Ignorance turned to reefeducation

[qb6fire]

I am a begginer and before i let my ignorance of corals become a pricey moronic move id like to ask a few questions as to were i stand as of now,
(if you think education is exspensive try ignorance) as you see i dont want to have this quote labbeled to me haha.

so below i will put pics of my tank and of the lights i have in my 24g jbj nano cube.

questions:
1 - Will these lights be sufficient enough to keep a coral?
1A - If so which ones?(again im a beginner)
2 - placement of the corals you have suggest would be put best were?
3 - In the picture below front left is a small LR as a mini island that my hermits tend not to use and i would like to have something flowy there coral wise to were a clow may possibly host(yes i know a clown may not host ever).
Pictures:

thank you in advance for helping me prevent a rookie mistake by allowing me to soak up all your thoughts and suggestions like a spounge no pun intended

READY GO!!!

 

[Flreefer]

Hey qb6, from the pic of the bulb (36w cfl), you could sustain some soft corals like mushrooms or other lower light corals. Although its not a very accurate assessment, watts per gallon used to be the way to rate your lighting, used to say that you needed 2-5 watts per gallon. Using this you are on the lower side. Now a lot of people have Lux meters to measure light, this is definitely much more accurate, but if you don't have one, watts per gallon will work in most situations.
Mushrooms could be placed anywhere in the tank, sand or on the rocks.

 

[qb6fire]

Thank you very much.
For my set up what lights would work? And what is the price range?

 

[NyteGTI]

Hey qb6,

First let me commend you on doing the right thing & looking for info first.
now there's good and bad about what you've got there.
The Good
-You can keep zoas, mushrooms, and many LPS corals with the stock lighting of a nanocube in pretty much any location you want(this includes those "flowy corals" that youre looking for such as torch, hammer, & frogspawn on the sandbed) I know my frogspawn & hammer grew like crazy in my 12G nanocube under the stock PC lights.
-the AIO system is an AWESOME tank for a beginner, you can get your feet wet for relatively low cost(in the SW world)

The Bad
-You're going to want to upgrade the stock pump to a maxijet 1200 or equivalent
-You're going to want a powerhead in the tank. I recommend the korlia nano 425 for your size tank. It's small and has enough power for any coral you want except SPS
-Just in case you had the thought later, you will NEVER be able to have an anemone in there in general imo. the tank is too small for a BTA or LTA long term even if you got brighter lighting down the road
-You're probably going to want more rock if you're looking to go reef instead of FOWLR. general rule is 1-1.5lbs / gallon

changing the pump out is as easy as shutting the current one off & pulling it out of the plastic tube its attached to in the back. then just put the new one it. it should be just the right height so no cutting or anything is necessary.

Lemme know if you have any other questions. might want to start a build thread so people can ask all the other questions that come along with this.

Welcome & happy reefing

 

[qb6fire]

Ok so i have a maxi jet 900 since i had no stock pump or tube or return difusser but hey the local lfs and home depot is pretty cheap also leaving me with enough tube for a syphone... plan on picking up a 425 today but with having the 900 should i get the next step up to a larger power head?

 

[NyteGTI]

you could. most people put 2 425s in their 29G biocubes with a MJ1200 & it's fine. you really can't have too much as long as you don't blast corals right in fron of it or create a sandstorm with it. I jsut like the nanos because of how small the PHs are.

Honestly you should be fine with proper placement. the difference in the MJ900 & 1200 is only 65 GPH.

 

[qb6fire]

Ok so i will go with the 425 since i get pretty good flow with the return...

Would it be placed best facing down at the rock even with the rock or lower and facing up?

I don't plan on going crazy with corals but more like a few oasis in a desert so to speak strategically placing them

I love my aquascape as is and i have 4 spots of were i want to place corals

 

[NyteGTI]

pointed up will be better, I'd place it perpendicular to the return. so the left side when looking at the tank.
Also I'm a big fan of my hydor deflector so i get random flow in the tank. it spins via the return water & sprays in different directions. makes the corals wave a bit more naturally.

I'm a big fan of negative space so love the idea you've got here. I just want to make sure you've got enough rock to keep up with the filtration.
Remember you're going to have to clean out those bioballs frequently or else you'll end up with a nitrate factory back there. I took my sponges & bioballs out & just run chemical & mechanical in the back & have the biological filter on my rock.

 

[qb6fire]

I have filter floss in the 1st chamber with heater in the second then lastly i have the pump...
I want to put some rock in the 2nd with the heater but i have heard otherwise.

Does anyone have input on this idea?

 

[NyteGTI]

the chamber is so small that the minimal amount of LR rubble wouldn't do much if anything at all.

 

[qb6fire]

the chamber is so small that the minimal amount of LR rubble wouldn't do much if anything at all.

i see in your sig that you have a few nanos may i ask what you run in your compartments?

 

[Sniperhank]

Floss, cheato, and possibly activated carbon would do well depending on how many compartments you have on your nano. I believe most have 3.

 

[qb6fire]

i have 3 compartments
i have heard someone put floss in 1st then chateo with heater in 2 and carbon with pump in 3

 

[qb6fire]

here is a pic of the tank with colored dots as to were i want to place corals
Blue:Flower Pot Coral Long Polyp Green
Red: Frogspawn
Green: Hammer

 

[Sniperhank]

Yes, your idea of compartments is correct. I would stay away from the flower pot for awhile, any minor injury or stress will cause it to die. They are slightly difficult normally, let alone in a newly established tank.

 

[Leighton79]

I'd forget the goniopora, they are extremely difficult to look after long term. The two euphyllia should be fine though.

 

[qb6fire]

Thanks for the quick reply do you suggest anything for that one spot?

 

[NyteGTI]

i see in your sig that you have a few nanos may i ask what you run in your compartments?

no problem
12G: Chamber1 is filterfloss, chemipure elite, purigen(intank media basket in that order) Chamber 2 is cheato & heater, Chamber 3 is return pump

29G Chamber1 is filterfloss, Chamber 2 is LR rubble(that hasn't done a thing for me in 3 months) & heater, Chamber 3 is return

I was trying to see the difference between chemipure & purigen & I know that my 12G can handle SPS with the water quality it maintains but the 29G is much dirtier and is a great tank for zoos & other easy stuff. It's also 3-4 months younger so who knows right now.

 

[NyteGTI]

Thanks for the quick reply do you suggest anything for that one spot?

How about Acans or some different types of zoas/palys. get some real color in the center

 

[qb6fire]

Ok so would chanber 2 be fibe with just the heater?

And ok ill look into those for the center