Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 SUCH excitement!!! so today... i head up to the biology teacher's classroom since we had planned to go over some curriculum stuff together as a group. well, one of the group members didn't show up till late, so in the morning time she and i chatted. i complimented her 55 gal marine set up (or the beginnings of it), and told her how lucky i thought she was that she could keep a tank in her room. since i had shared with the staff at a previous workshop that i am a fish-nut, and how i was contemplating setting up a smaller tank in my room, but it seemed like too much trouble with holidays and stuff. well! she was like... "oh hey! there's an empty fishtank up here that you can set up in your room if you'd like... and since i'll be coming up a couple of days during long holidays to take care of the 55, i can check in on yours too if you'd like" IS THAT NOT COOL BEANS OR WHAT?! i mean she's not as fish fanatic-y as i am... but that is the cooooooolest thing EVER! the empty tank she's got upstairs is a small maybe 10 gal biocube? i'll have to read up on mini marine setups... another super cool thing is that all the water additives, conditioners, meds, water testing kit, etc. are all stocked in the back! so if i ever needed anything, it's all there! i just might take her up on that offer! then the rest of the day was boring... district policies... drug free work zone... sexual harassment video... child abuse presentation... requesting days off... blah blah blah... common sense... (i think). i wanna set up that fishtank! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Erinaceus Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 Veeery cool indeed . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Quasi Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 i wanna set up that fishtank! of course you want to Go for it and do not forget to post pics 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member vickielm Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 OMG how perfect is THAT? And everything you need right there at your fingertips without having to run to the lfs or order online!! I'd go for that in a New York minute!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Chrissy_Bee Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 That would be great, you going to have a little marine set up? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted July 31, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 hehe i think so. i have to read up on it first though. i know nothing about marine tanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kayla's Goldfish Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hehe, know what kind of fish interest you and are a possibility? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted July 31, 2008 Admin Share Posted July 31, 2008 That is totally cool hun, if you need some help let me know, Ill help you 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dfernandez77 Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 Ooh! I'll help you too. I know nothing about marine tanks - but I'll help you with... erm... something. nudge, nudge, wink, wink. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nimajneb Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 i just might take her up on that offer! Whaddya mean 'might'?! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted August 1, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 1, 2008 That's GREAT news!!!! I can't wait to see it once it's set up!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kayla's Goldfish Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Any news? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted August 9, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2008 haha yep. i cleaned it out today. it was grooooty! i guess it had been sitting all summer mostly drained with some water left on the bottom and in the sump behind the tank... and the heat of the arizona summers caused some mold to start growing. i gave it a HUUUUGE scrub down today when i was waiting for me carpool ride. it's all cleaned, but i didn't have time to add water to it. i also don't know how i'm supposed to plug in the lights when they've got what looks to be 5 pronged plug thingies and no adapter for the wall. hmm... so it's a nanocube, and i'm guessing it's 14 gallons cuz it looks a lot like the 12 gallon aquapod i have a home. koko... if you're able to tell me how i'm supposed to set it up, that'd be great! i did some searching around, and most places don't teach how to set up a small nanocube. they just say that they recommend going bigger. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member amynmitchell Posted August 9, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2008 Congrats on the free tank! I'm excited to watch your posts and see how your set up goes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kayla's Goldfish Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 YAYY! Can't wait for pictures when you figure how to set it up.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted August 13, 2008 Admin Share Posted August 13, 2008 haha yep. i cleaned it out today. it was grooooty! i guess it had been sitting all summer mostly drained with some water left on the bottom and in the sump behind the tank... and the heat of the arizona summers caused some mold to start growing. i gave it a HUUUUGE scrub down today when i was waiting for me carpool ride. it's all cleaned, but i didn't have time to add water to it. i also don't know how i'm supposed to plug in the lights when they've got what looks to be 5 pronged plug thingies and no adapter for the wall. hmm... so it's a nanocube, and i'm guessing it's 14 gallons cuz it looks a lot like the 12 gallon aquapod i have a home. koko... if you're able to tell me how i'm supposed to set it up, that'd be great! i did some searching around, and most places don't teach how to set up a small nanocube. they just say that they recommend going bigger. First thing is cleaning out the tank and filter like you are doing....just as clean as a goldfish tank...neat thing about saltwater tanks is that fresh water will kill alot of bugs Then you want to get the stand to were you want but make sure you set it up with the tank on top and that the lid will open with out any problems. Found this out the hard way and tried to move the tank and stand with sand and water in it..not good. So once you get it where you want...you want to get some live sand and live rock and salt water...... 1. sand if you get a bag of live sand don't rinse, and live sand will cycle the tank faster. 2. live rock I would get a bucket with salt water and let the rocks sit for 24 hours, make sure there covered with water, this way you can see if there's hitchhikers in the rocks they will fall the the bottom. So then you add the sand to the tank, then the rocks the way you want. Then slowly add the water to the tank. Then turn on the heater, filter and lights.. You dont want to add anything to the tank for atleast a month. You will need to test for Ammonia, nitrites, Alk, calcium and ph at the start....You will need to get an additive of Calcium and ALK since salt water needs to have a high level of these in the tank... Do you know what you want in the tank? