Ironworker's 1'st 28 nano HQI

[bsdryder7]

Well here we go lol i have been planning on a nano for some time now.It only took me forever to find a good deal on one but now it begins.Bare with me on this adventure cause i will be asking lots and LOTs of Q&A lol.

I have a freshwater planted also but couldnt resist the colors and fun of the saltwater realm lol....... well this is the plan as of now.....i am thinking about a pair of clowns and a kaurden cardnial and maybe a globy of some sort......thats just a rough sketch and am up for any suggestions????


Here are some shots of the tank i just got it home about 20 mins ago.....i scored on craigs list and got it for $ 200 with stand and only has about 6 months or so on it ......

Here are some pics as of today July 24 2011

 

[bsdryder7]

so first question is what would be the best way to clean the tank......i have heard of vinegar and water.....or just really hot water ??? little help would be great

 

[maxst2]

Hot water and vinegar to sterilize and clean. Then rinse with water and let it air dry out in the sun.

 

[Crabs]

Dont be pouring hot water into you're aquarium unless u don't mind turning it into a terrarium! Just go with the vinegar and water. You can even use a little bleach in water, if you're just sterilizing the tank. But of course u will need to rinse thoroughly after this.

 

[bsdryder7]

k thanks crabs.....well today i cleaned the crap out of it and i am doing the infamous leak test .........well i had a question about .....how do you get all the crap out the back of the tank?????

also i have read that people change out the power heads witch one do people switch to ???

 

[bsdryder7]

so i just picked up 25 lbs of carib live sand from petco .....yaaa.... but i cant get the live rock until i get back ffrom vacation on thursday

 

[bsdryder7]

so i just ordered a new phoenix 150w hqi bulb today and it should be here the day i get back from vacation or the following day then i can get my live rock and water on sat and finally begin the adventure .....YAAAAAA.....

 

[maxst2]

I know how you feel on waiting. My biocube29gal has been waiting for water for... um.. 4 months now. If I upgrade apartments at current place i'll be getting it up in a couple more months. If not...well.. not till January

 

[bsdryder7]

so i finally have my tank started ......sorry for the cloudy water i was going to take a pic of the scape but i got a little carried away hahaha so i will have to take some more pics tomorow when it settles ....

ive also noticed that my light is shutting off for like 1 minute every 10 mins or so....do you think something is wrong with the ballast or the bulb ....i know this bulb is like a 1 1/2 years old .....i already ordered a phoenix bulb it should be here tuesday .....

 

[maxst2]

Could be the bulb. When you open it up, obviously with the power unplugged and you press the power switch to on to drain the ballasts, check out all the connections and stuff to make sure there isn't any corrosion or broken/loose wiring.

 

[bsdryder7]

so here is my first attempt at the scape im going for.....i want the whole horseshoe effect with the little cave in the back .....man its a lot harder than it looks hahaha.....

i tried it again this morning but it got to cloudy to see haha so i will have to wait till it calms down to fix the rest ...


any suggestions would be nice

 

[maxst2]

Nice, its simple which is good. and you have lotta room to mount frags.

The right side of the tank is close to the rock work, I'd move that in more so you can clean the glass there without hitting a rock.

 

[bsdryder7]

ya i thought that to so i changed it up but i couldnt fix it cause it got to cloudy haha

 

[GoldieLocks1]

Hey, it's looking really good so far. I like the horseshoe effect too. Did you ever get an extra power head?

 

[bsdryder7]

Hey, it's looking really good so far. I like the horseshoe effect too. Did you ever get an extra power head?

no i haven't yet cause i spent way to much when i went on vacation so i am limited at the moment and its my wife and 3 year old's b-day on the 21 and 23 of this month so i think they might be a lil upset if i start buying stuff for myself lol.....

but i figure while i am cycling it doesnt really need it anyway......ill end up buying those and a Koralia 550 gph .....do you think that would be enough flow....

 

[bsdryder7]

update..........8-8-11


so i think i like this scape a lot better but i might have to add a cool flatter type of rock for the top ???

what do you guys think??

ohh ya i added the new phoenix 14 k bulb and ohhh my lord it is way bright ...the pic came out super blue but i think it was because the flash didnt go off so ya and it is not shutting off at all like the old bulb was cause i was afraid it might be the fuse but looks like i was wrong ....

 

[GoldieLocks1]

no i haven't yet cause i spent way to much when i went on vacation so i am limited at the moment and its my wife and 3 year old's b-day on the 21 and 23 of this month so i think they might be a lil upset if i start buying stuff for myself lol.....

but i figure while i am cycling it doesnt really need it anyway......ill end up buying those and a Koralia 550 gph .....do you think that would be enough flow....

I like the new scape more too.

Ermm...I'm not really sure about the powerhead.. But yeah, you don't need one for the cycle. I've only got a koralia nano one for now. I figure it won't hurt for a while till I finish cycling.

 

[bsdryder7]

Update 8-9-11

Par.....
Temp 82.1 (is that to warm)??
P.h 8.4
Amonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

What other test's should I get .....calcium.....phosphate.... ????
My LF guy. Is tryinng to sell me purple up.... Should I buy it ????

 

[Mike-words]

Temp is high but my 175g hits that almost everyday with no signs of stress from the fish( no corals yet). Haven't used purple up so I can't say anything about it.

 

[Woodusmc]

Hey you don't need purple up it's just calcium if you dose it already then u will just screw up ur water Chem ur calcium will b way too high and you won't have any alki IMO it's a waste of 20 bucks you should and see if they can't get you brightwell aquatics nano code A + B when you use both it has every thing you need for your reef and all of my corals love it and I grow the good algae like crazy and nvr used purple up. I hope this helps man