Nano-Cube Help

[jeffer]

I am getting ready to purchase a 12G Deluxe Nano-Cube.

This is a brave new world for me, I have not had a reef tank for about a decade now, and I see many things have changed.

My last reef tank was a 70g tank that I had 6 VHO flourescent bulbs above (mostly actinic, if I recall), I also had a wet/dry filter with a 15G sump, using bioballs and ChemiPure. I used ozone and had an Ozone Reactor, CO2 Reactor and a powerfull Venturi protein Skimmer. I also used a calcium doser and I built a wavemaker timing system to drive 2 large powerheads.

This was a great experience although costly and time consuming. I am intrigued by the Nano reefs. The question I have is with the cube I'm getting do I need any auxillary filtration or is the stock filtration enough?

How much Live sand, thickness that is? I'm wary of too much, because back when I was doing this, we tried to avoid any kind of anaerobic condition, thats apparently now I want. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks
Jeff

[simpleman]

Hey jeffer,

I'm a newbie here and I've been reading some of the threads and came across yours...I'm in the same boat myself...and basically the same set of circumstances as you...had a 55g fish/invert tank about a decade ago myself...very successful till we had to bomb the house for fleas...did what I could, but everything crashed about a month later...even with all of the precautions.

Anyways, I received a 12g Nano Cube for Xmas and decided to go ahead and take a crack at the live reef (10-12#argonite, 15-20# live rock, some corals, a cleaing crew and a few 1 in fish...all in that order basically). Right now the tank is setup, no filter media, empty (no, substrate, live rock, etc...just saltwater and it's circulating) temp is 78deg, sg 1.023 (finally...had a hell of a time getting it there, even mixing to the directions, I had to add about another .25# to get it to 1.023)...right now my ph is around 7.93 using a calibrated (cal @ 7.0) hanna meter...haven't tried the ph test kit (drops) yet. I've tried adding baking soda to raise the ph, but it won't budge...was hoping to at least add the live rock and argonite by now, but the low ph has me concerned and befuddled...going to try a solution of 100% sodium carbonate to see if that does the trick.

Main question for me here is, after the proper level has been reached (8.2-8.3) will it be ok to add the live rock and argonite? I plan on letting the rock cure for a month and then add corals and stock...but kinda stuck at this point.

Anyone have any ideas?

[labooe43]

simpleman... are you purchasing RO/DI water from your LFS or are you using tap water? You shouldn't be having the Ph problems that you are.

jeffer... welcome back to the hobby! I'd say 1 and a half to 2 inch live sand subtrate and 10-15 lbs of live rock. that is all the filtration you need (using the Berlin method). All you would have to do then is provide enough water movement to allow the rock and sand to do its job. Remove all the media from the h/o filter you have and it will provide some circulation, though not enough for a reef. I would also get a micro-jet power head or two. they are like $11 at your LFS.

Welcome, again! hope this helps.