new nano cube!

[reefbeginer]

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/na...d-biocube.html
is the new thread i just started

im going to be starting a 24 gallon aquapod here in about a month. and i have a few questions. about how many fish could i fit in this? wat kind of corals would best suti this tank(i like polpys pulsing exina and kenya trees)? would i need to upgrade any of these 24 Gallon, 64W Compact Fluorescent System - Includes: Surface skimming filtration system, 1-32W square pin Dual Daylight 10000°K/6700°K Daylight bulb, 1-32W square pin Dual Actinic 460nm/420nm Actinic bulb, 2 blue LED lights, cooling fan, mechanical sponge filter, 290 gph submersible pump with flat nozzle?where should i place it in my house away from traffic windows or anything else? how much live rock and live sand? what kind of clean up crew would be best? should i go clean up crew corals then fish or any other way? umm thats all i can think of now for the tank i just have one for a frag tank. should the protein skimmer be in the refugium brhind it or in front of it?

tahnk you for answering!!



{HAYDEN}

[V]

Firstly - welcome to TR. If i havn't already said so!!

ok, stop your grinning & drop your linen - in other words, lets break this baby down shall we.

im going to be starting a 24 gallon aquapod here in about a month. and i have a few questions.

So im assuming this is it?>

about how many fish could i fit in this? wat kind of corals would best suti this tank(i like polpys pulsing exina and kenya trees)?

I built a nano awhile ago, something kinda simular in this regard, i personally capped it at 2 fish to be safe & coral that didn't explode as soon as they took hold. After all, not a huge area we're talking bout. This is a personal choice that greatly depends on your skill or comfort level also.

In saying that , A) i geared mine to handle almost anything, & B) im going to suggest listening to your american counterparts, as they have had far more experience in these off the shelf tanks than i would ever have. Not to mention specific mods that do the normal rounds in turning them salt water complient.

would i need to upgrade any of these 24 Gallon,

64W Compact Fluorescent System - Includes: Surface skimming filtration system, 1-32W square pin Dual Daylight 10000°K/6700°K Daylight bulb, 1-32W square pin Dual Actinic 460nm/420nm Actinic bulb, 2 blue LED lights, cooling fan, mechanical sponge filter, 290 gph submersible pump with flat nozzle?

Thats quite a listing for an off the shelf unit. If it were mine, I would exchange the 6700k for a higher colour temp daylight if avail.
Once again though, the other will chime in with known issues of these systems

where should i place it in my house away from traffic windows or anything else?

Once again personal choice, & logical choice also. weight is always a big concern, so a floor you suspect wont handle a load test, arr then thats a no ghost rider! Traffic, unless your house shakes with every semi driving past or polution rolling in the window your usually fine. Some people dont like to let their tanks see natual sun, other encourage it. There are for & against for ether agument.

Big point though so listen. Place your tank in a high home traffic zone or comfort zone. Cause if your not seeing it, your not careing for it. example being if you had it in a hallway out of view vs the lounge room, which tank you thing will get propper treatment?

how much live rock and live sand?

sump compatable? or just the DT we see?

Sand depends on your preferance, bare bottom, shallow or deep. Then it depends on the surface area of the individual grains ect ect...All serve a different purpose. Being a small tank, stability is key, so depending on your animals can all effect your choices, & hence your answer your looking for. For the sake of argument, lets run with 2 or 3 different softies, 2 fish , light feeding every day & 10% water changes every week.

In this case i would go a 3 inch bed, 2-3 quality rock pieces (large size & in proportion based on tank dimensions)

what kind of clean up crew would be best? should i go clean up crew corals then fish or any other way?

Leaving this to the americans

umm thats all i can think of now for the tank i just have one for a frag tank. should the protein skimmer be in the refugium brhind it or in front of it?

Leaving this also to your fellow americans as im unawre of the designs ok.


It all starts with a question. good work, thread bump, others will chime in with suggestions, & we're away!!!

[reefbeginer]

wow thank you very much!!

[V]

no probs, I still left the answers somewhat open, however the more others on the boards input & its stimulating your further questions and ideas, generally the more you can screw it down to a simple multible choice decision

[Pat]

i agree with V any more then 2 fish will be pushing the bioload and with corals 2 should be good id recommend a mated pair of clowns

[CarmieJo]

The most fish I ever had in my NC24 was 3, 2 ocellaris and a chromis. You could have quite a few corals, they don't add too much bio-load. If you have the stock PC lighting you can keep softies and some LPS.

[Skurvey Dog]

You might even consider waiting to the very last to add a fish. I'd work on any coral additions first and give the system a good while to mature and settle down.

