[Jasonanatal]

Hello everyone, it has been quite some time since I have had the chance to sit down and share the joys of recreating a beautiful piece of the reef right within my own home. I have focused on the preservation of a Nano Reef Aquarium within my home so that I can share the experience with my now 1 month 6 day old son Jayson Michael Natal.

[Jasonanatal]

Who Says Good Things Don't Come In Small Packages?

Life is full of difficult decisions especially when the decisions pertain to being able to provide for you family and participate in a hobby that you enjoy. So with that being said a large Reef Aquarium was definitely not in my future anytime soon. But that of course is not necessarily a bad thing. So I though why not venture into the world of Nano Aquariums. In my personal opinion it is definitely cheaper to setup and maintain. However, the benefit of being able to make a small mistake here and there that are acceptable in a larger aquarium definitely does not apply on this playing field. In the world of Nano Aquariums attention to detail is the key component in what seperates an aquarium that is doomed for catastrophe.

In search of the perfect aquarium to suite my needs I have decided to go with the JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI which has an open back for easy access and addition of external components and a stock 150 watt Metal Halide Lighting System with 14,000k Bulb, Dual 300gph Return Pumps, JBJ Wave Maker and Protein Skimmer. So the Ms. and I drove out to a Local Fish Store and purchased the setup with Aquarium & Stand for just over $750.00, not a bad deal in my thoughts.



Photograph Thursday October 25, 2007 - After a long drive and no help from any friends in lifting this Aquarium it is finally home. Too bad I actually have to go to work in 1 hour.


Photograph Thursday October 25, 2007 - The location for my new JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI Reef Aquarium. I painted the room for this occasion.


Photograph Thursday October 26, 2007 - Finally standing after 3 hours of ridiculous instructions to setup the stand, which I acutally had to hunt down instructions on Drs. Foster & Smith's website to complete the construction.

[Jasonanatal]

A Strong Foundation Is Just The Beginning.

Well in my past experiences I have dabled with different types of sand from different manufacturers and I always find myself coming back to my favorite. CaribSea Arag-Alive Live Aragonite Reef Sand. Best part about it the sand is already seeded with beneficial bacteria to speed up the cycling process of new Aquariums. A 20 lbs. bag can be purchased for around $28.00.



Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - 20 lbs. of CaribSea Arag-Alive Live Aragonite Reef Sand made for the perfect sandbed. Looks absolutely beautiful as well.


Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - Fillling the Aquarium with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals and RO/DI Water using the good old fashioned bag trick to reduce the sandstorm.


Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - A beautiful look sand bed for the foundation of my greatest Aquarium ever.

[Jasonanatal]

Harnessing the Power of the Sun In Order to Create Life!

Lighting was an important factor in the consideration of selecting a Nano Aquarium that was suitable for creating a full blown SPS Dominated Nano Reef Aquarium. Many of the Nano Aquariums available on the market currently availble with only Power Compact Lighting Systems which can sustain Soft Coral such a Mushrooms and Leathers at best. Some customizing option are availble to upgrade to Metal Halide Lighting Systems but come at a cost of drilling or removing stock Aquarium parts in order to achieve this goal. The JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI that I selected is a new product that comes stock with a 150 watt Metal Halide HQI Lighting System with four 1 watt LED Moonlights already intregrated into the hood for a 24 hour lighting solution. The electronic Ballast is a bit huge for my taste but it has integrated sealed ball bearing fans that run silent within it and 4 sealed ball bearing fans that are also integrated into the hood.



Photograph Friday October 26, 2007 - Integrated 150 watt Metal Halide Lighting System with 14,000K Bulb and four 1 watt LED Moonlights. The glass is tempered to keep it from shattering from water condesation or splashing.


Photograph Friday October 26, 2007 - The Electornic HQI Ballast is a bit large for my taste but it has integrate seal ball bearing fans which run silent. Don't ever touch it though, its hot!

[Jasonanatal]

Temperature Swings: Managing Heat & Keeping It Cool.

