Qt to nano cube.

[ylreefer]

So, this wasn't going to have a build thread, but hell I was looking through the cube scape forum and was pretty impressed so It made me creat this.

This was actually my old QT tank that has served me very very well for my peninsula additions. Since there will be no more fish going into the DT I had the idea to make this a lion fish only tank. Then got to thinking! Taking a 2 week work trip with a line fish to feed is not going to work .

So. Once a reefer, always a reefer lol. And here we go again. So yea this is now going to be a nano reef 18" cube dyi AIO.

I don't plan to run a skimmer. I don't plan to run carbon or gfo. All water changes will be done from the 650, with the dosing that takes place there im hoping that will surfice. Lighting is a from a Maxspect R420R single unit. Chamber 1 will initially be just filter pad, however this may turn into a fuge if needed. Second chamber will either be clear or I may add some Maxspect bio blocks from the DT sump. Bio filtration will be primarily from the 4 bits of LR I currently have in a bucket cooking.

Not much of a scape in the plans as I wanted this tank to be some what minimalist. Lets see what I come up with. The idea is to provide all the corals from frags of the 650, let them grow out and maybe even sell a few. Fish wise, maybe just 2 or 3 very small fish. I have a royal gramme in qt at the moment and I think he may actually be happier in the nano than the 650 so he's going to be the first addition. Maybe followed by a pair of gobies or smiler.

Ill post an update when I get the water and scape in. Hopefully that should be Thursday or Friday. Just giving the silicone a good time to dry.

 

[WiscoFishNut]

Looks like a promising start! Following along

 

[ylreefer]

OK so, long day at work today and I decided to pick up a bit more live rock on the way home as the 4 bits I have done really good much of a scape. (so much for minimalist look ). Put them in A bucket and realised that it's probably going to need at least a week to semi cure. They were only out of water for a hour or two, but man did they have done nasty smells today when I owned the bucket . So yea not sure the tank will get wet by Thursday but hey. No rush. So yea I'll plan to add the water this weekend anyway as that's all coming from the DT, and it's water change time.

Will be sure to share the scape once it's in. Done hold your breath though. I not very artistic .

 

[ylreefer]

Wellllll. UPDATE TIME . So yea, today we had a tropical storm which means no work for anyone. . I made good use of my free time and got the nano wet.

The LR I picked up the day before had no bad smells after cooking in the bucket over night (a bit quicker than I'd have liked but hey. No fish going in yet so all good) I have my ammonia badge in the tank so will keep an eye on that, although I really don't expect a lot of die off as the rocks were only out of water for about an hr.

So all done. Working as expected. Pretty happy with the scape and much deliberation and WhatsApp pics between my local reef club. And this is what I've come up with. Im not one for leaning rocks on the walls of the tank, I prefer the island look, mainly to assist water flow. And ease of maintenance. Although with the LR shapes I had this was unavoidable for the final piece. I can live with that. .

Its filled with 80% water from my DT and 20% NSW. About 20lb of live rock and clean sand. Added some mb7 as you do and I'll see tomorrow where we're at. But the test frags I put in had their polyps out 10 min later, which is no surprise as it's almost all the same water.

OK then I'll leave you to take a look and comment or critique my scape. Always room for improvement

 

[WiscoFishNut]

Wellllll. UPDATE TIME . So yea, today we had a tropical storm which means no work for anyone. . I made good use of my free time and got the nano wet.

The LR I picked up the day before had no bad smells after cooking in the bucket over night (a bit quicker than I'd have liked but hey. No fish going in yet so all good) I have my ammonia badge in the tank so will keep an eye on that, although I really don't expect a lot of die off as the rocks were only out of water for about an hr.

So all done. Working as expected. Pretty happy with the scape and much deliberation and WhatsApp pics between my local reef club. And this is what I've come up with. Im not one for leaning rocks on the walls of the tank, I prefer the island look, mainly to assist water flow. And ease of maintenance. Although with the LR shapes I had this was unavoidable for the final piece. I can live with that. .

Its filled with 80% water from my DT and 20% NSW. About 20lb of live rock and clean sand. Added some mb7 as you do and I'll see tomorrow where we're at. But the test frags I put in had their polyps out 10 min later, which is no surprise as it's almost all the same water.

OK then I'll leave you to take a look and comment or critique my scape. Always room for improvement

View attachment 1738853 View attachment 1738854 View attachment 1738855 View attachment 1738857

I think the scape turned out pretty good. That light looks like a perfect fit for the tank too. Nice little setup right there!

 

[ylreefer]

After adding some Mb7 on day one the tank turned very cloudy on day two. This is totally normal and left alone will clear up on its own. Which it actually did by day 3. Completely crystal clear.

Just thought I'd put that out there for any newbies. Cos I know how easy it can be to freak out when you've not experienced this before .

The ammonia badge has been clear from day one so looks like the tank is ready for fish. Although it'll be another week before the royal gramma is free from the QT process.

Getting the good quality live rock and getting it home quick has definitely been a big benefit in the set up process.

Ill update when some live stock goes in with some pics. If anyone has any suggestions or improvements their always welcome

 

[ylreefer]

Hey all, so nothing super exiting but the tank is doing fine. Had a few brown patches on the sand bed but nothing serious.

Did one 5g water change so far and light feeding of the royal gramma. I've added a bit of colour by means of a few zoas so thought I'd share my terrible slightly blury pics with you. Apologies for the lighting but by the time I get home it's just the blues on, and the filter can only help so much .