Another Newbie

[techguy]

I wanted to make a quick post to say hi to everyone on the board. To this point I have no saltwater experience. I ordered a 28g Nano Cube CF-Quad which should arrive next week at which point I will begin the setup process (taking pictures along the way).

The past several weeks have been dedicated to research which is, and will remain, an on going process.

I'm sure I will be using the forums as a reference and when an answer does not already exist I will be posting questions.

I look forward to interacting with everyone.

[rayme07]

Hi Jason Welcome to TR and the hobbie.

It is great that you have been researching, researching is the number one thing you will have to do in this hobbie. Here is some links to some articles and threads that have some great info on them.


http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/co...Healthier-Fish

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/me...-gal-reef.html

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/me...54-corner.html

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx

http://www.theculturedreef.com/beginners.htm

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...step-step.html

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/co...t-Is-the-Cycle

[techguy]

Thank you for the warm welcome and helpful links Ray. I will be spending time reading them over as I ready for the arrival of my tank.

[rayme07]

Awesome and I cant wait to follow along on you tank build.

[CarmieJo]

Hi Jason to TR!

Raymond gave you some good reading material. One of the things that is counter-intuitive is that the LFS (local fish store) can give you bad advice. (Big box pet stores almost always give bad advice.) Sometimes this is ignorance and sometimes greed. Before you buy anything I urge you to run it by us first. We don't have anything to gain by urging you to buy something that isn't suited to your tank, unnecessary or you aren't ready to keep.

If you are planning to keep corals use the bio-balls that come with the nano as cat toys. I don't use the sponges either. If you opt for them they need to be kept clean so they don't build up nitrates.

You will probably want to pick up another powerhead to improve the circulation. I bought a Koralia Nano for my NC24 and wish I had bought the Koralia 1. The best prices around are http://theculturedreef.com/talkingreef.htm.

[techguy]

Hi Jason to TR!

Raymond gave you some good reading material. One of the things that is counter-intuitive is that the LFS (local fish store) can give you bad advice. (Big box pet stores almost always give bad advice.) Sometimes this is ignorance and sometimes greed. Before you buy anything I urge you to run it by us first. We don't have anything to gain by urging you to buy something that isn't suited to your tank, unnecessary or you aren't ready to keep.

If you are planning to keep corals use the bio-balls that come with the nano as cat toys. I don't use the sponges either. If you opt for them they need to be kept clean so they don't build up nitrates.

You will probably want to pick up another powerhead to improve the circulation. I bought a Koralia Nano for my NC24 and wish I had bought the Koralia 1. The best prices around are http://theculturedreef.com/talkingreef.htm.

Thank you Carmie! I love how eager everyone is to share their knowledge on here.

My cats will be happy to have new toys

It's good that you mentioned the Koralia power heads. My plan is to have coral in the tank so I have been eying the Nano model. Based on your advise I will bump that up to the Koralia 1 in stead.

One thing I have been researching and have found conflicting opinions on is the need for chillers. I am sure this varies depending on setup and geographic location. Is there a general consensus on this or is it more a matter of monitoring the temp and determining need based on fluctuations?

Thank you again for the welcome and information.

[rayme07]

The need for a chiller more depends on the size of the tank and what lights you have. What lights are you planning on getting for your tank?

[techguy]

The need for a chiller more depends on the size of the tank and what lights you have. What lights are you planning on getting for your tank?

In reading the forum threads it seems that the stock lighting will work for what I hope to habitat the tank with. Here are the specs for the Nano Cube 28-gallon CF-QUAD:

* 105 watt 10,000°K/7,100°K compact fluorescent lighting
* (4) Nite-Vu LED lighting with separate power cord
* (2) Powerheads - I plan on adding a Koralia 1 powerhead
* (2) Directional flow nozzles
* (1) Ocean Pulse Duo alternating wavemaker
* (2) Integrated cooling fans
* 3-stage filtration with removable media basket (not going to use the included media)
* Center overflow system
* Designated area for a heater (heater sold separately)
* Designated area for a protein skimmer (protein skimmer sold separately)
* Flame retardant ABS canopy housing
* Thermal protector for canopy (Auto Shut Off protection)

I have heard there were overheating issues with previous models though I am unsure if that has changed.

[CarmieJo]

It is hard to make an across the board recommendation regarding a chiller. There are a lot of variables including how cool you run the AC. However, that is pretty many watts for the amount of water so it may run hot. My nano has 2x36 watt CF lamps. This time of the year when we don't yet have the AC on the house can get warm in the afternoon. I leave the feeding lid open to help bleed off a little heat and it stays below 82. Once we put the AC on and keep the house at ~76 heat isn't a problem for me.

[techguy]

Thank you Carmie, that's pretty much what I suspected. I live north of Seattle so we are fairly cool most of the year though it can get warm in the summer and AC in a residence is rare. I suspect I will need to invest in a chiller even if it is only needed a couple months of the year. Thank you again for the feedback.

