Chronicles of a Nano Tank

[macman7010]

Well I got a nano-cube deluxe from my grandmother for xmas. It is the 12 gallon version with 48 watts of actinic light and 10,000k white light. It has the built in filtration module that contains a nice mix of chemical and bio filtration.

I thought I would chronicle my work with the nano-cube, it is set up here in our office as a small show tank for when clients and employees are in. Since nano-reef keeping is getting ultra-popular and somewhat trendy in the U.S. I thought this may be of help to those hoping to start a small reef aquarium. Remember though in these cases small is not easy and nano tanks, especially saltwater reefs can be tricky and challenging.

As of right now the tank is naturally just starting its cycle. I set it up on xmas day and added water and got the filtration running. I added salt shortly after and the initial salinity spiked to about 1.030 the addition of some fresh water its at a more maintanable 1.026. I just added Cycle so I have not even yet taken a nitrate or nitrite reading on the tank and since there is no fish in it will wait to do that. My hope is to let the tank run for a short time and in the next few days add live sand and possibly a damsel fish.

Go to http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a161/macman7010/ for pics and Ill keep everyone updated.

 

[binaryterror]

Sounds great!

 

[MadManMac]

Add some LR, spare the damsel! Good cured LR or even uncured will cycle better and not torture the little fishy. JM2C

 

[macman7010]

good idea mad man mac ... will do

 

[Jermz79]

Nice tank! I love my 12gal DX.

On another note ... I LOVE that Veiled Chameleon!!! I used to have a veiled and a Panther. The veiled was a little skiddish as I rescued him from a horrible previous owner. The panther was my favorite, the color morphs he would go through with his moods were unbelieveable! Some of the most amazing animals if you ask me!

 

[macman7010]

Thanks Jermz,

I got my female and once I learned about egg laying and egg binding I got a male and am breeding them. She already laid a clutch of about 50 eggs which are incubating and will likely lay again here fairly soon. They are amazing creatures, my gf and I both have loved them and finally worked up the nerve to give it a shot! Panthers are even more gorgeous, I would like to get one but they command a high price.

 

[lando]

I have a nanocube deluxe and am very happy with it. If it is an option, ditch the sponge blocks, the ceramic rings and bioballs for all LR rubble instead. I filled up the first filter compartment of mine with LR rubble, on top is a bag of chemi-pure and some Poly Filter. The second container is filled up completely with LR rubble and the third compartment has the return powerhead, heater and more LR rubble. I also added another small powerhead to the main part of the tank for more circulation.

 

[macman7010]

Thats what I did last night Lando, I added live rock to the first 2 compartments and threw in a bag of chemi pure. I also put a visi-therm in the last compartment. I am thinking that will make for far better filtration.

 

[lando]

 

[ace1uno_00]

I love My Aquapod. Its pretty similar to the Nanos.
You may want to use this. http://www.ah-supply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9236
It works great. and The micro bubbles it releases back into the tank aren't as bad as people are saying.

It fits in my 24 Gal. it may fit in your 12.

 

[Jermz79]

The "Fission" skimmer will fit the 12 gallon Nanocube, check out
www.nano-reef.com for more information and pictures detailing the skimmer. I don't run one right now, but I am thinking about picking one up! You should also check out the Surface Skimmer that is available from NanoBob on the same site ... I believe you can also buy one at www.nanotuners.com ... the price seems a little high but the quality of craftmanship is amazing. I had my homemade cassette case skimmer running and within 2 hours of switching over to NanoBob's model the surface of my cube was crystal clear!!!


P.S. - I think if I remember correctly my Panther Chameleon was $299 .... unfortunately the wife couldn't stand the chirping of my cricket farm anymore and made me choose SW aquarium or Chameleons' .... ... I will get another one some day!

 

[macman7010]

I will pick up one of the fission skimmers. I think Current USA makes them and I have been pretty pleased with the quality of other Current products I have, mainly an Orbit and Satiellete lighting fixture. I was just complaning to my girl friend that the Nano didnt have a built in skimmer so I think this will be a great addition, especially when thinking about corals.

Hopefully my live sand will be here today so I can get that added. I put in 8 gallons of my reef tanks water yesterday and added some Dameselfish (a two spot and yellow tail) this morning. I am hoping with the cycled reef water, live rock and rubble, live sand, and chemi pure bag from my reef aquarium that cycling moves along quickly. Ill throw some pics up on my photobucket link. I am going to run some nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and ph tests here later today to see where things are balancing out at and compare those to results after live sand has been added.

As for my cricket farm, I keep it in the basement so I dont hear any complaints. That is the only aggravation I have found with keeping Chameleons and other insect loving reptiles is that they need live crickets which are a pain to keep and handle. 299 sounds about right for a panther, a reptile shop where I got my vieled cham's was selling a nice blue morph male for $325. That is a little too steep for me, but wouldnt be once I had a better handle on cham care, the panthers are supposed to be about as hardy and have similar care requirments to the vieleds.

 

[ace1uno_00]

Hey those are good links Jermz79.
I didnt know they made a mini UV i want one of those now.
I think we need a Nano forum. lol

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

you can go to saltwaterfish.com and read review about those protein skimmers for the nanos. his name is jacksdad in the forum. theyve had GREAT reviews.... http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=169864

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

oh and we do need a nano thread on this site, but not for just the "nano" brand....

 

[Hara]

this has been discussed, repeatedly, please drop the "we need a nano forum". Obviously you are talking about things just fine. Administration has said that there is not a need here.

 

[ace1uno_00]

 

[Jermz79]

Hey those are good links Jermz79.

 

[macman7010]

yeah that fission skimmer sounds like it is a pretty impressive unit. A mini UV would be great!! The nano is still doing good, ph tested out to about 8.4 - nitrite suprisingly was 0 and nitrate was about .5 ppm with the salinity holding at about 1.026.

I dont know if you guys know but http://www.nano-reef.com has a nice nano forum all around and a dedicated forum for nano-cubes and the Current USA Nano-Pod. Lots of intersting discussion on the subject of small reef aquariums.

Nano-aquaria of any kind is really "something of its own" since many of the rules found in traditional aquaria do not apply or need re-adjusted on the nano scale "especially where reefs are concerned." Im sure most of you know that many experts consider nano reefs the hardest of all saltwater aquariums to keep because of the amount of chemical fluctuation that takes place. I think the challenge is realitive to what you put in the tank. On the box my cube came in JBJ had a picture with a huge full sized carpet anemone in a 12 gallon nano-cube. No doubt this was photoshopped, as a full sized nano-cube is nowhere near sized right for a carpet anemone. In fact I dont think Ill even try a bubble tipped in my cube, a pink tipped maybe.

 

[macman7010]

Here are some pics of the cube w/fish and live sand and a small piece of live rock. I am hoping to add some hermits, snails and clownfish pair this weekend. My assumption is that using my mature reef's water w/ live rock has totally bypassed the cycle since I would have expected to see some nitrite rising or ammonia by now if the tank was going to cycle ... any ideas on that?