setting up the aquapod 12g?

[kass03]

This past weekend I was at the coral conferance at Dr. Fosters and Smith(which is really cool by the way) and I was a trader at the frag swap.
Aquapod donated a 12g cube to all of the traders which was awesome.
It's been over 20 years since I set up a tank from scratch so I was wondering how you guys did it with the Aquapod?

I set it up Monday with the filter media that came with it and new water and salt.
I then added about an inch of live sand from my 10 year old 150 gallon tank.
I bought about 2.5 lbs of live rock and added 3 larger live rocks from my 150 (not sure how many lbs).

I'm wondering if I should take the media out that came with it? Bioballs, ceramic, and sponges.
I've seen some people put chaeto in the back. Should I?
What are the mods you guys made on these if any?
It is running hot getting up to 83-84F sometimes.
Do they usually still cycle if you start with live rock and sand?

Thanks for your help
kass

 

[ENraged]

I cut the sponge in to 3 peices and rotate them out every other day.
ditched the other media and replaced with live rock rubble soon to have cheato in the second chamber as well.
As far as cycling I put in indo-pacific black arag-alive live with 12 pounds of mixed live rock(pre-cured)

Switch out the stock pump for a maxi-jet 900 that will help with temp as well as removing the splash gaurd and cutting the inner vent work out so air as a clean shot in to the hood. that alone has dropped mine to a max of 80..
There is also a spot for a second fan which you can install via the extra 2 pin connector in there.
flipping the stock fan over suck it sucks cool air in also helps a bit.
for cheato in the back i used the cutting of the black film from the back of the chamber i picked to house the cheato putting a light back there for it to grow.
thats about all i have good luck

 

[Talfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7657438#post7657438 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ENraged
I cut the sponge in to 3 peices and rotate them out every other day.
ditched the other media and replaced with live rock rubble soon to have cheato in the second chamber as well.
As far as cycling I put in indo-pacific black arag-alive live with 12 pounds of mixed live rock(pre-cured)

/QUOTE]

How much LS did you use? I just put in a 20lb bag... is that too much/deep?

 

[ENraged]

I used around 3/4 of the bag and gave the rest away. I did not really want a thick bed but that was just a personal opion. you can use a full bag lots do.

 

[kass03]

I cut out the ventwork where the fans go and flipped the fan but it has'nt really made a difference.
My kids 10 gallon is in the same room and hers runs 3 degrees lower than this one.
Maybe a new pump would help.

I added some more live rock and sand from my 150. So far there has'nt been any trace of ammonia but it's only been 6 days.

One thing I don't understand is it does'nt skim the surface water.
I have it filled a little below the black top part. If you fill it less it looks stupid lol.

kass

 

[ENraged]

oh yea switch out the stock pump for a Maxi-Jet 900 its lower watts.

If you are using cured rock then you may not ever have a spike.
Mine hasn't and its been 10 days.

The lower vent will need to be block with a piece of plastic. then it draws from the top.

 

[ENraged]

Might need to add a second fan to the open spot as well.
They are 2 pin and that canbe a bit of a pain to find..
Maybe do search for a 2 pin to 3 pin converter

 

[kass03]

I don't even know what pump came with it as they had them all setup and running for us and I just put it in the box and brought it home.
I'm not sure what you mean by lower vent. It has 2 vents for the fans and the middle vent. The middle looked way to hard to get out all the plastic ventwork so I left it alone.
83-84 is'nt the worst and after summer I'm sure it will run cooler.
I might just get a new pump and maybe another fan if I can find one.

Yeah my sand and rock have been cured for years lol so I'm not sure if it will cycle.

Really a cool little tank though. I was so excited we got to keep them.

kass

 

[kass03]

Yeah I looked at the fan when I had it apart and wrote down the numers. It's a dc 12v but I dunno what mm it is or anything.
I did a search for the number on the fan but came up with nothing.

Talfish that is'nt too much sand. Some people have 6 inches of sand in there tank.

kass

 

[ENraged]

I meant for the skimmer to work the tank vent down by the sand will need to be blocked. The suction alone will hold a piece of plastic there but when you turn the pump off to feed it will fall. I have yet to glue mine as I have nothing in the tank yet so I have not had to feed.
You can prop the lid open a bit during peak heat times and put a small desktop fan to blow in it needed.
What I am doing Monday is I have tore down one of my computers and will use the power supply to run 3 more 80mm fans 1 in the vents over the lights and 2 will be bonded to the lid to suck in cool air to blow on the water. Not sure how I want to position them yet.
The feeding door is popular but I have yet to figure out my positioning yet
I have noticed in the morning that water collects by the feeding door and corrosion is a concern,
But with using the power supply I now have the option to take the stock current converter out and make some more inner hood changes with an unlimited amount of fans. Perhaps even a metal halide retro.
I myself an tempted to have a new piece of acrylic cut that will run to the complete outer edge of the hood.

 

[kass03]

Oh ok thanks. I understand what vent you mean now to block. I'll try that.

kass

 

[kass03]

I had to block all the vents in that first column and half of the slits on top to create a waterfall for it to skim the surface water.
I went to the hardware store and they cut me a piece of plexiglass 4 inch by 11.5 inch for a buck. It works good now.
Thanks for that tip.

kass

 

[ENraged]

nice sounds like you are on your way

 

[Talfish]

Thanks EN and Kass...
I used the Indo-Pac black too... might take some out and add some of the Tahitian Black... I'm wanting more black in this tank. Planning on doing the fan and pump mod as well.
Talfish

 

[noschmo]

There is a wealth of info on this forum with great ideas how to configure the chambers etc. Take the time to go back and look at older posts like I did.

 

[kass03]

Yeah I did go back about 20 pages before I posted. The search rarely works.

I'm not a newb to salt just a nano lol.

Today I threw in some tiny brittle stars, zoas, green tree, and a black turbo snail from my 55. I figure if it starts to cycle I can put them back in the 55.
I hated looking at a bare tank lol.

To any newbies reading this I don't recommend adding corals that soon but my rock and sand were all well established plus I have other tanks to put them in if need be.

kass

 

[Illuminati]

I ditched the sponges in favor of filter floss from Dr. Foster & Smith. It's so much easier to just pull that wad out and toss it every week then rinsing a sponge. That stuff is worth it's weight in gold, luckily it doesn't weigh much.

I always worried I wasn't getting all of the debris out of the sponges no matter how long I rinsed them. I've heard people call them a nitrate trap.

 

[noschmo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7671376#post7671376 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by colinadam
I ditched the sponges in favor of filter floss from Dr. Foster & Smith. It's so much easier to just pull that wad out and toss it every week then rinsing a sponge. That stuff is worth it's weight in gold, luckily it doesn't weigh much.

I always worried I wasn't getting all of the debris out of the sponges no matter how long I rinsed them. I've heard people call them a nitrate trap.

Good idea except that I put floss on top to catch the gunk then a two inch wide piece of sponge then activated carbon in a pull out bag. Chaeto should also be kept in a micron bag to keep the pieces from finding there way into the tank to block powerheads etc.

 

[kass03]

If you put chaeto in the back don't you have to add a light for it?
I can't tell if the chambers get any light or not.

kass