Thestranger66's 28 gal JBJ HQI nano cube

Hey guys,

I have been lurking in the background for the last few weeks attempting to expand my knowledge on marine aquariums. Thanks to all of the knowledgable and helpful members, (luna, bmshehan... to name a few) I have finally got my parents to break down and buy me a beginner nano cube. I am going to try and keep everyone updated on its progress, so without furthur ado, here are some pics. (I setup the tank last night);D

Led Moonlights:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1480.jpg

Electronics:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1483.jpg

Sump:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1484.jpg

HQI 150 watt:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1485.jpg

Bottom:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1486.jpg

Water:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1487.jpg

I have two questions about my tank: On the bottom of the tank you can see tape residue leftover from packing tape that i peeled off the bottom. I did my best with a razor blade and was not able to remove all of it; will it mess with my water parameters. Also, if you looks at the picture labeled "water" The water is a little cloudy still and I can decide if that is a result of some left over dust or of something else. If anybody has answers to these questions that would be great.

thestranger66

 

Welcome to 3 reef and congrats on the new tank. I got my JBJ 28 gal hqi in may. My biggest complaint with it is that you cant open the hood without taking the skimmer out, other than that it is great. As to the cloudiness, Did you mix the salt in the tank, if so it is just dissolving and will clear soon. try to scrape the residue now with saltwater in the tank, I have found out through my yearsas a commercial fisherman in alaska that it is a great solvent.

 

Welcome to 3 reef. I wouldn't worry if there is a little residue left, shouldn't hurt anything. As to the cloudiness, did you wash the tank out before hand? It could just be settling

 

Yeager,

Thanks alot on the tape advice. And I am totally with you on the protein skimmer. By the way how has the skimmer been working for you? However, regarding the cloudy water, I bought the water from my lfs (very high quality lfs [greenwichaquaria.com]) and it was mixed by them. So unless the salt began to sperate in the four days I had it sitting out in the garage at 40 degress I dont think it is the salt.

Guitar man,

I was unable to thoroughly clean the sump because of the small spaces which I believe the most of the dirt was collected. How long do you think it would take for this to settle and would it be safe to add a cycling fish this weekend? (I will be adding sand and lr)

 

I have found that i have to clean the entre skimmer out once every 2 to 3 weeks, when it quits producing enough bubbles. The limewood stone gets very gunked up and quits producing fine bubbles. I just go to Acehardware and buy a piece of lime wood and drill a hole to incert 1/4 inch hose fittings for sprinkler drip sytems. I just unscrewed the hinges for the hood and have it so i can just take it off and lay it on a table. The litlte legs are too wobbly.

 

Welcome to 3Reef>>>>> Awesome tank...

 

You can put a little piece of filter floss on the backside of the intake/overflow to help clear up the water. Any large particles will get trapped. Stir up the water as much as you can in the filtration compartment to get that dirt out. You don't want to risk having any contaminants in the water.
What you want to do is add your LR then put in your LS, that will keep your rock more stable. Let that run and cycle fully before you add fish. If you want to cycle your tank without having to buy a starter fish, you can use a 1/4 cup (or less) of pure ammonia and put that into your tank. A small fish will produce very little waste to kick start the ammonia cycle. Make sure it is pure ammonia and not added with detergents, like Windex. Watch for the Ammonia spike to settle, then your Nitrates will spike. Wait for the Nitrates to settle to Zero and then you can add one small fish.

 

Hey guys,

Sorry it has taken me so long to give an update. I have been pretty busy this week and haven't been able to get around to it.

Well anyways, my tank is coming along nicely. On Saturday afternoon, I got my live sand (carib sea direct) and live rock from my lfs. I am not sure how much live rock I got but my lfs only charged me for 7 lbs, (I know it was more live 12-14lbs);D. I also picked up two elos test kits, one for n03 and one for p04. My nitrates were 0 so I ran out to petco and got a little blue damsel and a clownfish. They both seem to be farily happy and get along really well. On thursday, I bought a thermometer and found that my tank was sitting in the 85-87 dgree F range while the HQI was on so I have started to prop the hood open until I find a better solution. Antoher problem I am noticing is that I am getting some brown algae or diatoms all over my tank. Any ideas?

Here are some pics:

HQI turning on:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1496.jpg

Front Shot:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1497.jpg

Some tries at fish pics with the macro lens:
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1499.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1500.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1502.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1503.jpg

http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc345/thestranger66/marine tank/DSCN1504.jpg


-thestranger66

 

Nice aquascapeing 66, looks like you have some hitchhikers on your rock!

 

Hey man, congrats on the tank! Looks like a good start.