Performed 2.5g water change.

More inhabitants...

Bought from Jim's Exotic Fish:

• 1 bumble bee snail (Family: Pusiostoma)
• 6 red legged hermit crabs - possibly Laurent's Hermit Crab (Calcinus laurentae)
• 2 Nasarious snails (Family: Nassariidae)
• 3 Margarite snails (Family: Tegula)
• Gulfstream/Bakker Magnetics (Medium) Floating Aquarium Cleaner Magnet
• Rio 200 Powerhead (2 1/2"x2.5"x1.75"), Flow 138 (gph @ 0 head), 6 watts

I place the Rio in the lower back left of the tank aiming forward, to give a somewhat opposing current from the main pump at the top of the tank.

WARNING: Margarite Snails (Family: Tegula) Most Margarite snails found for sale are from temperate waters. In a reef tank they would slowly starve to death if they didn't succumb to the warmer temperatures first.

WARNING: Nassarius Snails (Family: Nassariidae): They are commonly preyed upon by hermit crabs.

WARNING: Bumble Bee Snails (Family: Pusiostoma): Unfortunately they are mostly carnivorous and have been known to eat sponges, some types of corals in a reef tank and detritus.

Of course, I found those warnings after I purchased them.

First inhabitants...

Bought from Aquarium Center http://www.theaquariumcenter.com/, in Sherman Oaks, CA:

• 4 Astrea snails (Lithopoma [Astraea] spp.)
• 6 real hermits white/black legs - possibly Red-striped Hermit Crabs (Phimochirus holthuisi) - perhaps a bad idea?

Performed 2.5g water change.

Added live rock...

Bought from Aquatic Outlet in Inglewood, CA:

• 34# of premium live rock
• Doc Wellfish's hand held Algea Pad
• Lee's Ultra Gravel Vac

Finally - ready to start...

Finally bought the starting items for my new Nano Reef tank, from Jim's Exotic Fish, in El Segundo, CA.

• JBJ 24g Nano Cube Deluxe: glass with curved corners, (2) 36w 50/50 CF lamps w/ remote Fulham electronic ballast, (2) 60mm fans, L 18" x W 19.6" x H 19.7", circulating pump 290 GPH (est. ~18w), (2) NiteVU Moon (Blue) LEDs. **
• 30# of Caribsea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand (1-2 mm) Aragalive - water packed bag.
• 24g of natural sea water (NSW)
• 2 5gal plastic water containers
• Black Wooden Stand - not the JBJ assembly-required one, but a nicer one (they told me it was Advanced Aqua Tanks - but they seem to only deal in acrylic)
• Instant Ocean Hydrometer
• Coralife Digital Thermometer
• Visi-therm Stealth 100 Heater

Assembled it after work - see the picture. I only used about 18 actual gallons of water. I plan on continuing to use the NSW from Jim's.

** Both the CF and the Moon LEDs share a single ballast/power supply with a single on/off switch; although the Moon LED's may be turned on/off while the power supply is powered by a switch on top of the hood. While it is possible to connect the plug to a timer, once power is cut, the disadvantage is that the Moon LEDs can not be used. Another disadvantage is that the fans are also tied to the lights being on, so it's not possible to run the fans longer in order to cool the tank more (although the fact that the lights and fans are behind a splashguard with little access to above-water air, may limit any effect this could have).

   

Getting back into the hobby

After about 7 years out of the Reef Aquarium hobby (since our move from NYC to LA, CA), I was finally ready. I wanted to get something nice but also easy to fit into my already hectic schedule.