My JBJ 28gal Nano Build Thread

Ange, What happened? Its okay, accidents happen.

Marty

LFS' shouldn't be open on July4, but mine was so I accidentally bought a Gen3 Radion. Yes yes, I talked about switching to MH/T5 but apparently I am re-committed to LED and fully on the EcoTech bandwagon.

It's actually a pretty noticeable difference in spectrum, I didn't anticipate that...


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Gen3 Radion is working out really well, impressive improvement over my original Gen1 surprisingly, though I did have to drop back intensity. Made some tweaks to my light and Vortech profiles over the ReefLink and impressed with the results of mixing pump profiles with sync and anti-sync throughout the day.

Spent some time today getting a shelf made and installed as well as cleaning up the wiring. Still a lot of work to do, but it looks 100x better than it did this morning with cords and control boxes laying all over the floor. Also got the reactors installed a few days ago running GFO and carbon, and will likely install a 3rd to run biopellets.

Gen3 Pro Radion + TLF150 Reactors:
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Stand:
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Stand Left:
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Stand Right:
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I'm pretty limited on adding anything else due to heat right now. Between the stock pumps, skimmer, and Eheim Compact 600 running the reactors the tank is sitting around 79-80 which is hotter then I like.

Next step is taking apart my chiller to see if I can fix the busted condenser coil, and if not buy a new one. Hopefully will tackle that this weekend. Also need to mount the MP10 power supplies, paint the shelf, and finish organizing cables.

Oh, and did I mention that I added a cleaner shrimp, my first acro, some more rics, and my first maxima?!? More pics to come soon.
 
Ange,

Considering you didn't run Biopellets on your previous 28g Nano, what is the reasoning behind wanting to go that route now?

Also, with your Aquamaxx installed, how are you keeping the splashing noise down now that it doesn't dump into an area that you can place a sponge into?

Finally.....................Let's see some pics of your new additions! :thumbsup:
 
Ange,

Considering you didn't run Biopellets on your previous 28g Nano, what is the reasoning behind wanting to go that route now?

Also, with your Aquamaxx installed, how are you keeping the splashing noise down now that it doesn't dump into an area that you can place a sponge into?

Finally.....................Let's see some pics of your new additions! :thumbsup:

I've seen a lot of really nice SPS tanks running biopellets so I want to give it a try. I ran them for a time on the last tank but it was already when it was past its prime so I can't really vouch for whether they worked or not. I do know that I didn't run GFO or carbon for about 8-9mo and didn't do a single water change and everything was healthy, so maybe that's a testament to them... Or maybe not...

The HOB-1 took some finagling to get working with the new tank. Technically I could make it spill into a chamber onto floss but I didn't want to go that route. I had a setup working pretty well with only the stock supplies, but decided I could to better. A few inches of 3/4" PVC and a 90deg elbow did the trick and this setup is just a quiet as before:

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Over the weekend I picked up a small flame angel, an ORA orchid dottyback, a couple more rics, and a couple of very interesting looking rock flower anemones. In all my years of reefing these are actually my first anemones! They are super cool. You can get them in colors that it is almost impossible to find corals in, and apparently they don't move around too much (if at all). It's taking a lot of willpower to not go buy more, they are so cool!

I would take pics, but I'm struggling with a glass algae problem right now despite having the GFO reactor running for over a week. It builds up pretty thick in just a single day, and within 20-30min of cleaning (once the water starts to clear) there is a haze on the glass again. It's pretty annoying! But I know with some time to let the GFO keep working it'll go away, so pictures will just have to wait until then.

Next up on the list is a chiller because the tank is running hot. Got a JBJ Artica 1/10hp sitting in my cart at BRS, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet....
 
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Well in a streak of luck I pulled the old 1/15 Arctica Mini chiller out of the garage and was able to fix it within 20-min, guess I should have done that a long time ago!! A 1-hr flush with vinegar in both directions and it's now installed on the tank and cooling! I set it to 78deg at first, and plan to drop the setpoint to 75deg in the morning. That's about $600 worth of extra loot to spend on inhabitants now!! :) And that also pretty much rounds out the equipment setup. Dosing pump will be installed later when warranted, and the biopellet reactor will be installed at some point, but for now will concentrate on coral and clam additions.
 
