1st 1ft cube

[whq]

Here is my very first 1ft cube. Been reading the tank for the pass few weeks and finally started the tank 3 weeks back.

FTS of very first day

FTS after few weeks

Nice Star polyp and SPS bought from Hijackng

Current specs:

Using a small canister with wool and some media (changing to carbon instead)

profantec fan (Managed to keep tank at 27-29C)

Aquazonic 1.5ft lamp (1 actinic blue + 1 white, both at 16w)

Koralia nano wavemaker

Soon will be adding a simple water topup system (will be great if anyone can recommend some cheap and reliable method, right now trying out pet bottle as my tanks is small)

Change 30% of water with NSW from LSF weekly

LS:

1x percula clownfish (not sure whether is true or false)

1x yellow tail damsel

1x black with white spot (guess is a damsel too, anyone can help ID)

Maybe one more fish slot for a goby or wrasse

2-3 cleaner crew (no idea what to get, but thinking of 1 hermits and shrimp)

Please do feel free to advice or comment.

[gerrard_boon]

glad to see another pico tank....on a side note....u got really aggressive fishes inside....dun they chase each other around??? take note evaporation will be veri fast since u using fan to cool the tank....nice rock scape anyway......wat other filtration equipment u using anyway??

[raydiative]

wow! you are super adventerous... trying SPS so fast? Good luck bro... try to dose more calcium.. =]

[whq]

The fishes seem okay, haven see any agression so far but have small harmless chase (read from nano reef on their aggressiveness towards own species, but can't find any info on the black dot fish).Hope it will stay this way. Only have a eden501 canister behind. Might be planning on a skimmer but not sure if it is overkill as I change water weekly. But any advice on additional filter that I need? But evaporation is a major problem I m facing now, trying to look for ways to top up either by diy or commerial product means. Will be good if anybody have good recommendation. Ya think am too greedy on corals, cannot resist. Will take more care on the calcium level.

[gerrard_boon]

so small tank dun need skimmer la...regular water change will do...those guys at nano-reef take care of their pico without any skimmer as well...if really water parameter goes crazy...juz do a 100% water change....as for water topup...if budget permits....getting a iceprobe will reduce the evaporation.....if not u could diy a dripper or get a auto water topup system....i would recommend getting the iceprobe...keeps the water parameters more stable(buying buckets loads of distilled water ain't cheap either!!!)As for the sps....u do noe how demanding they are when u got them right? but it would be fantastic if u can keep them healthy..!a... do update us on the progress...

[whq]

so small tank dun need skimmer la...regular water change will do...those guys at nano-reef take care of their pico without any skimmer as well...if really water parameter goes crazy...juz do a 100% water change....as for water topup...if budget permits....getting a iceprobe will reduce the evaporation.....if not u could diy a dripper or get a auto water topup system....i would recommend getting the iceprobe...keeps the water parameters more stable(buying buckets loads of distilled water ain't cheap either!!!)As for the sps....u do noe how demanding they are when u got them right? but it would be fantastic if u can keep them healthy..!a... do update us on the progress...

yup am aware that they are demanding. Especially to calcium and phosphate level. I remember seeing members in nano reef or other forum succeed in having sps in nano tank with t5 lighting but low demand sps like birdnest species. That's why I tried. Finger cross and hope they will do well in mine too. Heard alot of comments on iceprobe have really good and also not so good comments largely due to environment that's y i am thinking a little on investing on iceprobe. But might be giving it a shot!

[whq]

Some pics update:

Star Polyp

My SPS

Can I check if my SPS is still in good health? So far never notice bleaching of color and browning, are these the indication of unhealthy signs?

Thanks

[desideria]

I would really encourage you to invest in an iceprobe for your little 1 feeter. Your corals will appreciate you doing that! HAah epecially since you're trying SPS! singapore is so hot it's crazy these days...

[Terryz_]

The Sps looks fairly okay for now but if your temp swing is very high, they might not take it... Will tell 1 month down the road... The lighting is T5? haven heard of 16w lighting before unless it is FL tubes... You might wanna change to LED?

[whq]

The Sps looks fairly okay for now but if your temp swing is very high, they might not take it... Will tell 1 month down the road... The lighting is T5? haven heard of 16w lighting before unless it is FL tubes... You might wanna change to LED?

Thanks Terryz,

Temp swing is very minor in my tank maybe from 27-28.5c max. Only worry was the constant water topup guess this is not too good for my tank. Thinking of iceprobe or the dolphin mini chiller (anyone use this before? any comments? price is more affordable for a non-compressor chiller comparing to iceprobe, but not so sure about efficiency). Yup 16w T5 lighting from aquazonic for 1.5ft is in the market, is it still neccessary for LED?

Thanks. Really appreciate all these question, really help me in improving. Keep it coming

[whq]

Some updates:)

Upgraded my fan to a iceprobe as suggested by quite a few bro. Quite happy as it manage to maintain temperature within 28-29c with little evaporation.

FTS

One of my SPS affected by the drastic temp fluctuation and was bleached. But re-adjusted its location and changed to iceprobe, it seems to recover abit (though it still look bleached, will it get back to the initiate coloration?)

The other SPS seems to be healthy and growth was observed (SPS thicken with new polyp started to form)

Here are some other random shot

Flowerpot coral

My mushrooms

[jackywongto]

very nice bro! ice-probe = > great investment!

[whq]

very nice bro! ice-probe = > great investment!

