a few ?'s about starting an Aquapod 12g nano

[tank0211]

Ok so I just printed up the starting up the nano reef sticky and will be reading it after I post this.

I just wanna post this in hopes of a relpy tonight to know if i'm on the right track with my selections for equipment, as I plan to make an xmas order later tonight from petmountain.com.

I'd just like to have a bit of live rock with a few invertabrates and fish and possibly a colorful cleaner shrimp.

I am planning on buying the Aquapod 12g nano aquarium by current usa and so far have decided to add a visi-therm stealth 50w heater and the fission nano skimmer by current usa. Will this be sufficient to run this aquarium successfully?

Any and all tips are welcome.

Thanks

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

It sounds like you're on the right track. The sticky has lots of great info.

The Stealth heaters are fine. I'm not sure about that particular skimmer, but I think it's OK. You might want to add some additional flow to the tank, I don't think the built-in filter gives quite enough flow.

 

[tank0211]

Lotus, by flow you mean like a power head?

I've read reviews about this particular tank and from what I've read with the nano protein skimmer added, or not, it works great out of the box.

 

[tank0211]

Anyone else have any experience with a Aquapod Nano 12gal by Current USA? I would appreciate any and all advice regarding this tank, it's set-up and maintanence.

thanks

 

[ram man]

I agree with lotus about the flow. But I personally love alot of flow.

 

[shift_9k]

The nano fission skimmer is **** to be quite honest. Save your money and just do weekly water changes. I've kept my reef now for quite some time without a skimmer. I went thru a couple of crashes but that wasnt do to the lack of a skimmer. That was from being an idiot.

The aquapod is awesome, see if you can get it with the MH lighting I think they offer that now on the 12g as well. I purchased a 24G aquapod with the MH's. Couldnt be happier.

Take a look just do everything in half of what I did.

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/nano-saltwater-discussion/46308-24g-aquapod-w-150w-mh-no-mayo.html

 

[tank0211]

Hey shift, well I had already placed my order with pet mountain. I got the regular 12g with basic lighting, wasn't looking to spend so much more for the MH yet. I also ordered the nano skimmer as it was only $20 so I figured it was worth a shot.

I've had fish tanks beofre, but not for around 10yrs. I'm a total noob with this stuff now and am looking for any and all advice on start-up, equipment, maintanence, chemicals, coral, inverts, fish, cleaning, water change, etc, etc, etc. See total noob, lol!

Any point in the right direction, advice or criticism is welcome.

~peace

 

[ChefCoralDan125]

Well I can say the Aquapod is an great tank to start with not to big and not to small, I own one my self and I had great success i made mind a coral tank, I have the HQI light set up, you can have any thing kind of corals in you tank with that HQI, if you do get the HQI light set up you really dont need a heather since it will keep your water temp at around 82- 84F' which is ideal you dont want your wter temp to be any higher. The fission nano skimmer sucks I had one and it created more micro bubbles then it cleaned and i had about three spongest to prevent them, for a skimmer i would suggest get a Rio nano skimmer it works awesome its a hang*on skimmer and doesnt take room at all and its awesome for nano tanks. you want to have very good water flow the tank already has a great power head so you "dont have" to really get any other power heads.

 

[tank0211]

Hey ChefCoralDan125. Thanks for the reply.

So I was reading about the fission nano skimmer and it says "the skimmer works best inside a filter box as futher filtration can be used to reduce micro bubbles" Will it fit inside the filter box of the 12g? Mine was just shipped out so I don't have it yet to see if it will.

I've also read on the nano start up sticky that a protein skimmer isn't even really needed with a nano tank. Do you find that statement to be true?

Also you say the power head with the 12g is adequate enough for flow? Lotus was saying I might want to add a bit more flow as he didn't think the filter provided quite enough?

 

[shift_9k]

Well my friend being a noob you have a lot of reading ahead of you. The pump on my 24 sucked so i replaced it with a mj900. I also added another inside the display. U want nothing in your tank to settle you want everything always in suspension.

