So it begins...

[Special-K]

Well, my 12g aquapod came last wednesday and i just rinsed it out to get rid of all the dust from the factory. ive included some pics of all that came with it. it suggests that i only use the sponge part of the filter for reef systems, so i guess ill ditch the carbon and bio balls/ceramics. Im not too sure when to begin!

[cocoa_pleco]

congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Special-K]

so what should i set up in the back since im going to take the sponge out after the first couple weeks?

[cocoa_pleco]

you definitely dont want carbon, so i would just run a sponge, ceramic rings, and bio-balls.

[markbob]

Good luck with that, I've heard that nano cubes can be a bear.

[Special-K]

you definitely dont want carbon, so i would just run a sponge, ceramic rings, and bio-balls.

really? i thought the bio balls caused problems later or something

[cocoa_pleco]

could be, but ive never heard of that

[Rue]

Nope...'urban legend'...I run bioballs AND carbon...

And so do most of the local reefers I've met...

Anyhoo; CONGRATS!!! It looks nice!

[Special-K]

does anyone have any tips to get me goin??

[unleashed]

does anyone have any tips to get me goin??
if you bought LR from an established tank today, you could get stock in tomorrow. thats what i did and everything is fine

[Special-K]

i was going to order live rock after i get the substrate and water from the lfs. i dont mind waiting for it to cure in my tank.


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liveaquaria is a bit more expensive because i think depot includes shipping.
which looks better?

[Kuli_Loach]

I used sea life inc. for mine and they are a tad cheaper.

[cocoa_pleco]

the liveaquaria one is a cool mix of LR from different places, which would look good.

[Special-K]

yeah i like the looks of the liveaquaria one too. Hey, from everyone's experience, what is a great beginner's goby that has a nice combination of personality and looks???

[unleashed]

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Or, anything from This Page ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

[cocoa_pleco]

i would go clown goby

[Special-K]

what would i have to feed them?

[jttt3]

Let me know your luck with that Aquapod, my 24 gallon was cursed and a fish killer.
I ripped the sump stuff out of the bank and its all fine now.

[Special-K]

the sump caused you problems?

[coachfraley]

Back to your question about the chambers, I have been reading a lot about it, and the general consensus is that bio-balls are detritus traps. There are people who run their all-in-ones with them in the back, but the balls will need to be cleaned regularly in order to keep your nitrates down. A lot of people put live rock rubble in the back chambers, but there has been debate over whether or not the benefits outweigh the fact that the rubble also accumulates detritus. I am not bashing one camp or another (I do not want to start a huge debate), but that is just the lowdown from what I have seen on the SW forums. The one thing that everyone does agree upon, is that THE BEST use for the rear chambers is as a refugium. A refugium with macroalgae will help to directly remove the nitrates from your water column.

I set up my chambers as follows

Intake-> filter loss-> carbon(my preference)-> chaeto algae-> heater-> return pump.

I started out with live rock rubble in the back of my tank, but I ended up taking it out of there because it was accumulating gunk (even with the filter floss as a pre-filter). Assuming you have enough live rock, you will not need to host any additional bacteria in the rear of your tank.

Hope this helps!

[Special-K]

thats great info, thanks! what is the filter floss though? and what kind of setup would i need to do for a refugium (i know its been covered but i lost the link)

[coachfraley]

You will be looking for bulk filter floss, it looks like a huge bag of cotton. You tear off a chunk, and put it in one of your chambers. You might have to come up with a way to support the floss if there is nothing stable to put it on (it depends on what you have beneath it). The floss will act as a very fine mechanical filter and will need to be changed out regularly (every 2-7 days).

Here are the basic steps for the fuge:

1. Determined which chamber you want it in.
2. Use a razor to cut away the black plastic in back of the desired chamber
3. Make or purchase a light to use for the macroalgae. 10-15 watts of pc should be fine. You can really use just about any light you can come up with. You want the bulb to be in the plant growing spectrum (6700k) if possible.
4. Purchase some chaeto, put it in the chamber
5. You will need to rotate the chaeto in the chamber, so one side doesn't get all the light. I "turn" mine every 3 days, when I change my filter floss. I usually have to trim it about once every 2 weeks or so because it completely fills the chamber.

Here is an example of one light:
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But a lot of people buy these:
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[Special-K]

could i get by with the stock sponge filter, and something else like carbon/ ceramics (im going to have 16 Ibs LR)? im not sure if im up to modding the back quite yet.

[coachfraley]

You would be fine to start with the sponge and carbon. I personally wouldn't bother with the rings, but once again, that is a preference thing. You are going to want to clean the sponge regularly in order to prevent gunk from building up.

If you are going to do a "long cycle", you don't need a fuge to start with anyway. The big benefit to doing it now, is that it is easier to move the tank around and work on it when it is empty. If it were me, I would set up the rear light, and just hold off on buying the chaeto until the tank has been up for a while. The mod. is REALLY a lot easier than you think.

Either way, you will be fine. The tank can run without the fuge. It will just make it much easier to keep your nitrates at 0.

BTW, I purchased fully cured LR, so my cycle finished in about 5 days (and I think most of the cycle was the live sand I used). It was cool that it went so fast, BUT if I was to do another tank, I would buy the uncured rock and wait it out. I think watching critters pop out of the rocks is the funnest thing about setting up a SW tank!

[Special-K]

yeah watching critters pop out is something that im really looking forward to. do you have any pics of nano fuges that you know of?

[coachfraley]

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[Special-K]

wow that does look really simple. when do you run the light on that thing?

[cocoa_pleco]

for smaller refugiums i run a small 13w CF clip-on

[coachfraley]

I run my fuge on a reverse cycle, so the fuge lights are on while the tank lights are off. Both lights at the same time would create temp. problems in my tank. I run my display 8 hrs. and my fuge 16 hrs. One benefit of this arrangement is that the light "spill" from the fuge acts as a nice moon light for the display.

[zackish]

you definitely dont want carbon, so i would just run a sponge, ceramic rings, and bio-balls.

Why don't you want carbon? I have heard from many people that carbon is good on SW tanks because it takes out dissolved minerals and such.

[Special-K]

I run my fuge on a reverse cycle, so the fuge lights are on while the tank lights are off. Both lights at the same time would create temp. problems in my tank. I run my display 8 hrs. and my fuge 16 hrs. One benefit of this arrangement is that the light "spill" from the fuge acts as a nice moon light for the display.

i dont know if ill be able to sleep with that glow! lol

i have some LEDs that are for moonlight that came on the lighting system

[Special-K]

Oh, whats cheato anyway? i keep seeing that word thrown around. is that the macro algae?

[coachfraley]

Yes, some people call it spagetti algae. It can be hard to find. But any good LFS that sells corals should have some.