New to hobby again, need help setting up nano

S

squishles10

Hello all again.

I have been sucked back into the hobby after a 3 year hiatus following a disastrous tank crash. Starting again from scratch mostly, with a few things still laying around the garage. My 2 year old wants a Nemo (yeah yeah, he's 2) and I kind of do too, so happy 3rd birthday to us both!

I have a JBJ 29 gallon CF nano on the way. At a minimum I'd like 2 clownfish and some soft corals to add some interest.

1. What immediate upgrades should I do to the tank besides chucking the bio balls?
2. Assuming I get the tank running this weekend, what is a reasonable amount of time I can expect before the fish can go in? (Average, yes I'll get the water tested before I get fish, but his birthday is in 5 weeks- curious if that's way way too soon and I'll figure something else out).
3. What corals am I looking for?
4. How much and what cleaner crew?
5. What else (animals) can go in the tank? Thinking long term, but would prefer to have the bioload on the low side in case a water change goes a few days late.
6. Favorite local source of live rock? Places north of 30 and east of 35 are preferred.
7. Source of sand? I'm fine with "dead" sand instead of live sand- it worked fine last time but I can't remember where I got it.

So you don't think I didn't do any research before asking, I've gathered that upgrades can generally wait until the tank is cycled, 5 weeks is probably pushing it, 8 would be better, a few snails (no hermits this time!) for cleanup crew is good at first.

TIA- I'm so excited about having a tank again! Hoping to not ruin this one :-/
 
You can be ready for fish in less than 5 weeks using the Fritz turbo start bacteria!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
 
I have used the fritz turbo start on my 10 gallon rimless and was up and running in less than 5 weeks.



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This pic is after a few months but the stuff works great.
 
Ditch the pc lighting get led or metal halides

~introducing fish and coral into a electronically balanced body of water since 2007~
 
I have a inTank media Basket I will sale ya $35 in NRH 3-4 weeks away from selling all JBJ nano stuff but still have original I can use.

Mike
817-832-8013
 
What other JBJ stuff do you have? I'll definitely take the media basket. I'll PM you about picking up the basket. Thanks! You like the tank or you're taking it down?
 
1. What immediate upgrades should I do to the tank besides chucking the bio balls?
-may want to look into skimmer upgrade depending on your load of tank.
2. Assuming I get the tank running this weekend, what is a reasonable amount of time I can expect before the fish can go in? (Average, yes I'll get the water tested before I get fish, but his birthday is in 5 weeks- curious if that's way way too soon and I'll figure something else out).
-Five weeks is doable, but you have to test your water often. That is what will tell you if you are ready. If you get cured rock, live sand, and water from an existing tank you may only be a couple weeks out.
3. What corals am I looking for?
-Nice bubble tip for nemo. Maybe a nice frogspawn, and a nice gargonian would be my start. You can see all of them move in the aquarium.
4. How much and what cleaner crew?
-I would get about 5 red leg crabs, and 5 narsas snails, 5 small snails for the rock work.
5. What else (animals) can go in the tank? Thinking long term, but would prefer to have the bioload on the low side in case a water change goes a few days late.
- dragon pipe fish, a couple file fish, and a small blenny
6. Favorite local source of live rock? Places north of 30 and east of 35 are preferred.
-Aquatic Design usually has some georgous Pukani rock.
 
Hi,
Try the Dr Tim's nitrifying bacteria for your fishless cycle and you can have your tank up and running rather quickly. This product really work's, several of us have used it successfully. Here's a pretty good article, if nothing else it alway's good to refresh some of the basic stuff we tend to forget over time. [smilie=smile.gif] http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling/how-to-start

Cheers,
 
A little yellow goby and pistol shrimp are fun to watch.

There is always someone dumping sand on here for free or cheap. Clean and rinse with steaming hot water a there you go.

If your son wants a Dori, get a JBJ nano inline sterilizer and feed garlic. I'd also dose a vitamin c
 
I used the inTank basket and ran chemipure elite, and purigen in it. Used the 3rd chamber as a fuge, but its not big enough to do too much good. But it is a good place for growing pods. The best advice I can give is to do a 5g per week water change. Unless you have a really high coral load, and as long as you are using a good reef salt, you probably won't have to dose Ca, Mg, or Alk...at least I didn't. But test your water to be sure. I ran an octopus BH1000 HOB skimmer on mine. I would plan on an LED upgrade in the future. The main problem with the CF model is how much heat it puts in the tank. Even with the JBJ fan, I couldn't keep mine below 83F until I went with LEDs. Good luck and be patient!
 
My Mom has a JBJ 29 gal and never had a cycle. She got a couple of LR from me and 2-3 cups of live sand from my tank and the rest was dry rock and the bagged "live sand" from the LFS. She has the CF-Quad and the softies and LPS love it. She has the small skimmer and does 2 gal water change every week. Water tests perfect each time - and I double check (but don't tell her). Ask some local reefers to give you some sand from their tank and some rock rubble. AND GO SLOW!
 
The only reason i said ditch the pc bulbs is the leds will pay off in the long run with you buying bulbs..

~introducing fish and coral into a electronically balanced body of water since 2007~
 
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