ABM Biocube 29 NEWBIE

abm

abm

New Member
ok so i had a 55 gal. reef tank about 4 years ago...and had a heater explode while i was away on a trip and lost my whole tank....but now its a few years later and im thinking about geting back into the hobby and i just purchased a 29 gal biocube also i know ive been away from the hobby for awhile and wondering if theres anything new out.
here is what i have purchased
29 gal bio cube
salt mix
korolia 1
reef master test kit
caribbean live sand 20lbs
mag float
marineland stelth heater 50W
hyromiter
thermometer
as for my plans with the tank i would like to do a small reef with some easy to keep corals. the only fish i know for sure i want is a pair of clowns
now for a few questions
1. where is the best place to buy your live rock online? as i have no lfs
2. is it best to use all live rock, or some base and live mixed together?
3. ive seen people modify there biocubes is there any mods that i should do?
4.im sure theres a thread here with the acceptable watar paramaters but i cannot find it can someone help me out?
5.bio ball should i keep them in or take them out?
6. anything else you guys think i need or should know please dont be scared to tell me.
 
peasofme

peasofme

Member
2. is it best to use all live rock, or some base and live mixed together? yes, but its cheaper
4.im sure theres a thread here with the acceptable watar paramaters but i cannot find it can someone help me out?
ammonia, nitrite 0. nitrate low as possible. specific gravity 1.022-1.025 temp 76-78
5.bio ball should i keep them in or take them out? out
 
coastie5685

coastie5685

Member
abm ... i loved my biocube 29. it was easy to maintain and they are nice for good starts.
i can help answer a few too..
1. not sure which is best online. yet i know you will be paying a little more in shipping.
2.when i first started out i should have used more base rock in my tank than live rock. it will come out cheaper and the base rock will become live and full with color in a few months. id say do about 3quarters of all rock base rock and a quarter of it live.
3. i moded my biocube. and you should take out the bioballs as they wont be much of a benefit in the future but a pain as it will collect nitrate. remove bioballs and put chemi pure ( filter media ) or phosban with some chaeto algae and a light. there is many things you can do with the chambers. and you can toss the filtercartiradge as those can get pricey as you go on a well..
a your cycling this tank ... put all your rock in and do water changes every week. use the clowns to start your cycle in the tank. some people say not to do this because you risk the chance of them dieing. and ill be one to say clownfish are hardy and i am sure will live as i have cycled all my tanks with clownfish.
always do 2-3 g water changes once a week. and youll need top off with freshwater RO!!!
i ended up tossing my power compact hood that came with the tank. and bought a clamp one metal halide like the k2 viper to put on the tank looked awesome. and could keep anything.
params... 8.2-8.3 ph
nitrate 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
calcium 460-500ppm
phosphate 0ppm
ammonia 0ppm
those are the top off my head. good luck
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
Originally Posted by abm
http:///forum/post/3187317
now for a few questions
1. where is the best place to buy your live rock online? as i have no lfs
swf.com (this website) and drs foster and smith are great places
2. is it best to use all live rock, or some base and live mixed together?
base i would use for the back and the front and around use mixed
3. ive seen people modify there biocubes is there any mods that i should do?
yes, replace the return pump with a maxi-jet 1200 which works great for me. and the refugium. which troy did the favor of posting it
4.im sure theres a thread here with the acceptable watar paramaters but i cannot find it can someone help me out?
what do you mean????
for a reef
cal- 450ppm-500ppm
alk- 8-11
phosphate- 0ppm
the rest is already listed below
5.bio ball should i keep them in or take them out?
the link that troy posted helps
6. anything else you guys think i need or should know please dont be scared to tell me.
so far take it slow and enjoy the nano world!

answer in red
 
abm

abm

New Member
thanks everyone for all the great info. Its made alot of things more clearer to me. i have a question about the refugium. sorry if this sounds dumb, but what exactally is a refugium? and what good does it do for your tank?
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member

Originally Posted by Coastie5685
http:///forum/post/3187433
use the clowns to start your cycle in the tank.
Please don't pay any attention to this advice.
Just because a species of fish CAN survive a certain situation does NOT mean they SHOULD be subjected to it.
THERE IS NO REASON THAT YOU NEED TO USE A FISH TO START A CYCLE. PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU THAT YOU NEED TO DO THIS HAVE NOT READ ANY RECENT BOOKS OR DONE ANY RESEARCH IN THE LAST 5 YEARS, AND IF THEY HAVE, THEY WERE TOO DENSE TO UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.

Uncured live rock will start your cycle, and it will start your tank with new cool hitchhikers to pique your interest while you are waiting for your cycle to complete. If you PM me, I can tell you of a company I just discovered that ships REALLY nice live rock with hitchhiker starfish, macroalgae, crabs, shrimps, and if you are lucky, sometimes coral and nudi's.
Next, decomposing matter in your tank will start the cycle. [/I][/I]Buy small raw shrimp, peel one, clean it in RO water, and drop it in your tank. Done. Keep the rest of the shrimp in your freezer until you have fish/coral/inverts to feed.
There's many other things you can do to start a cycle, but doing the 2 above together will ensure enough ammonia is in the water to jump-start your cycle. If you add two fish, there is going to be a degree of suffering for the fish. You are just learning how to test salinity and ph, as well as amm/trite/trate, and you are going to be doing your first salt mixing and water changes. Please dont have 2 innocent fish suffering while you learn how to do these things.
Trust me - your new live rock will keep you plenty interested. Also, you say you want clowns, but 4-6 weeks of researching all the cool nano-happy fish out there may lead you in a different direction.
I'll make you a deal...leave the fish decision until your cycle is over and I will mail you a FREE kenya tree frag mounted on a piece of live rock...you pay for nothing. See pic...you will get a branch off of this coral.
Deal?
PS - Use the "search" bar on this forum. All of your questions have been asked and answered, discussed and debated 100's of times. You will get MUCH MORE out of reading past experiences than you will from asking questions and getting short answers.
 
abm

abm

New Member
oh yes i know better than to cycle a tank with a fish of any kind in there thats just crule if you ask me.
about the clowns i doubt your going to talk my girlfriend out of those, because shes the one that really wants them
thats for all the info thou it was really helpful.
 
abm

abm

New Member
alright i got my biocube in today i got it filled up with r/o water just trying to get the saltgrain and temp. up right now ill try to post some pics soon....hopefully ill be geting some rock tomorrow.
 
abm

abm

New Member
oh yeah quick question about my lights...i just have the stock lighting on the bio cube how long should i be runing each light?
 
soviettaco

soviettaco

Active Member
Originally Posted by abm
http:///forum/post/3189327
oh yeah quick question about my lights...i just have the stock lighting on the bio cube how long should i be runing each light?
I run my day time lights for 9 hours and the LEDs for nighttime the other 15
 
abm

abm

New Member
so i order some blue leg hermits and a cucumber the other day offline and they came into. and to my surprise there was a little fish in there of some sorts...just wondering if someone can id it for me.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
sure. its called the invisible fish! great with reefs and eats anything you throw in.
great choice
hahahaha!
...were the pic????
 
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