First Timer Aquapod 24 HQI questions

[Mr. Thingdoer]

After about 15 years of contemplation, I've decided to set up a nice little reef system. I've been doing a little research over the years, but in the past week decided on an Aquapod and have been focusing on that system in particular. So far, I've got a 24 gallon with HQI and a 200W heater in transit to be delivered on the 6th. I opted for the biocube stand for aesthetic reasons. I've read H20's 24 gallon adventure thread, and expect to do the eggcrate and floss mod, as well as upgrading the pump to the 1200. I am planning on ordering 25 pounds of live rock next week. Is there anything else I should consider? Who seems to have the best rock for the price, Premium Aquatics, or other? I just want to set this up right from the start.

[fox2589]

premium aquatics has very nice rock!its around 4-6 dollars a pound as well..nano rock is 4.50 a pound..i have all there nano rock in my tank..i also keep hearing about live rock and reef .com..people say there live rock is the best..more expensive but a thought...do u live around indy?

[Mr. Thingdoer]

I'm in the NW burbs of Chicago. I'm about an hour away from Indiana, 3 hours away from Indianapolis.

Holy cow! That Live Rock N Reef stuff looks amazing! I just got off the phone with Bill one of the divers there. He just dedicated a good 20 minutes of his time explaining how full of life their premium rock is. He also suggested a few things to me about setting up my new reef. The prices are a little higher, but I'm under the impression that you really get what you pay for from this place.

He suggests getting some CaribSea Arag-Alive and cycling the tank with Bacter vital first. He also suggested that once I cycle the sand for a week I'll be ready to drop in the premium live rock that I order from there without having to worry about any of the curing issues that I've read about. The fact that this stuff is direct from the divers to your tank in 12 hours or so ensures that the life on your rock is ready to thrive right out of the box with minimal die off. There was mention of the possibility of some real nice feather dusters or brain corals surviving the commute.

The customer service here appears to be A+

Does anybody have any experience with this place?

[fox2589]

ya it seems there pretty legit..yes bill also called me right away(didnt end up going that way because of money)...from what i hear its the best! or close to it...premium wont steer u wrong either keep that in mind! good luck

[jenajet]

Definitely go with a 1200 pump...I did the same. I would monitor your heat for a while before using the heater though. I know you are in a much colder climate than I am here in Ga, but I have never needed a heater in my pod. I also have the crappy canopy style pod so that also keeps the heat up. I also added 2 koralia nano powerheads for additional waterflow. One is behind my rock to keep detrius out of it and the other is in the top for movement. I have never bought rock online, I just like being able to pick the pieces I want. Congrats on starting the reefer madness, start planning the bigger tank now....it will happen! lol.

[Mr. Thingdoer]

Okay, so I placed an order for an API test kit, a Koralia nano, refractometer, toms digital thermometer. I think I'm set for the sand cycling.

Should I get a second Koralina right away?

I'm not sure how to get 25 gallons of water from the LFS to my house without investing in the $13.00 for a 2.5 gallon container from them.

Maybe I can find somebody to let me use their RO/DI to fill up.

[jenajet]

You can get water container's from walmart at a much better price. Go to the camping area and you'll find them. They have some that are clear and some that are blue. You can get them from 2.5 to 5 gallons. You don't need the additional koralia right away...I just got mine 2 for 1 on sale at the lfs so figured the more flow the better Be careful with the API test. The results were always way off on mine and I have heard others with similar experience. You want your tank to cycle before adding livestock at least a month maybe longer depending on the source of your rock....so you got plenty of time to add more equipment.

[kv2wr1]

I'm doing that exact setup myself. I would check some of your LFS for the best rock prices. They usually have deals going on or will give you a deal if you are a patron/member. Good Luck and happy reefing.

[RealRed]

On the 24g AquaPod....did you guys leave the "panels" inserted on the right where the vertical slats are located?

[RealRed]

One more question....do you leave BOTH blue sponges in?

[kv2wr1]

Originally Posted by RealRed

On the 24g AquaPod....did you guys leave the "panels" inserted on the right where the vertical slats are located?

I will on mine. Some people actually cut part of an old cd case and make another pannel not as big as the other panels. They do this since they are running their water levels higher or want more of an overflow into the rear chambers (so I've noticed).

[kv2wr1]

Originally Posted by RealRed

One more question....do you leave BOTH blue sponges in?

I plan on leaving in one for cycling but after that I'm moving to a skimmer, filter floss, chaeto, chemi-pure elite, possibly phosban and purigen.

[RealRed]

wow, i hate to admit ignorance...but I have NO idea how to do all that. Will I be in a mess if I keep using the blue sponges? I've used both so far. I'm at 6 months....so I should only use one? the instructions that came with the system were terribly incomplete so I've been guessing.

thank you. good luck on your plans KV

[kv2wr1]

Originally Posted by RealRed

wow, i hate to admit ignorance...but I have NO idea how to do all that. Will I be in a mess if I keep using the blue sponges? I've used both so far. I'm at 6 months....so I should only use one? the instructions that came with the system were terribly incomplete so I've been guessing.

thank you. good luck on your plans KV

If everything is working fine, I wouldn't change it. What works for one may or may not work for another. I found that out the hard way when I tryed to copy a guy's picotank to a "t". Didn't work for me so I modified it a bit and now the tank is doing well.

[saw wave analog]

check out my tank here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtkMQdgx6To

that is my 10 month old 24g aquapod with a 150w sunpod MH. i dont have any filtration of any kind on it. no sponges in te back, no chemicals, no skimmer, no floss, no fuge... nothing. i havent even changed the water in 5 or so months lol. its just an aquapod and a korila1 with a kalk dripper. i feed every 2 to 3 days and my nitrates are always 0, lots of growth and color. this is my first tank as well so its not like i know any secrets heh. if you want to see my growth rate look in my other videos, i have one from feb. and one from last november. some of the sps has doubled in size during that period.

its a bit overwhelming at first, but you really dont need anything other than water and a light, and, if you want sps- a calcium source. i just use gallon jugs of distilled walmart water and pickling lime as my kalk. its like a dollar a week to do it that way. my tank is as low tech as they come and as far as i can tell it is doing great, so dont freak out over what accessories to buy for it.. you probably dont really need any of them. i used to have an aquaremora skimmer but i sold it because it is very hard to keep microbubbles under control in a tank this size