The time has come the Clownfish said...

[noone]

... to move into a new home. My new 12 gallon nano cube arrived today! Just in time. The filter on my current tank seems to be malfunctioning. I currently have it (the cube) running with water downstairs to check for leaks and clean it out. I will be upgrading from my 10 gallon to the cube. I have several questions though. Some I asked in a previous thread just wanted some more opinions. (No offense to those who answered in my previous thread!)

1.I plan on using my water again. How much should I save? Should I save it all?
2.I also plan to use my sand again. (After a through cleaning!) How should I go about moving it.
3.Should I use my live rock over? It is pretty much brown. Hardly (if any) coraline growth. Should/can I just buy new?
4.If I use my current live rock over, will my tank have to re-cycle? If so, will it be a full cycle or a mini-cycle?
1.If I buy new live rock from the LFS, will my tank do a full or mini-cycle (if it does at all)?
5.I eventually want to keep some corals in the tank. If my tank re-cycles (full or mini) will I have to wait the suggested one year? (My tank has currently been setup for over one year.)
6.How should I have the 2-24watt lights setup on a timer?
7.What kind of corals and possibly an anemone (for my clown) will I be able to keep in there?
8.{Feel free to add any input here!}
That is a lot of questions. Sorry, I have had luck setting up tanks, just never upgraded one! Thanks once again!

 

[IworkatPSP]

I'm not 100% sure on any of this, but from what I've read here I'll do my best to help.

1. Water, you could use all of it and add fresh mixed saltwater to it.
2. Sand and rock hold your main bacteria for keeping a healthy marine aquarium, the more you save the less time your cycle will take. thoroughly cleaning your sand would remove all beneficial bacteria, thus making a longer cycle time. Also, since it is a bigger tank, there will be a cycling. The bacteria in your sand and rock is only sufficient for the 10ga. So you will need more sand as well as rock to provide more ground for the bacteria to build up on.
3. For the rock, same as above. There will be a new cycle but it shouldn't take too long.
4. definitely add more rock, bigger tank means more rock for filtration.
5. Best to wait at least 6 months before adding coral. The more time your new tank has to flourish, the better success your coral will have.
6. I have mine to turn the Actinic lights on 30 minutes before the daylight light turns on. And reverse the timing at night. IE: Daylight turns off 30 minutes before the actinic. Then when both are off my moonlights turn on.
7. This I'm not too sure on, I have ZERO experience with nano cubes. But from what I hear your choices are severely limited. Possibly some small shrooms and the like. Anemones....Sebae, BTA, LTA, etc....I think.
8. Hope this helps, good luck, and please let us know how it goes!

 

[lando]

1.I plan on using my water again. How much should I save? Should I save it all?

Use it all, with the exception of what is left after you remove the substrate. Dump that.

2.I also plan to use my sand again. (After a through cleaning!) How should I go about moving it.

Do NOT rinse your sand. You will destroy the natual bacteria in it. Just use a large plastic bowl or glass to move it.

3.Should I use my live rock over? It is pretty much brown. Hardly (if any) coraline growth. Should/can I just buy new?

How much do you have? I would use it. Again, another source of biological filration, just like the sand.

4.If I use my current live rock over, will my tank have to re-cycle? If so, will it be a full cycle or a mini-cycle?

This really depends on the amount of rock. The goal is to avoid a cycle. Using established media will help. When I started my 12gal nanocube, I used all established media from my other reef and had no cycle at all. You may experience a mini-cycle due to the disruption of the biomedia, just keep an eye on parameters for a few days.

1.If I buy new live rock from the LFS, will my tank do a full or mini-cycle (if it does at all)?

If the rock is fully cured you should not see a cycle.

5.I eventually want to keep some corals in the tank. If my tank re-cycles (full or mini) will I have to wait the suggested one year? (My tank has currently been setup for over one year.)

You do not have to wait a year to add corals. This is really more important with anemones. Give your tank a couple months to make sure it has stabalized and then you can start adding some corals.

6.How should I have the 2-24watt lights setup on a timer?

They are 50/50 lights on one circuit. I have mine on at noon and off at 9pm.

7.What kind of corals and possibly an anemone (for my clown) will I be able to keep in there?

Start with soft corals...mushrooms and polyps and zoos. Some LPS corals like trumpets, are good as well. Maybe a BTA down the road. Sebae or LTA are a poor choice for this unit. It is too small.
Good luck in the set up. Get yourself some LR rubble peices for the filtration compartments. Do not use the ceramic rings or bioballs that came with the unit.