JBJ 25 AIO build thread

[Aguamann]

Picked up a JBJ RF-25 and stand from a local person on Facebook marketplace. The itch has now begun!
I have some old pieces of equipment from when I was in the hobby 5+ years ago. Using that, what little knowledge I’ve retained, and a little bit of dollar bills, my aquarium will be up and cycling within a week or two.

what’s everyone’s opinion on a leveling Matt? This stand really just doesn’t feel too sturdy, but it’s made by JBJ for this aquarium.

 

[tzabor10]

I don’t use leveling mats but have thought of them. Looks nice. The rimless top is slick. Where are you getting the rocks from?

 

[scubatan]

Do you plan on using a lid or making a DIY?

 

[Aguamann]

I don’t use leveling mats but have thought of them. Looks nice. The rimless top is slick. Where are you getting the rocks from?

Purchased a 20lb box from BRS- Marcorocks coralline dry rock.

I will use that to get the scape i want. I found a pretty impressive local fish store about 30 minutes away that i will get a few small pieces of live rock with to throw in there and get my tank cycling.

 

[Aguamann]

Do you plan on using a lid or making a DIY?

It actually came with these low profile glass lids, I am short 1 bracket on the right side, but it’s on order.

I like them a lot, they can just slide back over the sump area for simple maintenance/cleaning.

 

[tzabor10]

Purchased a 20lb box from BRS- Marcorocks coralline dry rock.

I will use that to get the scape i want. I found a pretty impressive local fish store about 30 minutes away that i will get a few small pieces of live rock with to throw in there and get my tank cycling.

Excellent plan

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Aguamann]

filled the tank the other day to test for any leaks, all good!
Ran the pump with a long hose to drain it and it was quite loud. It’s the factory jbj 198gph return pump that came with the tank which is a few years old. While a simple cleaning might have helped I decided to replace it with a Sicce 251gph pump that’s nice and quiet. A few months in once the tank is stable and i have a good maintenance schedule I will start adding corals, at that time a power head will be added. And recomendations?

Everything should be in Thursday to get the tank up and running!

 

[Aguamann]

Garage water station is ready to go.
BRS 6 stage ro/di system mounted to the rack. Two jugs for fresh water and a brute 10 gallon for mixing salt. I will be keeping all of my aquarium related equipment/water testing/etc on this same shelf. The plan is to keep the mess away from the aquarium to keep the wife happy.

 

[Aguamann]

Tank is up and running!

Did a single rinse of the caribsea special grade reef sand with saltwater just to prevent some of the cloudiness, worked great. Got the rocks sitting how i like them, mostly up against the back wall but angling out towards the center of the tank at the bottom. Will make a great reef look once I fill it up with corals. Put a capful of Microbacter to speed up the process and now we wait.
I’ll be testing every few days. No filtration in the tank at the moment, will probably start to filter the water right when livestock is added after the cycle. Intank media basket with filter floss on top and bio balls in the bottom chamber.

Light is a reefbreeders nano LED. Impressed with it so far for a relatively cheap light, we will see how it does long term. From what I read, I really shouldn’t be running the light during my cycle, what a shame!

 

[scubatan]

Tank is up and running!

Did a single rinse of the caribsea special grade reef sand with saltwater just to prevent some of the cloudiness, worked great. Got the rocks sitting how i like them, mostly up against the back wall but angling out towards the center of the tank at the bottom. Will make a great reef look once I fill it up with corals. Put a capful of Microbacter to speed up the process and now we wait.
I’ll be testing every few days. No filtration in the tank at the moment, will probably start to filter the water right when livestock is added after the cycle. Intank media basket with filter floss on top and bio balls in the bottom chamber.

Light is a reefbreeders nano LED. Impressed with it so far for a relatively cheap light, we will see how it does long term. From what I read, I really shouldn’t be running the light during my cycle, what a shame!

Looks good! Are you concerned at all about detritus build up or being able to clean in the back there?

 

[Aguamann]

I wasn’t until you mentioned it, lol.

In all seriousness I’ve never cleaned the back glass on previous tanks. Always liked the look of it he coralline algae once it starts growing.

As for waste buildup, I’m hoping to out a good cleanup crew and regular maintenance/water changes I can keep everything in check. Plan to have a small bio load and good water movement to eliminate any dead spots too, we will see how it goes.

 

[Aguamann]

7 days in and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels haven’t moved from 0 PPM. I added a cube of frozen brine in today to hopefully cause an ammonia spike and get this cycle kick started. I have been putting a capful of microbacter7 in every day.

 

[Peair]

7 days in and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels haven’t moved from 0 PPM. I added a cube of frozen brine in today to hopefully cause an ammonia spike and get this cycle kick started. I have been putting a capful of microbacter7 in every day.

It looks like you have a nice cube, I hope you have success.

 

[Vinaka_vakalevu]

7 days in and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels haven’t moved from 0 PPM. I added a cube of frozen brine in today to hopefully cause an ammonia spike and get this cycle kick started. I have been putting a capful of microbacter7 in every day.

can always add liquid ammonia, but adding the cube of frozen will get it gong

 

[Aguamann]

Ammonia is reading 1.5 on my salifert test kit.
Nitrites 0ppm on api test kit (not sure if i trust it, it has been in my attic for 5 years.
Nitrates 1.1 ppm on hanna checker

Going to take a water sample to my lfs tomorrow and see what their readings say on their aqua spin tester.

Hoping to see my ammonia start to drop now that nitrates are present. I'm ready to put some fish in here. My LFS pushes fritz turbo start, stating i can put a fish in after 30 minutes and I'm good to go. Whats everyone's opinion on this? This is my 3rd tank and I have only done it the old school way. Can i do that now that ammonia is present? or is it something i should have just done from the beginning?

 

[JustAnotherNanoTank]

Awesome little cube!! Gonna be sweet.

As for cycling… don’t ask me.

I used Dr. Tim’s and my clownfish.

 

[Jmcdaniel0]

None of the bottle bacteria’s are going to cycle your tank in 30 minutes. Now, they may add some beneficial bacteria, but it’s not cycling your aquarium in 30 minutes.

 

[Aguamann]

Over the last weekend I used ammonium chloride to verify my tanks ability to process ammonia with success, but nitrate was still sky high, reading 75ppm on Hanna checker(max). After lots of reading I discovered that nitrite in the system will cause false numbers of nitrate.
On Wednesday I was happy to test 36ppm of nitrate, did a 50% water change and ran to try LFS to pick up my clownfish that were on hold. They have been in for two days now and get better every day as they warm up to the tank.
Drip acclimated them and dropped them in one at a time with a net and they spent the first hour on opposite sides not moving, I had to scare one of them to make him move and find his buddy, they have been inseparable since! Today (day 3) they are exploring every inch of the tank. Haven’t eaten yet but i am being patient and persistent, trying not to overfeed.

Ai Nero 3 has been added and is running in random mode between 1-5% on the back wall. Light is slowly being incorporated, running at 25% for a few hours daily.

Oh, and I did some adjusting to the aquascaping the day before the fish went in. really wanted to incorporate a cave. Really happy with the way it looks now.

 

[Aguamann]

Ordered an 8 bank power strip with switches on each outlet.
Got all my wires organized, happy with how it turned out. Should make maintenance/water changed a breeze.