New to the hobby - Equipment insight?

alexeikathryn · Jan 9, 2024

Hey all!
I’m new to the hobby from Edmonton, Alberta.
I just snagged a 28 gallon nano cube off Facebook marketplace! I’ve been lurking on Reddit for about a few months now and slowly gathering materials and I would like to get some insight before I even start thinking about cycling my tank. I know there’s a lot to learn and I don’t want to waste money starting too early.

Here is my list of equipment I have acquired:
JBJ 28 gallon nano cube
Aquatech 20-40 filter
Heater
5 stage 50GPD RO/DI system
MiniQ Nano Protein Skimmer
Refractometer
TDS Meter
Thermometer
Dr Tim’s Dechlorinator
Fritz Zyme

10 gallon quarantine tank
Aquatech 5-15 filter
Heater
PraziPro Parasite Treatment
Copper Power
PVC

I’ve also got the reef master test kit and saltwater test kit.
I was planning on buying 30lbs of live sand.
I wanted to do 15lbs of live rock and 13lbs of dry rock.

Thoughts? What should I know/add/improve on? Thanks for any and all insight!

Peace River · Jan 9, 2024

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

Reef Devils · Jan 9, 2024

alexeikathryn said:
Hey all!
I’m new to the hobby from Edmonton, Alberta.
I just snagged a 28 gallon nano cube off Facebook marketplace! I’ve been lurking on Reddit for about a few months now and slowly gathering materials and I would like to get some insight before I even start thinking about cycling my tank. I know there’s a lot to learn and I don’t want to waste money starting too early.

Here is my list of equipment I have acquired:
JBJ 28 gallon nano cube
Aquatech 20-40 filter
Heater
5 stage 50GPD RO/DI system
MiniQ Nano Protein Skimmer
Refractometer
TDS Meter
Thermometer
Dr Tim’s Dechlorinator
Fritz Zyme

10 gallon quarantine tank
Aquatech 5-15 filter
Heater
PraziPro Parasite Treatment
Copper Power
PVC

I’ve also got the reef master test kit and saltwater test kit.
I was planning on buying 30lbs of live sand.
I wanted to do 15lbs of live rock and 13lbs of dry rock.

Thoughts? What should I know/add/improve on? Thanks for any and all insight!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

shakacuz · Jan 9, 2024

welcome aboard the r2r board!

vetteguy53081 · Jan 9, 2024

threebuoys · Jan 9, 2024

Welcome to R2R!

LOOKS like you have a good start with the equipment you have gathered.

I will caution you not to go cheap on the test kits you purchase. The API kits can be very difficult to get reliable results. Some folks will tell you to trash them and look for different kits. Like most, I started with them but quickly replaced the more important ones with either Hanna or Salifert kits.

You will need a good copper test kit for sure since you are setting up for QT. Good phosphate, nitrate and ammonia kits are also important.

zheka757 · Jan 9, 2024

Welcome to R2R!

FrugalReefer · Jan 9, 2024

Ocean_Queenie · Jan 9, 2024

Hello & Welcome

alexeikathryn · Jan 9, 2024

threebuoys said:
Welcome to R2R!

LOOKS like you have a good start with the equipment you have gathered.

I will caution you not to go cheap on the test kits you purchase. The API kits can be very difficult to get reliable results. Some folks will tell you to trash them and look for different kits. Like most, I started with them but quickly replaced the more important ones with either Hanna or Salifert kits.

You will need a good copper test kit for sure since you are setting up for QT. Good phosphate, nitrate and ammonia kits are also important.

That's really good info - I was kind of wondering about the reliability of those kits. Thank you!!!