Thanks bro, I agree. Though it might not have strong chilling capacity like compressor based ones. Right now very happy with it's performance:)

But can any bro advise if the sps (bleached) affected by the heat wave recover to it's normal state? Also if the flowerpots coral (goniopora. Spp) is suitable for nano (thought it was the alveo. Spp). The one I have can't be frag and afraid it might overun my tank. If it is bad am thinking of swapping it for a frogspawn if it is suitable. I also have activated carbon (small granulated ones) in my hob as my chemical filter, is there brand that is particularly reliable? Am using the $1 per pack and planning to change it monthly. Thanks! Sorry for asking so much question.

[jackywongto]

Thanks bro, I agree. Though it might not have strong chilling capacity like compressor based ones. Right now very happy with it's performance:)

But can any bro advise if the sps (bleached) affected by the heat wave recover to it's normal state? Also if the flowerpots coral (goniopora. Spp) is suitable for nano (thought it was the alveo. Spp). The one I have can't be frag and afraid it might overun my tank. If it is bad am thinking of swapping it for a frogspawn if it is suitable. I also have activated carbon (small granulated ones) in my hob as my chemical filter, is there brand that is particularly reliable? Am using the $1 per pack and planning to change it monthly. Thanks! Sorry for asking so much question.

Hey bro whq, regarding your questions above:

I know nuts about SPS....

For gonio, I do realise that it is rather sensitive to water parameters, temp, light, and wave movements. Would advise u to swop it if you wanna play safe.

For Carbon, I am ordering in the Rox 8.0 high grade carbon from Peter's bulk order. you require prob 2 tablespoon only for your tank size for a fortnight. You might want to share with me if keen. Pls PM me hor.

Otherwise, I have recently tried Pura complete. Its a mixture of carbon and phosphate remover. quite good imo.

[whq]

Hey bro whq, regarding your questions above:

I know nuts about SPS....

For gonio, I do realise that it is rather sensitive to water parameters, temp, light, and wave movements. Would advise u to swop it if you wanna play safe.

For Carbon, I am ordering in the Rox 8.0 high grade carbon from Peter's bulk order. you require prob 2 tablespoon only for your tank size for a fortnight. You might want to share with me if keen. Pls PM me hor.

Otherwise, I have recently tried Pura complete. Its a mixture of carbon and phosphate remover. quite good imo.

Thanks bro, will heed ur advice. Will take out the goniopora soon, as find it too big when it is fully open. Trying to get a frogspawn from another bro to replace it. As for the carbon, will pm u to find out more abt it. Thanks for offering too

[xaine]

TEM based chillers are not really efficient, though they take up less space. By looking at your setup, the iceprobe should fit with some mod to your hang-on filter.

[whq]

TEM based chillers are not really efficient, though they take up less space. By looking at your setup, the iceprobe should fit with some mod to your hang-on filter.

Agreed it is not the best alternatives. For my case, the TEM chiller works well even with recent hot temperature my tank can stabilized around 28C on average and going up to 29C in hot noon and down to 27C at night. Though fan can cool my tank down to 26-27C on a hot afternoon , the daily water top-up is too drastic for my nano tank. Not the best setup but think it is sustainable. Will observed a few more weeks before i update

[jackywongto]

Agreed it is not the best alternatives. For my case, the TEM chiller works well even with recent hot temperature my tank can stabilized around 28C on average and going up to 29C in hot noon and down to 27C at night. Though fan can cool my tank down to 26-27C on a hot afternoon , the daily water top-up is too drastic for my nano tank. Not the best setup but think it is sustainable. Will observed a few more weeks before i update

Has anyone seen a 1ft cube or smaller tank running off a chiller? I might need to plan for my 1 footer at a later point of time.

[albinosage]

Jacky, I've seen 1ft cubes with 1/15 or 1/20 chillers. IMO, an iceprobe with an external temperature controller added is sufficient.

[gerrard_boon]

singapore weather iceprobe dun need to use temperature controller..my iceprobe running without controller cannot even get the water below 28 deg. so Jacky,save the $ on the controller if u wan to get an iceprobe. Whq..great to see at one of yr sps still doing fine..keep up the gd work!

[jackywongto]

Jacky, I've seen 1ft cubes with 1/15 or 1/20 chillers. IMO, an iceprobe with an external temperature controller added is sufficient.

singapore weather iceprobe dun need to use temperature controller..my iceprobe running without controller cannot even get the water below 28 deg. so Jacky,save the $ on the controller if u wan to get an iceprobe.

Gerrard. Bino

Thanks for the tips.

[whq]

singapore weather iceprobe dun need to use temperature controller..my iceprobe running without controller cannot even get the water below 28 deg. so Jacky,save the $ on the controller if u wan to get an iceprobe. Whq..great to see at one of yr sps still doing fine..keep up the gd work!

Thanks bro, hopefully they can be maintained in the long run. Yup Jacky save the $100 dollars on other stuff I almost made that mistake lol.

[whq]

Update with new coral addition from a nice bro and picture taken under actinic. Sorry if image not fantastic (from iPhone)

[whq]

Thinking of changing my lifestock. The 2 damsel are getting out of hand (severe aggression), just imprison the 2 of them. Need suggestion on more suitable fishes. Right now have in mind a pair of true percula (is it okay for 1ft cube?) and another 2 slot for other fishes. Any suggestions on the fishes? looking at maybe a firefish and a goby, are they compatible with the paired percular?

[gerrard_boon]

Why not 2 to 3 pico size fish such as eviota or perhaps 1 tailspot blenny plus another small fish as yr livestock instead? 1ft is nvr meant for many fish in first place so why not focus yr interest on corals n some low bioload inverts?