Jasonanatal's JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI Nano Reef Aquarium.

[Jasonanatal]

Hello everyone, it has been quite some time since I have had the chance to sit down and share the joys of recreating a beautiful piece of the reef right within my own home. I have focused on the preservation of a Nano Reef Aquarium within my home so that I can share the experience with my now 1 month 6 day old son Jayson Michael Natal.

 

[Awibrandy]

So where are the pics?:headache:

 

[Jasonanatal]

Who Says Good Things Don't Come In Small Packages?

Life is full of difficult decisions especially when the decisions pertain to being able to provide for you family and participate in a hobby that you enjoy. So with that being said a large Reef Aquarium was definitely not in my future anytime soon. But that of course is not necessarily a bad thing. So I though why not venture into the world of Nano Aquariums. In my personal opinion it is definitely cheaper to setup and maintain. However, the benefit of being able to make a small mistake here and there that are acceptable in a larger aquarium definitely does not apply on this playing field. In the world of Nano Aquariums attention to detail is the key component in what seperates an aquarium that is doomed for catastrophe.

In search of the perfect aquarium to suite my needs I have decided to go with the JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI which has an open back for easy access and addition of external components and a stock 150 watt Metal Halide Lighting System with 14,000k Bulb, Dual 300gph Return Pumps, JBJ Wave Maker and Protein Skimmer. So the Ms. and I drove out to a Local Fish Store and purchased the setup with Aquarium & Stand for just over $750.00, not a bad deal in my thoughts.

Photograph Thursday October 25, 2007 - After a long drive and no help from any friends in lifting this Aquarium it is finally home. Too bad I actually have to go to work in 1 hour.

Photograph Thursday October 25, 2007 - The location for my new JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium. I painted the room for this occasion.

Photograph Thursday October 26, 2007 - Finally standing after 3 hours of ridiculous instructions to setup the stand, which I acutally had to hunt down instructions on Drs. Foster & Smith's website to complete the construction.

 

[EmilyT]

hehe puppy training pads.

 

[Jasonanatal]

A Strong Foundation Is Just The Beginning.

Well in my past experiences I have dabled with different types of sand from different manufacturers and I always find myself coming back to my favorite. CaribSea Arag-Alive Live Aragonite Reef Sand. Best part about it the sand is already seeded with beneficial bacteria to speed up the cycling process of new Aquariums. A 20 lbs. bag can be purchased for around $28.00.

Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - 20 lbs. of CaribSea Arag-Alive Live Aragonite Reef Sand made for the perfect sandbed. Looks absolutely beautiful as well.

Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - Fillling the Aquarium with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals and RO/DI Water using the good old fashioned bag trick to reduce the sandstorm.

Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - A beautiful look sand bed for the foundation of my greatest Aquarium ever.

 

[Jasonanatal]

Harnessing the Power of the Sun In Order to Create Life!

Lighting was an important factor in the consideration of selecting a Nano Aquarium that was suitable for creating a full blown SPS Dominated Nano Reef Aquarium. Many of the Nano Aquariums available on the market currently availble with only Power Compact Lighting Systems which can sustain Soft Coral such a Mushrooms and Leathers at best. Some customizing option are availble to upgrade to Metal Halide Lighting Systems but come at a cost of drilling or removing stock Aquarium parts in order to achieve this goal. The JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI that I selected is a new product that comes stock with a 150 watt Metal Halide HQI Lighting System with four 1 watt LED Moonlights already intregrated into the hood for a 24 hour lighting solution. The electronic Ballast is a bit huge for my taste but it has integrated sealed ball bearing fans that run silent within it and 4 sealed ball bearing fans that are also integrated into the hood.

Photograph Friday October 26, 2007 - Integrated 150 watt Metal Halide Lighting System with 14,000K Bulb and four 1 watt LED Moonlights. The glass is tempered to keep it from shattering from water condesation or splashing.

Photograph Friday October 26, 2007 - The Electornic HQI Ballast is a bit large for my taste but it has integrate seal ball bearing fans which run silent. Don't ever touch it though, its hot!

 

[Jasonanatal]

Temperature Swings: Managing Heat & Keeping It Cool.

Maintaining an environment while minimizing the fluctuations within temperature whether it be too hot or too cold is a common concern with Nano Aquariums. Since my Nano Aquarium has a Metal Halide Lighting System integrated into the hood it was time to put a chiller into play. I have integrated a JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller into the aquarium setup in order to cool things down a bit. But when the chiller does its job alittle too efficiently or the night time air cools the entire room I have installed a Marineland Visi-therm 100 watt Heater. The two pieces of equipment working in conjunction with each other manage to keep the Aquarium temperature within a range of 78.0 degrees Fahrenheit to 78.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The swing is minial at best but I'm thinking that sometime in the near future that I can install a Digital Aquarium Controller such as the Digital Reefkeeper 2 so that is can independantly controll both pieces of equipment to reduce the range even further.

Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - My JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller fed water by a Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead.

Photograph Friday, october 26, 2007 - Water Flow diagram for JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller and Phosphate/Carbon Reactor.

 

[Awibrandy]

Nice, can't wait to see it totally up, and running! Now, how about a pick of you & your wifes little frag?

 

[bad coffee]

looking good so far.

 

[NYreefNoob]

my current prime chiller has a outlet for a heater so it control's both heat ahd cooling, main reason i went with it, i also have a nano with mh, i have about a degree to 2 in flux in temp

 

[Jasonanatal]

The Family: My Little Piece of the Reef.

Just thought I would stray off topic a bit and show some photographs of my family and myself. Smile!

Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - Me and my little frag... I mean son Jayson Michael Natal taking a nap while mommy cooks.

Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - My little man in his camo Go Navy! (Yes the Navy actually wears camo.)

Photograph Thursday, October 25, 2007 - The little man and me at Beital's Aquarium. Already starting early or using him as an excuse to buy something for me... not entirely sure.

Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - The love of my life, my best friend and mother to my child Diana Rose Natal. She is the most beautiful mermaid I ever laid eyes on!

Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - The there just plain old me in need a shave desperately.

 

[Jasonanatal]

looking good so far.

Bad Coffee, thank you for the compliments.

 

[Jasonanatal]

my current prime chiller has a outlet for a heater so it control's both heat ahd cooling, main reason i went with it, i also have a nano with mh, i have about a degree to 2 in flux in temp

The JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller that I have has actually impressed me alot. It's rated for an aquarium no bigger then 30 gallons in total water volume but I've had it perform flawlessly on a system with 120 gallons of total water volume. Go figure!

 

[Jasonanatal]

Aquascaping the Reef: The Journey for the Perfect Live Rock Structures.

With a limited amount of space I found that I had to be pretty precise in what pieces of rock I would purchase to recreate what I believe in my opinion would be the perfect structures for my NanoAquarium. The difficult part would be locating such pieces that would allow for not only a natural look but allowing for the most real estate to place my SPS Coral, Clams, Polyps, etc. As many of us now purchasing Live Rock from a store comes with its pros and cons just like many other things. Your definitely going to pay a large amount and quite naturally walk out with very little rock since your rock is weighed wet and you may get some cool hitch hikers that you love or get some nasty terrors that you just can't seem to get rid of.

Well I decided to turn to a local member and sponsor of the Talking Reef website since I have heard such great feedback about the quality of his goods and services. I gave Marc from Marco Rocks "The Finest Aquarium Rock Available" a call... and another call... and yet another call... and an E-mail... and eventually after finding out about the Hurricane in his area I finally got in contact with him after much stalking! :cheers: I spoke with him about finding some of his signature pieces and placed my order. Now normally my patience is well... lets just say I have no patience. But I waited and wow is all I could say. My order of Marco Rocks was delivered in record time and the quality was amazing! I will never ever get my rock from anywere else. Thanks once again Marc for the assistance! So with Marc's cherry picked rocks and two sticks of Marineland Molding Putty I went to work (my wife thinks I should put up caution signs when I do this).

Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - My shipment of 27 lbs or Marco Rocks delivered via UPS. I'm glad the UPS driver thought this was too heavy to toss around (you should see some of my other deliveries).

Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - My Marco Rocks unpacked and quite frankly they are the most beautiful pieces of rock I have ever seen.

Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - After some trial and error and creative thinking my Captive Reef has been created... Gensis 2:2 And God had finished on the seventh day his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

 

[NYreefNoob]

beautiful looking family, and best of luck on new tank, i downgraded size wise and love the nano

 

[EmilyT]

awwwwwwww i love babiesss!!!!
wow! great aquascaping!

 

[Jasonanatal]

beautiful looking family, and best of luck on new tank, i downgraded size wise and love the nano

NYreefNoob, thank you for the compliments. I love the Nano Aquariums for the detail that the seem to display over larger aquariums. Definitely more focused in my personal opinion.

 

[Jasonanatal]

awwwwwwww i love babiesss!!!!
wow! great aquascaping!

Etompkins, thank you for the compliments. He is our first frag.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Looks good Jason. Did you have to cure the rocks?

 

[EmilyT]

i am really amazed! if i had smaller rock i would definately change my aquascape to that. Instead i have like a 20 pound blob