I love my Tunze Osmolator and would never use any other ATO. I just placed the magnet and sensors in the 4th chamber and all is well. I have the pump in a 3 gallon bucket that I fill with vinegar spike lime water.
JBJ 28 Gallon Nano Owners Club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
I love my Tunze Osmolator and would never use any other ATO. I just placed the magnet and sensors in the 4th chamber and all is well. I have the pump in a 3 gallon bucket that I fill with vinegar spike lime water.
corrado007
Premium Member
Hey guys and gals, I read through all three sections of this thread but didn't see much discussion on the StevieT Tunze skimmer cup so I just created this thread asking about it. I started a new thread in the nano forum rather than specifically in this JBJ 28 Club thread so owners of other AIOs who use the cup would also provide feedback on it. I wanted to at least link it to this thread since it'll hopefully have useful info for our 28 Nanos as it's becoming a pretty popular skimmer on our tanks.
Please share your experiences with this cup if you've used it or seen it.
Thanks
Please share your experiences with this cup if you've used it or seen it.
Thanks
SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
I've got the Stevie T/InTank cup on my Tunze 9002. Unless you want to mod the canopy, you'll need to get this cup (or something similar). The DOC 9002 skimmer is great, but I'm moving to an HOB fuge (as opposed to a full blown sump) and need to have the space over the center chamber free for the fuge to dump back into the tank. Because of this, I've moved back to the media basket in the center chamber (the InTank basket is great, but not necessary) and adding an HOB skimmer solution that will fit around my DIY AC70 fuge.
corrado007
Premium Member
Sounds like a cool set-up SlvrSurfRidr, thanks for your feedback!
I already have the 9002 skimmer, just seeing what options there are before ordering the StevieT cup. I definitely don't want to have to cut my canopy, although I hear it's supposed to be easy to just cut away a small section with a dremel tool I'd rather keep it looking clean.
I already have the 9002 skimmer, just seeing what options there are before ordering the StevieT cup. I definitely don't want to have to cut my canopy, although I hear it's supposed to be easy to just cut away a small section with a dremel tool I'd rather keep it looking clean.
SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
corrado - the cup is worth the cash, great construction and laser cut. I'm kind of a factory AIO purist, I'd rather not mod my tank directly (don't drill for a sump, remove baffles, cut the lid etc ...). I'd rather being creative and find ways to work with what is there to make it better with out modifying the footprint
solastsummer
New member
Just bought my nano cube hqi and it will get here on Tuesday. So i have read 20 pages of this thread so far and haven't gotten my answers yet (although im sure they have been answered before but i cant find them.)
So my first question is substrate, I dont know whether to do fine sugar like sand, crushed coral, or go bare bottom, what would be the advantage of each?
my second question is come summertime is a chiller going to be a must? As of right now where the tank is going to sit is about 1 ft to the right of a window that will have a window ac unit in it, is that going to be enough?
So my first question is substrate, I dont know whether to do fine sugar like sand, crushed coral, or go bare bottom, what would be the advantage of each?
my second question is come summertime is a chiller going to be a must? As of right now where the tank is going to sit is about 1 ft to the right of a window that will have a window ac unit in it, is that going to be enough?
renogaw
New member
i just got mine, but my 28 hqi needs the chiller now, in my finished basement and i keep the room at 60. you're going to need a chiller if you're going to keep the hood on. there are ways to raise the hood using corallife legs though.
substrate, i quite honestly like the look of black sand in the little tanks. but do not go crushed coral. sand will help buffer your calcium, plus provide a breeding ground for microfauna which ends up being food for your tank. suprisingly, sand does not blow around even using an extra pump in the tank. i don't like barebottom tanks, plus you cannot have many gobies without sand
substrate, i quite honestly like the look of black sand in the little tanks. but do not go crushed coral. sand will help buffer your calcium, plus provide a breeding ground for microfauna which ends up being food for your tank. suprisingly, sand does not blow around even using an extra pump in the tank. i don't like barebottom tanks, plus you cannot have many gobies without sand
corrado007
Premium Member
Thanks everyone for your input on the StevieT skimmer cup, I'll order one as soon as I finish this post. I don't want to cut into my hood either.
Congrats on your new Nano Cube, they are awesome little tanks! It's worth reading through all 3 sections of this thread whenever you find the time, especially for the HQI owners who have been discussing chillers and such for quite some time but I understand it takes a while to get through the whole thing.
