand as well as oceanic crushed coral, RO Salt Water, and a rock from fiji. Once the tank was up and circulating, I transferred the sunken ship that I had in my old tank to the new one to help establish healthy bacteria. Added a yellow tailed damsel fish (whom I named Petunia) a few days later. She’s been doing very well. My local aquarium store wanted me to toss 3-4 damsels in there to get it cycling faster but I didn’t want to risk that many lives. Petunia seems happy though. I’m going to give it a few weeks and then cross my fingers and transfer Perky my Percula Clown over to his new home. Its time for a sponge cleaning so I’m thinking I’ll figure out tomorrow if I’ll regret setting this tank up!
Comment by maria 1/26/2008 @ 7:26 pmITS NANO TANK TIME! Well the nano tank is going strong at just shy of 3 weeks. I had transferred a sunken ship from the old tank to the nano to help estalish the tank, but..also established an rather large algae bloom! Water all tested fine so I dropped in a few blue legged crabs and turbo snails to start the cleanup. They’ve managed to get half the tank cleaned since yesterday. Cleaning the sponge wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but still not exactly what I would consider the perfect set up. I have 2 yellow tailed damsels now, the newest one is named Pansy (yes, the named fits him!). Petunia is constantly being mean to him. Petunia may need to relocate back to the aquarium store! I’m rather chicken to put Perky in there, he’s been in his tank for almost 9 years and hate the thought of something happening to him when I put him in the new tank. I’ll keep a post going to let ya’ll know how he does!
Comment by maria 2/1/2008 @ 12:57 amTank is doing very well. Added another yellow tailed damsel whom I named Pansy. Petunia was a rather nasty fish so she’s happily back at the aquarium store. Cleaning the tank isn’t too hard to do. Everyday I clean the glass inside and out and run a quick wet towel over the lights to keep down on the salt accumulation. I also make sure to dry all of the plastic in the hood and on the sides to make sure to cut back on accumulation of calcium etc. Doesn’t take long at all. Sponge cleaning isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, not the greatest setup , but not bad either. I did a water change (I’m doing bi-monthly)and all is well. Had a massive algae bloom last week (woohoo…tank cycled fast) so went out and got a clean up crew of a few turbo snails and some blue legged crabs. They cleaned the tank up rather well and do a pretty good job of keeping it under control.
Today was THE DAY! I’d been putting it off for too long! Perky is FINALLY in his new tank. I made sure to acclimate him in a mix of the new water and his own water for 20 minutes before putting him in the new tank. It’s been 3 hours and he’s doing very well, seems rather happy with his larger tank. He’s getting along with Pansy for the most part. I’m picking up a Coral Beauty fish on Thursday. That will be last addition to the tank because I hadn’t realized how big Perky had grown
He’s about 3.5” long! Considering he was the size of my thumbnail when I got him 9 years ago, he’s definately a big boy now! I’ll keep ya’ll posted on Perky’s new adventures!
Comment by maria 2/4/2008 @ 9:50 pmClean up crew is doing very well with keeping the tank clean. I still get a small algae problem on the glass daily if the lights are on all day, but overall doing well. Perky and Pansy are getting along well and seem to be happy together. I didn’t pick up a Coral Beauty yet, I’m on the fence about adding another fish just yet since Perky and Pansy seem happy enough. I had ordered a new dual nozzle head for the water return to replace the single nozzle that came with the tank but after 30 minutes of fighting to get the single nozzle off I finally gave up! would much rather have the dual nozzle on there to help with a somewhat dead spot in the back of the tank but not much I can do about it for now. I’ll have to find some alternative. Maybe a swivel fan…I’m still researching. I’ll keep ya’ll posted!
Comment by maria 2/9/2008 @ 10:46 pmUpdate time
Had a bit of an issue last week. Perky developed something..not sure what on his tail fin. Was a red spot with white milky raised area. He has had a darkended top line. I’d not seen this before and as Perky has been 100% healthy for the past 9 years it put me into a panic
I started adding Pimafix in the morning and Melafix in the evening hoping to catch whatever it was (fungal or bacterial). Thankfully the spot is clearing up and actually the entire tank looks extremely healthy at the moment. I had also added in a cleaner shrimp in case is was a parasite on his tail. Cleaner shrimp is really groovy looking. I’ve also started alternating food. I’m giving Perky his standard flake food in the morning and have started giving him LifeLine green in the evening (he has always loved lifeline as a treat). The yellow tailed damsel is looking very healthy, when I got him, he had been terrorized by other fish and his scales were very pale..he’s full of color now. He’s getting along well with Perky.
Comment by maria 2/20/2008 @ 11:39 pmWell, its been 4 months since I set up the Nano tank. Perky and Pansy are both very healthy. I also have the skunk cleaner shrimp..he’s doing very well. I had added 2 emerald green crabs which are growing and thriving. My little hermit crabs are also doing well. Not so well are my turbo snails
3 of the 4 have passed away. Luckily my sea urchin thinks escargo is yummy and he thrives on the carcasses. Not sure what is going on with the snails, constant water changes and water testing shows the tank is balanced. I do have a bit of an issue with hair algae that I just can’t seem to get rid of. I’m going to have to work on that! I’ll keep ya’ll posted!
Comment by maria 5/20/2008 @ 11:58 pmWell now there is a nano cube protein skimmer out for the 12 and 24 and i could not be happier. Looks like some of my problems are fixed. I have a 24 gallon nano cube and not having a protein skimmer for all of my saltwater friends was the problem. A lot more frequent water changes than i wanted. Well i think i an going to upgrade to a 28 HQI anyway soon anyway but until i can afford it. You can get the nano skimmer here for your tank here http://www.jbjnanocube.com/contents/en-us/d862_Nano_Cube_Protein_Skimmer.html
Comment by 24 gallon nano cube lover 9/4/2008 @ 6:56 am