Advice Needed For Complete Beginner !!!!

G

G17RDY

New Member
Hello All,

Im a complete beginner, when it comes to marine life !!

I have been running tropical fish for around 3 years in my trigon, but i have always wanted to start up a marine tank.
And what better way than to set up a Nano Reef.

I've read all information possible, and had a good look through all the threads in the forum.

I just need to know.....

These, Nano Cubes, everyone talks about, where can i get one from?
Are these specifically set ups bought all ready to go?
Im looking for aroung a 20 to 30g preferably.

The big question is.
Where can i get all of the stuff, eg a 20 or 30 G nanocube, and what else equipment wise will i need to buy / upgrade to. (i know about live rock, sand, corals etc, so i dont really need to know about that at this stage)
I just need to know about the equipment needed.

My LFS doesn't really deal with anything else but tropical. And doesnt really stock much in the way of tanks, only bog standard glass ones.

Can anyone please help me out, i am desperate to buy a tank and start up.

Sorry if its such an open ended question. i just need to know what i need to start up a 20 or 30 g nano cube. As from all the pictures i've seen i really like the nano cubes. (preferably not the JBL ones??!!)

Many Thanks

Gordy
 
G

G17RDY

New Member
Ok, so eventually found the JBJ (apoligies for spelling earlier) and now kinda answered some of my questions.
So it is a complete set up!! Should i be upgrading anything, or roll with what is included?
Apart from JBJ, are there any other companies that do a nano cube, like JBJ's?
What variety of sizes do the nano cubes come in?
Im now thinking that a 12g will be sufficent for what i would like to do, but would still like the option of a 20g or 30g.

Any advice, help would be greatly appriciated
 
I

incysor

New Member
The nanocubes come in 6g, 12g, and 24g. There have been lots of reports of failures with the 24g ones lately. Personally I'd stay away from that one for awhile.

Here's the website for more info on them.
http://www.jbjnanocube.com/

Oceanic makes a 30g cube that's a nice size/shape.

You can purchase most things online.

Where are you located?

Welcome to the site.

B
 
M

Master Er

New Member
I have a NanoCube 12DX and so far I have fared well with it. Its rock steady and very appealing to look at. However, though I love my cube very much, I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Its more of a "at your own risk" thing. Though JBJ handles warranties very well, its still very much of a hassle in the event something does goes wrong. If youre willing to take the risk just to satisfy your aesthetic needs, go for the cube. Otherwise get something less of a risk. Once you've decided which tank to get, things will be much easier to explain. As Drty811 said, "the options are endless". Hope this helps.
 
F

flsandwoman

New Member
I inherited a 12 Gal non-DX from a neighbor. However, in doing research had noticed several on sale on eBay. If you buy one, would recommend DX (deluxe) version with two 24 watt bulbs vs. just 1 in my tank. I have to stick to low light corals. I'm thrilled with mine. Less tubes & stuff hanging out, so suitable for my area beside kitchen table or an office. Figure only 1-3 small fish, though for 12 gal. I only have 1 fish, misc inverts & coral.
 
G

G17RDY

New Member
So..

If i go for a bog standard glass tank, i think i would need the following..Please correct me if i am wrong!!

20 G Tank
Heater (75 w Ebo Jager ???)
Powerhead (Marineland's Penguin powerhead 550 ???)
Lighting Canopy (recommendations appricated)
Specific gravity meter (recommendations appricated)
Synthetic Salt (recommendations appricated)
Digital temp gauge (recommendations appricated)
Test Kit (recommendations appricated)

Then obviously natural filtration, through live sand and live rock.
How much live rock and live sand, roughly, will i need for a 20 G ??????

So, can anyone tell me if i am missing anything, or make any reccomendations on the equipment ?

All i want is an abundance of corals, a crab or two, a couple of shrimps, and two clowns.
Please, please, please, tell me if i need anything else. I am desperate to get a nano reef up and running, but obviously want to do it right, and make sure that i do not rush things.
Thanks :D
 
D

drty811

New Member
JMO this is what i would do...