Maintaining an environment while minimizing the fluctuations within temperature whether it be too hot or too cold is a common concern with Nano Aquariums. Since my Nano Aquarium has a Metal Halide Lighting System integrated into the hood it was time to put a chiller into play. I have integrated a JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller into the aquarium setup in order to cool things down a bit. But when the chiller does its job alittle too efficiently or the night time air cools the entire room I have installed a Marineland Visi-therm 100 watt Heater. The two pieces of equipment working in conjunction with each other manage to keep the Aquarium temperature within a range of 78.0 degrees Fahrenheit to 78.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The swing is minial at best but I'm thinking that sometime in the near future that I can install a Digital Aquarium Controller such as the Digital Reefkeeper 2 so that is can independantly controll both pieces of equipment to reduce the range even further.



Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - My JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller fed water by a Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead.


Photograph Friday, october 26, 2007 - Water Flow diagram for JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller and Phosphate/Carbon Reactor.

[Jasonanatal]

The Family: My Little Piece of the Reef.

Just thought I would stray off topic a bit and show some photographs of my family and myself. Smile!


Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - Me and my little frag... I mean son Jayson Michael Natal taking a nap while mommy cooks.


Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - My little man in his camo Go Navy! (Yes the Navy actually wears camo.)


Photograph Thursday, October 25, 2007 - The little man and me at Beital's Aquarium. Already starting early or using him as an excuse to buy something for me... not entirely sure.


Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - The love of my life, my best friend and mother to my child Diana Rose Natal. She is the most beautiful mermaid I ever laid eyes on!


Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - The there just plain old me in need a shave desperately.

[Jasonanatal]

Aquascaping the Reef: The Journey for the Perfect Live Rock Structures.

With a limited amount of space I found that I had to be pretty precise in what pieces of rock I would purchase to recreate what I believe in my opinion would be the perfect structures for my NanoAquarium. The difficult part would be locating such pieces that would allow for not only a natural look but allowing for the most real estate to place my SPS Coral, Clams, Polyps, etc. As many of us now purchasing Live Rock from a store comes with its pros and cons just like many other things. Your definitely going to pay a large amount and quite naturally walk out with very little rock since your rock is weighed wet and you may get some cool hitch hikers that you love or get some nasty terrors that you just can't seem to get rid of.

Well I decided to turn to a local member and sponsor of the Talking Reef website since I have heard such great feedback about the quality of his goods and services. I gave Marc from Marco Rocks "The Finest Aquarium Rock Available" a call... and another call... and yet another call... and an E-mail... and eventually after finding out about the Hurricane in his area I finally got in contact with him after much stalking! I spoke with him about finding some of his signature pieces and placed my order. Now normally my patience is well... lets just say I have no patience. But I waited and wow is all I could say. My order of Marco Rocks was delivered in record time and the quality was amazing! I will never ever get my rock from anywere else. Thanks once again Marc for the assistance! So with Marc's cherry picked rocks and two sticks of Marineland Molding Putty I went to work (my wife thinks I should put up caution signs when I do this).



Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - My shipment of 27 lbs or Marco Rocks delivered via UPS. I'm glad the UPS driver thought this was too heavy to toss around (you should see some of my other deliveries).



Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - My Marco Rocks unpacked and quite frankly they are the most beautiful pieces of rock I have ever seen.




Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - After some trial and error and creative thinking my Captive Reef has been created... Gensis 2:2 And God had finished on the seventh day his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

[Jasonanatal]

Compensating for Evaporation While Minimizing Swings In Salinity.

Due to having a limited volume of available water evaporation is one aspect that must be checked in order to minimize the swing in salinity. I have installed a Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater Top Off System to effectively reduce the effect of Salinity reduction due to evaperation. The Float Switch is installed in the rear chamber of the JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube Reef Aquarium which is activated when the water level falls below a particular level. Fresh RO/DI Water is then pulled from a 2.5 gallon All Glass Aquarium Resevior by use of a Tom's Aqualifter Pneumatic Pump rated at 3 gph. Once the water level has returned to normal the pump is deactivated and water flow stops. Their is a secondary safety float that will deactivate the unit should the primary float switch become stuck and continue to pull water from the Freshwater RO/DI Resevior to prevent an overflow of water into the aquarium which would result in a sever drop in salinity and a flood.

