Fluid's JBJ NanoCube DLX

Fluid

Premium Member
Thought I would post a FTS & Misc so I can keep track of how things progress.

The tank is a JBJ 12Gallon NanoCube Deluxe. It sports 2 X 24W PC bulbs (50/50), and three rear chambers for filtration/etc.

I decided to mod my cube slightly, the first chamber I removed the sponges and filled it with chemi-pure elite at the bottom, followed by a layer of carbon, and topped with filter floss and my temp monitor. The second chamber I removed the ceramic rings, and added a 10W submersible light with some chaeto (I also left the six bio balls in the 2nd chamber.). The third chamber I stuck a Marineland Stealth Heater.
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Here's the initial shot with about 8lbs. of Tonga LR I purchased from my LFS (semi-cured). Amazingly there are only two pieces of rock in there. One is really, really big. I used boxed NSW (from petco) for the initial fill, and am using gallon jugs of distilled for top-offs and water changes.

Tank with rock (day 2):
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All my gear:
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The tank cycled fully in about 2 weeks, as the rock was pretty much cured and I gave it a boost with a bacteria dose.

I added my clean up crew of about 6 hermits and 4 Nass. snails.

I also ordered some corals from LiveAquaria, the Polyp & Mushroom pack, and the Candy Cane LPS medium size.

Tank & Stand:
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Hood open (sweet algae shot):
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FTS (Apr. 03):
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As you can tell, the water is slightly hazy since adding the corals, I don't know if this is attributed to them acclimating or what, but there is a clear difference between now and the original FTS.

Some close ups:
Colony Polyps (I think):
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Hairy Mushroom (I think):
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Candy Cane Coral:
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I'm thinking the brown stuff on the Candy Cane is dino algae? Not sure on that.

I've also found this "blob" on the back of the hairy mushroom rock, no clue what it is, but it seriously looks like a giant blob, and it even sways with the current, pretty creepy. It's the same color as the bullseye mushrooms, but thats where the resemblance stops!
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If anyone has any tips/hints, please let me know. I'm a total newbie. The tank is currently about 3 weeks old, so the algae bloom isn't really surprising me at this point, hopefully it subsides here in the near future.
 
Be careful when useing distiled water, they have lots of phopates,
but i think it would be fine with the cheato in the back. looks good btw
 
Thanks for the tip, after looking at the selection at my grocery store, I discovered they also have "Purified Water" that is: "Purified by Reverse Osmosis, filtered, and ozonated to ensure quality." Sounds like that's the stuff I should be using.
 
I hate to disagree here, but distilled water contains no phosphates. As a matter of fact it contains nothing but water; it is 100% pure.

If you have a dino outbreak, using it for top off and change water is a very effective way to eliminate the outbreak.
 
I've noticed some of my small hermits starting to fight over shells, and I've got no empties for them. Anyone know of a good place to find empty hermit shells? All my hermits are rather small, maybe 1/2 inch to 1 inch.
 
I just usually beg a few off of the LFS. You can also order a big bag of them from some websites that sell clean up crews.
 
Quick Update

Quick Update

So the tank has been up for just about one month, so I thought I would give a quick update:

Coraline algae is really starting to come in now, and I've had a Pod bloom. There are bugs everywhere. I would say about 1000-2000 on just the front of the glass right now (not counting the sides).

The Damselfish is doing great, feeding him flake very lightly once a day. Previously I had a candy cane coral, but it started getting very pale, so I took him to a local reefer for the time being to see if he can revitalize him. I think my light may have been not quite enough for him (LPS).

Full Tank Shot:
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Some Green Coraline Algae:
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Some red, and still some brown...
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You can also see the beginnings of some hair algae?
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My bullseye Mushrooms:
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Hairy Mushrooms?
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Starburst Polyps?
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Battle between the Polyps and the Shrooms (Polyps are winning)
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Random Rock with some sparse polyps. The purples seem to be doing way better than the greens:
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And my scarlet hermit, with some strange thing beside him. Any ideas what it is (circled). It doesn't move, but has grown that "valve" front section since it's been added. It's a tube about 3 inches long, with multiple "valves" along the way.
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Once again, any hints tips etc, please let me know, I'm a noob! I think things are going pretty well, I'm doing 1 gallon water changes every week or week and a half. The hair algae is starting to concern me, but it doesn't seem to be too out of control at this point.
 
Anyone have any suggestions on a decent soft coral that would work on the right bottom side of the tank? I'm looking for something that would really change things up a bit color-wise, no more purple!
 
Aren't sponges supposed to die when you take them out of the water? I know I pulled this rock out of the bag and placed it into my tank. Of course, at the time that thing barely resembled what it does now, it was half the size.
 
