Another 29g Biocube Noob Diary...

I finally got the biocube I have always wanted. I got it in a local deal(along with a new digital camera
) so figured Id take a few pics and start a thread. I actually got the tank about 2 weeks ago and put in some dead sand I had from my friends old tank. The sand sat with the pump running, an extra mj1200, and a heater for about a week. Then I pulled probably 15 lbs of LR out of my display tank, and a plastic solo cup full of LS from my display. I put the cup of sand in the biocube and spread the sand out across the sandbed, then added the LR, and the tank has been running like this for another week. The local trade that I got the biocube in was for the t5s from my current display. So while the cube cycles, my 25l only has the biocube hood over it. It is pretty ghetto but seems to be working for the time being. The only light I have had over the cube is a coralife led nightlight. With the top off and the night light on this is how it looks...

But tonight when the lights turned off over the 25l, i took the hood off of it and put it on the biocube. I think its looking good so far, but this week it will get a koralia 2 powerhead and another 10-15 of LR. I hope it is all cycled and ready to go by next weekend bc the folowing Tuesday, my reefclub is having a frag meeting. So I hope to have it cycled, and my fish in it next weekend so itll be ready for a few zoas/rics. I think I am going to keep the hood stock for now and just get some softies. At the meeting I will probably try to trade off some of my livestock to make it alittle easier in the biocube. I will be keeping my pair of clowns, and pair of skunk shrimp. I will get rid of my serpent star, sand sifting star, hermit, and royal gamma. Do you guys think I could add a diamond goby or something of the sort with a pair of clown and pair of skunk? Or do you guys have a better suggestion? Oh yea, another thing about the frag meeting, Im going to grab some chaeto to run in the middle chamber of the biocube. I also looked into the cpr hob fuge with skimmer, but Im just going to put it in the middle section for now. But, heres a few pics of the tank with the hood finally on it...



 
i think so, im not sure, but i think

lol, im getting a k1 and a k2 from a local reefer and ill try both of them and then trade off whichever i dont use. But heres a few pics of the crew that will be going to the biocube.
Nemo

Pumpkin

Jack

Jill

and then my 2 emerald crabs, kane and abel, then whatever snails my hermit hasnt eaten at the time.
 
what kind of filtration do you guys recommend? think some chaeto in the middle section will be enough or should i try to get my hands on a HOB fuge?
 

coastie5685

Member
looks good like the setup...
filtration? chaeto would work... but then u need to provide light ..
i use one unit of chemi pure elite then fill the remaining space in chamber with filter floss... changing the filter floss once a week and chemi pure every 4-6 months..
 
ok so ive been messing with it little by little. this week ive added prob 15-20 more lbs of LR. ive also been messing with my heater, im using an older heater in the tank, and i have it turned down to 77 degrees, but i check ed the therm and its closer to 86 degrees. so i swapped therms and waiting to see what happens. also, the atlanta reef club is having their frag meeting tomorrow. i dont have alot of cash to spend, but im taking all my spare equipment and a few bucks, im going to see what all i can get. but for now heres the pics. also, ihave had this LR for about a year or so, i bought it this way and im assuming the white alien lookin gthings are sponges???





also, when moving the rocks around, i stirred up the sand alittle bit. i noticed the sand was sticking to what appeared to be like a spider web looking material. heres a pic, there is sand on the rock, but the sand that appears to be floating over that hole in the middle of the rock, but its actually attached to the rock
 
one other thing, im working on getting a sunpod 150w, but today i ran across a jbj viper 2 70w for really cheap. would that be sufficient for a 29g or should i pay about $100-$150 more for the sunpod?
 

scottallert

Active Member
Originally Posted by MustangCaleb
http:///forum/post/2949454
one other thing, im working on getting a sunpod 150w, but today i ran across a jbj viper 2 70w for really cheap. would that be sufficient for a 29g or should i pay about $100-$150 more for the sunpod?
ive heard there are bad reviews on the viper 70 like over heating, get the sunpod youll be able to keep much more corals.
 
ok so nothing smaller than the 150w, but what do you think about the 20" nova extreme t5s? i found a nova fixture for $50 more than the sunpod. what kind of reviews do you guys have on that? will the nova support an anemone? i know itd run cool and pull less power...
 
+1 on the sunpod. I have the 20" 150w on my 34gal Solana and I love it. I have not had any heating issues and I keep my glass cover on at all times. You can keep anything you want wherever you want
 
well i just got back from the atlanta reef club frag meeting. i didnt find the guy with the sunpod(it was chaos!) but i got a TON of corals. i got 30 heads of mint choc chip zoas, 25 heads of radioactive dragon eyes, 15 or so heads of nuke green zoas, gsp, cabbage frag, frogspawn, hammer corals, xenias, 3 unnamed zoas(display/instructional frags), 2 acans, and a few other things. best part is i only spent $25

but its alittle after midnight here, so im not even setting it all up tonight but ill post some pics tomorrow probably.
 
well tonight i got all the frags mounted onto LR, did a 10 gallon water change, then went and met another member to got a free volleyball size chunk of chaeto. but heres a few quick pics of some of the stuff.









 
thanks for the kind words!

tonight i put prob 15 more lbs of LR in along with a pair of clowns and a pair of skunk shrimp. everything is coming out of the 25g long thats across the room from the cube. but heres a few more quick pics...









also im getting a koralia 1 in the next few days for more flow. you can see the brownish dead spots right now. but i plan to get that k1 and i also want to get a diamond goby. what do you guys think?
 
im hoping to get the sunpod tomorrow and the k1 saturday(and maybe some more frags, the k1 is coming from the my local reef guru)
 
Top