20gal (all glass aquarium, perfecto aquariums have shitty warranties)
75 w heater
the powerhead is fine....some ppl like more current in there tanks, some ppl like less. i have a bunch of different sized pumps so i can change it for the needs of the corals.
for lights i would go with 24" corallife dual PC 130w w/lunar light(they have nice clean looking setups and they have fans built in)
for my gravity meter i use a cheap deep six...it does the job,but there are better more accurate ones.
dont think it really matters with salt...everyone uses different brands,so what ever one you pick will be fine.
i have the corallife digital thermo....never had any problems with it. i also have a hagen glass thermo inside my tank for back up.
test kits i use fasTesT kits theres a couple other ones but i heard that fasTesT was one of the best and most recomended.i would go with about twenty pounds of each,sand and LR.you can go with less,its all on what you to do.
i would also do a filter/refugium..
http://www.nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1307
its really simple to do.i run refugiums on both of my tanks.

i think thats about it.....welcome to nanotank and happy reefing
 
I

incysor

New Member
G17RDY said:
So..

If i go for a bog standard glass tank, i think i would need the following..Please correct me if i am wrong!!

20 G Tank
Heater (75 w Ebo Jager ???)
Powerhead (Marineland's Penguin powerhead 550 ???)
Lighting Canopy (recommendations appricated)
Specific gravity meter (recommendations appricated)
Synthetic Salt (recommendations appricated)
Digital temp gauge (recommendations appricated)
Test Kit (recommendations appricated)

Then obviously natural filtration, through live sand and live rock.
How much live rock and live sand, roughly, will i need for a 20 G ??????

So, can anyone tell me if i am missing anything, or make any reccomendations on the equipment ?

All i want is an abundance of corals, a crab or two, a couple of shrimps, and two clowns.
Please, please, please, tell me if i need anything else. I am desperate to get a nano reef up and running, but obviously want to do it right, and make sure that i do not rush things.
Thanks :D
Click to expand...
20g tank is a good size.

I don't use heaters. So I can't comment

Marineland powerhead. Seems large for the output, but I haven't seen them in person.

Lighting is determined by what types of corals you want to keep. The three major types are LPS, SPS, Softies. Very generally SPS require high flow and lighting, LPS moderate flow and lighting, Softies moderate flow moderate-low lighting.
Until you decide which type you like it's impossible to really accurately give you much in the way of suggestions. Of course I could just suggest a 250W MH with actinic supplementation, and you'd be able to keep whatever you wanted in the tank, but it may be more than you need both in output and expense.

Skip a hydrometer. They're all pretty inaccurate. Save some money during the tank-cycle period and pick up a $50 or less refractometer. They can usually be found on some of the other major supply sites.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 004+113761

Salt. For a nano it's generally more convenient/cheaper to just go buy saltwater and RO/DI top-off water at the LFS every couple weeks and store the extra. For the small amounts used for normal water changes and top-off on small systems buying an RO/DI unit and mixing your own saltwater just doesn't usually make sense. However if you really want to go this route, you'll need to buy an RO/DI unit and then pretty much any of the major salt brands are fine. I prefer crystal seas bioassay salt, but really most of them are pretty decent.

Digital temp gauge. I use this on my main system. It's cheap and seems accurate.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 004+113769

Test Kit. I use fastest and salifert kits. Salifert is more accurate, but much more expensive.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 004+113074
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_tes ... sp?CartId=

Liverock. The general rule is 1-3lbs of LR per gallon. I generally shoot for 1.5-2lbs during setup which leaves room for the rock that will come when I buy corals, since most corals are attached to small pieces of LR.

You won't really need to light the tank during the cycle so you can start it without having your lighting in place yet. It'll take anywhere from a week to 8wks for the tank to cycle depending on filtration methods, cured vs. uncured rock etc...

B
 
O

Open

New Member
lol i read a book that said to put foam or padding under your tank........ has any1 tryed this and found that there 24 gallon nano cube still crackes?
 
K

KAYBEE

New Member
Master Er said:
I have a NanoCube 12DX and so far I have fared well with it. Its rock steady and very appealing to look at. However, though I love my cube very much, I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Its more of a "at your own risk" thing. Though JBJ handles warranties very well, its still very much of a hassle in the event something does goes wrong. If youre willing to take the risk just to satisfy your aesthetic needs, go for the cube. Otherwise get something less of a risk. Once you've decided which tank to get, things will be much easier to explain. As Drty811 said, "the options are endless". Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Hi, I'm new to the group also! I have just recently come across the JBJ 12 gal deluxe and am seriously considering going with it because I have an autistic son who is attracted to water so having something with an open top is out of the question.

