Nano Cube Setup

Hopeful Reefer

Hopeful Reefer

Premium Member
Wow...been a really long time since I've been here...used to have a 120RR that I was starting to set up and had to sell it due to financial problems (don't all reef enthusiasts end up with financial problems from buying all of their tank supplies and livestock? )

Anyway...after a 2 year break I'm starting to get that itch again...I want some sort of tank...I'm considering this Nano Cube from Fosters Smith and a 16lbs. box of their live rock.

I'm thinking of taking out the carbon, bio-balls and filter sponge and basically just using the filtration system as my water movement...I'll probably go with the Delux hood, because I would like to put a coral or two in the tank eventually...I would also like to put a few fish in there as well...I will have a few inch sand bed that the live rock will eventually populate with bacteria...

Here is my question (after all that rambling )...1) what corals would you guys suggest, 2) what livestock would you suggest that would be compatible with those corals, 3) what cleanup crew would you suggest and 4) how often/how much water changing...I know you can figure out what you want and work backwards to decide the setup, I'm just not sure what I want in the tank yet which is why I'm asking for suggestions...

Any help is appreciated...I've been away so long, I missed it...
 
Looks good...I'm still not sure what setup I need cause I'm not sure what I want to do...I don't think I want to spend the $$ for MH lights, so using the stock lighting that comes with that delux kit what types of corals can I successfully work with? :confused:
 
Without the MH you can keep all softies and LPS corals.
The only thing you can't do is SPS, but SPS is tough enough in a nano.

With my DX lighting I have Acans, Micro's, Candycane, Blasto's as my LPS corals.
Zoa's, Paly's, Kenya Tree, Florida Rics & mushrooms as my softies.

If you want a little more light without the MH check out www.nanotuners.com, they sell the entire setup but they modify the hood and add more lights, chillers, moonlights, etc....
 
nanocustoms looks great...although, I think they may be a little more pricy than I wish to spend...


I'll definitely be looking at eventually getting some softies and LPS then...

Other suggestions please?
 
Sorry for the bump, but I believe I've found my setup...at least the initial setup anyway...

I'm most likely going to be getting an Nano Cube 24DX from someone here on RC...fairly decent price at $245 including shipping and a water test kit...

Now...I think I like the idea of a mix of softies and LPS...that way I won't have to upgrade the lighting...anyone have suggestions of softies or LPS that are really hearty and easy to keep? :confused:

Also, as for livestock...my wife would like me to do a "Finding Nemo" theme and have an anemone with a mated pair of clowns (not sure which type yet) and a blue tang (kind of like Dory :p )...with the lighting in the 24 DX, will that keep an anemone or would I have to have an upgrade to MH...

And finally...if anyone has any suggestions as to which mods work best for this cube I would appreciate links so that I can see what I can do with this setup...and of course, any other ideas are greatly appreciated... :D
 
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Hey, anemones are really risky, especially in a nano tank. Because it's in their nature to be aggressive towards other corals, it's best to give them a lot of space and have a lot of water volume. In a nano, if they die your tank can really get polluted. I had a condi crash my 12g nano tank, had a huge amonia spike as a result, and lost a lot of livestock. I basically had to start all over again. But hey, we learn the hard way sometimes.

Also, a 24g cube is unfortunately too small for a blue tang, or any tang for that matter. A mated pair of clowns would be nice, and they're likely to host other soft wavey things other then anemones.

Good luck!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8599755#post8599755 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wickedfood
Hey, anemones are really risky, especially in a nano tank. Because it's in their nature to be aggressive towards other corals, it's best to give them a lot of space and have a lot of water volume. In a nano, if they die your tank can really get polluted. I had a condi crash my 12g nano tank, had a huge amonia spike as a result, and lost a lot of livestock. I basically had to start all over again. But hey, we learn the hard way sometimes.

Also, a 24g cube is unfortunately too small for a blue tang, or any tang for that matter. A mated pair of clowns would be nice, and they're likely to host other soft wavey things other then anemones.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

So, basically due to water volume an anemone is out...I didn't know clowns would host in another organism...any suggestions for softies (I assume you mean softies) that they might host in or would be or get big enough to give them the chance to host in something else?
 
You could get away with a BTA or RBTA.

