Nanocube 12gal

[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
Hey guys! Just signed up to the forums and read a pretty fat sticky on salt water fish. A buddy of mine sold me his tank because he could not keep up with it because of his work/school schedule.
Its a 12gal nanocube deluxe. i got about 13 pounds of rock in there, and 10 pounds of sand Here is pictures of it setup in my new office. I set it up about 6 days ago and have not seen/touched it since. I work at my old office for the time being and have not checked up on it. I have a timer for my lighting which comes on at 8am and turns off at 3pm.. i know its running and evey thing is okay as far as the functionality of the tank because every time one of my co workers goes to the office i tell them to check up on it and make sure everything is running. I will not be going into the office foe another 4 weeks or so and i plan on just leaving the tank to cycle. Is this wrong? Here is a pic when i just put everything in, 15 minutes of setting it all up.. sand went in first, then the live rock, then the SALT WATER purchased from the LFS. Tell me if there is anything i need to do/change as i am a complete n00b at this.
I plan on putting in all sorts of cool coral and few fish.
Sorry for the retarded pics, they were shot with my iPhone
random shot with the moonlight:
http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0378fx4.jpg

and shot when everything was all cloudy but from what my co worker told me is now crystal clear.
http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0379we4.jpg

are my rocks setup correct? I
 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
haha thanks guys.. ill post pics and use this thread as my work progresses.. any input on me doing anything wrong as far as checking up on the tank once or so a week to make sure everything is running correctly?..
 
nano-newb1983

nano-newb1983

Active Member
I would try to at least check on it 3 times a week even during its cycle. While you are there check and see if the temp is stable, and also check parameters
 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
also as far as my fish gol. ppl are saying u cant have more then1 clown in there.. i was looking forward to having a orange one and a black one,.. how is it that u have 2 in 1 tank and its fine?
 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
also quick question about my heater.. it is placed on the back right hand side of the tank just .. i placed it there because thats wehre my "power head" i duno what u guys call it im still a n00b.. it comes stock with the bio cube.. is placed on the back right hand side that pumps the water.. i put the heater right by it so it can blow the "warm" water around anddd be away from the tank for cosmetic reasons.. this should be okay correct?
ORRRRR
does the heater need to be placed right in the back middle of the tank..
i ask because i see lots of people have there heater in the center back of the tank.. just want to make sure everything will be okay asi hope this tank goes for a long time.. i plan on investing some good money on it and put some VERY BRIGHT cool looking corals in there.
 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
oh and a couple more questions.. if i plan on adding more rocks in there.. just to fill out some more space and what not.. will this ruin the cycle.. or do i need to throw everything in there right now..
also re arranging the rocks wont effect anything correct?
 
nordy

nordy

Active Member
Welcome to the forums! Is that rock and sand from an established tank? Or are you essentially starting fro scratch with an empty tank and "fresh" rock and sand?
I started my 12 w/stuff from my 55 so I was able to stock it right away but if you are doing it from scratch, you will have to wait awhile.
As for the heater, it doesn't matter where you have it as whatever circulation your tank has will be enough to move the water around it an distribute the heat. You should be able to get by with the smallest capacity heater in that size tank. My office stays about 75-78 and I don't even have a heater in my 12gal.
As for adding more rock, you can go several ways-A) use base rock (just plain rock suitable for SW use) in the tank and it will become active LR shortly as it is colonized by the good bacteria in your tank. This is the cheapest way to go, but takes some time to mature. B) Buy fully cured LR (make sure it is really fully cured). This is the fastest but most expensive way to go, but in a small tank won't be too expensive. C) Buy LR that has died off during shipment and needs to be cured. This takes some time and needs to be done right. In a nano tank, good LR can be your major (or only) ammonia removal device si the more you can fit, within your desired design, the better.
Agree w/3 times or more checkups on the thank each week-bad things can happen quickly in any tank, especially in a new 12 gal tank.
As for rearranging rockwork, your water may be stirred up a bit but it won't hurt anything and will clear up shortly.
Check out these pics-the first is the first day I set up my tank, and the second is 6 days later-quite a change.

 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
thanks for the great info.
To be honest, i have no damn idea what i baught as far as LR goes. I went to the a fish store that was recommended to me by a friend who was running a salt water tank bank in the days and i asked him for live rock and he took me to the back where he had all his live rock, it did have soem fish but very little, nothing 2 crazy..
anyhow i got my rocks and he put it in a box and threw salt water (very little) in the box and got news paper, got it all wet and threw it on top of the rocks.. when i got 2 the office about *6 hours later which he said was fine... i just rinsed it with salt water i got from the fish store (12 gal) and pourd it on the rocks before i put it in the tank.. not scrubbed or anything, just poured a cup of the salt water on the rocks and arranged it in the tank.
so i dont know anything about "cured" or what not.. i just threw the rocks i got from the store.. it has been about a week or so since i got the tank running.
 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
oh and another n00b question, what water test kit should i buy.. any specific brands you guys recommend.. or even a website with a good deal would be awesome.. THANKS!
wonder if i got any hitchhikers, i STILL have yet to see the tank. Im assuming even if i do, there all dead since they did not go into the tank until about 7 hours or so from purchase.
 
[ronnie]

[ronnie]

Member
alright guys.. w00t w00t, my first time seeing my tank.. yay i was excited.. i still have not tested my water because the fish store (who runs a VERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY HUGE sick ass hell salt water tank) who is very knowledgeable told me what is the point? I am not planning on throwing fish in there for at least another 3 more weeks.. whats the point of tripping out every second running tests when nothing is in there to worry about.. he said wait it out and see how your water is the week you are plannin on throwing your ---- in.
anyhow..
WOW the water has cleared up.. i just dont know why the top of my water looks oilyish?.. you can see from some of the pics.. again they were taken from my iPhone so sorry for the quality.. i was hoping i would find a tiny little starfish or a little crab or sommmmmmmmmthing in the tank today but i found nothingggggggg.. i looked everywhere =[ .. guess no hitchhikers for me..
the water was about 77-78 degree's..
the filter did not seem like it was sucking all that hard?.. is there supoused to be a very hard suction?.. when i put my hand over it i felt a tiny suction but it wasnt anything nuts..
also the power head? (is that what u call it).. the ---- on the top right of the tank.. its blowing out but its not VERY hard.. i would say its more on the lighter side, but yeah there is flow in there.. is it pointed in the right direction? i tried pointing it at the rocks as much as i can so when i get my coral in there it will have ton of movment.. and my damm heater wont stick as u can see from the pictures.. oh well..
PLENTYYYYYY of caves now that the water cleared up i can see.. im excited.. let me know what u guyst hink and if any1 can answer the questions above from my previous post and the ones in this one it would be greatly appreciated. Should i add more live rock u guys think?.. the side slook kinda empty no?..
on with the pics.. still a n00b at posting pics. hope im doing this right..

http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0402ip2.jpg

http://img357.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0404rg6.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0405lk1.jpg
everytime i try 2 post pics it shows me a red X whichi s why i have to post the link too.. haha someone help a n00bie out here.
 
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