[techguy]

Tank arrives tomorrow!

I can do my leak test and such though I won't get my live rock until the end of the month or possibly early next month. I am fine with that as it gives me more time to study up. The motto mentioned by the experienced reefers on here of "take it slow" is something I intend on doing.

[rayme07]

Woot!! Congrats

[Kaymanager]

They saying is the only fast thing to happen in a reef tank is disaster TYPICALLY caused by the reefer. I have recently gotten back into this hobby and that is the one thin I remind myself everyday is to NOT RUSH. Congrats on the new system. What are your plans for it?

[techguy]

They saying is the only fast thing to happen in a reef tank is disaster TYPICALLY caused by the reefer. I have recently gotten back into this hobby and that is the one thin I remind myself everyday is to NOT RUSH. Congrats on the new system. What are your plans for it?

Thanks. I am hoping to build a nice reef and add a few fish. I don't want to over do the fish at the expense of the coral so will work into that part eventually. After the tank cycles I will add the CUC and let the tank adjust to that bio load. Once everything looks to be stable I will slowly add some hardy soft coral. Right now I am looking at what corals will work with my system (lighting, flow, etc.) and which will work together...don't want fighting going on.

[Kaymanager]

You should look into mushrooms, leathers, green star polyps, yellow polyps, might look at euphyillia( don't quote my spelling on that one) though they are very aggressive but I like carmie like the look of them. And yes carmie I finally got one. Got a hammer coral. All the frogspawns I kept seeing were huge and EXPENSIVE. Dang living in the south where there are 3 lfs to shop at within 2 hours of me makes em drive those prices up haha. Pulsing xenia is another good one and that ones in a variety of colors. Most of those are hardy beginners ( except the euphyillia ) do some research on em if you want but those just some suggestions. Take em as far as you like.

[techguy]

That's a great list for me to look into, thank you!

[Kaymanager]

your more than welcome. i still list myself as a newbie though i have been doing tanks since i was 8 and have about 1 1/2 yrs into sw so i know where u are at. it all seems overwhelming. dont feel bad there are times where i feel like i am in way over my head when i read something so i just come here and let it be known what i thinking and havent been lead astray yet. dont ever feel like a question is dumb or you ask too many cause shoot they put up with my million hairbrained questions so i know they can deal with the others.

[techguy]

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

It's looking like what I will do as far as rock goes is to buy 35 lbs of base rock from reefcleaners.org then buy another few pounds of live rock from the LFS for seed. There are a couple reasons for this...1) I really like the way the base rock looks 2) Initial cost is lower 3) I am not in a hurry.

I am thinking that while the live rock seeds the base rock I can work on ensuring my water chemistry is where it should be.

One question on this...before adding the CUC should I wait until the base rock has gotten decent Coralline coverage or will there be enough nutrients throughout to support them?

[CarmieJo]

I think you have a good plan regarding the base rock/LR. It will not take long for the base rock to become live. Your tank will go through the nitrogen cycle and once ammonia and nitrite are 0 you can begin adding critters. Coralline isn't at all important for sustaining a CUC. Its main benefit is that it helps prevent nuisance algae from colonizing your rocks. Its main disadvantage is that it grows everywhere and you have to scrape it off the glass! I think we have already recommended this article but, INO, it is worth a 2nd or 3rd look. http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx

[techguy]

Thank you Carmie!

Yes Ray initially shared the article with me and I fully agree it is worth reading and re-reading (which I just did thanks to your reminder). In this early stage it's easy for information overload and some finer points are forgotten. The article was a great reminder that the CUC will have plenty of "food" after the cycle completes.

[techguy]

Yesterday I bought 40lbs of sand and ordered 40lbs of base rock. Once I get the base rock in I will get some seed rock from the LFS. I also decided that I wanted to get a HOB refugium so will likely do that after the cycle completes and before any coral. The added stability will be a plus.

Once I get it filled and the rocks arranged I will begin taking pictures.

[CarmieJo]

That is exciting! I can't wait to see how you tank looks with the sand and rocks.

[rayme07]

Awesome!! I cant wait to see the pics.

[techguy]

Thought I would give an update on happenings. More detailed info can be found in the blog section (I currently have two posts there).

My tank was filled on 5/15 and I have not yet seen the ammonia rise. Aside from the live rock I have done nothing to speed up the cycle start (such as adding raw shrimp).

Parameters (using API test kit recently purchased):

Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm

Temp 78-80

Specific gravity 1.020

The specific gravity is low and I am working to raise it. Also I ordered a refractometer which I expect to arrive on Monday, for now I am using a floating hydrometer.

Today I noticed a diatom bloom has begun so the main lights are now off in hopes of limiting it.

[CarmieJo]

I would probably go ahead and do something to give it an ammonia kick.