Look here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=964254&perpage=&pagenumber=2

Looks like jwblocal701 has a RBTA (Rose Bubble Tip Anemone) in his. Just have to give it some space and keep the water quality perfct. Add the clowns first and once your tank is stable ad the anemone.

You might also post a thread in the clownfish & anemone forum asking if this would work or if there is a better anemone for you.

I had a clown that liked to host in a hammer coral I had and I've heard of them hosting in things like frogspawn and big frilly mushrooms.
 
I had Clowns hosting in Xenias, frogspan, and lately one is sitting in the Bubble coral.
Also You can have "baby Dory" size of a quarter, and a year later trade in for another one. I had one in 6 gal eclipse.
 
instead of getting a hippo tang how about a blue yellow tail damsel. all the really young kids always go up to my 29 and say "mommy mommy look!!!! It's Dory and Nemo!!!" while pointing at my B yellow tail damsel and my ocellaris clown . :rolleyes:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8601351#post8601351 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LionfishFinatic
instead of getting a hippo tang how about a blue yellow tail damsel. all the really young kids always go up to my 29 and say "mommy mommy look!!!! It's Dory and Nemo!!!" while pointing at my B yellow tail damsel and my ocellaris clown . :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

The very first salt water tank I ever tried I had damsels in...never again will I allow such a terrorist in to a tank I own...they killed the hermits and caused a ton of decay in the tank before I realized they were hidden among the rocks...you can imagine what happened with that tank!! :eek1:
 
Today is a slow day at work (yes, I have to work on Thanksgiving I'm starting to put together that someone upstairs doesn't like me cause I gotta work Christmas and New Years too! :eek2: )...so, I am trying to put together a list of hardware I'll need to accumulate and also I'm designing my stand...I plan on having a DIY stand because I feel that the stand that is sold by JBJ isn't tall enough...the wife is insisting that the tank sit behind our love seat which is sitting diagonal across a corner of our sitting room...

Here is the plan I've come up with so far for the stand...anyone with mechanical drawing or blueprint reading experience should be able to read this right off...the red indicates 2x6's and the teal indicates 2x4's...the whole thing will be sheeted in 1/2" of some sort, just not sure which yet...can't decide which look I want yet...

nanotankstanddi3.jpg


I will have a center brace going across the top and bottom...the dimensions are going to be 30" x 30"...this will also give me room beneath the stand, because I want to see about doing a 15H sump under this, if I can figure out a way to plumb an overflow or if I feel like drilling the tank in one of the 3 rear chambers...

As for hardware...so far I know I want to go with a digital heater (which also acts as my thermometer)...I also plan on trying to DIY an electronic control center for lights, heater, etc. on switches and such to make the different feeding and maintenance tasks easier...I'm also going to look in to possibly modding the hood to add some more fans and lights (possibly as seen in this person's 24DX Shao-lin's 24 g Nano Cube...

Anyone have any suggestions as to any kind of hardware to use (I.e. skimmer, top-off, etc.) I'd love to see some links...I love doing DIY (and so does my wallet! :lol: ) so any of those type projects I'd love to see...as for inhabitants...I'm still undecided on those yet...

[:Edit:] I have just come across this skimmer Fission Nano Skimmer...the price looks alright, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them...looks like something I'd get for this nano setup that is right in line with my budget too...want advice first though...
 
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Also, quick question about water...I know everyone talks about using RO/DI for tap water...but what if you are running off of a well somewhere out in the country? Since you water has to spend 6-months or so filtering through soil and bedrock to get to your well, do you still need RO/DI?
 
Well, you can test it extensively to see what elements it has in it. Do you have a mega test kit?? Or you could just bite the bullet, go to WalMart and get several cases of distilled water and call it a day. I wouldn't take any chances on the well water unless you find out for sure what's in it.
 
Ok...asked the folks in the lighting and filtration forum about the well water and it turns out there are more TDS in well water than in municipal water...so, I need to find some RO/DI equipment before I start putting this thing together...

So...with that in mind I'm looking around...I also found some good priced lighting equipment...see this thread to see what I found...

Any ideas for me then on setup as far as which equipment to buy? (I.e. additional lighting, custom stand with custom lighting, skimmer, etc.)
 
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