Getting salty.

[Big Jay D]

Thought I would intro my self. My name is Justin but everyone calls me Jay. I live in NW Tucson. I am new to the SW hobby but not to the FW hobby. I was at the home show and saw a display so I went on the web to compare prices and ended up buying an Oceanic BioCube 29g. I couldn't pass up the deal, $199 from SW Saltwater.
I bought LR, LS, heater, hydrometer, temp. gauge, and salt. Then I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $80 stand and some water. Here it is. Day 1

 

[Big Jay D]

Day 2
The cloud is almost gone.
Full set up shot.

FTS

Apitasia

 

[Big Jay D]

Day 4
So I went down to the LFS today and bought some weed (Apitasia) killer.

I also changed the scape. I like the new one better. I tested the water and got zeros across the board and 8.2 on the pH.

I also found out that my tank was missing a part from the factory. I thought they shipped me the wrong filter cartridge but as it turns out one of the slots was missing. This explains why I scratched my head for a couple minutes on how the filter mounted. In the end I rubber banded the cartridge to the bottom of the dissipation plate. Seems to work well there right now but I will ditch it in a week anyways. I also put in some polishing pads on top of the Chemi-Pure bag that is on top of the bio balls. I also installed a protein skimmer but more on that later.

While I was at the LFS the guy said I could buy some fish to help cycle the tank further. He was not surprised when I told him what my numbers were. He said it was to be expected because of the fully cured rock I bought . I kinda raised an eyebrow at the suggestion so I thanked him for the "Joe's Juice" and went to Petco to look around. At Petco they had a sale going on. Cool for me since I don't think the fish would live in such a new tank anyway. I bought a Green Chromis (I know they are aggressive) for $3 and a False Clown for $7. And to top it off they had crabs (blue hermit) 3 for $1. So in the end I left with a little bag of water towards home.

So on to the pictures...
Here is the new a-scape w/ flash

w/o flash,

My clown,

Front top,

Right,

Left,

 

[Big Jay D]

Here are the pictures from the protein skimmer install. I can't remember what size it is but it is made by Marine Land and sold by Instant Ocean. I made a couple of mods to it to make it work. I bought some 1" clear vinyl tubing and extended the hose that went to the pump. I also extended the hose that went from the u-bend to the skimmer. I don't know if it will work but I'm going to try. I had to cut some holes in the back of the lid but as you can see it was minimal and the only thing you can see from the front is the foam canister.

 

[Big Jay D]

So I changed the 'scape around again. I think I finally got it. Lots of caves and the better side of all the rocks are showing.

Left

Right

Crab

The weeds

Red spot

Limon, the Chromis

Crab #2

Floyd, the clown

 

[Big Jay D]

Well, it's day 9 and nothing new for me. I have some green algae and good water numbers so far. Everything is doing well. I will post pics when I get a chance.

 

[BonesCJ]

Nice little tank setup that you have there, I know the curse of the rockwork never being "quite right" in my eyes. There have been times where I have completely torn down and redone my tank, and with 100+ lbs of rock that can be a chore.

 

[ELCHUPACABRA]

I like the latest rock work the best so far. Looking good so far, expect some thin brown algae to form on everything, they are diatoms, and will clear as the tank ages, they are just part of the cycle and probably the next step for you. Hit me up and you can come check out the frags/colonies I have for sale. Take your time, only problems happen quickly in salt water. You will most likely want to beef up your clean up crew shortly. Have you found nano-reef.com out yet, it is a great site and specific to the nano tanks, I also go as EL CHUPACABRA on there, just with a space in between. I too am a nano reefer, and can give you plenty of nano specific advice if you have any questions, some things differ between nanos and the larger reef systems, nanos can turn sour quickly. Feel free to ask me anything, I check nano-reef a lot more so it is easier to get a hold of me there. When you get around to upgrading the lighting, let me know, I have successfully installed Metal Halides in the all in one tanks before for a friend while maintaining that stock look. Also I have some advice on things you should change in your current setup to get it to work better for you in the long run. If you need anything at all contact me, and come check out some coral soon while I have it, CHUPA 520.661.9179

 

[cerreta]

Nice work on the setup. Some choice roack and the scaping is quite nice too.

 

[cerreta]

Oh, I just saw that the aquascping changed. I liked the layout of the fourth photo the best. You need some Thorite to keep it there.

 

[Tangman1218]

Welcome Big J! Nice tank and some great aquascaping! It looks as though you have stacked the rock very well so things dont topple over. I never use an adhesive to bond the rock, that way I can manuever things later. Great job!

I also want to invite you to our monthly meetings we have. The next one will be November 18th from 2-4 pm @ Thunder Canyon Brewery. Hope to see you there!

Tang

 

[Big Jay D]

Thanks for the compliments and the meeting invite. I will come for sure. It's close to my house too! More pics tonight.

 

[McCrary]

You seem to be on the right track, my first tank had 3 damsels and a rock from the yard (that was the only rock), so your off to a good start.

 

[Big Jay D]

Well so far everything is going well and nothing has changed. There is no reason to post pics right now because it looks like hell in there. It is getting better though. I will post some pics in a week. After the brown boom goes away.

A couple of people said I added the fish too soon. But I was following the advice of a LFS. It's been 10days since they were introduced to the tank and are still eating and very energetic. Maybe the "fully cured" rock I bought was actually fully cured enough to handle the bio load. I have not seen a spike in the ammonia or nitrites but my Nitrates went just above 0ppm this morning. I wouldn't call it 5 but maybe 2.5. I added a couple of small turbo snails and a couple of Astrea snails. I still have my 4 Nassaria snails, 3 scarlets, 5 tiny blue legs, 2 yellow tips, and a unknown crab. I also added a peppermint shrimp in hope that is will get the hard to reach apitasia.

Thanks for looking.

 

[MetalReef9]

Looking good. The aquascaping is the toughest part.