First SWT 29g biocube question

[tampashane]

So my name is shane and I have had FWT my entire life and have grown bored. I decided to start my first saltwater tank and went with a 29g biocube. I posted a pic of my setup and my first addition (bubbletip) So far everything seems to be ok and I have kept my anemone alive. I would love to turn this into a reeftank but realize the lighting isnt good enough to support that. Is there anyway to upgrade the lighting without ripping apart the hood? Also on the filtration system I have noticed many people have made many changes to their biocube's filtration process. Is that really necessary to keep this tank a success? I have read just about every post on here but have yet to see someone with a biocube that didnt make any changes while having success. This is my first post sry its a bit long and i hope the pics went through. TY in advance for any suggestions you might have for me.

 

[meowzer]

WELL...first...welcome to SWF
NOW...how old is this tank? The biocube comes with pc lights?
How long have you had this anemone in there?
Problems may be age of tank, and lighting

 

[tampashane]

Well the tank has been setup for about 8 weeks and the anemone has been in there for about 2 weeks now. The tank comes with two coralife compact flourescent lamps,
1-36w 10,000k
1-36w true actinic 03
and lunar blue and moonglow LED lights
The tank is healthy and all the water parameters are perfect just not sure if it will stay that way with the stock filter and not sure if the lights will support anykind or corals.

 

[meowzer]

OK..first...anemones should not be put in tanks that are less than 6 months old...
2nd: very doubtful this anemone will live under pc's
Believe me.....I killed a few before I got my metal halides.....I had heard a few others had kept them with pc's...did not work for me
I now have metal halides, and a very happy BTA that I added when the tank was 9 months old.

 

[btldreef]

Hello and welcome to SWF!
I have a BioCube. The lighting will be fine, relax. The only issue is that you will not trouble keeping SPS coral, so just stay away from it. I have had no issues with LPS, softies or anemones in this tank with stock lighting. I know a lot of people are against PC's and so am I. I did not use them on my 40G or now on my 155G, but they're fine for the BioCubes. YOU DO NOT NEED TO TEAR APART THE HOOD AND REPLACE THE LIGHTING. I also use the the protein skimmer that is made for the tank, it works great, just keep up with replacing the airstone every month. (they cost $2 it's really not that bad)
Filtration:
This is what I did, and a couple people I know that have BioCubes have done similar things: I took out all the bio balls and filter cartridges. Where the bio calls and filter cartridge go I placed carbon media (one bag of ChemiPure Elite) with a piece of filter foam cut to fit the spot. I change the filter foam with every water change, sometimes every other and change the media every other month. All I really do is stay on top of water changes (10% weekly).
As for the anemone. If it doesn't thrive, it will probably be more due to your tank not being mature enough rather than lighting issues. Just feed it weekly.
Good luck

 

[tampashane]

Thank you BTLDreef, I will be getting the skimmer tomorrow along with making the changes to the filter like you said. Most people say the biocube skimmer isnt any good but I dont care, it has to be better then nothing. Ill post a pic of my tank once its completed which i imagine will be a very long time as I only add 1 thing a month to my tanks.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Tampashane
http:///forum/post/3152823
Thank you BTLDreef, I will be getting the skimmer tomorrow along with making the changes to the filter like you said. Most people say the biocube skimmer isnt any good but I dont care, it has to be better then nothing. Ill post a pic of my tank once its completed which i imagine will be a very long time as I only add 1 thing a month to my tanks.
They suck when they're not taken care of. Just stay on top of changing the airstone and be careful to keep the airline from getting pinched. The airline is really long and can get pinched easily. We had to replace our line because we did not pay attention (like $6 for 10ft, not a huge problem.) It's not the best out there, but it's really hard to make other models fit in it properly and it is definitely better than nothing. Ours works well with 3 fish, some inverts and a ton of corals.

