Bonebrake's 24 Gal. JBJ Nano Cube!

bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Originally Posted by Adairable
well poo.....I guess this week b/c i wanna test the alkalinity asap :thinking:
let me see what livestock I wanna rack up the pocketbook with b/c its like a 100 minimum more or less right??? What livestock were you thinking about buddy?
Their green ricordea are on sale and are dirt cheap right now! I have also seen someone order their umbrella mushrooms and they are pretty too. I think I might order some nassarius snails, copepods, and maybe a red gorgonian. They are really pretty!
:joy:
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Originally Posted by BLB9
How has the silica sand worked out for you? What type is it? This is such a debated topic, and your input would be great

The sand has worked out "ok" for me. It does its job as a sandbed, but when I set up my new tank I will definitely go with an aragonite-based sand. I think they are much more attractive and also more conducive to microfauna life because the sand particles do not have the rough, jagged edges that silica sand has.
:joy:
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Originally Posted by pete43
Hey Steve,tank looks great!Let me know if you want to get rid of some of those Merletti.I have a few heads of purple tip frogspawn 3-4" in heads
Once again,tank looks great.So long-Pete
Pete, where are you located? If your local maybe we could work something out. I'm not interested in shipping the blastos unless you really want them bad.
stevenbonebrake@gmail.com
:joy:
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Here does the shopping list!!!!
1. the alk test you recommended, salifert i think
2. more aquastick putty (i used it all :notsure: )
3. Peppermint shrimp
4. SEXY SHRIMP!!!!
5. mexican turbo
6. (2) green ricordeas
7. umbrella mushroom
and that is it I think...if you need me to purchase more for the minimum let me know!!!! :jumping:
Im so excited!!!!
 
pete43

pete43

Member
We've actually met up awhile.I came to your apt. and dropped off green tipped torch (that you had put in your wife's office tank?) for some of the xenia(that I don't see in any of the newer pics)
I do have a few heads that are actually exactly opposite of the ones I gave you last time.These are green with purple tips.If you're interested let me know,I can snap off 2 nice size heads for ya.
Talk to you later,so long-Pete
 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
great tank. xenias look awesome. how long did it take ur clowns to come around.my true percs. been in the tank for a week and still swimming near the corners of the tank but they're starting to get closer to the rocks tho. hope my tank looks as good in a year..
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
It took my clowns eight months before they would accept anything as a host.

I'm sure your tank will look awesome in a year!
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Well thats comforting I am hoping that mine too will eventually host. They are tiny though very very young. If they are an inch long I would be suprised.
I didnt know this until I was told, and still I havent looked it up to see if its true or not, however i have no reason to believe its not. I never realized that there are true perc's and false perc's both caught in the wild, and there are true and false perc's both aquatacultured. My understanding was a true perc was wild caught and a false was tank bred. Anyone else ever heard of this?
Bone what do you use to post edit and post your pics? I use Adobe PS but your pics seem larger on here than mine do. In fact they are, 800x533 to be exact, how'd you do that. Every time I try to use more than 500x500 it tells me my file is too big.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bonebrake
Lady's pantyhose stocking with 4 oz. of activated carbon changed monthly, a 50 watt heater set at 78*F, and a Maxijet 900 for flow. No sponges, no bio-balls, no live rock rubble, etc.

So if you can explain to me why the fuss about using LR Rubble or BioBalls when you can get away with using none. Is there an established time you need to have those things before you can take them out. It sounds as though your reef is actually taking care of itself and other than flow and monitoring your levels, water changes etc. Your holding tanks in the back are completly empty except for some Charcoal in a nylon. :notsure:
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Live rock rubble was all the rage and what everyone was putting in their back chambers when I started my cube (and it still is very popular now), but I thought that it would just collect a ton of detritus in the long haul and be a major PITA to clean and basically be the equivalent to bio-balls.
Now almost two years later I don't think it really matters, their are a lot of successful nano reefs much older than mine out there with live rock rubble in the back, I just didn't want to put any in mine. If you have live rock rubble in your back chamber I wouldn't take the effort to remove it, but I would keep it in mind down the road if you have stubborn nitrates that just won't go down regardless of how many water changes you do. It could be the source of the problem if it is collecting detritus and decaying back there.
:joy:
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Well that is somthing to keep in mind. I actually kept the bio balls in there I only changed the filter situation around which I think I am going to stay that way until a problem arises as you state. Thanks for the answer.
 
greenwolf52

greenwolf52

Member
WOW what an amazing tank! I have a 3g but boy am I limited! I really want a 12 I wonder if i can getting looking as good as yours! How long have u had it? How hard is it to maintain, and did u cycle or did u use water from another tank?
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Thanks!
I had a very HARD cycle. I used uncured live rock that was shipped UPS ground and was in shipping seven days; talk about STINK. It took almost two months to fully cycle and I had to do two 100% water changes during the cycle to get the ammonia down; it was way off the chart at 15-20 ppm on two different occasions.
It finished cycling a few days after Christmas of 2005 so I've had the tank running for over 18 months.
:joy:
 
greenwolf52

greenwolf52

Member
What happens to the clay like stuff that u use to stick the frags to the LR? and what is it called? Also if u dont mind me asking what did u pay for the tank and did it come with the stand and tank? did u by it offline or from the LFS?? sorry for all the ?'s but Im really antsy about getting one. We have a 100g FOWLR and the 3g but I really want a bigger reef for me the 100g is my husbands preditor thing!
 
greenwolf52

greenwolf52

Member
12 Gallon, 54W Compact Fluorescent System - Includes: Surface skimming filtration system, 1-27W square pin Dual Daylight 6700°K/10000°K Daylight bulb, 1-27W square pin Dual Actinic 420nm/460nm Actinic bulb, 2 blue LED lights, cooling fan, mechanical sponge filter, 160 gph submersible pump with flat nozzle, and complete instructions.
12 Gallon, 70W HQI Metal Halide System - Includes: Surface skimming filtration system, 1-14000°K HQI Metal Halide light, 4 blue and 4 white LED lights, cooling fan, mechanical sponge filter, 160 gph submersible pump with flat nozzle, and complete instructions.
which one is better???
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
I paid $200 for the tank at a local fish store and $100 for the stand at IKEA, the stand is a stereo stand which is great for nanos because it makes it eye level with you when you're standing, you don't have to stoop over or get on your knees to look in the tank.
I would recommend the 14 gal. BioCube saltwaterfish.com sells right here; it is an excellent price and a good starter nano reef.
The clay stuff I used to mount the SPS frags is a two-part epoxy sold by Marineland. It is ugly as sin right now, but it will eventually be covered with purple coralline algae and in a month or two and you won't even be able to see it because it will blend right in with the live rock.
:joy:
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Originally Posted by greenwolf52
do you have a skimmer, heater, how many watts per gallon do you have?? what kind of filter??
I do not use a skimmer, I change 4 gallons of water (~25% of the actual volume) every two weeks and run about 4 oz. of activated carbon and in a lady's knee-high stocking in the back chamber and change it once a month.
My heater is 50 watts and set to 78 *F. The tank usually runs 80-84 *F depending on the ambient temperature.
I have 72 watts total (about 3 watts per gallon) of power compact fluorescent light: 36 watts of 10,000 K and 36 watts of true actinic 03 that peaks at 420 nm.
I do not use a mechanical filter. The live rock and sand is a my filter and the Maxijet 900 provides the flow through the "living filter".
:joy:
 
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