24 gallon Aquapod setup by a total newbie

[plakatos]

Hi all, I've been reading a lot about nano-reefs in books and on multiple forums and I found it so fascinating that I decided to set up an aquarium myself. I bought a 24 gallon Aquapod aquarium (64w pc version) with the factory stand (which I might replace with a cabinet because it doesn't seem very stable). It arrived today, so I filled it up with tap water to check for leaks. I am planning to keep tap water in it for 2 days or so, but after that I'll clean it out and plan to purchase 30 pounds of live sand. Does this seem like the right amount (the base of the aquarium is 19x17 inches)? Also, I am planning to buy 'Nature's ocean bio-activ live aragonite live sand' at Petco, do you think this is ok?

 

[cali_reef]

Get some dry sand and live rock, the live sand cost more and you don't get much from it.

Good luck in your new adventure

 

[tosiek]

They are great starter tanks but get ready for big modifications to your hood if you plan on adding a skimmer or a HoB Refugium, or descide to upgrade your lighting. All the skimmers that they say fit inside the nano do not work, you will have to get yourself a hang on the back skimmer.

Whats your experience in reefkeeping? what are you planning on keeping?

I have a 24 gallon JBJ nanocube =0)

 

[DonCisco]

Aquapods are great as starter tank, they can be easy to keep. The one thing that is true also is that if you want to upgrade the lighting, you have to modify the tank. DO NOT get the Current Fission skimmer, ( I bought one, and it is a piece of.... plastic that doesn't do anything). Another good source of information and of ideas is www.nano-reef.com. They have an aquapod 24 thread. They have really good ideas for some modifications that you can do before you set the tank up, especially regarding water flow. Also, there is a small (tiny) company that started making nano skimmers that actually work... www.sapphireaquatics.com
I just bought a skimmer for my 12G and it actually works, so far it is generating a decent amount of skimmate. They don't have one for the Aquapod 24 yet, they are in the process of making one. Read the advice that ppl give you here, everyone is amazing, and there is a real wealth of information and experience here.
Best of luck.
Tosiek... that company does have a skimmer for the nanocubes.
Francisco

 

[digitalreefer]

You can seed your sand with a cup of sand from an established tank... the stuff at Petland/Petco isn't so great from what I've heard. Also... whatever you do DO NOT USE TAPWATER in your tank. Get some RO/DI water or use distilled water. I started my tank with tap water and have regretted it for months. Spend the extra $100 and get an RO/DI from eBay or you'll fight cyano and algae forever.

 

[plakatos]

Thank you for your relies, they are all very helpful. I am planning to go pretty slow on the tank setup so that I still have time to read and modify things if I need to. I'll keep posting as I go, and I'll probably have lots of more questions.
Tosiek...I have no experience in reefkeeping, and I'm not sure yet what I want, I am looking into it. I plan to keep corals which are fairly failsafe.

 

[DonCisco]

I plan to keep corals which are fairly failsafe.

:tongue1:

I am sure some ppl might disagree with you, but you are doing the right thing, just remember to be patient. Never use tap water, no matter how many conditioners, or chemicals you put in it. I dont' know if anyone has recommended, but you should upgrade your pump. The standard AP pumps are not very robust. I have a Rio pump (because when I needed it, that was the fastest one to find).
Also remember that for the most part, what you pay for something is what you will get back. There are a lot of gadgets out there that promise a lot, and deliver nothing. So, don't throw your money out. Research, ask questions, have patience and you will do great.

 

[plakatos]

I'll remember never to use tapwater (except for the leak test I'm doing now). I went to 'Pet Pantry Warehouse' in CT and purchased a bag of 'Fiji Pink' and a bag of 'West Caribbean Reef' Arag-Alive sand (reading all the forums they seemed like a safe bet), which I plan to mix. The next steps will be to get out the tapwater, clean out the tank, replace the pump with a Maxijet 900 (which arrived today), then fill it half with saltwater, pour in the sand, and after waiting a day get 20 pounds of live rock (I saw House of Fish has cured live rock I contacted them). If you think something is wrong with these steps, please correct me. Thank you!