Dumb idea? Maybe... I love anthias and dont have a big tank so had to give it a whirl with some little bitty ones. Got a baby female Bartlett anthias and a baby female lyretail anthias. Amazing addition to the tank after a day's acclimation. Adds so much color, diversity, and activity to the water columns! Amazing fish!

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The tank is looking pretty good. The new ORA corals seem to be settling in well and the anthias are always out in the water column so they bring a ton of activity to the tank. They also eat like pigs, hopefully they don't outgrow the tank too soon.

I really really need to bust out my DSLR soon (I know I keep saying that.... :sad2:). The UV of the Gen3 Pro really jacks with the white balance on a cell phone camera. But at least in this pic you can see all 6 fish!

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And check this out. My cleaner shrimp is never going to get hungry at this rate. The angel is being cleaned while the lyretail anthias waits in line for next turn!

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im running a Gen 3 on my 40g cube. I have this naggign problem of coral bleaching that's persisted through two generations of my old tank and is now present in my new tank. I keep wondering if it isnt multifactorial, so a month ago I removed all of the GFO from my TLF reactors and switched to chemipure elite. No algae bloom and the coralline is starting to grow in some, but my acros are bleached on the lightward-side edges. I've been wondering if the UV is giving them a sunburn. May shut off the UV LEDs and see...
 
Lookin' awesome! That Flame is too cool!
Thanks Steve! Look forward to seeing your new build!
im running a Gen 3 on my 40g cube. I have this naggign problem of coral bleaching that's persisted through two generations of my old tank and is now present in my new tank. I keep wondering if it isnt multifactorial, so a month ago I removed all of the GFO from my TLF reactors and switched to chemipure elite. No algae bloom and the coralline is starting to grow in some, but my acros are bleached on the lightward-side edges. I've been wondering if the UV is giving them a sunburn. May shut off the UV LEDs and see...
Haven't had that problem with the gen3, though I buy my corals from an LFS that has Radions over all their tanks. I did used to have a lot of bleaching in the 28 when taking corals that were under sun/t5/mh and switching to LED, but they acclimate after about a month and look better than ever.
Looking good! Makes me miss my cubes.
Thanks! Good to see you're still around, will have to go check out your latest thread!
 
Been a while since my last update!! Had a bit of bad luck with ich (for the first time ever!) and it was not fun... Lost the lyretail and orchid in the process, but after lots of fresh squeezed garlic everybody else pulled through. The bartlets anthias is getting huge now!

One of the rock anemones is being funny and crawling into the shade. Other then that the setosa is growing quickly and the shrimps and clam are happy and healthy.

I have added a red planet, green planet, and some scans since the last update. Also had a little splurge at the LFS today and got an ORA striped blenny, ORA ice tort, ORA red goni, ORA black and gold maxima, and 3 sexy shrimp.

Need to take some pics ASAP to keep y'all interested, will work on doing that once the new stuff settles in. :)
 
Just finished reading the whole thread, wow the ups and downs! Love the new look and new tank. I'm also in love with flower pot news...some of the really colorful ones are so amazing. Looking forward to you filling this tank with corals!
 
Just finished reading the whole thread, wow the ups and downs! Love the new look and new tank. I'm also in love with flower pot news...some of the really colorful ones are so amazing. Looking forward to you filling this tank with corals!

Awesome, though I know it's a long read and must have taken you forever!! The rock nems are cool, though my red one is being funny and crawling out of sight into the shade. The green one is super cool. New tank should come along well with my lessons learned from the first, I just need to spend more time tending to it like I used to to back in the good ole days.

Sorry to hear about the Ich. Looking forward to some updated pictures!

Eh, it's only a matter of time till it happens, right? I've been through my bouts with everything from pyramid snails to AEFW. Was hoping to come through clean on this build but got zapped none the less.

Pretty cool to watch the progression on your build,

Thanks! Keep tuned for more!
 
Well I finally busted out the DSLR tonight only to find that both batteries I have were dead. Went to my backup S90 and found it was dead too. I guess I have been slacking on my photog!!!

Got a few more cell pics to tide the thread over until I can get some DSLR pics tomorrow.

ORA red goni
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Clams and setosa
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Clams top down
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FTS
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