24 Gallon JBJ Nano- First Tank

[fishsocks]

Hi all from fabulous Las Vegas,

Today marks day one of this adventure I had began thinking about 15 years ago when I saw my first reef tank as a young teenager. A couple weeks ago my 2 boys (4 and 2) were obsessed with my BIL's Gecko, so I decided to surprise them with a reef tank while they are out of the country and no, my wife has absolutely no idea about it.... wish me luck (both with the wife, and the tank).

I decided to go with an AIO Nano tank for a couple of reasons and the main one being that I simply don't know what tomorrow will bring. We are renting a house so I like the idea of having everything in one container to pick up and move if needed. If keeping a replica of the ocean in my desert living room isn't for me, this tank would be easy to pass down to my nieces or nephews if they want it or I could sell it as a turnover set for cheap with minimal parts. It also forces me to keep things small while I am just beginning. I can't go too crazy with modifications to the system or add too much fish or coral while the tank is still young, I don't need to worry about maintaining external sumps, and I can use this tank as an easy second tank in the future if ever required. I don't really know my end goal for this tank yet. I am much more involved reading about the requirements of the environment at this stage of my build than I am reading about the requirements of the corals or fish that will eventually domicile this tank.

So today was the day it finally all came together and I can't stop looking at it. Here is how we started. I got my JBJ 24 Nano, Caribsea Arag Special sand, Instant Ocean Reef Salt, Marine Pure Bio Filter Media Balls and some live rock from my LFS and I got a couple of the accessories from Amazon. I mixed my own salt with distilled water this go around I still need to pull the trigger on a test kit and RO filter today along with some other accessories before I hurry up and wait. I encourage any questions or comments from the community, it would be nice to know what you're thinking that I can think about that too. Check out some photos of the rock and tank below!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Let the adventure begin. And if your wife has anything negative to say about the new hobby, forcefully reply: "Look! It keeps me off the streets, and off of drugs!!" Objection resolved.

 

[BonnieB]

Welcome to our R2R family!

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here! Looks great, down the road you might want to add a couple rocks to sit in the sand away from the main rock structure for zoa and gsp islands.

 

[fishsocks]

Welcome, glad you are here! Looks great, down the road you might want to add a couple rocks to sit in the sand away from the main rock structure for zoa and gsp islands.

That is the plan. I originally purchased 2 pieces of LR to allow room for additional later but when I went back to my LFS to pick it up I saw a third piece I just had to get. My thought process is that third LR could make a great stand alone piece in the future if my vision changes over time.

 

[fishsocks]

Day two starts at a new LFS, I was recommended to add a bit more of an ammonia source so I went with some TMC Marine Quintent Frozen Fish Food. It's a comes with individual cubes of fish food including, Mysis, Brineshrimp, Krill Pacifico, and Finely Chopped Razor Clam (that sounds delicious ngl). I threw in a Krill block today and will add some Dr. Tims One and Only tomorrow.

 

[fishsocks]

Decided to do some tests today, ammonia is at 1. and some change, Nitrites are... I have no idea, I swear I see some pink but uh... maybe it's placebo. I am already learning hard lessons by not purchasing the Hanna Nitrite test like hundreds of comments have recommended . I understand it's not at a readable level yet on a Red Sea test but I want some confirmation already dangit!

 

[fishsocks]

So I finally detected some Nitrites today. Looks like they were about .01 today so I welcome the pink with open arms... I will retest on Sunday to compare results after the first week.

On a side note, I think I am starting to see signs of life. The first photo shows what looks like maggots starting to form, and the second looks like a tube breaking out of a shell. Do we need to start some chemical warfare already? Maybe I get some desert rock from the testing sites out here and radiate it? lol

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Hello and welcome! This reminds me of my first tank. I just wanted to say you’re in the right place! There’s lots of information to learn. I’ve been in the hobby for 11 years and I’m still learning new things!

 

[fishsocks]

Hello and welcome! This reminds me of my first tank. I just wanted to say you’re in the right place! There’s lots of information to learn. I’ve been in the hobby for 11 years and I’m still learning new things!

Every time I come to this website I feel like I’m being punched in the face with knowledge. It’s awesome.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Every time I come to this website I feel like I’m being punched in the face with knowledge. It’s awesome.

 

[fishsocks]

Alright, it's been just over a month since my last update... boy, does a game plan change when just visiting Reefstock... "Babe, I am just going to look around" I said, but I think we all know how that went.

I primarily went to Reefstock to speak with the vendors I am interested in doing business with and to check out some cool corals I may not see at my LFS. I ended up talking to this gentleman who pretty much convinced me to give some soft corals a shot a little earlier than I ever anticipated. I may regret it, I may not, but for the price I paid, it would be almost silly not to try. I honestly wish I carried a notepad and took notes because the amount of time I am spending on this site would put a tokticker influencer to shame.

So let's get down to business... 2 weeks ago I purchased 6 frags (4 zoas, 1 clove polyp, 1 daisy polyp) and a sinularia on a rock, and I almost forgot to mention we have yet to go through the ugly phase. Last week my Dr. Reefs clownfish came and have been doing great, and late last week we had some diatoms start showing themselves. In an effort to not starve the coral, I was recommended to add some trochus snails (bad. butt.), and the addition of a pair of blue legged hermits would take care of the carpet buffet that would rival any meal offering the Vegas strip has to offer. The purchase of the CUC at my LFS apparently warranted some free reef weeds (GSP's) that I happily accepted cause might as well go cojones deep at this point. Oh, it get's better lol.

As I type this, I am currently waiting for a Zoa colony to finish their day at the dip spa that was graciously given to me from a coworker this morning. Something something about adding fuel to a fire but we are underwater so it's all good.

I also added a 12v gyre wavemaker, and a RFG to spice things up in Studio 54. These additions seemed to be a good purchase as everything is grooving in the flow.

On a side note, it was awesome going to Reefstock as a newbie. Everyone I spoke to was so helpful and passionate about what they bring to their literal table. That being said, it's really sad that I repeatedly heard the event was barely advertised. This is my first experience with an event like this and it seems like many of the traveling vendors may shy away next year due to low attendance. I hope I am wrong though!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Great going! Nice update on your progress.

 

[fishsocks]

Just an update for anyone googling " JBJ Nano 24 PAR "... I was able to get my hands on a PAR meter and here are the results I came up with. This is with the stock hood 10w x 2 lights.