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted August 17, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 hmm ok. so i cleaned it out as best i could (since the tank is not at home and i had to use the teacher workroom sink). i think it HAD live sand in it at some point, because the teacher who gave it to me said when she got to the school in the summer... both the 55 she has and the nano cube i have were in horrible condition. there were fish in it, but nobody took care of them so the fish had died. she said she re-setup the 55 and was going to clean out the nano cube, but it was just in horrendous condition. the previous person who had taken care of it had just up and left and left it half drained... there were still some crabs and stuff hiding under the decoration thing and in the sand... so she took the crabs and stuck them in her 55 set up and drained the nano cube. so when i came along, the tank was STIINKY! there was beginnings of white mold starting to grow (from the heat)... and what not. so i'm not sure if the sand was still alive... if it was... i'm sure it's not now, cuz i cleaned everything out with water from the tap. i had put it back together last, last friday as in on the 8th. and i had just let it sit there running with fresh water. i'm thinking if nanos are bad for reef set ups (which is what i've read from some threads here and like drs. foster and smith) should i just use it as a freshwater and wait to set up my 125 as a reef? the only thing is the nano is a deluxe tank, so it seems a bit of a waste since it's got all that high tech "stuff" for a mini reef tank. whatcha think koko? also if i do end up setting up as a reef... i suppose i should empty out and start over with salt water? or is it possible to add the salt since there's no fish, the sand is dead, and i haven't got any live rock or sand to start it? i could just dump the sand and buy more... i mean it's just a small 12 or 14 gallon nano. thoughts? thanks so much! sorry i didn't see the post sooner... wasn't on much on the 13th. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted August 17, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 (edited) here's a picture by the way of the tank when i first filled it up with water after the cleaning... it's in my classrooom, and it's got the lights off. i only turned them on to take the picture. so my students keep asking if there are fish in there, and when i will put one in. Edited August 17, 2008 by Tinkokeshi 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Isilme Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 (edited) It looks great! Is the light blue or is it just the picture? What kind of plant is in? Some sort of seaweed? Edited August 17, 2008 by Isilme 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted August 17, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 It looks great! Is the light blue or is it just the picture? What kind of plant is in? Some sort of seaweed? yep... here's the description from Drs. F&S: The original 12 gallon Nano Cube features a compact fluorescent light fixture with 24-watt 50/50 lamp, splashguard, energy-saving "flicker free" electronic ballast, flip-top canopy, and a submersible 106-gph pump for a thriving mini-biotope. UL-Listed 12 gallon Nano Cube Deluxe doubles the light output with two 24-watt 50/50 compact fluorescent lamps to meet the needs of the serious reef enthusiast. Both 12 gallon Nano Cubes measure 13-3/4" x 15-3/4" x 14-3/4" high. 106-gph pump included 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tolbert2002 Posted August 17, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 17, 2008 Tank looks great. You did a nice job cleaning it. I don't see any scratches and that is great because these are known for being scratched easily. Did you add salt already and how is the water parameters. You might have a little die off from using the old sand but it will filter out. You should get about one pound of live rock per gallon of water. Most pet stores will carry this if they sell salt water supplies. You can order it online but it will not be cured unless it is shipped in water. You should get some live rock before you add fish. The other option you have is getting less rock and have bio balls in the back filter area. This method is not a efficient but it will work. It tends to lead to higher nitrates which coral cannot live in. It looks as though you are off to a great start. If you have any questions I will try to help. I worked in a pet store for 3 years in the fish department. I specialize in the saltwater aquariums and have a passion for the proper care of the aquatic creatures. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted August 18, 2008 Admin Share Posted August 18, 2008 Nano cubes can be used. It was my first one, they are just harder to take care of. So is the water right now fresh water? If it is the sand will be dead for salt water since it kills all the bio bugs When I had mine the only thing I added to the filter was the Chem bags. this helped with the minerals needed for the coral I had in there... You can put coral in just the harder/easier kind..Mushrooms and such.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tinkokeshi Posted August 18, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 18, 2008 yeah i figured the sand would be dead... but i wasn't sure how else i would clean out all the nasty gunk that was in there. so starting with dead sand, is it possible to start up a salt water tank? or should i just dump the sand and get new sand since it's just a small tank and won' take too much to refill it? =) i got a book called the Nano-Reef Handbook from amazon and was planning on reading it as soon as i finish twilight. (reading that one for a class assignment that i finished, but i don't like leaving books unfinished so i'll finish that one and then start on the nano-reef one.) in the mean time, students keep asking if there are any little critters in the tank yet! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Maceo Posted August 19, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 19, 2008 I am so jealous, what a fun project! You should tell the kids that there are fish in there that are clear and you have to look very hard to see them 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted August 20, 2008 Admin Share Posted August 20, 2008 yeah i figured the sand would be dead... but i wasn't sure how else i would clean out all the nasty gunk that was in there.so starting with dead sand, is it possible to start up a salt water tank? or should i just dump the sand and get new sand since it's just a small tank and won' take too much to refill it? =) i got a book called the Nano-Reef Handbook from amazon and was planning on reading it as soon as i finish twilight. (reading that one for a class assignment that i finished, but i don't like leaving books unfinished so i'll finish that one and then start on the nano-reef one.) in the mean time, students keep asking if there are any little critters in the tank yet! If you still want it as a SW tank...I would get rid of the water and the salt...Then get live sand, and SW and let it set....you could add a live peice of rock to it to, this will help cycle the tank faster....Also get to see things grow on the rock too 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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