Hi, my name is Devin, and I have been reading your site for quite sometime. I hope that I am not asking things that have already been brought up as to not waste your time, but I have some simple, and hopefully, some not so obvious questions. First off, I purchased a Nanocube 6. I did this because although quite skilled at fabrication, I wanted to start off small (which from what I have read might be more difficult). I'm probably obsessive compulsive when it comes to building things, but I want to make sure that I get things somewhat right. Firstly, I have read that you should put the rocks down, and then the sand in. My only problem is I was wondering how vulberable the LR's are. Should the tank cycle with just the LS until levels are correct, and then and the LR? Or should I add everything at once? Secondly, what type of sand to use. Since the sand is extremely important, I want to purchase the best possible. I just don't know what that is. Fine, medium or coarse? I wouldn't be upset if someone mentioned brand recommendations that they have had success with. Also, are people mixing that LS with the ground LR, or using top beds, etc? I hope not to be redundant, but some specific recommendations from experienced members would be greatly appreciated. Also, I was thinking of using the LR from the reef store in Boca Raton, have many people used this. Thanks again, i'll be sure to upload pics of the process. Devin
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- Thread starter labar3a3
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welcome aboard.
to answer those questions...
Recommend LS that is "fine"
add that first, then setup/aquascape how you'd like the LR. (go with smaller pieces, as it's easier to add in more pieces of LR if needed)
Water if available, get it from the LFS, it'll save ya the trouble of mixing it yourself. get some Ro/DI water from them too for "top offs" **needed later**
With having the LR, LS, and Salt water in there, you'll need to let it cycle. Your cycle will depend on LR you get, (whether cured/cyled or uncured) Uncured obviously will take like almost 2 months to get it cycled and looking "clear"
get a test kit as it's important to test your water to see how it's coming along. If it's looking good, you can add in things like a clean up crew. "hermits and snails" If you have your lighting on, you'll go through a normal diatom stage, and your hermits and snails should tackle some if it, whatever is missed will die off anyway. When you are done and out of your diatom stage, you are ready to start getting some live stock. In chamber 1, my setup is sponge, chemipure, and then sponge again. Attached to the intake I have a surface skimmer attached that I bought for it. Keeps that top water skimmed nice and clean/clear. chamber 2 I have just LR rubble. (no bio balls or ceramic rings, take those out, you wont need them) chamber 3, the submersible heater and the pump. easy upgrade for the stock pump is the mini-jet 606. ( I hear though in the 2006 model 6 gallon cube, you get a new stock pump that will be more powerful than the old stock one and produce less heat.) You'll know if you have the 2006 model if you have the serial on the back stating that it is. check out jbjlighting.com and you'll see what I mean. well i have said a handful so I'll let you absorb some of this....
to answer those questions...
Recommend LS that is "fine"
add that first, then setup/aquascape how you'd like the LR. (go with smaller pieces, as it's easier to add in more pieces of LR if needed)
Water if available, get it from the LFS, it'll save ya the trouble of mixing it yourself. get some Ro/DI water from them too for "top offs" **needed later**
With having the LR, LS, and Salt water in there, you'll need to let it cycle. Your cycle will depend on LR you get, (whether cured/cyled or uncured) Uncured obviously will take like almost 2 months to get it cycled and looking "clear"
get a test kit as it's important to test your water to see how it's coming along. If it's looking good, you can add in things like a clean up crew. "hermits and snails" If you have your lighting on, you'll go through a normal diatom stage, and your hermits and snails should tackle some if it, whatever is missed will die off anyway. When you are done and out of your diatom stage, you are ready to start getting some live stock. In chamber 1, my setup is sponge, chemipure, and then sponge again. Attached to the intake I have a surface skimmer attached that I bought for it. Keeps that top water skimmed nice and clean/clear. chamber 2 I have just LR rubble. (no bio balls or ceramic rings, take those out, you wont need them) chamber 3, the submersible heater and the pump. easy upgrade for the stock pump is the mini-jet 606. ( I hear though in the 2006 model 6 gallon cube, you get a new stock pump that will be more powerful than the old stock one and produce less heat.) You'll know if you have the 2006 model if you have the serial on the back stating that it is. check out jbjlighting.com and you'll see what I mean. well i have said a handful so I'll let you absorb some of this....