April 20

April 20

So things have changed a little! I decided the damsel was just going to get too large, and be too much of a pain in the butt, so I returned him. Instead I picked up two nice clowns. They had just come in this afternoon, so I was very careful in the acclimation process. Hopefully they make it!

I also removed a piece of rock, and adjusted the mushrooms farther down the tank. Also switched out the stock pump with the MaxiJet 900. Very easy mod.

I've been battling some cyano for a week or so, and have just put in some Phosban in a mesh bag. Hopefully that resolves anymore spreading. Checked the water recently and everything was good, nitrates were 0, so I'm guessing the cyano is using it up before it can register.

FTS:
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Zebra Hermit beside a spare shell:
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Also found another crab hitchhiker, I'm sure he'll be impossible to get out. He's hiding underneath my hairy mushrooms. You can see his claw poking through the gap:
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Anyone know what this is? It's a white thread looking thing. Multiples of these threads come out of the sand and grab stuff, then disappear back under the sand. Some kind of worm?
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Finally my clove Polyps are really taking off. I see about three new polyps every day. Also a few super small xenia seem to be growing on this rock as well (too hard to see right now):
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"Anyone know what this is? It's a white thread looking thing. Multiples of these threads come out of the sand and grab stuff, then disappear back under the sand. Some kind of worm?"

My guess would be Spaghetti worm. I had a few in a pc of rock. The thin tentacles would come out (although mine were red) and then pull stuff back in.
 
04/29

04/29

Update!

One of my clowns died. It was the smaller of the two, and when I came home over lunch today it was on the sand getting munched on. It never took well to the tank, swam at the top most of the time, and never tried to eat anything. My second clown is looking very good, although I'm still not able to get he/she to eat anything I offer. I have copious amounts of pods, which I see it eating often, so I'm guessing that it's food source for now.

I'm starting to see a few different snail babies appearing. I've got eggs all over the place, so it's not surprising me. I don't know whether it's the Phosban or my new tank syndrome passing, because my cyano issue is pretty much gone. All algae in the tank seems to have waned incredibly.

Now for the pics! (I really need to read up on how to take pictures, mine are so overexposed!!)

A few of my scarlet hermits chilling out by the glass:
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Hairy Mushrooms:
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Bullseye Mushrooms (These have been shrinking lately, hopefully it's temporary):
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Citron Goby (only eating pods currently):
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Baby Hairy Mushroom:
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Hydroid? Vermatid Snail? I don't think it's a feather duster because the tube is connected to the feathers, and it retracts quite far into the rock. I'm guessing I could just dab some glue over it to kill it? Let me know if it's a Vermatid:
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Close up on some of my Button Polyps, starting to color up some:
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FTS:
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No clue what this thing is, I have two of them, probably about the size of a pencil eraser tip when extracted out:
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That's all for now, once again, any tips, hints, or suggestions are welcome!!
 
And my scarlet hermit, with some strange thing beside him. Any ideas what it is (circled). It doesn't move, but has grown that "valve" front section since it's been added. It's a tube about 3 inches long, with multiple "valves" along the way.
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Looks like a Tunicate to me.
 
Live brine is the way to get that citron eating. Mine was a real PITA to get started, but once he did, oh my. He would beat back my tomato clown at 2x his size.

It only took him a couple of days of brine to figure out that when I came to the tank and opened the lid it was time to eat.
 
May 11th update

May 11th update

Update!

I've discovered frozen Mysis, and the aquarium really seems to be taking to them. The polyps and mushrooms are both feeding from them. I'm planning on using some coral frenzy to see if I can get better results instead of just having mysis.

Hairy Mushrooms!
These haven't changed one bit since purchase. They've spawned a baby (see previous post) but other than that, no growth or significant changes. I think they are doing well, they are just size limited by the rock they are on.
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Glove Polyps!
I am seeing significant growth in these. They seem to be flourishing and really benefiting from the feeding. (note the tube worm in pic #2)
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Bullseye Mushrooms!
These were shrinking terribly before I started feeding mysis. They've made a comeback and are starting to look better and better.
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Button Polyps!
These seems to be doing very well, except I'm noticing a bit of bleaching (as seen in pic). Any ideas on this? Hopefully they are adjusting to the new lighting (PC) as they are only about 3 weeks old.
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Scarlet Hermit!
This little guy has devised a perfect system. He doesn't ever have to expose his body to see. It's pretty darn funny. Most of the time he will just sit in his shell just like this with his eyes poking through the hole in the shell. It looks like a giant helmet.
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FTS!
Been playing with camera settings, so the picture isn't overly bright. Green coralline is coming on, with a few tints of purple here and there. Algae isn't growing on the rock anymore, but it is present somewhat on the back of the tank.
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