My JBJ 28gal Nano Build Thread

[alcoolaid]

Wow. Best looking nano tank i've seen

[ange062]

Originally Posted by alcoolaid

Wow. Best looking nano tank i've seen

Thanks coolaid!!!

[tandldel]

Originally Posted by ange062

Unfortunately, my ORA tricolor valida RTN'd on me today. Looked perfectly fine this morning, but after work all the tissue was gone except for about half an inch at the tips. Nothing was done out of the ordinary in the tank and everything else is fine... Bummer...

But on a lighter note, Ive been contemplating a replacement for the location! Im thinking a turaki or echinata would look nice...

sorry to hear that was a nice frag. Always frustrating when one just kinda implodes trying to figure out why.

My vote is on the echinata. I saw you on the thread over at sps. I love my Hawkins one of my favorites. I am trying to get a Carolinia now if I can find one. Yellow with green polyps that would be nice in your tank as well but you cannot do wrong with either of your choices.

[krkosiba]

Hey, did your clowns mate well? When I bought my snowflakes they were suppose to be a mated pair. HA, yeah right, there will most likely be a death in the tank. Which makes me want to throw up on my feet because I have a feeling I am going to lose a beautiful fish...plus expensive.

[ange062]

Originally Posted by tandldel

sorry to hear that was a nice frag. Always frustrating when one just kinda implodes trying to figure out why.

My vote is on the echinata. I saw you on the thread over at sps. I love my Hawkins one of my favorites. I am trying to get a Carolinia now if I can find one. Yellow with green polyps that would be nice in your tank as well but you cannot do wrong with either of your choices.

I ended up getting the turaki, but no pics for a few weeks until it colors up! It was sky blue when it came in about a month ago, but has since browned out from being underlit so I need a couple of weeks under the Radion to get it back to looking good!

Originally Posted by krkosiba

Hey, did your clowns mate well? When I bought my snowflakes they were suppose to be a mated pair. HA, yeah right, there will most likely be a death in the tank. Which makes me want to throw up on my feet because I have a feeling I am going to lose a beautiful fish...plus expensive.

Mine get along fine, but I also watched them at my LFS for over a month before purchasing. That being said, I think they are both still unsexed juveniles, they don't show the "paired" behavior. Aggression is normal to some extent during the pairing process, check out this thread:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=215098

[paulyboy18]

Thank you so much Ange for giving such a detailed Nano experience. I went through and read every post on this thread and let me tell you I have learned a lot from your posts, so thanks. I have a 28g jbj HQI that has only been up for a week. At work now , I will post a pic of it later. Thanks again... -Paul-

[ange062]

Originally Posted by paulyboy18

Thank you so much Ange for giving such a detailed Nano experience. I went through and read every post on this thread and let me tell you I have learned a lot from your posts, so thanks. I have a 28g jbj HQI that has only been up for a week. At work now , I will post a pic of it later. Thanks again... -Paul-

Paul, welcome to RC!!! And thanks for the comments on my tank, always great to hear that this "document" has helped someone along their reefing journey.

I'll be keeping an eye out for your thread! Feel free to drop by or PM anytime if/when you run into obstacles...

[ange062]

So I was close to running out of the Kent Tech Ca/Alk/Mg I have been using for ages and decided to try out the BRS stuff since it's much cheaper and doesn't require "shake before use" so that I can finally use a dosing pump!!

So today I ordered up the BRS 2-part total kit, and at the same same got a Tunze Osmolator and Bubble Magnus 3-way doser from my LFS. I'm really stoked about having the tank automated for 4+ days on it's own as my work travel schedule is going to pick up. At the same time, thinking about daily testing again to get my dosing schedule right kinda sucks.

And on top of that, I'm a bit disenchanted with the whole thing after numerous pest battles!! I've had AEFW nail two colonies and pyramid snails trying to knock out my clams. Kind of embarrassing to admit over here, but this thread is supposed to document progress to might as well put it out there:

AEFW:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2123829

Pyram Snails:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2119984

I'm making forward progress on both accounts. Looking forward to knocking out those pests and setting up a QT tank to prevent future occurances. Good thing I have yet to deal with fish sickness like ich, *knocks on wood*. Either way makes my GHA battle seem a little irrelevant...

Maybe I'll post some new pics in a few weeks, until then, I am on hiatus trying to get my relative disaster under control...

[krkosiba]

Why be embarrassed? It happens...when I first started my tank over a year ago I encounted the worst single-cell algae bloom. (possibly on record)

Picture says it all. Now that is embarrassing!

[ange062]

Originally Posted by krkosiba

Why be embarrassed? It happens...when I first started my tank over a year ago I encounted the worst single-cell algae bloom. (possibly on record)

Picture says it all. Now that is embarrassing!

I'd take a very beginning issue over a well established tank with I don't even want to count how much money in livestock in it issue.

No offense, but AEFW when I first started I could give a crap, but with 10+ acro's and 16 SPS colonies in my tank at a lot more then zero dollars each, and pyrams trying to kill my not so cheap clams I am a little bitter.

At this point I don't care about aesthetics, I'm just on full blown damage control...

[tandldel]

Ange. Really sorry to hear about both issues. I read both the threads and you are pursuing it with good due diligence. The advice on both threads is very sound. Do not be embarrassed it's unfortunately a part of the hobby and it sucks when it happens. I know I haven't dipped all my corals prior to putting in the dt and a qt is not always available. Best of luck and stay persistent I'm sure you will get it under control. Thanks for sharing this--- not everyone is willing to share the bad but this is how we all move the hobby forward and help when we can.

