I am in the process of a move. I will be starting from scratch. I do have experience with a 90 gallon which I just got rid of. I purchased the 28 gallon jbj hq. How much rock and sand should I use? I was thinking of just using base rock so I can get a great aquascape. How deep should I make the sand bed? Is there any mods I should do first? How long do I wait till I add any life (cleaner pak). Any help would be great. This will probably start in the middle of December. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
I would go with about 30 lbs or so of live rock...live rock is your best filter...usually 1-2 inch sandbed is how I do it..if you start from scratch base rock and dead sand I would throw an uncooked shrimp in the tank for a day or 2 and what for the cycle to begin...after the tank has cycled you can then add your CUC. Cycling can take up to a month....also remember that patience is you best friend.
You will want to have test kits for:
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
ph
Get the most porous rock you can find. Weight is not as important as quality of the rock. I am not familiar with the nanocube since I have a biocube, but ditch the bioballs/ceramic rings. Throw them away, they'll just cause you problems. If there is a sponge, make sure you clean it every other week at least. I just threw mine away. I have about 1 and a half inches of sand in my biocube 29, and I'm not sure about how much live rock. I don't measure it in pounds, I just try and fit as much as possible without it taking away from the looks.
This company makes great products for all-in-one kits. They currently don't have all of the JBJ Nanocube equipment, but they are working on it. Nano Cube
You do not need a skimmer, but if you do not go with the fuge/media baskets above, then it will certainly help. A sapphire skimmer, or Tunze 9002 doc are the most popular.
I would upgrade the stock pump to a Maxi-jet 1200 also for more flow.
I ordered 50 lbs of live rock for my 28g jbj and it was way too much to fit into the tank. I wound up using ~35lbs, and the tank still looks a little on the full side.
You want enough rock to aquascape but keep it away from sides of tank. You should be able to clean all 4 sides of your glass and to give adequate flow since most of the self contained cubes all have flow problems toward the bottom half of the tanks. Be careful stepping up the pump as this can cause a rise in the tanks temp. No doubt the pumps always need to be increased.
Remember the larger the pumps and more power heads you add(I would use Koralia's) the more heat you add. This is all from personal experience in dealing with the self-contained nano's. Also you have to remember the more rock less water volume you have! JMO
