New JBJ Nano Cube 6 g

[martinc909]

started a little 6 gallon nano cube for my grandma.
it was her christmas present but secretly its my present as well just thats its located at her house and not mine.
Christmas eve,dec 24, while she was away. we went and set it up for her.
we rinsed the inside, the chambers, the ceramic rings, the bio balls, the activated carbon, and the sponge.
added 10 pound bag of live sand.
added 5 gallons of fresh saltwater from the fish store.
i was missing about half a gallon of water so i brought some water from the fish tank at my house and added it to the tank.

 

[martinc909]

this is how we left it for her and how it looked that day.
its located on a small table and will get minimal sunlight.
in the first chamber the large sponge is there.
then at the bottom of the second chamber is the ceramic rings.
middle of the second chamber is the activated carbon.
then at the top of the middle chamber are the bioballs.

 

[martinc909]

dec 25
salinity: 1.024
nitrates:25
temp: 67
dec 26
salinity: 1.024
nitrates:25
temp: 75
dec 27
added about 6 lbs of live rock to tank.

 

[martinc909]

i replaced my nitrates salifert test with a new api master test kit so results might be better.
dec 30
nitrates 20
temp 74
ammonia 13
ph 7.8
nitrites 0
that day i did a 1 gallon waterchange.

 

[martinc909]

dec 31
nitrates: 20
temp 74
ammonia 0
ph 7.8
nitrites 0
jan 2
salinity 1.025
nitrates 40
temp 75
ammonia 0
ph 7.8
nitrites 0
jan4
salinity 1.024
nitrates 40
temp 75
ammonia 13
ph 7.8
nitrites 0
i added less then half odf a krill

 

[martinc909]

i have a hard time reading those tests so my numbers might not always be so accurate.

 

[meowzer]

WELCOME TO SWF.......very cute tank.....have you read the top threads in the new hobbyist section on starting a tank???

 

[martinc909]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///t/389802/new-jbj-nano-cube-6-g#post_3447649
WELCOME TO SWF.......very cute tank.....have you read the top threads in the new hobbyist sectpion on starting a tank???
thanks.
ive had a sw tank for a while now. just never a small tank. or any corals.

 

[meowzer]

OH....LOL....glad to hear that......I have quite a few tanks ranging from small to large.....and every one of them is different....LOL
I'll be following your build .....

 

[martinc909]

theres not much to do but keep testing and keep waiting.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Stock list?

 

[smallreef]

I'm calling it a PICO tank, lol...
very cute and I bet your grandma is going to LOVE whatever you put in it for her!
What is she/are you thinking about for fish &/or low light corals?

 

[martinc909]

dont know yet. havent taken her in to the lfs to look at smaller fish.
shes under the impression that she can get a small fish and as it grows i can move it to my tank.
dont really want to do that. would that be ok?
for corals. as ive never looked much into any of them but i really like the zoos. gf likes the green star polyps.
any recommendations i can give my grandma? fish inverts corals..
any other advice for anything else?
its making me want to upgrade my tank back home....

 

[martinc909]

jan 6 2012
salinity 1.025
nitrates 40
ammonia 13
ph 7.8
nitrites 0
temp 74
jan 8 2012
salinity 1.025
nitrates 20
ammonia 0
ph 7.8
nitrites 0
calcium 440
nitrates 20
phosphates .25
kh 143.2
temp 76

 

[martinc909]

its my grandmas birthday today.
would i be able to put anything inside yet?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Did you do a water change between those dates?
Nitrate can't drop like that without a water change. Makes me wonder if your test kits are working correctly.

 

[martinc909]

i did a wc on dec 30 and jan 4. one gallon each.
i thought so too about the test kits. my saltwater one i bought last month. and i bought the reef kit yesterday. thats why im testing twice for nitrates.

 

[martinc909]

i went today and i noticed that in the 2nd and 3rd filter chambers in the back. where the bioballs and the pump is located.
theres a blue greenish, oil looking layer on top of the water.
and its only in those two chambers and it looks fine in the display tank.
im wondering if all nano tanks do that or if its grease from it being close to the kitchen. although the lid is always completely shut.

 

[martinc909]

added 4 margarita pink snails today.
where do people usually put heaters in these small tanks? what wattage?

 

[smallreef]

I put mine in the return pump chamber since its usually full and the biggest chamber.. you could get away with just a small submersible like stealth or even a cheapy like a topfin but you are going to want one with a thermostat on top (and be able to check how acurate it is with your own thermometer) So like a 10watt stealth or 25 watt topfin...