I have decided to once again setup a larger tank. I am planning on replacing my 12 Gallon JBJ Nano Cube (as it has been given me nothing but headaches recently) with a 29 Gallon Oceanic Bio Cube which I have already purchased. I will be starting from scratch with new sand, water, live rock, everything. Hopefully things will work out this time. I have started a list of things that I was planning on buying for the tank but I wanted all of your expert opinions. Here is my list:
29 Gallon Oceanic Bio Cube
I already have the tank and stand set up, but I have noticed it has a fairly small scrape on the inside near, but not on, the rounded corner. It is very hard to notice and will be even harder to see when the tank is setup. Will this cause any problems?
Fission Nano Skimmer
Is this a good skimmer? I obviously couldn't run it 24/7 but you don't need to do that anyways do yo? Would I be better off getting something different?
Visi-Therm Stealth Heater
I was thinking of getting the 150 watt one which is obviously bigger than what I need to heat a 29 gallon tank. Would this be overkill?
Portable Refractometer
This seems to be the model that everyone else uses.
Coralife Digital Thermometer
I figured I could keep this in one of the filter compartments and have the readout on the back of the tank, possibly velcroed.
Oceanic Sea Salt Mix
I currently have a humongous bucket of Instant Ocean, but I have heard that it can cause algae problems which is one of the reasons I am tearing down my Nano Cube. (Maybe it will get a new lease on life as a freshwater tank.) I know opinions will differ on the salt subject but, is this a good one?
Substrate
I was considering the Special Grade variation. Is there a better brand I should use? I know that live sand is kind of a waste of money, but I can't seem to find the proper play sand in my area.
RO/DI Unit *Warning, lots of Pictures!*
Any experience with this type? Would I be better off getting another brand? I was hoping that I could get this at a later date and use RO/DI water from the grocery store for the time being. Would distilled be a better option if I were to go this route, or should I just get this and start out with water from the home unit?
Live Rock
Does anyone have any experience with this company? I found a link to them from the "Stock List" sticky so I assume they have a quality product. They appear to look good from the pictures on their website. I would start out with 30 lbs.
Anything to add? Anything I should change? Critique away!
P.S. It is 1:30 in the morning and I am barely awake. I apologize if this entire post is incoherent.
29 Gallon Oceanic Bio Cube
I already have the tank and stand set up, but I have noticed it has a fairly small scrape on the inside near, but not on, the rounded corner. It is very hard to notice and will be even harder to see when the tank is setup. Will this cause any problems?
Fission Nano Skimmer
Is this a good skimmer? I obviously couldn't run it 24/7 but you don't need to do that anyways do yo? Would I be better off getting something different?
Visi-Therm Stealth Heater
I was thinking of getting the 150 watt one which is obviously bigger than what I need to heat a 29 gallon tank. Would this be overkill?
Portable Refractometer
This seems to be the model that everyone else uses.
Coralife Digital Thermometer
I figured I could keep this in one of the filter compartments and have the readout on the back of the tank, possibly velcroed.
Oceanic Sea Salt Mix
I currently have a humongous bucket of Instant Ocean, but I have heard that it can cause algae problems which is one of the reasons I am tearing down my Nano Cube. (Maybe it will get a new lease on life as a freshwater tank.) I know opinions will differ on the salt subject but, is this a good one?
Substrate
I was considering the Special Grade variation. Is there a better brand I should use? I know that live sand is kind of a waste of money, but I can't seem to find the proper play sand in my area.
RO/DI Unit *Warning, lots of Pictures!*
Any experience with this type? Would I be better off getting another brand? I was hoping that I could get this at a later date and use RO/DI water from the grocery store for the time being. Would distilled be a better option if I were to go this route, or should I just get this and start out with water from the home unit?
Live Rock
Does anyone have any experience with this company? I found a link to them from the "Stock List" sticky so I assume they have a quality product. They appear to look good from the pictures on their website. I would start out with 30 lbs.
Anything to add? Anything I should change? Critique away!
P.S. It is 1:30 in the morning and I am barely awake. I apologize if this entire post is incoherent.