Brand New Aquapod

[tropicalwaters]

ok, i have been keeping freshwater fish for over 10 years, and always dreamed of a reef set up. I finally decided to try and get a smaller tank to try out the demand of reef/saltwater keeping, despite knowing that the bigger, the more stable the system is. I have bougth an aquapod 24g, with updated ligth system. basically, I am starting from scratch and wondering what to do. Any advice? thanks

 

[craigybaby37]

so is it just the tank and light you have got then?? is it T5 lighting if so how many watts??

For now you need to concentrate on getting the tank filled with RO water, get your crushed coral or sand base, get the water heated, add your salt and finally add your liverock and let it cycle for a few weeks.

Do you have any powerheads for the tank to circulate the water??

 

[steelhealr]

Hope this helps:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;hl=nano,+tank

SH

 

[tropicalwaters]

I have been reading the intro's on the site, i ordered some live sand/ and rock- I am going later to pick up some salt..

I was curious about the setup, do any of you guys have sumps/ refuguims ( spelled it wrong)? and if so, how did you do it?

 

[steelhealr]

If you have time to go thru the thread...it has sumps, setup, etc. The 24G is almost exactly similar to your tank. You can get some ideas. SH

 

[nogarobluenano]

Welcome and good luck B)

 

[@ombomb]

I run a sump and would definitely recommend it if you can. If nothing else, it's nice not to have to look at a skimmer / heater in such a small tank.

 

[tropicalwaters]

I have been going through the thread, only at page 12 so far but helped alot. I was reading at the lack of good lfs, I am also in LI, have you been to country ctitters off suurise? they usually have some nice corals, fish etc ( haven't talked to employee's so I do not know how good they are).. well I am trying to decide on buying my SW or making my own,, not sure maybe a trip to the lfs will help. I was cheking out the back chambers of the aquapod, there are only 2 and one has the pump in there. I checked out the info on thei website:

model: 7051
G: 24

LIgths:
- 1x32w SunPaq
-Dual Daylight & 1x32w SunPaq Dual Actinic
- 2 NocturnalBlue

pump cap: 290 gph
size: 19.75"x 17"x 20"

- i also bougth some extra ligths: sunpod 20'' 150 W HQI 24 hour ligthing system:
-1 150 W 14,000Kk lamp
-6 moon white lunar ligths
-6 nocturnal blue lunar ligths

the only thing I am thiiking of upgrading is the pump, or perhaps adding an external one....
I will put up pics soon

 

[tropicalwaters]

I went today to my lfs to purchase my live rock and sand, however their live rock was completely unattractive and at $15 a pound even more so. Perhaps it is time to use ebay again- or an online retailer.

 

[tropicalwaters]

well I mixed my water and sand ( did not rinse it out), so possibly becaus eof this Ii have very thick white "scum" on the surface of the water. Its been 8 hours and only sligthly cleared-

 

[exsarg]

Hope this helps:

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;hl=nano,+tank"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;hl=nano,+tank[/URL]

SH

Hey steelhealr & xxBarneyxx- You guys have been extremely helpful in the past, imposing again! Finally got my 24gal Aquapod this week, now have sand, salt, heater, thermometer, haven't ordered live rock yet but, waiting till all on go! Basic question, once you mentioned using pvc pipe to set your rock on, I believe
I understand the advantage, good circulation etc, now what size pipe did you use, and how, just a piece here and there or what, also the white hot
water pipe, grey or does it matter? I hope to cure all at the same time, new tank, sand, and rock, is this feasible? I got the new power head(see I know
now it's not just a pump), should I use it in addition to the pump that came with the uniot, if so where do I put it? Oh it's the Maxi-Jet 1200. Where do I put
the thermometer and heater, if in the back compartment, where? The heater is fully submersible. Should I be ordering sand cleaners etc in the near future
and do you mind recommending, snails, gobies, shrimp or what, cost is an issue? I realize you folks didn't take me to raise especially since I'm 81, but no
since me messing up big time and throwing money away I don't have, how sad, HA! I've been fabricating my stand for the tank, reason I've been out of
pocket awhile, had fun too! Please just any advice you might pass to me will be so very much appreciated!!! I know nussing!

exsarg
ps-ALSO, I got 20# of sand, I
assume this should be plenty,
base 19.75 x 13 inches.

 

[tropicalwaters]

ex sarg,

definetly read SH diary, it helps out alot. In the begginning i was going to use PVC to make a type of square to place the rock in. however my live rock arrived and its tonga and also in tiny little pieces. I decided not to use the PVC anymore. However, I would suggest that if you do perhaps drill holes in the PVC so they dont become bacteria greenhouses, and allow for water circulation. I have seen that some use arcrylic rods to help stabilize the rock formations.

In regards to where to put the heater, i placed it in the back first compartment. I assume that your pump is in the second compartment, same as mine. i saw that there was very little water movement at the rigth bottom side of the pod, so that it where i put my powerhead. the thermometer i would put somewhere where you can see it, to monitor the water temperature.

Just a hint, when ordering live rock, make sure that they package it well, so it actually arrives in pieces larger than 5", and you dont have to glue them together. Also, wait until tour nitrates are under 10 to start thinking about a cleanup crew, you can probably order a 30 G cleanup crew for under $60 including shipping.

Good luck

 

[steelhealr]

premiumaquatics.com had great LR. I keep my heater in chamber 3 in mine. SH

 

[timpetty]

ex sarg,
I changed the stock powerhead to the Maxijet 1200. I had to shrink the tubing provided because it was too big for the maxijet's exit nozzle. I heated the plastic tubing in the back with a lighter until it was soft and fitted it around the hole and secured it with a zip tie while it was still soft. You could always just buy an adapter but this was free and easy to do.

I took off one of the nozzles on the end of the split locline and added a Hydor Flo. It rotates and makes the flow more erratic. From what I hear its better to have varied movement.

Lastly, If you add another powerhead, before adding the water (or after and dropping the level) you can drill another exit hole in the divider to the main tank and have another pump flowing out. I did this with the return from my external filter. I have the water flow up towards the water line to make more surface aggitation and add more overall flow to the display.

 

[exsarg]

SH
Thanks- I'll check out premiumaquatics on the LR, the reason I asked about the heater I remember reading ??? to put it in the 3rd compartment only the Aquapod only has two! The what I'll call the
first is on the left and it is the inlet to the compartment where the sponge and ceramic and wanna be golf balls. I plan to remove that stuff again from what I've read, but don't know what to use as
filter material? I have gotten everthing so far from Foster & Smith, well pleased so far!

Thanks much
exsarg

















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