 

[tosiek]

Just make sure when you add the LR to make sure that it has a firm footing along the bottom piece of glass when you add it. The various worms and snails and critters will eventually move the sand around under the rocks and topple your LR if its layed on the sand alone.

 

[R32Brightliner]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Make sure you have test kits to monitor your water as your tank cycles.

Good luck with this great and exciting hobby and welcome to MR

 

[plakatos]

Thank you again for all the advice, I replaced the stock pump with an MJ 900 (still waiting for the Hydor Flo to arrive), put in a 75W Visi-therm stealth heater, and removed the bio-balls and the ceramic media (left in the sponge filter).
Last Sunday I've put in salt water (catalina real ocean water), and added about 35 pounds of live sand. 3 days ago (thursday) I got 30 pounds of beatiful cured live rock from House of fish (thanks masterswimmer!). Since than I am running the aquarium, and the water temperature is very stable between 80 and 81 (I decided to set it this high because I read that these aquapods tend to be warm, and I wanted no temperature change with the lights on).
Yesterday I tested some water parameters (Seachem Multitest, Marine basic kit), here are the results:
Temperature: 80 F
Ph: 8.1
Alkalinity 4 meq/L (11.2 ppm)
Free Ammonia 0 mg/ml
Total Ammonia 0.1 mg/ml
Nitrite 0 mg/ml
Nitrate 2 mg/ml
Specific Gravity 1.026

Is there anything else I should be measuring? How often should I repeat these measurements? And my final question is: what should happen to these parameters? Is it a problem if the ammonia stays this low during cycling?
Here are 2 pics of the aquarium as it stands now:

 

[tosiek]

think you've read or heard everything about cycling but the ammonia should spike, then the nitrites then both go down and you should start building nitrates. Thats when the tank is cycled. With the small tanks, according to alot of people in the nano threads, the cycles happen within a day or less, so sometimes you might miss the actual cycle overnight. In my tank, i had a little ammonia for 3 days then it dissapeared and my trites started to go up. Waited about two weeks and started adding the cleaning crew and stuff.

Your gonna want to test your calcium levels also if your gonna keep coral, as alot of coral out there use calcium as a building block in growth. Also calcium and alk are related, lower alk means higher calc, lower calc means higher alk.

 

[masterswimmer]

Peter, very nice pieces you selected. Lots of nice nooks and crannies to place your corals/frags. I'm excited to see your tank 'grow out'.

swimmer

 

[DonCisco]

Very nice tank and LR formation. I would recommend that you get tests for Calcium, and phosphate. Nitrate and phosphate go hand in hand when it comes to nuisance algae growth. I test all my parameters once a week. I also got the Seachem constant ammonia monitor. It will change color if ammonia raises, it has a 5 min reaction time, so it is fairly fast (if you monitor).
In the nanos we need to be more aware that a change in parameters will happen much faster than in a huge tank. (If an anemone dies in a large tank it will be bad, but in a nano it can wipe out all your livestock.)
Have some Ro/di water available always. Because you will need to add water to compensate for evaporation.
The only parameter that I thought was kind of high was your S.G. 1.026 is a bit outside of normal reef parameters. (1.022 to 1.024)

 

[tosiek]

yeah, i fill up empty soda bottles, runs about a liter a day for water evap. =0)

 

[masterswimmer]

The only parameter that I thought was kind of high was your S.G. 1.026 is a bit outside of normal reef parameters. (1.022 to 1.024)

Don, NSW (Natural Sea Water) is ~ 1.0265 and that's what I run my tanks at. So 1.026 is spot on, IMO

swimmer

 

[DonCisco]

well, Russ what can I do now? I come from a sweet saltwater taffy ocean? I guess I see the hydrometers and 1.024 is where the red numbers end... I assumed that is the high end of the salinity.

 

[masterswimmer]

Don, you're right when it comes to hydrometers (the way they mark their scale). That's why we have to get you to graduate to a refractometer. :hug:

swimming wit da fish

 

[tosiek]

your a pro reefer if you can taste test the salinity off your finger. thats the PHD of reefkeeping.

 

[masterswimmer]

your a pro reefer if you can taste test the salinity off your finger. thats the PHD of reefkeeping.