Qwank's 12g nano cube

[cdckjn]

so sorry for this news. I had this problem once with nano tank. Once problems started, they tend to snowball into a bigger problem.

Suggestion, change at least half the water (flush all toxins/bad stuffs) away. Then replace with new water and then let it sort-of "cycle" again for, say, at least 2 weeks before stocking up with new fishes.

Good luck.

In the meantime, good idea to introduce new equipment such as skimmer or whatever as now only the shrimp in the water.

I personally find that the skimmer is a very important piece of equipment.

[qwank]

thanks. i'm going to do the water change tomorrow and i'm going to wait 2 months to ad any fish. i want to make certain there isnt something else causing ammonia besides the dead fish. also i'll have plenty of time to work on my metal halide light. i'm just waiting for my ballast abd bulb to come in. they should all be here next week. i'm also going to get a skimmer. probably the one i posted about earlier.

[hammy]

thanks. i'm going to do the water change tomorrow and i'm going to wait 2 months to ad any fish. i want to make certain there isnt something else causing ammonia besides the dead fish. also i'll have plenty of time to work on my metal halide light. i'm just waiting for my ballast abd bulb to come in. they should all be here next week. i'm also going to get a skimmer. probably the one i posted about earlier.

yup letting the tank lie fellow for 2 months will ensure that all the ich parasite will be gone.

well, i guess battling ich and algae is every reefer 's everyday affair so dun give up .

[qwank]

I got the 70w MH done yesterday.

first i took all the stock lights and fans out of the hood and installed the new fans and the socket and reflector. heres what it looked like:

then i took the stock ballast out of the ballast box and installed the MH ballast and wired it up:

as you can see i put the UV glass directly on the reflector. i also cut out a peice of the plastic splash shield and siliconed a piece of glass to it directly under the light to prevent melting of the plastic shield. (no pic)

the trick to keeping the tank cool is installing a scroll fan in the back of the hood to move air across the water:

and make an exhaust vent in the front for the air to come out of:

and there you have it

[godzillaliu88]

looks like a lot of hard work have been put in.

[cdckjn]

Whoa!! so many fans, your water will evaporate rather fast with the MH light going. Need to watch the water parameters very carefully as it may sing rather fast with the lights and fans fully working.

[qwank]

i'm only losing about a half of a cup a water a day which isnt so bad i just top it off before i go to bed. the tank dosnt get hot at all. it stays at 27 degrees all the time. the fans are on variable voltage adapters so i can adjust from 3-12v. the hood fans are on 7.5v and the rear fan is on 6v. i might try using only 2 fans in the hood to see if it still stays cool. if it does i might be able to squeeze some 18w actinics in there too.

[qwank]

well i got some new stuff for the tank. i bought a colony of polyps and a cocoa worm. heres some pics:

the polys werent open all the way because i had just turned the lights on:

whole tank:

[Bio528]

Hi bro nice mod in your nano cube, lots of hardwork anyway my cube going to be my quarantine tank soon, hee i have upgrade to 4x2x2

[qwank]

went to the LFS today and got some new stuff.

crocea clam:

feather duster colony:

i also got a small colony of star polyps but only about half of them opened up so far so i'll get a pic later when they all open up.

full tank shot:

[kevink]

i think those are christmas tree worms. i love them but my fishes li them for lunch as well.......

[qwank]

yeah they are christmas tree worms. sorry. sometimes i call my cocoa worm a fether duster too. lol

the tank stays at 27 degrees with only 2 fans running. i think i'm going to put the actinics is soon. i think the corals will looks better with a little more blue in the light. plus i can do the dusk to dawn effect.

[qwank]

i ordered 2x18w actinics. they should be here saturday!

[qwank]

the actinics are in!

[godzillaliu88]

show us a pic of the atinic in work!

[qwank]

here you go:

[qwank]

hey guys it been a while since i posted. heres an updated pic of my tank:

in the last few months i added an acro, percula clown, purple psuedo, frogspawn, mushrooms and green star polyps. don't mind the brown algea on the back wall. my astrea and turbo snails died and the algea started growing. i just cleaned up most of it and will add new snails today.

i'm planning on adding the sapphire nano skimmer soon.

heres some more pics:

[Brownie]

bro.... i like your DIY.

Can share where you got your 70W MH set from?

[jojoecute]

hey guys it been a while since i posted. heres an updated pic of my tank:

in the last few months i added an acro, percula clown, purple psuedo, frogspawn, mushrooms and green star polyps. don't mind the brown algea on the back wall. my astrea and turbo snails died and the algea started growing. i just cleaned up most of it and will add new snails today.

i'm planning on adding the sapphire nano skimmer soon.

heres some more pics:

Hey Bro...

Nice nano there, best Diy...

Can't belive yr clamp can make it, as some bro mentioned clam needs more cooling..

Have u try Diy micro chiller to cool yr water?

[qwank]

no chiller for the water yet. just the 3 fans in the hood. the one in the back that blows air across the water helps a lot. my tank stays at 32*C when the lights are on.

not sure why the clam would need more cooling. but i'm not an expert. its doing very well though. i feed the tank phyto-feast twice a week. the clam and cocoa worm eat that.

anyone have any experiance with the sapphire nano skimmer?

I made the MH kit with parts i bought online from different places. i copied the kit from www.nanotuners.com but i didnt save much money. next time i would just buy the kit.

[hobgoblin]

Qwank, nice tank you have.

I'm also in the nano club albeit a little bigger than yours .

IMOH, 32 degC may pose a threat and I presume that as it is, your rate of evaporation is rather high. Perhaps getting a small chiller would be reliable and safer.

My fan broke down a few months back and I was fortunate that the tempreature did not exceed 30 degC. Inspecting the fan, I found bits of crystalised salt in the motor compartment, and the interior was also damp.

As for skimmer, do you think a small unit such as a Sanders would suffice? It may be a little low tech, but a nano tank does not require superior skimming if the livestock is kept in check + routine water change.

[Ruzt]

Nice DIY MH lights bro

[qwank]

oh i read the thermometer wrong.!!! its actually only 27*C which its 80*F.

sorry for the confusion. so it actually does stay rather cool.

the evaporation is not a lot. its about 0.2-.03 liter a day.

i think i need more flow for the SPS though. I might try to put another small power head in ther somewhere.

i can probbaly get by with out a skimmer since i do water changes every week, but i would like to get another clown and for that i would like a skimmer beacuse there would be 3 fish.

[qwank]

hey guys. i added a minijet 404 pump to the left side of the tank. i have it on the lowest setting blowing right at the acro. is this ok? the acro looks much better now. i have more polyps extending. just wondering if it you guys think the pump is too close.

heres a pic:

notice the mushroom in the lower left corner dosnt like the added flow. i usually have a hydor-flo on the main bulkhead but i'm repairing it at the moment. that could be the reason why the mushroom getting pushed back.

a pic from the left side with my new kitten looking on:

[Salty_Creature]

Fish and cat do not mix!!!