The Saltwater Cube Journey- 24G JBJ Nano Cube

[saltwatercube]

Hi all! In December I picked up my first SW tank an old 2006 24G JBJ Nano Cube off the market place. The lights were shot and we had to redo the whole hood, but I have deeply enjoyed refurbishing it. I am a very patient beginner SW tank owner and research things meticulously before doing them. Currently, I am in the process of cycling it and it is super close (I have had many FW tanks before this so cycling is the part that I am best at). The AIO compartments are HUGE so I did a media basket in one, eventual refugium in the middle, and upgraded the pump in the third chamber. I have plans to also run a protein skimmer in the future in the back.

We got the following light off Amazon and I was thrilled that it had such high wattage, was full spectrum, and was affordable! Light Link. Since the lights in the hood were broken so badly, we could only get a light that would fit in the hood and this one fit like a glove! It has dimming settings and a moonlight which are great!

The problem I am having is with the timer on the light. I wanted to automate the lights so that they turned on, dimmed, and went t moonlight like a night cycle instead of switching it on and off every day and worrying about the variable of manually timing things. This light's timer is very basic and will not do that; I have to turn it on every day for the 8 hour timer and then switch it to moonlight once that 8 hour timer is done or it goes off.

Is there any solutions to an automatic timer/dimmer that I could add? Or any light suggestions that are budget friendly? Having a hood has limited me since it has to be a light that will go under the hood (18 inches), so I am even contemplating scrapping this, but what would I replace it with?

Anyways, thank you in advance:

Here is my planned eventual, gradual, stocking list that I hope to implement over the next year as my tank matures:
-Fish: 2 clownfish, 1 firefish, 1 royal gramma basslet, and maybe a yellow watchman Goby, but that is very debatable depending on how my journey is going
-CUC- shrimp, crabs, snails
-corals: basic soft corals and very beginner and easy corals. also interested in an anemone wayyy further down the line when my tank matures

 

[cdemoss01]

Hi all! In December I picked up my first SW tank an old 2006 24G JBJ Nano Cube off the market place. The lights were shot and we had to redo the whole hood, but I have deeply enjoyed refurbishing it. I am a very patient beginner SW tank owner and research things meticulously before doing them. Currently, I am in the process of cycling it and it is super close (I have had many FW tanks before this so cycling is the part that I am best at). The AIO compartments are HUGE so I did a media basket in one, eventual refugium in the middle, and upgraded the pump in the third chamber. I have plans to also run a protein skimmer in the future in the back.

We got the following light off Amazon and I was thrilled that it had such high wattage, was full spectrum, and was affordable! Light Link. Since the lights in the hood were broken so badly, we could only get a light that would fit in the hood and this one fit like a glove! It has dimming settings and a moonlight which are great!

The problem I am having is with the timer on the light. I wanted to automate the lights so that they turned on, dimmed, and went t moonlight like a night cycle instead of switching it on and off every day and worrying about the variable of manually timing things. This light's timer is very basic and will not do that; I have to turn it on every day for the 8 hour timer and then switch it to moonlight once that 8 hour timer is done or it goes off.

Is there any solutions to an automatic timer/dimmer that I could add? Or any light suggestions that are budget friendly? Having a hood has limited me since it has to be a light that will go under the hood (18 inches), so I am even contemplating scrapping this, but what would I replace it with?

Anyways, thank you in advance:

Here is my planned eventual, gradual, stocking list that I hope to implement over the next year as my tank matures:
-Fish: 2 clownfish, 1 firefish, 1 royal gramma basslet, and maybe a yellow watchman Goby, but that is very debatable depending on how my journey is going
-CUC- shrimp, crabs, snails
-corals: basic soft corals and very beginner and easy corals. also interested in an anemone wayyy further down the line when my tank matures

First welcome to Reef2Reef! And id recommend starting a build thread for your tank not only will you get a spiffy badge but people will get too see your tank grow and make comments and tips! Good too have you here!

 

[saltwatercube]

Thanks

First welcome to Reef2Reef! And id recommend starting a build thread for your tank not only will you get a spiffy badge but people will get too see your tank grow and make comments and tips! Good too have you here!

Thanks so much! If you don't mind me asking, how do I access that thread? I can't seem to find it.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Thanks

Thanks so much! If you don't mind me asking, how do I access that thread? I can't seem to find it.