Personal Observation: I am definitely pleased with the results of the Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater Automatic Top Off System. However, their are some shortcoming to this system. Evaporation is currently occuring at a rate of about 0.75 gallon per week which represents about 50% of the Freshwater RO/DI Resevior capacity. I anticipate that once I incorporate Kalkwasser or another type of Calcium Additive that evaporation will increase requiring a need to upgrade the resevior capacity. Also the JBJ Wavemaker which is currently set to alternate pumps every 2 minutes causes chamber where the float switch is installed to have a slight reduction in water level with causes premature dosing of Freshwater into the Aquarium. I'm considering upgrading the the Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 "Water Level Regulation System with Static Sensor".



Photograph, Thursday, October 26, 2007 - Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater RO/DI Top Off Float Switch with Secondary Overflow Sensor.


Photograph, Thursday, October 26, 2007 - Freshwater RO/DI Resevior with Tom's Aqualifter Pneumatic Pump.


Photograph Saturday, November 10, 2007 - Water Flow Diagram of the Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater RO/DI Top Off System and Toms Aqualifter Pneumatic Pump.

[Jasonanatal]

Electrical Sparks: Bringing Life to the Aquarium.

In order to allow all my toys to work of course electricity is required. I have used 3 seperate Power Strips to provide more then enough outlets for all the gadgets within the Aquarium while allowing plenty of space to add more. The load for each outlet is staggered to the next seperating each set of electrical components based on the level of importance. I'm not pulling an extreme level of power but just a precautionary measure.

Personal Observation: I'm considering replacing all power strips with an Eletronic Aquarium Controller such as the Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper 2 or the Neptune Systems Aquacontroller 3. This will allow me to better automate components of the aquarium with less clutter and allow for digital logging and control through a Personal Computer.



Photograph Thursday, October 27, 2007 - 3 seperate power strips mounted within the lower cubicle of the Aquarium Stand each with Electrical Power Surge Supressing capabilities.


Photograph Thursday, October 27, 2007 - Electrical Wiring Diagram for my JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI SPS Reef Aquarium.

[Jasonanatal]

Phosphate/Carbon Reactor: Giving That Extra Touch of Perfection.

I have incorporated a Precision Marine Fluidized Reactor which is filled with Fauna Marin Ultra Carb L (Fauna Marin Ultra Carb L is an extremely pure, vapour-activated and pre-washed activated carbon for efficient removal of yellowness, turbidity and harmful toxins, essential for maintaining good water quality in any aquarium. Ultracarb is almost entirely free of phosphate and has an extremely high capacity). This Reactor is maintained for 1 month and then media is swapped out. For the next month I will use ROWAphos (ROWAphos is the most effective phosphate remover on the market today. ROWAphos will not only remove phosphates but will never release them back into the system. The product is easy to use and will improve the water quality wherever Phosphate or Silicate is a problem. It is of interest to Marine and Reef Aquariums where its unrivalled capabilities have shown it to be extremely beneficial in the control of nuisance algae’s and the growth of hard corals. Unlike other phosphate removal products, it does not shock the animals or cause problems when used regularly. In fact constant use of the product is recommended, as its abilities to control nuisance algae is a major benefit). This schedule will rotate continuously for every month.

Personal Observation: I am considering purchasing a second Precision Marine Fluidized Reactor which will be daisy chained to provide constant removal of Ammonia, Phosphate, Silicates, etc. without the need to have a swapped media schedule within a shared Reactor.



Photograph Thursday, October 26, 2007 - Precision Marine Fluidized Reaactor currently filled with Fauna Marin Ultra Carb L media for another 2 weeks.


Photograph Thursday, October 26, 2007 - Precision Marine Fluidized Reactor Water Flow Diagram.

