Birth of a Biocube

[mdk]

Hey all,
Thanks for stopping in. This is my very first post on any salt-water hobbyist boards!
I'm a newbie to Biocube/Nano reefs but not a newbie to Saltwater aquariums. I used to run 30 and 55 gallon salt water tanks about 15 years ago (fish only). Back then, you couldn't even get live rock, live sand, or decent corals from your LFS! (at least I couldn't). I've also run many Cichlid and other fresh water fish tanks in the past.
I have been reading up on Biocube reef tanks for almost 2 years now and finally have taken the plunge! I chose to do a Biocube tank mostly because of it's size. The fact is, I don't want to do a larger tank (been there, done that) - don't have a lot of extra room to spare or feel like the extra expenses involved. Everyone seems to say, do the biggest tank you can possibly afford. The fact is, I like the compactness of the Biocubes and the additional attention they require. I'm not interested in taking up the entire living rm with a 150 gallon tank.
Ok, enough about why I decided to setup a Biocube tank. Here is the INTERESTING PART. My tank has been setup and running for about 2 weeks now. On day 1 and 2, I mixed a good quality salt and Spring Water (which I researched and goes through a process of RO/DI). I also added 26 lbs of Fully Cured Live Rock, and 20 lbs of Live Sand from my LFS. I ran all of the normal tests every day since: pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Calcium, Salinity, Temp monitoring, etc.

Ok, so my tank has been running for about 2 weeks now and I've had absolutely NO spikes in any cycle levels. Everything has been and is staying at zero with pH around 8.4, temp: 78-79, and specific gravity at a steady 1.025. I've added some clean up crew slowly (3 hermits, 2 snails, & 1 peppermint shrimp). Still, no spikes in anything and no water changes yet (just top offs).
So is it possible that with the really good quality / fully cured live rock and live sand, that my tank is essentially already cycled? My LFS is close to my home so the LR stayed wet and was only out of water for about 15 minutes. I'm pretty sure there was little if no die-off during transport. The Live rock has tons of life on it including multiple varieties of fan worms, bristle worms, other tiny creatures, and coraline.
Now that I've already been adding my clean-up crew and nothing has spiked, is it possible that my tank is essentially already cycled or pre-cycled with the current bio-load I have in it?
Question #2 - after about 7 days, brown and some green algae has exploded in the tank. The 2 snails are vacuuming some of it but it's really taking over all well-lit surfaces, even some parts of the sand. I've heard about these initial algae explosions and that some of them subside after a while. Have any of you experienced this? Does the algae die down on it's own or should I get more snails to help control it?

What else can I say about my setup... I have been running the lights for appx 10 hrs/day. I took out the carbon sleeve that came with the tank and replaced chamber 1 with some basic filter floss padding (changing this out with new floss every 2-3 days). In chamber # 2, I took out the bio balls and replaced with a bag of Chemi-pure Elite and topped it off with more filter floss. Chamber 3 is just the factory sponge and return pump. I'm not planning on getting a protein skimmer but might create a refugium in the middle chamber with Cheato at some point.
Inventory:
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Oceanic Biocube 29 Gallon Reef Tank
Oceanic Biocube 29 Gallon Stand
API

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- Reef Master Test Kit
Instant Ocean Hydrometer
Reef Crystals Salt 55 Gal
Silver Spring Water
Stealth Shatter Proof Heater - 100 Watt (up to 30 Gallons)
Corallife Digital Thermometer - Battery Operated
Marina Aquarium Glass Thermometer (for mixing water changes)
Hydor Koralia Turbo Pump - Flow Rate 2 (2300 L/H 600 GPH)
Medium Acrylic Aquarium Magnet Cleaner
Chemi-Pure Elite - 1 full unit for 5-40 gallons
Aragalive Bahamas Oolit Live Sand (20 lbs)
Cured Live Rock (17.15 lbs @ 7.99 / lb)
Filter Media 10x18'' White (Filter Mesh)
Cured Live Rock (8.5 lbs @ 7.99 / lb)
1 Blue Leg Hermit Crab
2 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
API

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- Salt Water Test Kit
1 Peppermint Shrimp
2 Asterea Snails
Filter Media 10x18'' White (Filter Mesh)
Visi-Therm Stealth Heater (8 gallons - for heating mixed salt water changes)

Let me know what you think about the cycling and algae. I'm no expert and never will claim to be but I have done some things here that some people frown upon and others praise. I just decided to do what I thought was best based on my knowledge of the subject and my gut. This is not to say that I won't adjust the tank setup as things get going.
Thanks,
MDK

 

[cal559]

Nice Tank!!!!
Where's Subie?

