i have a 12 gallon nano cube dx and was wondering tons of things.where to start um i started with my old crushed coral rock then got some live rock in there and found out crushed coral isnt the best so i bought special grade reef sand and i have about 7 or 8 pounds of live rock with stuff all over it lots i dont even know what they are but they are alive which is cool i have tested my water numerous times with a strip ph test .(question #1) was wondering if thats a accurate enough reading or do i need to go the master test kit? the strips read alkaline and alkalinity are white slash a super super light shade of pink like really even hard to tell, ph was between 8.0 and 8.5 , kh is 240 and gh was 180. (question #2) was wondering if i need a nano reef proteinskimmer? i have 3 cube filters need to get new activated charcoal and the other stuff inder that and the same powerhead but i added a bigger one to push more water around cuz it sure wasnt doing it with the one it came with.. i have 2 snails in there trying to clean it up but im getting some brown i guess alage on teh live sand and the powerhead! help! please ive tryed to give as much info as i can if there is anything else u need to know ask me and i will try to tell you what you need. also ordered 2 new 24w 10000k blue and white light and one with both white lights. which should go on the front and which should go on the back? they needed to be changed. also if u have any suggestion on where to get the blue night lights in them or whatever they are called please help i know im a newb but im so intrested in the colors the care and the life that it brings if any one could help me out please feel free to help a new SW lover.thank you so much.

Protienskimmers are needed for small tanks. They remove bad stuff (protiens)that a mechanical filter doesn't. I wouldn't worry about your ph until it drops to 8.0 or below. Then you need to make a partial water change (with new saltwater) and try to bring the ph above 8.2. The waste products generated by fish tend to bring down the ph of a tank and the only solution is a partial water changes.
Merry Christmas!

I disagree, many nanoreefers will tell you that a protein skimmer is not necessary for success. You can accomplish what a skimmer does by doing routine water changes, which is what I have done with absolutely no problems. I have optimal growth and all my corals are happy. Protein skimmers are beneficial, but for the price, they are not always the best or most economical option for a small tank

thank you both for your advice and i would love to get some more feed back from other nanoreefers

I don't think it matters where you put the lights. I think you can get new moonlights on nanotuners.com. A lot of people replace the stock pump for a Maxi Jet 900. It does 230 gph, and the stock only does 106 gph. You might want a little bit more live rock to have more bio filtration. If you haven't removed the bioballs/ceramic rings, and sponges, I'd take them out, because they become nitrate factories. You can put LR rubble in the back where those were as well as some activated carbon or purigen or whatever. If you want some mechanical filtration you could stuff some filter floss in the 1st chamber.
Kaiden

I have a 420gph hydor powerhead. Will that be sufficient enough? How do you classify the chambers, from left to right or right to left from the front of the tank? What is purigen and what does filter floss do? Do you know anything about how to keep everything stable without filtration? Thanks for all the help, it's greatly appreciated!

Filter floss is like the stuff they make filter cartridges out of. It just catches all the poop and food and junk floating around in your tank.
Here's the product description of purigen:

Purigen® is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all others by over 500%. Purigen® controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s™ impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen® darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen® is designed for both marine and freshwater use.

Never used the stuff, so I'm not sure how well it works, but maybe someone else can chime in and give some experience.

420 will be fine, more than I have in my 14. The chambers are 1, 2, and 3. chamber one is the intake where the biocube filter goes, chamber 2 is where the bioballs WERE (hopefully you removed them :P) and chamber 3 is the output pump.

Well Put. Purigen removes ammonia, nitrites, nitrates without taking out the trace elements that are beneficial to your tank critters. It is good to used AFTER your tank is established if you have algae outbreak such as cyanobacteria due to high no2's, no3's, or po4's. Don't even worry about it for a while down the road.


When you say "Do you know anything about how to keep everything stable without filtration?" I am a little confused on your question. All a standard carbon filter does is remove particle matter/detritus and then carbon clears the water by removing organics. If you mean remove the filter in general, it has been done it's called the berlin method
link here:
Berlin Method - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is my opinion that everyone should keep up with their carbon filters in addition to the biological filtration, and many reefers would agree I'm sure. Most people who don't run filters, run a protein skimmer

I have removed the three sponges, and the ceramic cylinders, and the plastic filtration balls. Now all I have is an activated carbon bag handing over the second and third chamber divider (more in the third chamber). Is it harmful to have the LR rubble in the filtration or would it cause too many problems? I just got two new test kits (both API master kits and they both have different purposes). I also bought calcium and Zooplex. It's my first time using the test kits and the boosters (calcium and Zooplex) and I was wondering if you guys might know any links about when to add/not add them. Also I have the Superbuffer DKH and the dose is 2 tsp. mixed in the saltwater (Monday), and 15 minutes after that I add the turbo calcium 1/8th tsp. mixed with tap water (Monday). I also have the Lugol's solution - two drops (Mondays and Thursdays). The guy at the aquarium store gave me the instructions on doses. Is that the proper dosing for each week? Thanks again and sorry for the lectures

PS: I have about 7lbs of live rock. And a 12 gallon tank. What would be the preferred amount of live rock poundage? Lol

The end.

You can put LR in you rear chamber thats no problem, a lot of people do it to improve the biological filtration. You should have around 1 lb of LR per gallon. Why are you dosing so early?

Well I have had it up for almost 3 weeks. I have already seen the dyotomes and they are almost completely gone. I've had live rock in there for about the same amount of time. When would the right time be to start dosing?

Dosing should be left to the experts once you know what your tank needs/uses. Dosing is used to replace elements that are absorbed or lost over time, however, they also come in the salt. If you keep up with regular water changes, you replenish what is used, so there is no need to dose. I don't even dose calcium and I have a ton of LPS coral, snails, hermits (which use it for their exos) and my calcium levels are always within the safe range. In a sense, you are wasting money using something you don't need. The only thing I do dose is iodide, and that is because I have anthelia and kenya that sucks it up in only a few days. IMHO, save your money and do more water changes, you are killing two birds with one stone: replenishing trace elements, and removing waste

I'm also going to be starting a 24 gallon saltwater within a week any suggestions for that? and thank you so much for your help this really means alot.

On another note, what do I feed my inverts? Brine shrimp frozen or mysis shrimp? Or should I get a brine shrimp making kit?

I'd say just pretty much do what you did with the 12 gal. You're gonna have to do bigger water changes, but really that is the only real difference.

That is going to depend on what inverts you have.

What would a white tree-looking thing be called? I also have two turbo snails, and was wondering what kind of clean-up crew I should get in it?

Picture of the tree thing

725-1.jpg picture by lbabigurl101 - Photobucket

They are scavengers, let them pick at the LR. I would not go with brine shrimp making kit lol, they are not that picky. You can even throw in extra pellets (only if you are dead set on target feeding them). Not too much though. Whenever I feed my corals frozen mysis, the crabs and snails like to get the scraps.

That looks like a hitch-hiking anenome... I don't want to say it's an aiptasia, but something similar. I would say it needs to be removed but I will wait for someone else to chime in