Member's Aquarium Discussion

Please share your aquarium set ups here! Whether you have nano aquarium, mid-size box of glass, or an indoor swimming pool for fish this is the place to be.

www.reef2reef.com

You could start your build thread under Member Tanks, Nano, or AIO. Then you would add the thread link in your profile under the About tab.

I recently joined as well; our background and first reef tanks seem fairly similar.

 

[saltwatercube]

Member's Aquarium Discussion

Please share your aquarium set ups here! Whether you have nano aquarium, mid-size box of glass, or an indoor swimming pool for fish this is the place to be.

www.reef2reef.com

You could start your build thread under Member Tanks, Nano, or AIO. Then you would add the thread link in your profile under the About tab.

I recently joined as well; our background and first reef tanks seem fairly similar.

Thanks so much and good luck with your tank!

 

[Katrina71]

Member's Aquarium Discussion

Please share your aquarium set ups here! Whether you have nano aquarium, mid-size box of glass, or an indoor swimming pool for fish this is the place to be.

www.reef2reef.com

You could start your build thread under Member Tanks, Nano, or AIO. Then you would add the thread link in your profile under the About tab.

I recently joined as well; our background and first reef tanks seem fairly similar.

Whatever you do, don't show any pics of your tailspot on that build thread

 

[saltwatercube]

Update: Fish in my tank! I had issues with nitrites not disappearing on my test kits but they finally did! Did a drip acclimation and turned the lights off, but the clownfish are settling in well. I fed them in the drip acclimation and they ate well. They seem super healthy and I will continue to monitor tank parameters daily and wait before continuing to stock.

However, the chaeto I bought for the refugium I was planning on putting in my middle chamber was a mess. I saw somewhere to quarantine chaeto for 14 days, so I set up my QT tank with water from my main tank that had nitrates. I made sure to only touch the chaeto with gloves, but it had quite a few hitchhikers of asterina starfish and snails. I have seen so much conflict on whether the asterinas are good or bad, but ultimately I think they won't be in my tank, but I have no clue what the snails are.

I planned on doing the recommended coral dip then freshwater dip to get rid of the possible aiptasia after a few days, but I'm seeing so much conflict on if any of this is even necessary at all.

Any advice for the chaeto?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Update: Fish in my tank! I had issues with nitrites not disappearing on my test kits but they finally did! Did a drip acclimation and turned the lights off, but the clownfish are settling in well. I fed them in the drip acclimation and they ate well. They seem super healthy and I will continue to monitor tank parameters daily and wait before continuing to stock.

However, the chaeto I bought for the refugium I was planning on putting in my middle chamber was a mess. I saw somewhere to quarantine chaeto for 14 days, so I set up my QT tank with water from my main tank that had nitrates. I made sure to only touch the chaeto with gloves, but it had quite a few hitchhikers of asterina starfish and snails. I have seen so much conflict on whether the asterinas are good or bad, but ultimately I think they won't be in my tank, but I have no clue what the snails are.

I planned on doing the recommended coral dip then freshwater dip to get rid of the possible aiptasia after a few days, but I'm seeing so much conflict on if any of this is even necessary at all.

Any advice for the chaeto?

Nice looking clowns!

 

[Fishy Guy]

Big update! Clowns look awesome.

I'll have to leave your chaeto question to someone more knowledgeable.

 

[saltwatercube]

Update: 1/17/24

The clownfish are doing amazing, great eaters and have made use of the whole territory! I turn the filter off for two minutes when I feed them because it is sooo much easier and I feed them pellet by pellet and make sure to scoop up any uneaten pellets to prevent ammonia spikes. I am feeling super confident about reef keeping and am loving the experience so far! One month in!

Parameters are being monitored daily and today's are: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate. My PH stabilized, I got my nitrites down, and everything is appearing good in the cycling department. My phosphate test kit is still in the mail, but I am assuming I have some phosphates present because of the algae.

All this algae appeared today, all at once and out of nowhere, and I assume it is totally in part to me leaving the light on for 8 hours where as I cycled in the darkness. Going to go back to only putting on the main light for viewing. The algae has weird little bubbles on it, but I assume this is just my tank going into the ugly stage.

