New Nano 12 Gal up and Running!

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MKFMedic

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
131
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Hi Again!

I received my JBJ Nano Cube 12 gallon and was super excited to begin my set-up in my small home office! After a thorough cycling I plan to add a CUC, followed by some corals compatible with the DX lighting and then two, maybe three fish.

I visited my local fish store and was pleasantly surprised by the excellent customer service, patience and overall supportive attitude. I purchased sand, live rock, water and away I went. So the aquarium is in its cycling phase and I'm in no hurry to add anything and am content over-researching the tank, it's drawbacks, potential improvements, nano skimmers, upgrades, etc and it has led to me to need to ask some questions. I appreciate your patience as a new guy, being new to setting up a Nano Reef and would appreciate your insight.

1. Bio Balls & Sponges which came with the tank. I have read many opinions that recommend removing them.

2. Same with the Ceramic Rings (The Fish Store Guy recommended waiting until it was time to replace the rings and then just getting rid of them) and gave me the impression that they would not be needed in a well established system.

3. Protein Skimmers. Again, many opinions on both side of the aisle on this one. Hydor Slim Skim would fit in my tank if I removed the sponges, which some recommend and others don't. Any thoughts on a protein skimmer in a 12 gallon tank?

4. Finally, my local fish guy basically told me to be patient, establish a good starting point by being systematic and then maintain the tank through regular water changes. It sounded as though a lot of the other hubbub would be unnecessary.

Thanks again for your insight, patience and thoughts.

Mike
 
you don't need the bio balls or ceramic rings because you have live rock. you can take them out immediately if you like. if you do not, they will need some maintenance. you'll have to take them out every so often and shake them off in some salt water to remove detritus.
if you keep sponge material, i'd rinse it out every few days/week.
you can use a protein skimmer in that spot if you like. it certainly cannot hurt. i've never seen a protein skimmer for a nano that was worth anything however. maybe they've changed recently.
your fish guy was right about water changes.
 
Thanks Doug for the information. I think I'm going to remove the Bio Balls, and ceramic rings as the space is so tight, it seems as though it would be a pain to remove these in the future. Do you think that I should leave these in during the cycling, or does it matter one way or another?

I've been doing some reading and think I'm going to remove the sponges and replace it with a media rack and use floss, purigen, and chemi-pure from top to bottom. I have read several positive reviews from those owning nano reef tanks, but do you have any thoughts? Could it do any harm in the worst case scenario? The common set-up I've seen with these folks is the rack in chamber 1, chamber two with the heater/or LR rubble, and the third with the return pump.

If I do the rack, do you see any harm in me removing the sponges now? Again, as it pertains to the cycling of the water?

Thanks so much for your assistance and information,

Mike
 
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