My JBJ 28gal Nano Build Thread

[Gagonzalez]

Ange,

How much GFO were you using in your TLF150? Do you measure or are you just pouring it into the reactor and going up to a specific height?

Thanks

 

[bry2001us]

Been a long time reader of this thread...I'm planning on moving to the Radion lights and was wondering what you did about a lid? Is your's top open? I think I found a company that makes a glass lid for the JBJ 28G...I cant seems to find what you ending up doing.

Thanks for the awesome thread!

I have beem looking for a company that makes a glass lid as well. Would love to hear where you found this!

Thanks! - Bryan

 

[pleuralplexus]

There are nano aquarium setups out there that have really nice enclosed free-standing sumps. When my last nanocube randomly cratered for no conceivable reason I started over and later transplanted my old stock to the new tank once established. Over a year later, I'm really glad I did things that way; and I think if my tank cratered again, I would likely upgrade again, this time to a new and better tank and an in-cabinet sump.

 

[ange062]

Been a long time reader of this thread...I'm planning on moving to the Radion lights and was wondering what you did about a lid? Is your's top open? I think I found a company that makes a glass lid for the JBJ 28G...I cant seems to find what you ending up doing.

Thanks for the awesome thread!

Thanks for the comments!! The lid has been ditched and I run open top. I thought about making a glass lid for a while, but after my experiences even on my 3g pico, I think a lid would be a serious pain. The condensation, light blocking, bowing, etc are all a nuisance. Running open top does pretty much require an ATO though (I use the Tunze), it will evaporate about 1/2gal per day.

Here is an old video overview of the tank, a lot has changed since then but gives you an idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TBOfgx0tlw

Ange,

How much GFO were you using in your TLF150? Do you measure or are you just pouring it into the reactor and going up to a specific height?

Thanks

I measure it to 2/3cup. Same for carbon in the other reactor.

There are nano aquarium setups out there that have really nice enclosed free-standing sumps. When my last nanocube randomly cratered for no conceivable reason I started over and later transplanted my old stock to the new tank once established. Over a year later, I'm really glad I did things that way; and I think if my tank cratered again, I would likely upgrade again, this time to a new and better tank and an in-cabinet sump.

Yeah, I'd love to have a sump in an oversized stand. The thought of having a workbench right next to the tank is just awesome, and having room for all the ugly skimmers, reactors, chillers, cables, controllers, etc in the stand would be great.

I'm in the process of buying a new townhome, at which time I'll be doing a fully custom built starfire rimless cube and stand (and also a matching planted FW tank in the same room). So no plans to start over with this tank for the time being. And it hasn't really cratered per-se, it still looks pretty good overall, I just lost the ability to keep my prized SPS

I'll get some updated pics up soon, I've had a lot of requests for new macro's of my SA Fancy Snows showing them all grown up, so may have to bust out the DSLR for a legit photo shoot. :bounce1:

 

[footballdude2k3]

Love this tank, it looks amazing, I like how much the SPS has grown, great work

 

[ange062]

Love this tank, it looks amazing, I like how much the SPS has grown, great work

Thanks a bunch!! Finally got around to whipping out the DSLR tonight, so here are a few updated pics:

Female SA Fancy Snow:

And even with all the die off and loss of my prized acros, the tank really still doesn't look too bad. FTS as of today:

 

[ange062]

Couple more pics of my (not so little) lil clowns:

 

[Reefed419]

Ange,
Tank is looking incredible. Love the snowflakes

 

[ange062]

Ange,
Tank is looking incredible. Love the snowflakes

Thanks a bunch!!

 

[E.intheC]

Your tank still looks good, even with the die off.

2/3 cup of GFO seems like a lot, though. I'm only using about 2 tablespoons on my Solana. Just throwing that out there

 

[Sps Dream]

Eric,
How often dou you change GFO.

 

[kalgra]

Its looking pretty good to me! I have always enjoyed checking out the pics in this thread. I used your Radion profile for the base as my own. Thanks again for that by the way. I do believe some of the success I have had has come from that alone.

On a Side note I had a glass lid made for mine when I fist started running an after market lite and you are exactly right it was a huge pain. I had to wipe it down daily. I even had the glass cutters cut a small ventilation gap in the middle thinking this would help gas exchange and prevent condensation on the glass. It didnt help.

It wasn't a complete loss though I had the curved piece for the front re-cut to just fit inside the inner lip on the rim and mad it just large enough to fill in the rounded dimensions of the front of the tank then used a screen kit to cover the rest. Its working really well and so far I like it. I put a little knob on the glass strip so I can lift out just that piece for feeding.