[Jasonanatal]

Water Quality & Chemical Test Results.

Date: Monday, November 05, 2007
Previous Water Change: Never
Temperature: 77.9 Degrees Fahrenheit
Salinity: 1.025 SG
Ammonia: 0.0 PPM or Undetectable
Nitrite: 0.0 PPM or Undetectable
Nitrate: 0.0 PPM or Undetectable
pH (Lights Off): Not Tested
pH (Lights On): 8.0 pH
Calcium: 420 PPM
Alkalinity (Carbonate Hardness): 9.0 dKH (Carbonate Hardness)
Magnesium: 975 PPM
Phosphate: 0.0 PPM or Undetectable
Notes:

- 45 ml. of Kent Marine Tech M Expert Series ionically balanced Calcium supplement added. Calcium level currently at 450 PPM.
- 62.5 ml. of Kent Marine Tech M Expert Series ionically balanced Magnesium supplement added. Magnesium level currently at 1350 PPM.
- 5 g. of Seachem Reef Builder pH supplement added. pH level currently at 8.1 pH. Alkalinity level currently at 9.5 dKH (Carbonate Hardness).
- No Alkalinity supplement added.

[rlcline76]

Wow.
Thanks for the pics.
Cute kid!

[Jeremy0322]

What program are you using to draw those pictures. Sure does not look like paint to me.

[thelastmucci]

this is a great do it yourself-er for those of us that want Nano's. I was thinking of getting the cadlights 34 gallon but I was wondering how much LR did you end up getting and how much LS did you use. Also are the crystals really necessary. I like your auto top off unit but I think for now I'm going to stick to see and syphon. Also liked looking at what kind of supplements you needed to buy. If you ever get medications could you give me a list and tell me what your going to be using for a QT (I suggest the 2.5 gallon honestly to save you some money) I'm not building my tank until around tax time so I have a ways to go but I would appreciate any feedback. I also like the idea of having a neptune 2 or something similar. Check marine Depot dot com for a fairly cheap automated system...I think I saw one for 120 or so. Again thanks for any and all help...your tank is great, your family looks terrific and I love your quote..good for you.

[Jasonanatal]

Originally Posted by rlcline76

Wow.
Thanks for the pics.
Cute kid!

Rlcline, thank you for the compliments.

[Jasonanatal]

Originally Posted by Jeremy0322

What program are you using to draw those pictures. Sure does not look like paint to me.

Jeremy0322, it is a combination of Google Sketch and Microsoft Paint.

[dfurbee]

Nice setup, and beautiful family.

[Jasonanatal]

Originally Posted by dfurbee

Nice setup, and beautiful family.

Dfurbee, thank you very much for the compliments.

[jimw369]

Very nice!

Watch that urchin next to that clam!!!!

[Jasonanatal]

Originally Posted by jimw369

Very nice!

Watch that urchin next to that clam!!!!

Jimw369, thank you very much for the compliments. the Zebra Urching actually does not bother the Crocea Clam one bit. they were together in my 90 gallon Reef Aquarium and then my 10 gallon Reef Aquarium. But thank you for the concern.

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by Jasonanatal

Jimw369, thank you very much for the compliments. the Zebra Urching actually does not bother the Crocea Clam one bit. they were together in my 90 gallon Reef Aquarium and then my 10 gallon Reef Aquarium. But thank you for the concern.

I think some of the Nanos when done properly out do many of the so called good big tanks.

Sounds like you have a good grasp what you want to do.

[Jasonanatal]

Originally Posted by jimw369

I think some of the Nanos when done properly out do many of the so called good big tanks.

Sounds like you have a good grasp what you want to do.

Jimw369, I agree with you 100%. I feel that Nano Aquariums are more detailed and allow you to focus more on specific goals with less room for errors.

[robe25m]

GOOD STUFF!!!

Every family needs a good reef, my lady loves my reef but man she just doesnt appreciate it for what it really is...

She spends time in the mirror, i spend time tankside....

[stephaniesquires]

Wow, that was great!! Thanks for taking the time to document