My Evolving JBJ NC 24

Mrussell · Apr 13, 2012

Started out as an emergency tank when I cracked my biocube 12 trying to make it rimless(oops).
Current specs:
Tank: Nano cube 24
Flow: stock return, 2 koralia nanos (mp10 soon I hope)
Skimmer: Octopus bh2000
Lighting: 50 watt china box led with 2 reefbrite actinic blue strips (soon to be 160 dimmable china box)
Fish: 2 clowns I have had for about 3 years, randalli goby, lawnmower blenny
day one FTS - September 2010

By mrussell2727 at 2011-09-23
FTS September 2011

By mrussell2727 at 2011-09-24
Current FTS April 2012

By mrussell2727 at 2012-03-25
Chalice growth shot9-24-11

By mrussell2727 at 2011-09-24
10-28-11

By mrussell2727 at 2011-10-28
3-25-12

By mrussell2727 at 2012-03-25

revsgirl · Apr 14, 2012

Looks great!

dsmhero · Apr 14, 2012

Looking really good! Love the montis

You'll have to check mine out too.

revhtree · Apr 14, 2012

SWEET! Very nice.

Welcome to R2R! Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!

Cubbies · Apr 14, 2012

I love the colors your tank is popping. What kind of lighting are you using?

Nano-Newb1983 · Apr 14, 2012

got any pics of the skimmer? is it in the chambers?

Mrussell · Apr 14, 2012

Nano-Newb1983 said:
got any pics of the skimmer? is it in the chambers?

The first thing i did when I got the tank was rip out the wall between the left and center chamber. I did this because originally I wanted a fuge in the back and I feel that with a strong skimmer there is no need for any other mechanical filtration. I think that the less you have back there the less detritus traps you have and it is easier to clean. The skimmer draws out of the third chamber and returns to the first, not ideal but it doesn't really matter because the skimmer is so over-rated for the tank(rated for 125 gallons). To answer your question the skimmer hangs on the back; its huge and a bit of an eye sore but it makes maintenance almost non existent., plus my LED block it. I think I did one water change in the first year with this tank...
FTS

chambers

Mrussell · Apr 14, 2012

Cubbies said:
I love the colors your tank is popping. What kind of lighting are you using?

50 watt led box, the pop comes from the two reefbrite actinic bars zip tied to it, pretty ghetto but puts out a nice color combo. I just ordered a dimmable LED fixture which is 150 watt: I believe it is 24 12k LEDS, 12 560 LED, 12 540 LED, which will give me better coverage on my blues and a little more pop without the DIY ghetto look...

Mrussell · May 1, 2012

Finally got some new leds, so it is time for an update, decided I didn't want to hang them so I did a little diy stand for them. In the end it cost me $9 to build although I still need to paint it.
Build

Before

After (still needs paint)

The new dimmable LEDs are amazing and the tank has never looked better, some pics including an amazing new blue green acro from ASD.
New stick

FTS 5-1-12

Ltlevil1 · Oct 11, 2012

Sweet setup. I just got one for my wife so I'll for sure have to show her this.

Mrussell · Oct 18, 2012

Thanks, unfortunately I had a mini tank crash when I went out of town. My girlfriend got to the end of the top off water and dumped the KALK paste in the tank, I lost most of my acans, my confusa colony is completely bleached and I had to break up my massive red planet colony, it could have been much worse, and it is incredible watching everything recover and thrive again, also it made some room in my tank just in time for Reefapolloza! some pics to come

Mrussell · Oct 18, 2012

FTS

Top down zoas

Frag rack full of Red planets

Whats left of Red planet colony

Bleached Confusa, was hopeful this would color back up but it seems to be slowly receding, I have been trying to load my tank with nutrients to help the recovery process but I dont know if its going to happen

End on a bright note my ASD rainbow milli is taking off and coloring up

smtank · Oct 19, 2012

You have a beautiful JBJ, amazing how you can fit a mixed reef into one.

Ltlevil1 · Oct 21, 2012

Hate to hear that about the Kalk. I was away on a job and mine crashed. My wife blamed herself for it because she thinks she overfed the tank. That's actually what got the whole Nano thing started. I figured she could handle a 3 gallon water change a lot easier than 15-20 gallons. I wanted to ask you about the monti's at the back of the tank. I don't see anything in the picture and it looks like they are attached to the acrylic itself. Is this the case or is there something underneath I just can't see? If they are on the glass how did you attach them? I just got a few things for my wife's last night. I sent her a picture of yours and she was all onboard then-lol.

florida reef · Oct 21, 2012

Killer tank. I love the diversity!

Mrussell · Oct 22, 2012

Ltlevil1 said:
Hate to hear that about the Kalk. I was away on a job and mine crashed. My wife blamed herself for it because she thinks she overfed the tank. That's actually what got the whole Nano thing started. I figured she could handle a 3 gallon water change a lot easier than 15-20 gallons. I wanted to ask you about the monti's at the back of the tank. I don't see anything in the picture and it looks like they are attached to the acrylic itself. Is this the case or is there something underneath I just can't see? If they are on the glass how did you attach them? I just got a few things for my wife's last night. I sent her a picture of yours and she was all onboard then-lol.

Thanks for the kind words, The monti cap is just glued to the back wall. It was up there on the right side of my tank for a year and it just fell off. It grew flat against the wall so there was lots of surface area to work with. I scored the back wall with a blade and loaded it with super glue, the caps getting pretty big so I am not sure how long its gonna last up there.

bige · Oct 22, 2012

Very nice setup. Looks great!

Ltlevil1 · Oct 23, 2012

Mrussell said:
Thanks for the kind words, The monti cap is just glued to the back wall. It was up there on the right side of my tank for a year and it just fell off. It grew flat against the wall so there was lots of surface area to work with. I scored the back wall with a blade and loaded it with super glue, the caps getting pretty big so I am not sure how long its gonna last up there.

That's pretty cool. I've thought about that before to get some shading around the outer edges. May have to give it a try. I've got a small frag just sitting there right now.