After this picture, I added in more filter media that just came in. I know have seachem purigen, chemi pure elite, filter floss, and the cured rock seeder stick in my back compartments. My back middle compartment could have chaeto in it any day, just waiting for the light to come in, so for now it is in my quarantine tank. Thank you to everyone on all the threads I posted on who was able to give good advice on my hitchhikers and QT process.

My question is, does this level of algae warrant any kind of minimal clean-up crew? I thought I would have much more time before adding in anything else. I don't want to add in a snail or a crab and then have no alage for them to eat because the issue clears up so quickly. Should I wait a few days and see if the algae gets cleared up from all the new media and the addition of the chaeto and then reassess?

I was going to wait a week and then add another small fish, but I could add one snail or hermit crab or the likes instead.

 

[Fishy Guy]

I’m still new so take everything I say with a grain of salt but I would be really hesitant to keep running the chemipure elite. It has GFO so could easily bottom out phosphates in a new tank, especially since you can’t test for it yet.

That could lead to dinos which may be what you’re seeing though it’s tough to tell from the pictures. It definitely looks different to diatoms which is what I started getting, and still working through, once I turned the lights on after cycling.

 

[saltwatercube]

I’m still new so take everything I say with a grain of salt but I would be really hesitant to keep running the chemipure elite. It has GFO so could easily bottom out phosphates in a new tank, especially since you can’t test for it yet.

That could lead to dinos which may be what you’re seeing though it’s tough to tell from the pictures. It definitely looks different to diatoms which is what I started getting, and still working through, once I turned the lights on after cycling.

Thanks so much! I posted on the nuisance algae group and the consensus there seemed to be diatoms and going through an ugly phase rather than dinos, which is a relief. Due to the fact that this alage spread rapidly from 2am-9am, I feel like it is a huge result of the light being on, which is so much better than the alternative. I turned the lights off and turkey basted and no new algae has grown or returned. I agree with the chemipure, if I take it out now, is it useless? I don't want to waste it as it is brand new. My phosphate test kit is coming Saturday, so I'm hoping I'll have a better idea then.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Thanks so much! I posted on the nuisance algae group and the consensus there seemed to be diatoms and going through an ugly phase rather than dinos, which is a relief. Due to the fact that this alage spread rapidly from 2am-9am, I feel like it is a huge result of the light being on, which is so much better than the alternative. I turned the lights off and turkey basted and no new algae has grown or returned. I agree with the chemipure, if I take it out now, is it useless? I don't want to waste it as it is brand new. My phosphate test kit is coming Saturday, so I'm hoping I'll have a better idea then.

Glad smarter minds think it's just diatoms! I just got worried when you mentioned the bubble-like appearance because I've heard dinos described that way.

Chemipure will be fine to take out and store in a closed container.

 

[jerricolaboy]

I’m only a year in but I’d agree to remove the Chemipure elite until you can test phosphate. You may be stripping too much. I’ve done it

 

[saltwatercube]

I’m only a year in but I’d agree to remove the Chemipure elite until you can test phosphate. You may be stripping too much. I’ve done it

Thank you- I took it out!

 

[kevgib67]

Update: 1/17/24

The clownfish are doing amazing, great eaters and have made use of the whole territory! I turn the filter off for two minutes when I feed them because it is sooo much easier and I feed them pellet by pellet and make sure to scoop up any uneaten pellets to prevent ammonia spikes. I am feeling super confident about reef keeping and am loving the experience so far! One month in!

Parameters are being monitored daily and today's are: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate. My PH stabilized, I got my nitrites down, and everything is appearing good in the cycling department. My phosphate test kit is still in the mail, but I am assuming I have some phosphates present because of the algae.

All this algae appeared today, all at once and out of nowhere, and I assume it is totally in part to me leaving the light on for 8 hours where as I cycled in the darkness. Going to go back to only putting on the main light for viewing. The algae has weird little bubbles on it, but I assume this is just my tank going into the ugly stage.

After this picture, I added in more filter media that just came in. I know have seachem purigen, chemi pure elite, filter floss, and the cured rock seeder stick in my back compartments. My back middle compartment could have chaeto in it any day, just waiting for the light to come in, so for now it is in my quarantine tank. Thank you to everyone on all the threads I posted on who was able to give good advice on my hitchhikers and QT process.

