to all the nano cube guys

S

Spartan

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so i just bought a jbj 28 that will be my intro to salt water so my question for yall is what do you have in the three chambers for filtration. do you leave it stock or take out the sponges.. trying to get an idea here of how i wanna approach it.

Thanks
Brian
 
Haha, this is a generic "3 chambers" question and definitely not for just nano cube guys.

First off, welcome to saltwater! Jump on in, get your hands wet, then enjoy the dry hand effect it leaves you with later on!

As far as the chambers go, it is all a matter of preference. I believe one thing everyone here can agree on though is that sponges = bad. Sponges do one key thing, collect nitrates, which in a nano tank can turn ugly very fast. A large spike in nitrates = kill off of fish/coral. So definitely remove sponges and bioballs if it came with any.

Now, your back chambers can have a number of things from a skimmer to a media basket depending on how natural you want to go. A skimmer can be a great idea, although far from necessary in a nano tank, but I've typically used one with excellent results on any tank larger then 24G. You can also go with a media basket. If you tank did not come with one already, inTank LLC creates custom ones to fit your back chamber and basically you use the different levels of the basket to put things like macro algea, chemipure, and purigen. All are beneficial additives to a nano. If your center back chamber happens to be a new tank where there is a glass, see through wall, then I would recommend taking advantage of that by creating a small refugium in that center chamber. It is pretty simple in that you get a media basket, let macro grow in it and have a grow light attached to the back. Nano-Glo is an excellent light fro that purpose as it has a magnet that sticks on the inside of the chamber and holds the light on the outside.

So a lot of back chamber setups will be the typical:

Chamber 1: Intank chamber - Typically has a skimmer or is empty
Chamber 2: Center chamber - media basket/macro algae/live rock rubble/purigen/etc.
Chamber 3: Last chamber - Return pump or heater

That's a lot of basic information and like I said, it is all personal preference. This forum is here so you can read up on everyone else's tank's and see what they've done! Good luck and start posting some pictures with your own build thread!
 
thanks Joncelone and yeah it is a new tank with the basket and a glass window in the back. From my reading i was already pretty much set on the live rock ruble and fuge light (now im really doing that). the sponges on the other hand im concerned about. there is a piece in the fisrt compartment that will be easy to remove but then there is another big one on the very bottom between the 2 return pumps and i dont think ill ever be able to get my fat hand down there to get it out lol. Also ceramic is whats in the 3rd compartment and i dont understand what that does for me good or bad. the middle has carbon which i was told to take out until after the tank is done with its cycle

As far as the skimmer and heater go there are places for both of them already that dont get in the way of the media basket. i dont have either of which yet but the temp is holding steady at about 78 (for the first 3 days anyway) and the skimmer i will get in a month or so

I have been doing my research on everything as a whole it just seemed like there are so many options espically the way this cube is setup it has a space for anything and everything i was just curious as to what others were doin. ill get a tank log goin as soon as i can figure out how to take good pictures lol
 
i disagree with the chambers and the sponges being in them, i run everything stock and it has worked fine. About once a month i take the sponges and clean them, nitrates and nitrites have always been 0. I use just a nano korallia. i do a water change every thursday of 5 gallons and i run carbon and ceramic rings and all the sponges. i also have the jbj 28 gallon nano and its loades with stuff and havent lost a thing. dont be afraid to run normal like a fish store guy told me when i bought mine was that everyone thinks mods is what u do but there is a reason why its made the way it is, and this fish store had 3 set up one was a led system and they were all stock. Heres a pic of mine as of a week or so ago
 
Sounds like you are on the right track. To get those other sponges out, grab a pair of tongs that you could cook with and reach in there with them as an extension to pull the sponges out easily. Then just hand wash the tongs with soap and water and they'll be good to go. As far as the ceramic goes, you don't need it. Ceramic is great for grabbing and holding onto algae which is great in a freshwater setup, but you don't want algae buildup like that in your back chamber, you want macro algae build up. Same type of thing for carbon. Carbon is great... in freshwater. Very select few use it in saltwater tanks because they go for something that causes a more natural effect like a skimmer.

http://www.amazon.com/JBJ-Nano-Glo-Refugium-Light/dp/B002OFPTUU

I bought that nano-glo light for my back chamber refugium. I keep it on an opposite schedule from my regular lights and it works great!
 
thanks everyone for the response its good to hear what others are doin... there are just so many options i need to sort it all out. like chemipure and purigen as talked about above i dont know anything about that stuff. im gonna research some more
 
well i have ran carbon and cermanic rings in my tanks for years now, and have never had a issue at all. now i do it in this biocube and no issues at all, it can be done the way it comes as well as with mods.
 
ok marvelous thanks... I have not thrown that out yet im just getting opinions from seasoned vets (as i know only what i have read so far) thanks for the input i need all i can get lol
 
I have a BC14 and I run a BC skimmer in my first chamber, inTank media rack with filter floss, carbon bag, and chaeto (macro-algae) in the second chamber, and heater in the third chamber. I removed the sponge and bioballs.
 
yeah see and my question comes up because i have all three spaces in a media basket to play with. The skimmer to come will go it another spot and i dont need one of the spaces for the return pumps or heater either.
 
the media basket is good and sounds like you fill it with good stuff, i have a little prtien skimmer in one chamber, and i keep my heater chamber empty for now cause the lights keep it fairly warm here. but will need one in the winter im guessing sounds like you are on the right track
 
i just went and got a heater today. The tank does good about not getting to hot but when the lights go out at night it looks to me like the swing in temp is to much
 
Most heaters today are safe to leave in your tank year round because most won't turn on unless the temp drops below the threshold. Better safe then sorry incase something happens and the temp drops, your heater will save your tank.
 
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