The College Nano

Bmgrocks · #1 04/27/2007, 05:45 AM

Currently have a 29 AGA Reef Tank, and looking into taking a complete system, without my Huge Skimmer,Bulky Lights, Fuge etc.. and getting a Complete System, Preferably the JBJ 28 Cube, which offers 150w HQI..

Does anyone have any Reccomendations, on keeping a Nano in College,

Experience with the JBJ Cube? Filtration Options, has 3 stage filtration with

Mechanical Sponge
Ceramic Rings
Carbon

Will be replacing with
Chaeto (Need to find desk light)
LR Rubble
keep carbon or phosphate remover

How Good is the skimmer?
Back chamber Water Level is said not to fluctuate...

Shooter7 · #2 04/27/2007, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Does anyone have any Reccomendations, on keeping a Nano in College

What are your living arrangements going to be at college? I lived in a dorm and wouldn't have put it past my roomates at all to pour a beer into a tank while they were in the midst of partying, or to do something like not having the a/c on when it was really hot out or leaving a window open when it was really cold. How will it be maintained when you're on breaks? If you don't take classes during the summer, are you going to lug it all home with you every summer? Just some stuff to consider. I don't know what your living plans are, so you may have already thought of this stuff.

Von_Rahvin · #3 04/27/2007, 09:29 AM

if you live an an apt it is not hard. just make sure your room mates know it's $$. if you live in a dorm BAD idea. Only take things into the dorm that you don;t mind getting destroyed.

dwdenny · #4 04/27/2007, 09:41 AM

My old room mate was good he enjoyed looking at the 29g and actually helped with water changes and stuff(I got him hooked as well). It all depends on your room mate(s) but I do agree with the above two statements be very cautious if in a dorm. Good luck and have you looked at the Aquapod 24g with HQI it is a nice little tank. I have the 12g version(older as well) and I love it. Still working out the back chambers but I will be adding LR rubble and cheato soon. I was planning on removing part of the black tape that they use to hide the chambers and mounting an external 9w or 13w PC 6500k for the macro and go from there. Probably put it in chamber 2 and filter floss or pad with carbon in 1 and leave 3 open but not sure yet. HTH

Bmgrocks · #5 04/27/2007, 11:14 AM

so besides the roommates, open windows, broken AC, it sounds like I will have to be living cautiously...

as far as breaks, it would be moved into a lab...not hard considering its 28 gallons, and partial waterchanges dependant on Bottled RO/Di water

I guess a better question would be does anyone have any experience with the JBJ nanocubes, and what would be good o know

i do thaink that i will be able to successfully keep a Nano in College, DuctTaping the tank..etc.. But its good to hear the advice of others

Grunt · #6 04/27/2007, 06:19 PM

Beer is for the stomach not the tank.

I personally do not recommend JBj because I had a 24gal which blew a corner while I was on vaca. The company said no dice on a refund and the store I bought it from eluded the issue when asked about it also. My hardwood floors were messed up, lost all my corals and my house sitters stopped by in time to save one fish, lost the other.

Oh don't let anyone touch it, or put stuff by, in or around it. Kinda hard to do sometimes depending on the situation.

Cheers

Slakker · #7 04/27/2007, 06:50 PM

I'm in the dorms with my 12g and it's fine, however, I am an RA, so I get a room to myself.

ShootMe · #8 04/30/2007, 01:45 AM

I just moved my 12 gallon Aquapod back home this past Friday from my dorm room where it’s been the whole year. I never had a problem with my roommate or his friends messing with the tank or putting anything in it. I do have the lid on the tank to prevent anything from falling into the tank but my roommates were pretty cool about it, they preferred paintball over drinking and partying. I simply left the tank in my room over breaks and vacations the lid kept evaporation down to 2 cups a week and with only mushrooms, softies, and a fox coral I was confident the tank would be fine without me. I did come back on the weekends during Christmas break do water changes, change the filter floss, and feed.

After the first couple of months the tank was at school my roommate and his friends started pestering me to add a “nemo” to the tank. After I added the clown fish the attention my roommate and his friends were paying to the tank increased dramatically.

Esper · #9 04/30/2007, 02:42 AM

I'd get a very sturdy tank that's maybe a little smaller (20g or under)...acrylic will be lighter & easier to move but scratches really easily, so a glass tank might be better. go barebottom so you don't have to deal with massive bacterial swings everytime you move the sandbed. i'd keep mushrooms and softies b/c they deal with moving better...i've even had mushrooms split in between moves. SPS at best will probably brown out for awhile, at worst will RTN or STN.

a stand with wheels would be cool but possibly hard to do. just take 2/3rds the water out and wheel that sucker anywhere! =)

a mantis shrimp might be a cool addition, you could just add a damsel or two during breaks and then it could catch its own meals when hungry.

Bmgrocks · #10 04/30/2007, 04:18 PM

im kinda trying to steer clear of the glass tank, I have one now, but it seems bulky, its a 29, with 2 light fixtures, a Jinormous CSS skimmer that looks like a light house, and a AC fuge,

I want an all in one system, for convinence, because the 130w PC and 36w t-5s take up quite a bit of space

rodgod20 · #11 04/30/2007, 07:32 PM

also check the college....mine had a 10G limit with any thing underwater. So they didn't like it when I put saran wrap on top of my 10G with my pet rat and put some water on the saran wrap.

Got in trouble for that one....