My question is, does this level of algae warrant any kind of minimal clean-up crew? I thought I would have much more time before adding in anything else. I don't want to add in a snail or a crab and then have no alage for them to eat because the issue clears up so quickly. Should I wait a few days and see if the algae gets cleared up from all the new media and the addition of the chaeto and then reassess?

I was going to wait a week and then add another small fish, but I could add one snail or hermit crab or the likes instead.

Now would be a good time to start introducing pods and the phytoplankton that feeds them. Looks like you could hold off a little longer on adding the other cuc. Looks like you are off to a great start. Following.

 

[saltwatercube]

Now would be a good time to start introducing pods and the phytoplankton that feeds them. Looks like you could hold off a little longer on adding the other cuc. Looks like you are off to a great start. Following.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!!!

 

[saltwatercube]

Sad update:

On Jan 16th, I bought two baby clownfish from my LFS. Both were super active, healthy, had a good appetite, and had no noticeable signs of disease or infection. I noticed that my one fish rubbed himself on the filter repeatedly but he had no white spots, signs of ick, or loss of color so I chalked it up to weird clownfish behavior. Jan 18th, I added three snails as a CUC to deal with my diatoms. All snails are still healthy.

Jan 21, I cleaned my tank and did a 25% WC and replaced with RODI water of the same temp and salinity. Everything looked great. I have parameter data for every single day of this month and every day it looked good and never fluctuated once cycled.

To make it easier, I'm going to number my fish.
Fish 1- is still in my tank
Fish 2- passed

Jan 22nd, Fish 2 suddenly sat at the bottom of the tank and was gasping for breath and losing color. He was struggling and pushing up sand (important to note there was NO white spots on his body ever. I brushed him off after he passed and there was no white spots at all). I put him in a cup and floated the cup so he could have an easier time but he passed very quickly. As this was happening I checked every parameter and even dosed prime JIC, but nothing was amiss. Fish 1 and all three snails (who are supposed to be very sensitive to parameter changes) were perfect. The only thing I could not test for was DO, but if it was a severe DO problem, wouldn't any other livestock show it? I have chaeto and a good water flow and trickle and a stable PH, so no real indicators of a loss of oxygen.

I am at a loss as to what caused Fish 2's passing. He got pale, but there was no loss of mucus coat (at least to my vision) like is typical in brook. There was no lesions on Fish 2's body and he was pale all over all of a sudden, not gradually. Every symptom was super sudden, he was fine the previous night and then it came on super sudden in the morning. He has nothing hanging off him like you see in a typical loss of mucus coat. He only rubbed on one specific spot, so I thought he was trying to host it. He ONLY rubbed this specific spot and loved to hang out there, but I thought he was just a clownfish being a clown.

Fish 1's has no symptoms and he has been in my tank for 2 weeks, so I feel like if he had something it would have presented by now. Since Fish 2 has passed, Fish 1's only change in behavior is being more reclusive. The pair were super close and always swam together, but now Fish 1 prefers to stay in his cave. It has been a week since Fish 2 passed. I only have one tank and it's a DT 24 gallon. Tank has been up since Dec 22nd.

My only other thinking is that he is super young, so it could have just been a fish that was not healthy since he is so small and young.

My question is, if it was anything, could my other fish have it? It has been a week, so I was planning on getting another clown, but now I am unsure. This fish was from a local and reputable fish store, but now I am wary of it. Can I get a fish from another store and introduce to my current fish?

Experiencing the typical frustration and sadness of losing a fish.

Attaching a picture of the Fish 2 rubbing that I caught and him when he was struggling (please note again that these are sand bits NOT white spots). Any advice or help is appreciated.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Sorry for the loss. I recently had a Banggai cardinal that went downhill and died extremely quickly.

It sure seems like it may just be an isolated event with a young, weak fish. I would just keep things stable for a week or two and keep an eye on everything.

If you add another clown it would probably be beneficial to get one either bigger or smaller than the remaining one.

 

[saltwatercube]

Sorry for the loss. I recently had a Banggai cardinal that went downhill and died extremely quickly.

It sure seems like it may just be an isolated event with a young, weak fish. I would just keep things stable for a week or two and keep an eye on everything.

If you add another clown it would probably be beneficial to get one either bigger or smaller than the remaining one.

Thanks so much for your advice, I'm going to tell myself that's what it was.