Jasonanatal's JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI Nano Reef Aquarium.
- Thread starter Jasonanatal
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Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Jlaudio, thank you very much for the compliments.
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Mankc, thank you very much for the compliments.
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Our Habitual Duty, the Good Old Fashion Water Change.
During a normal day on the forum we Reef Aquarist can be onslaughted with different debates concerning what duration Photo-period is mody beneficial for our Corals or what Salt Manufacturer to use for your Salt Mixes and what level your Salinity should be at, etc. But in a world where I do it this way and it works and you do it the opposite and it works one thing we can all agree on. Their are no substitutions for water changes! Whether your Aquarium has been established for 1 month and you do weekly water changes or your aquarium has been estblished for years and you have your routine of doing water changes every 2 months it al narrows done to this one little fact. Water changes eventually have to be done and in an Nano Aquarium such as mine. Water changes are the deciding factor if all the money that I spent provides a beautiful habitat that my little one can thrive in or if I just wasted thousands of dollars for the world's most expensive headache.
My JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium receives weekly water changes every Saturday (Water changes used to take place on Sunday but my work schedule changed). But I can't just mix up a bucket of Saltwater and throw it right in. Due to the small volume in the system (28 gallons minus the space taken by the Live Rock, Live Sand, some of which I managed to recapture which the use of the chambers in my Aqua Ultraviolter 25 watt Sterilizer and Precision Marine Fluidized Bed Reactor) I have to properly prepare my Saltwater and get as closely to the temperature, salinity and pH in an attempt to minimize as much stress as possible for the inhabitants. I do so by incorporating a few devices listed below:
Photograph - My generic 75 gpd. RO/DI Filtration System. This monopolizes my bathroom and causes my wife to yell at my while I'm Filtering Tap Water.
Photograph - Aquatec CDP 8800 Water Presure Booster. Most of us don't have the required water pressure within our home to operate an RO/DI unit without one of these. This one increases water pressure from 40 PSI to 120 PSI (water pressure is required to push water through the RO Membrane).
Photograph - Hannah Instruments TDS Meter. I use this each time I Filter a bucket of RO/DI water to ensure that I am getting the purest water possible and to red flag when either the Deionization Resin, Carbon Block, Sediment Block or Reverse Osmosis Membrane require replacing (when the TDS reading rises above 000 PPM that is a red flag).
Photograph - Color Changing Deionization Resin. This is on of the first items I look to replace when my TDS reading is not 000 PPM. The color changes from Black to Brown indicating that the lifespan of the chemical has been reached.
Photograph - Kent Marine Salt Mix. I just switched to this Salt Mix since Kent Marine is making some pretty strong statements concerning quality we will see how it holds up.
Photograph - The final process of my water change. My trusty 5 gallon bucket, Pondmaster Mag 7 Water Pump for mixing, Marineland Stealth Visi-Therm Heater and a Coralife Thermometer for knowing when my bucket of water's temperature is the same as the Aquarium's
During a normal day on the forum we Reef Aquarist can be onslaughted with different debates concerning what duration Photo-period is mody beneficial for our Corals or what Salt Manufacturer to use for your Salt Mixes and what level your Salinity should be at, etc. But in a world where I do it this way and it works and you do it the opposite and it works one thing we can all agree on. Their are no substitutions for water changes! Whether your Aquarium has been established for 1 month and you do weekly water changes or your aquarium has been estblished for years and you have your routine of doing water changes every 2 months it al narrows done to this one little fact. Water changes eventually have to be done and in an Nano Aquarium such as mine. Water changes are the deciding factor if all the money that I spent provides a beautiful habitat that my little one can thrive in or if I just wasted thousands of dollars for the world's most expensive headache.
My JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium receives weekly water changes every Saturday (Water changes used to take place on Sunday but my work schedule changed). But I can't just mix up a bucket of Saltwater and throw it right in. Due to the small volume in the system (28 gallons minus the space taken by the Live Rock, Live Sand, some of which I managed to recapture which the use of the chambers in my Aqua Ultraviolter 25 watt Sterilizer and Precision Marine Fluidized Bed Reactor) I have to properly prepare my Saltwater and get as closely to the temperature, salinity and pH in an attempt to minimize as much stress as possible for the inhabitants. I do so by incorporating a few devices listed below:
- Two 5 gallon Buckets. One bucket to mix my Saltwater in and one bucket to syphon just the right amount of water out of my 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium when performing my water changes.