My first question is....by "at your own risk" do you mean that all parts (even light bulbs) have to be ordered thru JBJ?

And secondly.....will the 48 wats it comes with be enough for most corals, etc. or can the lighting be increased with the 12 gal deluxe cube?

tia,
Kay
 
O

Open

New Member
i think theyre talkingdeluxe when they said that its good for most corals i believe so...... but dont take my word for it :)
 
D

drty811

New Member
the deluxe has two 24watt bulds and the regular one only has one 24w bulb. 48watts from the deluxe is enough for some corals not all...im still new so im still learning what corals need or dont need as for lighting....
 
M

Master Er

New Member
KAYBEE said:
Master Er said:
I have a NanoCube 12DX and so far I have fared well with it. Its rock steady and very appealing to look at. However, though I love my cube very much, I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Its more of a "at your own risk" thing. Though JBJ handles warranties very well, its still very much of a hassle in the event something does goes wrong. If youre willing to take the risk just to satisfy your aesthetic needs, go for the cube. Otherwise get something less of a risk. Once you've decided which tank to get, things will be much easier to explain. As Drty811 said, "the options are endless". Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Hi, I'm new to the group also! I have just recently come across the JBJ 12 gal deluxe and am seriously considering going with it because I have an autistic son who is attracted to water so having something with an open top is out of the question.

My first question is....by "at your own risk" do you mean that all parts (even light bulbs) have to be ordered thru JBJ?

And secondly.....will the 48 wats it comes with be enough for most corals, etc. or can the lighting be increased with the 12 gal deluxe cube?

tia,
Kay
Click to expand...
Kay- welcome to nanotank...the reason I said "at your own risk" is because of the recent cracking incidents of Nano Cubes. I have a NanoCube that seems rock solid but I would not say the same for other Nanocubes. But the 12DX seems to be more on the safe side compared to the 24 gallon cubes. Its more of a begginers luck thing I guess. When I bought mine, I did not check for cracks nor did I do a leak test....had I known about such formus, I would have inspected my tank first.

As for the other equipment that comes with the tank, if anything does break within 6 months, warranty applies (register online), either your LFS or JBJ would replace the items for you, its usually the ballast or the tank that gives...but that may depend on the causes too....in some cases you may need to supply pictures....

The 48 watts that come with the DX are in my opinion adequate enough for mushrooms, zoqanthids, leathers, and GSPs to name some...I have these in my tank and they are flourishing happily, though there may be more but I'm no specialist....there are others out there who have more knowledge in the lighting stuff. Hope this helps you. Again welcome to NanoTank.
 
I

incysor

New Member
Open said:
lol i read a book that said to put foam or padding under your tank........ has any1 tryed this and found that there 24 gallon nano cube still crackes?
Click to expand...
I think a lot of people do this. You want to level your stand as much as possible, but there's always the possibility of settling over time, with weather, etc... The styrofoam under the tank is just an added level of support that helps absorb any irregularities from this type of thing.

After reading several of the threads, the 24g cubes just seem a bit under-engineered to me. The thickness of the glass is a bit on the thin side for a curved glass tank.

B
 
djconn

djconn

New Member
Yes, I've only heard of problems with the larger 24 gal cubes. The 12 and 6 gal are fine IMO. The problems with the 24 gal are probably few and far between as well. Reefers are a tight-knit group that have good communication so I think word spread very fast and might be slightly exaggerated at this point. JBJ is a big company and I'm sure they'll fix and deal with this issue appropriately.

I love the look of cubes. I don't want the mention of a few bad apples (24 gal cubes) to steer you away from setting up a nanocube. Some of the most beautiful reefs I've even seen were setup in cubes. Take a look at our 2005 Tank of the Summer winner.
 
O

Open

New Member
my fish store place said that the 12 gallon it the tank that cracked
they said to 12 gallons cracked and none or there 24s cracked? coincidence?
:?:
:roll:
 
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