[CarmieJo]

I too am a proponent of corals before fish. The Building of a Reef (tank)

[street_fury]

Hey u can do a wide variety of corals.if u have more than 3 fishes then u would have to do water every week .plus get a turkey baster to clean live rock from dirt building up.I own a 34g nano .look on the forum 34g cardiff.light should be enough to keep most soft corals.I had most of my corals under same light in my 29g nano.also keep tank away from direct sunlight.with regular water changes and good salt your tank will thrive..happy reefing.

[V]

Reefbeginner, Welcome to the threads bud, this post was alittle slow at the start, however with slight bump, we've brought out some peeps on the boards that dabble successfully in the smaller stuff.

When you get some more idea's by all means post away bud!
I find it beneficial speaking to the greener folk among us, The reason is a two part answer for me.
1. They are less corrupted by the old school mentality that slows down possible advancement in the field.
2. They a generally more creative without the classical mess of dimension design.

[FishChum]

Hello
I would keep you sand bead to 1" ,anything more gets dirty fast in a nano. Your lights should be good for keeping zoos, zoas, palys, softies and LPS. Pretty much anything but SPS. You should try to include all three types of filtration in to your nano ( mechanical, biological, chemical). For the mechanical part a good skimmer is key and foam filters are ok but should be cleaned twice a week. Foe biological your live rock does a lot, but a refugium with cheato will help tremendously. For chemical filter a place to keep phos remover and carbon is nice to have. The key to good water quality is nutrient export! If your not removing the bad stuff then its building up in there.

Remember reef tanks take a year or two to mature and there will be times when it seems nothing is going right. Keep at it read lots and be patient. A vary experienced reefer told me once to think of the best solution and then do nothing. Then when you are sure its a good idea go ahead.
Good luck and Happy reefing

[V]

hows the progress in this regard, or did we lose him to cyber space?

[reefbeginer]

wow guys im sorry some family matters came up and between that and school i cant do anything. but hopefully ill start before or after christmas!

[CarmieJo]

Family is more important, that is for sure! We will be here to help when you get things worked out.

[V]

, yup, family first, OMG, i just sounded like Dr phil..lol

[reefbeginer]

quick question where is the best place to buy one of the 29 gallon biocubes?? or should i go for the 24 gallon aquapod and where would the best place to buy one of thoose? thanks

[reefbeginer]

ok so parents are doubting that I can do this although I've ben doin no stop research, like now I'm on the road doin research on an I phone, anyways how expensive would the upkeep be of a 29 gallon biocube?? Thanks

[CarmieJo]

If you get your own RO/DI the upkeep is probably $15-20 a month for food, salt and additives. You would also have to factor in the power to run it. You could figure that out but I have never done so.

[reefbeginer]

thank you that coment made parents happy which makes me happier!!!!

[CarmieJo]

One of the hardest things in this hobby, even for adults, is to not rush to add things to the tank. If you make a stocking list before you ever set the tank up it will help you avoid this trap. Then you don't kill fish by not being able to provide for their needs, giving them inappropriate tank mates, poor husbandry or overstocking. You are being responsible by doing your homework up front and that is commendable. I think you will do well in the hobby.

[reefbeginer]

thank you and if everything goes well I'll start by Christmas and won't add stuff till the end of January or the begining of febuary and very slowly add stuff.

[rayme07]

One of the hardest things in this hobby, even for adults, is to not rush to add things to the tank. If you make a stocking list before you ever set the tank up it will help you avoid this trap. Then you don't kill fish by not being able to provide for their needs, giving them inappropriate tank mates, poor husbandry or overstocking. You are being responsible by doing your homework up front and that is commendable. I think you will do well in the hobby.

Also if you make a list make sure to put the prices next to the items on the list then you can add them up and it will give you a ballpark figure on what the whole tank is going to cost. I did that with mine and it helped out tremendously.

[reefbeginer]

thanks for the tips!!!!!!!!

[reefbeginer]

ok heres a little update, on a fw but w/e, lets see i have a 50 gallon fw cichlid a 30 gallon cichlid and another 30 gallon community. in process of setting up a 20 gallon fw so i put the gravel in after a few days it turns out i have plants growing in there...ive never had a single live plant in a fw aquarium before...oh well ha uhh it needs more work but itll be ready soon oh and i got another 20 that i rinsed out yesterday in plans of setting up fw community tank again. yep just a little update to spice things up a bit and get ya un bored!!

[rayme07]

i put the gravel in after a few days it turns out i have plants growing in there...ive never had a single live plant in a fw aquarium before...

One word for ya Cichlid. They may eat meat but sometimes they are a veggie eating machine. lol