12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hi everyone, I wanted to take a moment and introduce myself, I've been lurking for a couple days now and decided to join in on the conversation and this forum is just so beautiful as well. After a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium my wife fell in love with reef systems and she decided she wanted to start it up. Which leads me to where I am today. I recently brought my 12 gallon nano cube that I had in storage for 8 years back to Texas. I had maybe about 6 pounds of dry rock. There is no local fist store for over an hour in each direction, Austin and Houston are the closest to where I'm at. So I decided on a whim to stop by PetCo, as luck would have it they were going to be redoing all their tanks. In the next 3 days they needed everything gone so they were having a 50% off sale. We went home and cleaned the tank got everything set up, keep in mind we just got back about 2 days before. The next morning I went and bought 20 pounds of live sand and my wife picked out 2 Large pieces, 2 medium pieces and 2 small pieces. With the hope that it would help seed the old dry rock that we have. I also picked up the natural filtered ocean water they had because we were going to be out of town and only had about an hour to get everything set up. The tank already had an upgraded pump from when I had it last, plus an extra I had. So my wife put the live rock in we put the sand it added water threw both pumps in and turned the heater on and went away for the weekend letting the cycle start in the dark. It hasn't even been a week yet and everything seems to be in great shape parameter wise. But still letting it cycle, I just ordered a new 50/50 bulb because it popped the other day when It on to check out tank, I was expecting it I mean the bulb was about 8 years old at this point. I'm expecting the new bulb and also a Jebao WP-10 wave maker with controller tomorrow. As it turned out it was the ballast so I just ended up replacing it with an AI Sol with controller, what a difference it has made so far. Here is a quick picture of the tank once I got everything set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome to the forums. That's a real clean look you got there. looking fwd to seeing the build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome. Looks like you already have a great little setup going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks, picture is a couple weeks old I'll post an updated picture later tonight. My next purchase is going to be an ATO, I was looking at the Smart ATO, does anyone have a suggestion for an ATO for a nano reef? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 System looks great! I loved the 12-gallon nanocube! Awesome system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks, picture is a couple weeks old I'll post an updated picture later tonight. My next purchase is going to be an ATO, I was looking at the Smart ATO, does anyone have a suggestion for an ATO for a nano reef? I'm a huge fan of the tunze osmolators. They have 2 sensors, one being optical, and include a pump so you don't have to mess with an aqualifter or trying to use a powerhead. The hydor smart level is another good one with a really small sensor. AutoAqua also makes one with a small sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome! We have quite a few members in B/CS, many who make frequent trips to Austin for meetings and purchases, so be sure to introduce yourself. For a 12g the Jebao might be a bit overpowered. Let us know how it works out for you. Depending on what you want to spend, check out autotopoff.com for inexpensive, reliable topoff. I've been using my dual sensor model from them for almost 7 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks guys, I actually got introduced to the site from a guy here in town who I brought some frags from yesterday. My wife is always working in austin, she's a consultant so I figure every now and then I could make a trip down there and we can check out the reef scene there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks, picture is a couple weeks old I'll post an updated picture later tonight. My next purchase is going to be an ATO, I was looking at the Smart ATO, does anyone have a suggestion for an ATO for a nano reef? I'm a huge fan of the tunze osmolators. They have 2 sensors, one being optical, and include a pump so you don't have to mess with an aqualifter or trying to use a powerhead. The hydor smart level is another good one with a really small sensor. AutoAqua also makes one with a small sensor. +1 on the Tunze ATO ... I love mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'll have to give the Tunze another look, I counted it out and was looking at the smart ATO, but I can't remember why I didn't give it more attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 An updated picture from today Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome to the club! Your set up is looking great so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome. I just moved from b/cs to the austin area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks Kim. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yeah I wouldn't mind moving out to Austin after I finish up my graduate work. My wife likes it out there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Welcome! The tank looks great. The one thing I hated the most about the B/CS area was the lack of decent fish stores. Luckily for me I literally lived across TX Ave from Petco so it was a short 2 minute walk for me haha. Still didn't satisfy what I was looking for, but it provided cheap fish every now and then. I would just pick up frags whenever I was in Austin. I travel to Houston frequently for work now and I still prefer Austin stores over Houston. Best of luck on your tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 nice to have you. I love my Hydor ATO; small sensor and no moving parts to get stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Hey welcome! I live in Bryan so it would he cool to meet you sometime. Glad you joined ARC. I stay busy with school and work but maybe I can have you over some time for some frags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks guys, I actually got introduced to the site from a guy here in town who I brought some frags from yesterday. That would be me. Glad you made your way here! Tons of great info and banter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Welcome! The tank looks great. The one thing I hated the most about the B/CS area was the lack of decent fish stores. Luckily for me I literally lived across TX Ave from Petco so it was a short 2 minute walk for me haha. Still didn't satisfy what I was looking for, but it provided cheap fish every now and then. I would just pick up frags whenever I was in Austin. I travel to Houston frequently for work now and I still prefer Austin stores over Houston. Best of luck on your tank! Yeah, I just noticed a little aphasia on a piece of live rock I got out of there tank when I first set up, so far only one though. Going to take care of it tonight hopefully nice to have you. I love my Hydor ATO; small sensor and no moving parts to get stuck. I was looking into this I really like how it was set up. What size tank do you have it on? Hey welcome! I live in Bryan so it would he cool to meet you sometime. Glad you joined ARC. I stay busy with school and work but maybe I can have you over some time for some frags. Yeah Manny, are you at A&M? I have an office on campus Thanks guys, I actually got introduced to the site from a guy here in town who I brought some frags from yesterday. That would be me. Glad you made your way here! Tons of great info and banter I'm eternally grateful, seems like a solid sweet forum. Plus those little guys are doing great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm go to SHSU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Omelete, The Hydor is on a TWV of about 120 gallons. The chamber of the sump where the level gauge sits is about 8-10 gallons of water. The sensor is placed in such a way that water level only changes in this chamber. Running like this, I have about 2 qt variance in water before the ATO kicks on. This unit was originally running on a 29 BC in a 2.5 gallon return chamber and does just a good a job on all three tanks it has been set-up on. I would say I have <.0001 salinity variance in my current system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks I'm worried about how high the water level is and how fast it would fill before registering the correct level. I'll snap a picture later. I have maybe 2 inches before the water will flow over. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Let's see that build thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12_egg_omelette Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Let's see that build thread. Posted it up, at least a work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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