[ange062]

Originally Posted by tandldel

Ange. Really sorry to hear about both issues. I read both the threads and you are pursuing it with good due diligence. The advice on both threads is very sound. Do not be embarrassed it's unfortunately a part of the hobby and it sucks when it happens. I know I haven't dipped all my corals prior to putting in the dt and a qt is not always available. Best of luck and stay persistent I'm sure you will get it under control. Thanks for sharing this--- not everyone is willing to share the bad but this is how we all move the hobby forward and help when we can.

Thanks man! I really shouldn't be too upset, both pest issues seem very mild compared to many other cases I have seen, so hopefully I can beat it quick and the lesson has been learned. This is just a good excuse to setup another tank to QT in... Or turn this tank into the QT and setup a 50-60g custom built starfire shallow cube with an oversized custom stand...

[ange062]

Forgot to share a pic of this neat looking little flatworm eater.

[patrickbush]

COol shot dude!

[buddythelion]

Uh. I don't think that nudibranch eats flatworms...
...Does it? o.O

[ange062]

Originally Posted by buddythelion

Uh. I don't think that nudibranch eats flatworms...
...Does it? o.O

From what I have read, yes... Though the blue velvet is the really only PROVEN AEFW eater, I'm looking for one locally.

[john miller]

Originally Posted by ange062

... Or turn this tank into the qt and setup a 50-60g custom built starfire shallow cube with an oversized custom stand...

we have a winner!

[calistyle]

Great thread. Any time I get down on the journey with my tank,I use yours for a positive boost.

[A1_ramsey]

How well does the neon dottyback do in your tank? Is it aggressive toward the clowns? I love the colors of the fish and the livelyness of it I just herd they can get pretty aggressive toward other fish. Very inspirational tank too

[ange062]

Originally Posted by john miller

we have a winner!

LOL, one of these days, one of these days... I've been thinking about it a little too much already and planning out the stand. Ruh roh...

Originally Posted by calistyle

Great thread. Any time I get down on the journey with my tank,I use yours for a positive boost.

Thanks for the comment! And trust me, if you read through the whole thread there have been PLENTY of times where I was down, the key is to figure out how to solve the problem and move forward! It's actually half the fun, when you look at it in retrospect (though often sucks when you are still in the battle!).

Originally Posted by A1_ramsey

How well does the neon dottyback do in your tank? Is it aggressive toward the clowns? I love the colors of the fish and the livelyness of it I just herd they can get pretty aggressive toward other fish. Very inspirational tank too

It's definitely aggressive towards new additions, I've had to start using a breeder box after acclimation to let the dottyback get used to "looking" at new additions. Normally only lasts for about a day though. Overall I'd say it's a nice addition, very colorful and lively. The aggressiveness hasn't been a big problem in my tank. And thanks for the compliment!

[venom550pm]

sorry to hear about your losses bud. Dip, Dip, Dip. It's so easy and effective. I use 1/2 gallon verse a whole gallon and just use half the recommended dosage. Knock on wood, i haven't had any AEFW or Pyramid snails. I have had ich though a couple of times. Lost a blue hippo (in a previous much larger tank), a Potter's angel, and a Scott's Fairy Wrasse. Let's just say ich isn't fun. One of my clowns had it a few months ago, but he beat it!

Can't wait to see the pic of the new turaki!

Do you feed your clams at all?

[Dev1944]

What is the macro algae called that you have front and center? is it Fern Caulerpa? great looking tank.. wishing mine looked like that!

[ange062]

Originally Posted by Dev1944

What is the macro algae called that you have front and center? is it Fern Caulerpa? great looking tank.. wishing mine looked like that!

Caulerpa taxifolia, though I removed the last of it from the tank a few months back. Thanks for the comment on the tank!

[ange062]

So I started on getting my Bubble Magus 3-way Dosing Pump setup today. I bought it last week, but have been trying to figure out how/where to set it up. My original thought was to use my nearly empty Kent Tech bottles, but decided I wanted something translucent so I could check the levels at a glance. Further, I didn't want to risk evap and changing concentration through a required vent hole in a solid container. My original thought was an IV saline drip bag, but found they were not refillable so added complication. I finally found a couple of sweet Platypus "canteens" that had a soft shell and 800mL capacity at my local high-end outdoors store. This should allow for about 60-days between refills at current dosing levels, all while staying sealed. I drilled out the included lids and added airline connects sealed with RTV silicone.

I had hoped to put the pump itself on the hollow section of the JBJ stand where the stilts are, but it was too thick to fit so had to cram it into my already cramped cabinet. Lesson learned? My next cabinet will be well oversized to allow for all equipment to be stored out of the way and allow for a work surface next to the tank for waterchanges and such.

Here is how it turned out:





I haven't quite figured out how to route the lines into the false wall sump area. I am waiting for my Tunze Osmolator to get here tomorrow so I can get a solution for all 4 tubes at one time.

[sczlars]

hey Ange,

I think you'll really enjoy having a doser. I just hooked one up last december, and its made a huge difference to my quality of life (I was manually dosing twice a day, when I was home), and also the quality of life of my tank; VERY stable parameters. I dose 2-part B-Ionic 6 times/24hrs now, and it also handles my topoff nicely.

--Lars