The skimmer really blows im sure Current will thank you for your donation. haha. Honestly you dont need to skim, keep your bioload on the lower end of the scale and do routine water changes. I do 20% every week (5gallons), which is closer to 22-25% since rock and sand displace water.

Get two fish, majority soft coral as they don require as much light. And still get a heater. Since the lights will heat up your tank you need something to maintain temp when the lights are off. Stability is key. U dont need to dose anything really your water changes will replenish the minerals your tank mates will take out.

Also remove all filter media that will come with your tank, bioballs, etc... You dont need them. Just stock your tank with enough live rock. Other than that use RODI water. That should be enough til you read more and have further questions.

Good luck friend.

 

[tank0211]

That was another question I had, where do i get RO/DI? Is it available at a grocery store? If so, which brand is best? Is there a water filter I could get to create my own, like the ones that screw onto your sink faucet head?

Any suggestions where I can read more in depth about nano aquarium basics? I've re-read the sticky and am a bit more confident about things.

This is what I'm thinking of for water changes:
-1.2 gal change a week, which is 10%
-mix water/ instant ocean night before and put a heater & power head in bucket to keep it at same temp as tank and mixing till the next night.

Yes I had only planned on 2/3 fish & soft corals from the start. Any suggestions for the best type of snails/ crabs for a beginner?

I'm also wondering what is the best refractometer? I'd like a more acurate measure to keep mistakes down.

Now I've heard conflicting critics of the supplied pump/powerhead in the 12g. I want to be over-filtering a bit, so will this pump/powerhead work well enough for me?

I've also read reviews of the fission nano skimmer by current and most say it works decent, with too many micro bubbles being the main and only complaint. One reviewer said that as long as the skimmer is "placed just right" it will work. Anyone know "just how" to place this skimmer to work well. It seems like from what I've read the chamber just doesn't seal like it should on this skimmer causing the added bubbles. If I siliconed it to seal it shut would this help and will the silicone be dangerous in the tank?

Ok, sorry that was sooo long. I've lots of questions and am not finding many answers in my reading about the intangibles.

~peace *celebrate

 

[pearl_aqg]

Hey shift that was another question I had, where do i get RO/DI? Is it available at a grocery store? If so, which brand is best? Is there a water filter I could get to create my own, like the ones that screw onto your sink faucet head?

You can probably buy RO/DI water at your lfs, i don't know that you'll have luck with most grocery stores. (They'll have distilled water, which I've always heard you shouldn't use.) You can buy RO/DI filters, they are pricey but many feel they are worth the investment if you are going to be using them a lot.

 

[tank0211]

anyone, anyone? still looking for answers for my last couple posts.

Thanks all
~peace

 

[Lotus]

You can usually get RO water from the machines at supermarkets. It's not usually DI, as far as I know.

You could read up at Nano-Reef.com - The source for nano reef aquarium information and I believe there are a few books recommended.

The water change schedule sounds fine.

Get some nassarius and cerith snails, and maybe a few astrea. Don't get hermit crabs if you want to keep your snails. They can also bother corals.

The blue no-brand refractometers at Marine Depot, Drs. Foster & Smith, etc. are fine. Try to get one with automatic temperature compensation.

The powerhead is up to you. In general, more flow is better. You can always add one later if you find you're having detritus/algae/nitrate problems.

No clue on the skimmer. If you're doing SPS, then you might need one. Otherwise, water changes may be enough if you're careful with feeding and take your time with things.

 

[shift_9k]

Hows it coming along? Revised list of questions?

 

[tank0211]

Hey shift, nothing new to post. The first tank sent out by pet mountatin was cracked and shattered in the filter box area & still waiting for the new one to arrive. I havent' had much time with the holidays and all to read up on anything ither. Not to mention I've been sick since Dec 21st and still counting.

 

[tank0211]

Well looks like I'm going to sit back and really read-up & plan everything out before I begin.