24 Gallon Nano-Cube Build (1 Viewer)

[AquaNerd]

i guess i'll go ahead and throw in some pics of some ricordeas that will be going into the tank. i got them at bay area aquarium for $18 each. there are still plenty left, so i might get some more to fill the bottom of my tank up.

i love the orange rics. the other colors are too. i can't wait to get some more.

 

[AquaNerd]

wow, it's been a while since i updated. since my last update, i've added a 150 watt heater to keep the temperature up at night, and i've added some corals. i added six ricordea (see pics from the previous update), two acan frags, and two acropora frags. i know it seems a little early in the build, but my tank went through a very short cycle. i tested my water on several occasions, but it does help to use live rock that had previously been cured for over a year.

acan lord:

another acan:

favia??? it was a hitchiker on a mushroom rock.

two acro frags:
pink acro

blue tip acro

and the ricordea:

still no fish yet, but the list of wants is growing.

i think i'm going to try to get a pair of helfrichi firefish (i saw a pair on liveaquaria the other day) and/or a pair of yashia shrimp gobies with a tiger pistol shrimp. i'm not sure if i want any other fish besides those. we'll see if i can find anything else i like.

i'm still looking to get a tunze nano skimmer and a hob refugium. i'm thinking it would be better to get a hob refugium that comes with a skimmer. either way i go, something along those lines is going to happen.

 

[Chewy]

Brandon,

How about an update. Also I love the rics, you should get more.

Did you try new bulbs in your sunpod? I have the same light and I am wondering what bulb I should get to replace the stock one when it goes out.

Thanks

 

[slyfox]

hey they have 18in ho t5s now. Congrats on your new nano!

do you know where to get some?

 

[AquaNerd]

Brandon,

How about an update. Also I love the rics, you should get more.

Did you try new bulbs in your sunpod? I have the same light and I am wondering what bulb I should get to replace the stock one when it goes out.

Thanks

an update is soon around the corner...

as far as bulbs, i'm running an XM 20K bulb...looks more like a 14K though imo. i'll probably replace it with a phoenix 14K bulb here a few months.

i got my tunze nano skimmer today . i had minh order it on monday and it showed up at the store today. it was a little bit of a pain in the butt though since the collection cup doesn't fit down into the chamber with the skimmer...so i had to make some cuts to the tank . it's still a tight fit (only with the collection cup) but it seems to be doing a pretty good job making bubbles. no skimmate yet, since it's breaking in still, but i know it will kick some but. the bubbles coming out of it now look great. it's a little loud, but after it breaks in and gets to the proper water level (these things are sensitive to water level) it will quiet down and skim the *carp* out of the water.

 

[cstewart79]

Brandon this issue internal protein skimmers in general is they require a constant water level to create a good amount of skimmate so they must be combined with an auto top off to be any good. I recommend you put put the dang lotion back into the basket.

 

[decimal]

I recommend you put put the dang lotion back into the basket.

is that a special reef cream lotion ?

 

[AquaNerd]

finally, an update:

okay, here's my update. i've got a few corals in there and i hooked up a tunze doc nano skimmer.

FTS

acan lord

acan echinata

rics

acro

zoa

and finally the skimmer. i had to cut some of the back of the tank in order to properly fit the collection cup. the skimmer body fit perfectly fine, but to get the collection cup seated properly i had to hack up the plastic trim along the back of the tank. even with the trim removed in that area, the collection cup is still a tight fit. it's still running a little wet and is producing some microbubbles, but this should all clear up over a little time.

 

[dvs]

I like those rics and the pink acro.

 

[skeeter76]

looks great! any fish yet?

 

[AquaNerd]

I like those rics and the pink acro.

thanks.

looks great! any fish yet?

no, not yet. i still can't quite decide on what i want to do. i have some expensive fish in mind (helfrichi firefish pair and a yashia goby pair with shrimp combo) but i'm not quite settled on those. plus, i'm trying to finish off the calcium reactor setup (co2 tank coming on thursday or friday, and i replacement parts for the eheim pump i broke should also come in) and a new skimmer for my 90. and now that i think about it, i might add some live rock pieces to fill up the top of the nano. there seems to be a large void on the left hand side. but i don't know, we'll see i guess.

would anyone like to make fish suggestions?

i don't want clowns or anemones, but i would consider a rbta with a pair of nice ora naked false percula clowns. i definitely want some sort of shrimp goby...and i'm pretty set on the yashia pair with pistol shrimp combo. but i might not drop $300 +/- for a pair of helfrichi firefish, although it would be cool. i really don't want any common fish in this tank. i set it up in mind to do higher end corals (acans, micros, nice acros, outrageous zoas) and rarer fish...not the typical damsel, ocellaris clown, royal gramma combo. i have plenty of that action in my other tanks.

yeah, make me some fish suggestions.

 

[deepsea43]

looks good! how about anouther blue spotted jaw fish?

 

[jdeveaux]

I put a couple of Neon Dottyback - Pseudochromis aldabraensis from Ora Farms in my RSM and they are two of my favorite fish. They paired up or so I'm guessing since they dance around together. I should probably record some of their actions in case they actually breed.

They have great personalities and come out wagging their ...um tails... every time I walk up to the tank.

Between them for the nano and wrasses for the reef I'm not sure which one is my favorite.

 

[dvs]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=36265&siteid=20

Check it out.

 

[AquaNerd]

looks good! how about anouther blue spotted jaw fish?

i would, but the sand bed isn't deep enough and the particles are too fine.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=36265&siteid=20

Check it out.

yeah, i see those on there all the time. i would love to get that, but i'm sure i can get a better price for them.

 

[AquaNerd]

and yet another update:
i got another rose bubble tip anemone :clap1: . it's a little ticked off right now since i just put it in, but it's a big anemone and each of its arms are bubbled up big time. the ironic thing about it is that this one in my nano is bigger (like 3 times bigger) than the one in my big tank. i didn't originally plan for an rbta, but it was begging me to take it home so...into the nano it went. i guess since i've got the anemone i should probably get something for it to host. i'll try to get a pair of ora naked false percula clowns. i've seen them online for like $45 a piece, so not too bad considering they're from ora. i even thought about a pair of true percs, but they are just too common for me. i need something a little different. but the anemone has to get happy before i add a clown. once the anemone gets into its final spot, i guess i'll have to fill the tank up with more corals.

you know...i need to stop spending money on this thing. my 90 is getting jealous, and so is my wife . i'm also about to do an official product review of the tunze nano skimmer that i'll post in the general reefkeeping forum, so if you are interested be on the lookout.

i'll try to post pics of the nem tomorrow night if i remember to. hopefully, since it's pretty big it will split soon...but with my luck it will never split.

 

[Guest]

Look forward to your tunze nano skimmer review. I feel that the product review feature is heavily underused.

 

[dvs]

When it splits, i'll take it.

 

[AquaNerd]

When it splits, i'll take it.

will keep you in mind. i'm hoping it splits before the swap.

 

[deepsea43]

i wanna be 2nd in line. Never had one before.