12 gallon nano cube

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Flashover1972

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
4
Ok. Very,very,very new to this hobby. So I am looking for some sound advice on my future cube. I'm venturing into this with no experience with the exception of what I have learned from the store I'm soon to purchase the cube from. For starters I will place about 15lbs of live rock in cycle then put a cheap damsel then once the fish has done it's "thing" and the water has balanced out get 2 black/white clown fish and a shrimp and a snail and maybe a couple of hermit crab. Now here is where I need some advice. Coral? Now I'm not looking to overwhelm my tank with it. I want something nice and well balanced. Soft coral of course although excuse my ignorance on species names. The store I'm purchasing all this from is reputable and well established. Very knowledgeable staff. Very nice prices. Believe me. I'm very anal. I've checked lol. So for those that have had 12 gallons or currently own one your advice would be greatly appreciated from this humble beginner.

One other note please no solicitation or advice on other brand of tanks. I'm sold on the nano cube as a starter. Thank you
 
The first thing i would do is not cycle with fish, you can do a fishless cycle and not torture the fish. :) Even if it is a damsel, LOL, still not nice to do.

I have a 29 biocube and love it! Everything is included as it is with the nano cube, you just might need a heater and a powerhead.

If you have stock lighting on that cube you should be able to keep most corals that you like. Here's a website that you can see the different ones and their requirements. They also have fish too so you can cross reference for fish that you may like.

Putting a pair of clowns in a 12g might be pushing it a bit, usually a pair requires at least 20. :)


Saltwater Reef Aquariums: Live Coral for Saltwater Coral Reef Aquariums
 
Sorry did nit mean to infer that I would cycle with the damsel. And live in Dallas so no heater will be needed. What are your thoughts on a maxi jet? To replace what is coming stock.
 
I have a koralia in my cube, I love it. The maxijet is ok but the koralias are my love. lol They are pretty cheap, streamline and they have a magnet along with the suction cup so they can't fall off. I had some trouble getting my maxi jet 1200 to stay where I wanted it and the way it flows and the adjustabilty wasn't good enough for me.

In that tank you would only need a small one, maybe 240 gph or so I'd guess.

Glad youre not cycling with fish! LOL The presence of live rock and the addition of either a dead shrimp or some pure ammonia would be enough to get your cycle going.

Cycle your salt tank

Great article for explaining the cycling if you didnt know already. :-D

I live in Florida and I don't need the heater either. hehe...lucky us!
 
Thanks for the read gives me allot to think about. And idk bout being lucky for Gods sake it's forecasted to be 108 today!!! So the store reps were very helpful not just trying to make a sale if ya get my drift. For instance I would love to get a starfish for my cube. Sales rep said bad idea not enough food in the sand of that size o tank. Your thoughts.
 
That was good advice about the starfish, specially the sand sifter. I havent added one yet for the same reason. :)

I would listen to your store and see what makes sense. Alot of stores are in it for the money and will tell you anything while some will try to be honest and stil they come up wrong. I have an LFS I trust alot, BUT I have gotten bum advice from time to time so keep that in mind.

Theres a few people on this forum that have been keeping reefs for decades so always feel free to ask a question here if youre uncertain or something you are told doesnt seem right.

After being sold 2 fish on 2 different occassions that the stores were dead on wrong about I now carry a fish reference book in my car so I'm prepared. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me!

The two things that most LFS aren't accurate about usually is the cycling method and tank size for fish. Most will tell you a 55g is fine for a yellow tang when it's soo not even close to what it needs. Just an example. :)

Not to belabor my point, but one of my lfs told me I change the water too much, she said like once a month maybe. Can you imagine? I would have nitrates thru the roof! lol

On another note, do you have an API or liquid test kit? Much more reliable than strip tests and you will need it for your cycling. And, are you going to start off with ro/di water, very important if you are thinking of corals. I started my first tank with tap water treated of course, and had nothing but problems, regret still doing that.
 
Well for starters I don't even have my tank yet. Lol. You see I used to own a 30 gallon freshwater tank back in the day. So the other day I dropped by a local store just for giggles. Now when I had a freshwater I wanted so badly a saltwater tank but knew I didn't have the patience, time, or money to do it. Well how times have changed. I was also shocked to c such a small saltwater tank "12 nano". I thought wow affordable and not so overwhelming. Great starter. And no gonna buy pre-made salt-h20 it will end up costing me bout 12$ a month no biggie and I will change out bout 3 gallons per week want that bad boy looking good and healthy. Very excited can't wait to get started. I'm gonna video diary it in YouTube. So in the end I will hopefully have 2 healthy happy clownfish 1 shrimp 1 snail 1 hermitcrab and sum kick *** soft coral. Your thoughts on a clam? Really want 1
 
Ahh clams, don't we all want one? LOL I don't think your stock lighting will be good enough for the clams, they need alot of light.
 
I agree with carey your stock lighting wont be sufficiant for a clam but ther is allways a flame scallop. Hard to care for but no strong light requierd and a good helpful abbition to a small reef
 
Back
Top Bottom