Welcome to the board! There are several of us who have Nanocubes so you are in good company. I have both a NC6 and a 12DX. The 6 is a dedicated tank fors zoos and sexy shrimp currently and the 12 has a mixture including zoos, featherdusters, shrimp, fish, softies, and ricordia. I have an upgrade kit for the lighting ordered to increase the lights to 4 24 watt PCs, after the upgrade this tank will end up with the contents of the 6 moved to it and its contents going to a larger nano. You can find some upgrade ideas at www.nanocustoms.com , both the tuners and customs areas have some good ideas where upgrading the NCs come in. I look forward to hearing more from you, Skip
hey all - thanks for the welcome & advice - i'll be sure to post all the pics to help others (or for humor, we'll see) - a few more questions - i think i have a firm base to start - what heater do you use in the nc6, and does it have its own thermostat, or are they always on - i'm going to use the stock lighting setup with the 606 pump for awhile, and my house generally stays 68-72, also, if you were building a nc6, what sand would you put in - i know its better for people to make their own decisions, but i really don't want to buy crappy sand and have to deal with that down the road - the tanks at my LFS didn't look so hot, and the only people that were working there, although i know nothing, didnt seem to care much for marine tanks - so i figure i'll order, any suggestions?? thanks, Devin
I have a Hydor heater in my Nanocube 6, I have never used one before but decided to try one out since it was the right size and fairly inexpensive herte is a link to them: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 004+113767 . So far it has worked out well. I have also used the Thermal Compact heaters made by Hagen ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 004+113767 ), these are available in either 25 or 50 watt models.
In regards to your sand question I usually use Caribseas live sand that has stabilized bacteria just to help kick start my tanks, I get the finest sand I can find and that has worked out for me. Herer is a link to the one I prefer: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=CS0793 . HTH, Skip
In regards to your sand question I usually use Caribseas live sand that has stabilized bacteria just to help kick start my tanks, I get the finest sand I can find and that has worked out for me. Herer is a link to the one I prefer: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=CS0793 . HTH, Skip
man ya'll are helpful, i'll make a post that is a step-by-step for the help, i really appreciate it...here's my plan so far: got the 6nc, bought some deep water tonga rock from www.aquacon.com, plan to use about 8-10lbs (we'll see), the sand recommended above (thanks), i'm going to buy a hydor fitting and a minijet606 (either that or setup a loc-y system), an SRS skimmer, im going to do the removal of the backing of the tank on the 2nd chamber, a mix of chemcal filters (purigen, etc) in chamber 1, cheato and crushed LR in chamber 2, minijet606 in 3....digital temp meter....i think this sounds about like a nice setup from what i have read so far - i will upgrade the lights later, kinda just wanna get started - oh, and i gotta heater....anyways, am i missing anything here??
Sounds good...keep in mind, though, that an easy mistake to make in a nano is starting off with too much rock, thus not allowing room for new corals that usually come with a small piece of rock attached. It is best to start out with, say, 5 to 6 pounds of small pieces of live rock, and over time, allowing it to build up by adding corals that hae the attached LR. Sounds like a great start!
I believe that you mean 1-1 1/2 POUNDS of LS per gallon. I personally have 1 1/2 to 2 inches of LS in my Nanocubes with the 2 inches in the back and then tapering to 1 1/2 in the front. You may need a bit more if you plan on having fish that need to make burrows in a DSB but it isn't necessary to have more than 2 inches otherwise. HTH, Skip;
yeah, whoops, thats what i meant, if all goes well, i should be cycling the tank by late this week - i'll take pics of everything for ya'll - Devin
Here's what I just ordered if anyone cares:
1 MJ606
1Hydor Seltz L25 - figure i'll try out 2 powerheads, need em both anyway
2 Jager 50Ws
a hydrometer
an acrylic magnet scrubber
a seachem marine multitest kit
a Hydor rotating water deflector
CaribSea Arag Alive Bahama Oolite
SeaChem SeaGel
a dig temp gauge
Devin
Here's what I just ordered if anyone cares:
1 MJ606
1Hydor Seltz L25 - figure i'll try out 2 powerheads, need em both anyway
2 Jager 50Ws
a hydrometer
an acrylic magnet scrubber
a seachem marine multitest kit
a Hydor rotating water deflector
CaribSea Arag Alive Bahama Oolite
SeaChem SeaGel
a dig temp gauge
Devin
omyeah, im a pretty patient person, im going to let the tank cycle for at least a month...i figure 2 weeks no light, and at the start of the 3rd week start introducing light at an hour addition per week...does that sound bout right? i bought 2 50 watts - 1 for the tank, and one for backup/heating up water for changes - thats why i bought 2 pumps
since everyone is being so helpful, i was wondering about the filter setup....i'm going to run the stock setup through cycle, and then throw all that crap away....i bought some seagel, and i figure i'll use some LR of course....what's the best setup for the chambers (or one that works sucessfully for you)....i know this will be critical considering i'm not going to setup a sump....Devin
Most definitely. That setup works just fine. I have it run that way for both my 6 gallon and my girlfriends 12 gallon. Your main concern in all of this is going to be "heat" You have 2 powerheads, so be cautious. You may want to get them on timers so they go on and off to compensate for the extra heat it may produce...
actually, i'm only going to use one of the powerheads....i bought that 280gph adjustable hydor pump, and the hydor powerflo nozzle - i figure that will be enough, and if its too much i can turn it down - hey, steven, do your cleaners work well, i may just copy what you use in there, also, where did you get them, the only places i have found sell what they call "algae eater packages" and the smallest one has like 40 cleaners in it.....thanks for the chamber setup btw....Devin