- One 200 watt Marineland Stealth Visi-Therm Heater. Great for quickly raising the temperature of 5 gallons of water to 76.00 Degrees Fahrenheit which is were I prefer to keep my 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium water temperature at.
- One Pondmaster Mag 7 water pump. Placed with the bucket and plenty of power to spare when mixing the Salt into the RO/DI Freshwater. Definitely beats mixing Saltwater by hand.
- One Coralife thermometer. Allows me to monitor the temperature of the water so I know when it matches my 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium.
- An RO/DI Filtration System. An absolute must in my book when keeping a Marine Aquarium.
- A TDS Meter. A Measurement device used to ensure that Total Dissolved Solvement or TDS is as close to 000 PPM as possible.
- Salt Mix. I personally used Instant Ocean since I started in the hobby but just this past week I switched to Kent Marine. I'm interested to see if their clams stand up.
Photograph - My generic 75 gpd. RO/DI Filtration System. This monopolizes my bathroom and causes my wife to yell at my while I'm Filtering Tap Water.
Photograph - Aquatec CDP 8800 Water Presure Booster. Most of us don't have the required water pressure within our home to operate an RO/DI unit without one of these. This one increases water pressure from 40 PSI to 120 PSI (water pressure is required to push water through the RO Membrane).
Photograph - Color Changing Deionization Resin. This is on of the first items I look to replace when my TDS reading is not 000 PPM. The color changes from Black to Brown indicating that the lifespan of the chemical has been reached.
Photograph - Kent Marine Salt Mix. I just switched to this Salt Mix since Kent Marine is making some pretty strong statements concerning quality we will see how it holds up.
Photograph - The final process of my water change. My trusty 5 gallon bucket, Pondmaster Mag 7 Water Pump for mixing, Marineland Stealth Visi-Therm Heater and a Coralife Thermometer for knowing when my bucket of water's temperature is the same as the Aquarium's
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Video of My JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium.
Hello everyone, this is my first video of my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium shot Saturday, November 01, 2007. It nothing great but I'm sure I will be putting something together in the weeks to come. Enjoy!
Hello everyone, this is my first video of my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium shot Saturday, November 01, 2007. It nothing great but I'm sure I will be putting something together in the weeks to come. Enjoy!
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pnoyreefer
Pek-P3K LicK3I2
- Location
- Washington NNJ 07882
Very nice Jason .. I love your Aquascape as well... I have a AP24 and your rockwork will make me re do my tank 
.. Goodluck and hope more pics to come ...
.. Goodluck and hope more pics to come ...Jasonanatal
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- Location
- Off the farm...
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Eznet2u, thank you very much for the compliments. I wish I could have gotten a photograph when I started talking to my son about going to the Frag Swap and seeing the smile on his face! I would definitely look you up and help a fellow Reef Aquarist in any way possible. I don't think my aquascaping would be possible if it weren't for Marco Rocks quality rock.
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Etompkins, thank you very much for the compliments. It means a lot to me since I put some very careful consideration as to what Base Rock to purchase, where to purchase it and how much of it I needed.
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Very nice Jason .. I love your Aquascape as well... I have a AP24 and your rockwork will make me re do my tank
Pnoyreefer, thank you very much for the compliments. I would love to view the progress of your aquascaping on your Aquarium so definitely keep me posted. Also their are definitely more photographs to come. Santa visited me a bit early this year but I had a very busy weekend that kept me from posting but hopefully some time will free up today.
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Drperetz, thank you for the compliments.
Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
Thread Rating Request.
Could everyone take some time to Rate this Thread located in the upper right hand corner. It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Could everyone take some time to Rate this Thread located in the upper right hand corner. It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
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Jasonanatal
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Off the farm...
Signs of Progress Which Tells Me I'm Doing Something Right.
We all spend hours and hours if not days in front of our Reef Aquariums looking for just the slightest signs of success. This could mean a spot of Coraline Algae on an area of Live Rock or even the growth of your favorite SPS Coral. Either way we get that fuzzy warm feeling inside and a sense of accomplishment in a hobby where attention to detail can never be understated if success if your goal. I've been keeping Reef Aquariums for about 2 years and in what I consider my best Reef Aquarium yet I managed to see a sign of success. Which I feel great because in my two years of maintaining a Reef Aquarium I have never accomplished this or at least been able to view it happen and bringing into consideration the size of my Reef Aquarium in relation to the difficulty make me say "look hunny all that time and money paid off".