 

[ange062]

Your tank still looks good, even with the die off.

2/3 cup of GFO seems like a lot, though. I'm only using about 2 tablespoons on my Solana. Just throwing that out there

Thanks a bunch! I've been running 2/3cup of GFO for about 1.5-yrs now, I change it every 4-6wks.

Its looking pretty good to me! I have always enjoyed checking out the pics in this thread. I used your Radion profile for the base as my own. Thanks again for that by the way. I do believe some of the success I have had has come from that alone.

On a Side note I had a glass lid made for mine when I fist started running an after market lite and you are exactly right it was a huge pain. I had to wipe it down daily. I even had the glass cutters cut a small ventilation gap in the middle thinking this would help gas exchange and prevent condensation on the glass. It didnt help.

It wasn't a complete loss though I had the curved piece for the front re-cut to just fit inside the inner lip on the rim and mad it just large enough to fill in the rounded dimensions of the front of the tank then used a screen kit to cover the rest. Its working really well and so far I like it. I put a little knob on the glass strip so I can lift out just that piece for feeding.

Thanks a bunch! And glad the profile is still workin out well for ya! And I tried to warn you on the lid, hahaha.

Here is my ORA spotted mandarin that's been in the tank for a year now. The lil guy will eat anything I throw in the tank from pellets, to frozen, to nori!

 

[bcfishman]

Wow, didnt realize the manadrin was still there!
You have copepods in there, or just feed it alot?
Love reading your thread, its just the size tank Im thinking of, getting a real schooling in the ups and downs of reef life!
Real heartbreak to see all the great sps you had die off....
Do you think these small tanks have a "bioload max" issue with coral, if you get too much in there without fragging it off, can overwhelm the reef equilibrium?
Also hear the lps often release biotoxins to "drive" away competing coral, maybe you got into a biowar in your tank as it grew, it overwhelmed things

I think your a great hobbyist in this field, you should be commended!!
:beer:

 

[ange062]

Wow, didnt realize the manadrin was still there!
You have copepods in there, or just feed it alot?
Love reading your thread, its just the size tank Im thinking of, getting a real schooling in the ups and downs of reef life!
Real heartbreak to see all the great sps you had die off....
Do you think these small tanks have a "bioload max" issue with coral, if you get too much in there without fragging it off, can overwhelm the reef equilibrium?
Also hear the lps often release biotoxins to "drive" away competing coral, maybe you got into a biowar in your tank as it grew, it overwhelmed things

I think your a great hobbyist in this field, you should be commended!!
:beer:

Yup, Yoshi is still kickin it!! There are tons of copeods and amphipods in my tank, but like I mentioned I trained him to eat anything I throw in over a period of months after I got him. It was time intensive (lots of turkey baster and food trap endeavours), but worth it in the end.

I dont have any LPS in the tank, but biowar is possible, though I think the carbon reactor helps in this respect. Agree it's a bummer on the SPS and would love to determine root cause, though at this point unsure if I ever will. Bioload is possible, but hard to say for sure.

And thanks a ton for the compliment, feel free to drop by here or PM me anytime as you kick off your own reef adventure!!

 

[bcfishman]

Thanks!
Will do
Keep up the good work.... and the regular updates!

 

[bcfishman]

Thanks!
Will do
Keep up the good work.... and the regular updates!

 

[Chromakey]

Good Day:

I have the same tank and was wondering if you had any difficulties using the Eheim Compact 1000 pump. It says in the description that it has a 5/8" outlet but I think the stock pump has 1/2".

Thanks,

Michael

 

[ange062]

Good Day:

I have the same tank and was wondering if you had any difficulties using the Eheim Compact 1000 pump. It says in the description that it has a 5/8" outlet but I think the stock pump has 1/2".

Thanks,

Michael

Nope, I was a little worried about this as well, but all you have to do it put the tubing in some hot water (almost boiling) for about 20-30 seconds then push it over the pump. Easy to do and a one-time deal.

 

[ange062]

I've actually been managing to keep up with regular water changes and GFO/Carbon changes again. I didn't really notice much of a difference until I re-started my daily turkey baster blasting of all the rock and corals to remove detritus. After only a week of this, I have noticed first that every day TONS of stuff gets stirred up. But more important, second I have already noticed my green stylo starting to grow again and the purple has increased speed. I'm even getting good yellow/purple coloration back on my ORA Yellow Lantana which has grown substantially at this point.

Maybe a few more weeks of due diligence I can I can reintroduce a hardy acro like a green slimer stag just to experiment!! I'm determined (slowly but surely) to get this tank back to an SPS garden!