 

[tampashane]

Great, that sounds exactly like the setup I want. I just want a yellow watchman, a manderan and a clown to host my anemone and a bunch of soft corals. setting up a refuge in my second chamber right now.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Tampashane
http:///forum/post/3153267
Great, that sounds exactly like the setup I want. I just want a yellow watchman, a manderan and a clown to host my anemone and a bunch of soft corals. setting up a refuge in my second chamber right now.
You'll be absolutely fine then. Good luck

 

[tampashane]

So I've had my tank going for a couple months now maby longer and things are going pretty good for my first. I got my anemone first about a month ago and he is still alive. Had the clown and signal/4-wheel dr. goby a little over a week with the corals ive had a couple weeks. So I have yet to have a death in the tank so being excited i got a nice 6 line and a cleaner shrimp today to finish things a bit. heres some pics lemme know if my coral placement isnt good for them, thx.

 

[tampashane]

heres the rest

 

[asharp13]

lookin good dude. couple things for you to think about. i started into this awesome hobby about 7 months ago and am loving it. i have a 24gal aquapod with pc's and have had NO luck with the couple sps acro frags i got. stick with candys, zoas, mushrooms, and othe lps. mine have done great. like BTLD said keep up with your maintainance and be smart. get ready for an algae bloom cuz its probably going to come. i got ransacked by the stuff and it was terrible. make sure you get yourself a soild CUC, watch for signs, and use good water!!!

 

[btldreef]

Do you plan on adding any more fish?
Sixline Wrasses should be the last fish you add. Many people on this site refer to them as the "fish from hell". They're very aggressive, I had one create absolute chaos in my tank.

 

[tampashane]

I dont think I am going to get anymore fish, I am happy with the 3 that I have i figured with a clown that wont go near the rock work and a signal goby for the buttom my wrasse pretty much has the reef to himself. Now Im just going to focus on some coral. Found a piece at a shop today that i have never seen before, ill get a pic if I get it.

 

[tampashane]

So now I have a question about cleaner shrimps and anemones. Everytime I feed my anemone a piece of shrimp my cleaner shrimp goes inside the anemone and fights him for it, is that normal? they wont sting or hurt shrimp? Also I am trading my anemone in tomorrow for a rose one. It is a very bright solid red, one of the best I have ever seen I am so excited to get him. Its not just the tips thats red, every inch of him is red. im also giving my perc clown to them to take the clown thats hosting it. Any thoughts about the crazy shrimp i have?

 

[tampashane]

So looking at this site i just realized it could be a hawaiian red anemone either way im making a straight trade for it and i paid $19 for my bubble. The lady at the shop said she didnt know what kind it was so I think im getting a steal cuz either the rose or hawaiian red are over $100. Still its so much brighter red than I have ever seen, looks like a ball of fire. Ill post a pic tomorrow morning when I get him for some help with an ID.

 

[tampashane]

Well as promissed here is the beautiful anemone I was druling over. Of course as everyone has mentioned before the pics just dont do justice for its color. It is much brighter in person.

 

[nissan577]

here there bro! im glad to see we have a another 29 g reefer aboard!

here are something that can help you:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/362865/refugium-for-nanos

 

[tampashane]

omg nissan commented on my thread lol now i feel special... and that wasnt sarcasim btw. Thx for the link I have actually read that like 20 times. my lfs has never heard of chemipure-elite just chemipure which i did buy. I have everything i need to make the fuge except the light i havent been able to find. So im thinking I might have to order it online. amy hardware store or something of that nature that might sell it? I really need to get my fuge going quick i have pretty much perfect water params but by the end of the week my trates are at 5 and i dont over feed as far as i know. 5 makes me nervus considering the beautiful anemone i have i know their very picky with their water and if i lost him dont think i would ever find one so pretty.

 

[nissan577]

am i that famous????
well im glad you are happy that i commented on your thread! always here to help! but you should want spanko to help to he is very knowledgable. i learn alot from him!

anyway any light can help. im sure your lfs has some 9 watt PC lights or anything around that can help. or not Home Depot can help as well. or e-bay. anyway im glad everything is going great!

one more thing. i know they told you before about the anemone and the light and water length. so i would recommend is getting some Metal Halide. Try getting the Sunpod 150w MH HQI and im sure your corals, and fish, and anemone are gonna be inlove with it! also you can upgrade your return pump with a maxi-jet 1200. and if you get a Koralia 1 well 2 of them that would be amazing as well!