My Electric Bue Legged Hermit Crab decided that it was time for some new clothes. I saw some of the legs laying at the bottom of the Sandbed and immediately searched for the little guy in a panic. After locating him hanging underneath my little drop-off my worries were over and then came the wow I've never sustained an environment where this could happen. I consider this a milestone in my Reef Aquarium which make me very happy!
Photograph - First signs of death for my Electric Blue Hermit Crab and I start to panic.
Photograph - More signs of death and no Eletric Blue Hermit Crab in sight.
Photograph - Time to accept the fact that I may never have my little Electric Blue Hermit Crab anymore. My Halloween Hermit Crab is going to be lonely.
Photograph - Found the little guy hanging out with the rest of the gang showing off his new clothes.
We all spend hours and hours if not days in front of our Reef Aquariums looking for just the slightest signs of success. This could mean a spot of Coraline Algae on an area of Live Rock or even the growth of your favorite SPS Coral. Either way we get that fuzzy warm feeling inside and a sense of accomplishment in a hobby where attention to detail can never be understated if success if your goal. I've been keeping Reef Aquariums for about 2 years and in what I consider my best Reef Aquarium yet I managed to see a sign of success. Which I feel great because in my two years of maintaining a Reef Aquarium I have never accomplished this or at least been able to view it happen and bringing into consideration the size of my Reef Aquarium in relation to the difficulty make me say "look hunny all that time and money paid off".
My Electric Bue Legged Hermit Crab decided that it was time for some new clothes. I saw some of the legs laying at the bottom of the Sandbed and immediately searched for the little guy in a panic. After locating him hanging underneath my little drop-off my worries were over and then came the wow I've never sustained an environment where this could happen. I consider this a milestone in my Reef Aquarium which make me very happy!
Photograph - First signs of death for my Electric Blue Hermit Crab and I start to panic.
Photograph - More signs of death and no Eletric Blue Hermit Crab in sight.
Photograph - Time to accept the fact that I may never have my little Electric Blue Hermit Crab anymore. My Halloween Hermit Crab is going to be lonely.
Photograph - Found the little guy hanging out with the rest of the gang showing off his new clothes.
Jasonanatal
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- Location
- Off the farm...
Santa Made An Early Delivery featuring My New Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer.
Well everyone knows that it's not fair to everyone else within your family to purchase anything right before Christmas but I was really never one to concern myself with something like that especially when it comes to my 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium. With help of my credit card, Marine Depot and FedEx my new Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer was delivered early by Santa.
No everyone knows that with a limited water volume as in the case of my Nano Reef Aquarium it very difficult to maintain prestine water quality without the use of some fancy gadgetry... that is the case unless your a fan of daily to bi-daily water changes which I'm not! So I searched the Internet and Polled the Forums in search of a great Protein Skimmer for my setup. Now me selection was extremely limited since I had factors effecting what I could and could not purchase. These factors included:
Well after a few days of monitoring and documentation I can say hands down this is the most efficient and absolutely silent running Protein Skimmer I have ever used. Their are no micro-bubbles produced as a byproduct of the Foam Fractionization process and the sludge that this thing pulls out is comparitive to mud. Also the collection cup requires no twisting or unlatching to remove it. Simply grab and lift and it slides out with no problem. Best of all you don't have to turn off the Tunze Nano DOC Protein Skimmer 9002 when emptying and cleaning the collection cup. The Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer received the seal of approval from me hands down!
Personal Observation: Unfortunately the Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer fits very snuggly within the Rear Center Chamber of my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium. However, the collection cup cannot be mounted properly withithout removing the Integrated Hood of the Nano Reef Aquarium entirely, unlatching the Integrated Hood and resting it in a position where it crosses the top edge of the top of the Nano Reef Aquarium Glass or Using a Dremil tool to modify the Read of the Integrated Hood to allow for the collection cup to sit properly on the Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer body. Also note that the skimmer requires that the collection cup sit properly on the body without any break in the seal or the Protein Skimmer will not function as all!
Video - This video was shot just a couple of hours after the installation of the Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer. Please excuse the fact that the video is sideways.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer. A small package with big results.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer in operation Day #2.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer in operation Day #3.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer in operation Day #4.
Well everyone knows that it's not fair to everyone else within your family to purchase anything right before Christmas but I was really never one to concern myself with something like that especially when it comes to my 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium. With help of my credit card, Marine Depot and FedEx my new Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer was delivered early by Santa.