 

[mdk]

One thing I forgot to mention... notice how the piece of branch coral skeleton in the front now has a sort of streaky white/brown pattern to it. I strategically placed my 2 Asteria snails on it and they have vaccumed it in a matter of hours. Pretty sweet! I wasn't going to get them because of their flipping over and dying habits but my LFS didn't have many other snails to choose from. I was looking for Cerith, Trochus, or Nerite snails but they were currently out. They did have some Turbos but I thought a turbo hog all the rich algae causing mass-famine for the other inverts. Does it look like my algae explosion is going to get out of control or will it start to subside soon?

 

[nwdyr]

diatom bloom , that is prob the only "cycle" you will get. allot of people here ,well most , will tell you diff. But I set up my nano's with water from a established tank (and 1 with new water)and new LR and LS and never had a cycle

The CUC should take care of the algae , I think you will be fine. Looks good

 

[subielover]

Originally Posted by nwdyr
http:///forum/post/2920946
diatom bloom , that is prob the only "cycle" you will get. allot of people here ,well most , will tell you diff. But I set up my nano's with water from a established tank (and 1 with new water)and new LR and LS and never had a cycle

The CUC should take care of the algae , I think you will be fine. Looks good

I agree. As for the water, definitely switch to ro/di or distilled. Spring water will almost always have a higher tds reading than ro/di which should be 0. One thing you could do to see if your tank is indeed cycled is start ghost feeding. Basically ghost feeding the tank is feeding as if there are already fish in there. If the ammonia spikes, obviously then you are not cycled. If the parameters stay level then you are good to go.
Start doing water changes. 10-15% week is a good routine and should keep all your parameters in check.
You have obviously done your research, kudos as a lot of people buy everything and then start looking for help once they have problems. One more thing, ditch the hydrometer and buy a refractometer, should run you about $40 bucks. If you can't find one local, swf.com sells them.
Congrats and welcome to the addiction.

 

[worrballer]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread; but why is a refractometer so much better then a hydrometer? They do the same thing don't they?

 

[mdk]

Thanks for the replies!
I actually have "ghost fed" about 2-3 times for this exact reason. Still no spikes in anything. Obviously I'm not going to go out and buy a handful of fish even if the tank is already "pre-cycled" w/LR + LS (for obvious reasons). But maybe I'll pick up a few more snails to add to my CUC, wait another week or two (test daily) and add my first (small) fish pending test results, then closely monitor for a few more weeks to see if anything spikes.
Your point about Spring water is a good one. I've read so many things about what water to use and not use (the consensus seems to be - buy your own RO/DI unit). I didn't feel like buying a RO unit for the home (at least for now) and since a wholesale club carries good low-cost Spring water in easy 5 gallon containers, I decided to go with that. I researched the Spring water and the company puts their water through a combination of Distillation, RO/DI and Ultra Violet treatments - with NO added minerals or supplements. So more than likely, the water is a mixture of water from all these treatments. Things seem to be going well so far with the water I've chosen and I'm going to stick with it for the time being. It's cheap and better than treated tap or 100% pure distilled in my opinion.
Yes, I'm planning on buying a refractometer very soon. And the reason I haven't done a partial water change yet is because I wanted to get true readings on my first cycle without adding new water to affect my initial tests. But now that it has been 2 weeks and I haven't seen any spikes, so I'm planning on doing a change soon - then weekly changes.
Thanks again for the responses. I'll post more pics and things develop.

 

[subielover]

Sounds like you have a good grasp on things. Glad to know you went the extra mile and did a bit of research on the water. I, myself use ro/di that has been treated with a uv sterilizer. TDS is under 10, and phosphates and nitrates are undetectable. As long as it works for you then certainly continue using it. Generally when I think of spring water, I think of lots of added minerals and others. As for adding some more snails, I like cerith and nassarius. For a first fish, think what you want. I like clowns as first fish but only if it is a fish you want long term. They are hardy and very amusing. Good luck to you.

 

[mdk]

Thanks Subie...
Yes, I was looking for Cerith and Nassarius at my LFS but they didn't have any in. They had plenty of Bumble Bee & Margheritas but I've read some things about them that made me hesitant.
I've owned Clowns in the past and yes, they are a great first and long-term pet to add to the aquarium. I'm planning on having 2 clowns in my 29 eventually. I have heard a few things about NOT mixing different clown species but I haven't heard a good reason why. Can you enlighten me or is this just a myth?
My LFS has the standard Percula in abundance and they also have some tomato, Gold Stripe Maroon, and some all black w/orange face perculas I've never seen before. I would like to get 2 different clown species but of course I need to research this first... any thoughts?

 

[subielover]

I have no experience keeping different species of clowns together. But what information I have gathered has indicated it is definitely a risk. You could have a ocellaris and a black and white ocellaris, that would give you some variety and still maintain the same "kind" of clownfish.

 

[waverunner78]

Hey MDK, what spring water are you using exactly?? any updates??