As far as substrate goes, you'll likely get a half dozen different answers on this one. This topic has been widely debated in this forum and others. Some swear by bare bottom and from my understanding it is likely one of the best to keep excess nutrients down but most prefer the aesthetics of a sand bed. A DSB is not popular with these tanks as there is already limited volume being a nano. A SSB is quite popular as it looks nice, provides a place for microfauna as mentioned above, and is not going to create "pockets of poison" over time.
As far as the size of the individual grains of substrate, stay away from crushed coral pebbles as detritus will tend to build up between the coarse pieces. Really fine sand or aragonite are likely your best bet.
Now as far as the chiller goes, I can't say for sure since I have the LED version but after having read the entire thread I can say that it seems to be the consensus that a chiller will be needed at some point, especially if you live in a warm climate. Fans can be used for evaporative cooling with some degree of success depending on your climate and if you have an AC unit in your home. A major problem is how well the hood traps the heat in the tank. Also as mentioned above, you could raise the hood to allow more heat to escape. Personally, I think if you have an AC unit in your home, raise the hood (as long as you don't keep fish that like to jump), and throw a fan over the back chamber you would likely be able to get by.
I hope some of this helped. Good luck!
solastsummer
New member
actually someone is selling a 1/10 hp chiller in my local forum for 140, i think im going to jump on that.
SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
wow, that's a great deal - jump, and jump quickly
PietschBR
New member
I have the LED version and still my temperature was starting to go over 82. Read that the HQI is way hotter.
I solved the issue just placing a boyu fan at the back sump. With it the temp never goes up 80, but need to top off frequently.
I'm thinking about buying a controller so I would not worry when to turn the fan on or off.
BTW I have a 4" DSB with sugar fine oolite and I'm very happy with it. Even added a vortech mp10 that with good placement does not blow sand all around.
I solved the issue just placing a boyu fan at the back sump. With it the temp never goes up 80, but need to top off frequently.
I'm thinking about buying a controller so I would not worry when to turn the fan on or off.
BTW I have a 4" DSB with sugar fine oolite and I'm very happy with it. Even added a vortech mp10 that with good placement does not blow sand all around.
AEALOVESHERGIRLS
Premium Member
Interesting that you all need chillers, even with the LED. I have actually bumped my heater up twice to keep it at 78! I have a digital thermometer in the tank, during the day the tank with all lights on runs at 78.5, when I get up in the morning, with lights off all night, the temp is 78.3!!! Almost no change at all in day/night temp!
AEALOVESHERGIRLS
Premium Member
Anyone else cycling right now? My tank is currently 8 days old LOL Going through the beautiful brown diatom stage right now, YUCK! I don't have any fish in there, and I won't for at least another week, maybe 2, but I do have a CUC and I added a detrivore kit with an extra mysid/gammarous bag and a bottle of 2-4000 copepods. There are more "bugs" in my tank than I know what to do with LOL Nothing like a well seeded tank!
corrado007
Premium Member
Hey there PietschBR, I'm a bit surprised by your comment about your LED tank having high temps. I have the LED version also and my temp stays within 0.4 degrees. It's 77.8 on the low end and then the heaters kick in and bring it up to 78.2. My house temp is at 68 degrees right now during the day and down to 65 at night. My LEDs don't put out much heat at all. After having been on for hours I can open the hood and hold my hand on them indefinitely as they are only a few degrees warmer than room temperature. Could you perhaps have a heater misadjusted or miscalibrated so it's reading as if it's set at 78 when it's really set at 80 or 82?
+1 on using a controller, I'll be putting my AquaController Jr. from my 90 on my Nano as soon as I get rid of the 90. It's such a great device for protecting your tank (keeps temp swings at bay by controlling heat/cooling), especially with halides.
SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
I added an extra MJ1200 in the stock skimmer compartment (aka chamber #2). It was tricky to get in there, you'll have to run it through the center chamber and backunder the wall into chamber #2.
solastsummer
New member
So im going to get a nano cube hqi on tuesday and i know im going to want some actinic lighting in there, I know alot of people do the 2x18 compact florescent upgrade from nano tuners, which one would you do? and if your going to choose led, if its a pre-made strip what would you suggest?
solastsummer
New member
no opinions?