No everyone knows that with a limited water volume as in the case of my Nano Reef Aquarium it very difficult to maintain prestine water quality without the use of some fancy gadgetry... that is the case unless your a fan of daily to bi-daily water changes which I'm not! So I searched the Internet and Polled the Forums in search of a great Protein Skimmer for my setup. Now me selection was extremely limited since I had factors effecting what I could and could not purchase. These factors included:
- Size of the Protein Skimmer, which affected where I could place the Protein Skimmer on the rear of my Nano Reef Aquarium.
- Performance/Efficiency of the Protein Skimmer, which affected what type of bioload my Nano Reef Aquarium could sustain and what type of Corals and Livestock I could house.
- Price of the Protein Skimmer, well lets face it I don't want to be left withouth any Christmas shopping money. My wife would murder me!
Well after a few days of monitoring and documentation I can say hands down this is the most efficient and absolutely silent running Protein Skimmer I have ever used. Their are no micro-bubbles produced as a byproduct of the Foam Fractionization process and the sludge that this thing pulls out is comparitive to mud. Also the collection cup requires no twisting or unlatching to remove it. Simply grab and lift and it slides out with no problem. Best of all you don't have to turn off the Tunze Nano DOC Protein Skimmer 9002 when emptying and cleaning the collection cup. The Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer received the seal of approval from me hands down!
Personal Observation: Unfortunately the Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer fits very snuggly within the Rear Center Chamber of my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium. However, the collection cup cannot be mounted properly withithout removing the Integrated Hood of the Nano Reef Aquarium entirely, unlatching the Integrated Hood and resting it in a position where it crosses the top edge of the top of the Nano Reef Aquarium Glass or Using a Dremil tool to modify the Read of the Integrated Hood to allow for the collection cup to sit properly on the Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer body. Also note that the skimmer requires that the collection cup sit properly on the body without any break in the seal or the Protein Skimmer will not function as all!
Video - This video was shot just a couple of hours after the installation of the Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer. Please excuse the fact that the video is sideways.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer. A small package with big results.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer in operation Day #2.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer in operation Day #3.
Photograph - Tunze Nano DOC 9002 Protein Skimmer in operation Day #4.
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Jasonanatal
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- Off the farm...
My Most Prized and Only Derasa Clam.
Here is my 6 month old Derasa Clam. It has grown substatially while in my posession and has relocated 3 times in the 6 month period. It's first home was a 90 gallon SPS Reef Aquarium that was tore down do to associated maintenance expenses being too high. The second home was a 10 gallon Aqurium with 300 watt of Metal Halide lighting which was a halfway home for my most recent setup and it's final destination. During the time in its second home a 1 inch Bleech spot formed on the Mantel which is most likely due to too much light and a very immature Aquarium setup. It's new home and final destination... at least for the time being is my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium which has been up and running for 7 weeks now. It is very happy and since being housed in its new home has recovered from it's Bleeched Spot. The Derasa clam is roughly 3 inches in Width, has an amazing Mantel extension and has some significant weight when out of water I'm estimating 6 lbs to 7 lbs roughly. It is fed Marine Snow once a week on Mondays and a mixture of Cyclopeeze and Mysis Shrimp once a week Wednesdays as well. Funny thing is my Gold Stripped Maroon Clownfish has decided to host within it and honestly it doesn't seem to mind. Go figure!
Photograph - My 6 month old Derasa Clam. My most beautiful Clam specimen.
Here is my 6 month old Derasa Clam. It has grown substatially while in my posession and has relocated 3 times in the 6 month period. It's first home was a 90 gallon SPS Reef Aquarium that was tore down do to associated maintenance expenses being too high. The second home was a 10 gallon Aqurium with 300 watt of Metal Halide lighting which was a halfway home for my most recent setup and it's final destination. During the time in its second home a 1 inch Bleech spot formed on the Mantel which is most likely due to too much light and a very immature Aquarium setup. It's new home and final destination... at least for the time being is my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium which has been up and running for 7 weeks now. It is very happy and since being housed in its new home has recovered from it's Bleeched Spot. The Derasa clam is roughly 3 inches in Width, has an amazing Mantel extension and has some significant weight when out of water I'm estimating 6 lbs to 7 lbs roughly. It is fed Marine Snow once a week on Mondays and a mixture of Cyclopeeze and Mysis Shrimp once a week Wednesdays as well. Funny thing is my Gold Stripped Maroon Clownfish has decided to host within it and honestly it doesn't seem to mind. Go figure!
Photograph - My 6 month old Derasa Clam. My most beautiful Clam specimen.
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