KAT74's 14g Biocube Diary

K

kat74

Guest
Getting this thread ready for me to set up my new 14 gallon Biocube this weekend.

I'm keeping my 29g in my office at work, and going to start this one at home.
Plans for this cube...
20-25lbs cured LR from an established tank (mixed Fiji, Caribbean, Totoka, and Tonga)
20lb LS
Remove bioballs and put LR rubble in the middle chamber
50w Visi-therm stealth heater in chamber 1
Biocube skimmer in chamber 1
Strip of filter floss over drip tray in chamber 2
Purigen and Chemi-pure Elite in chamber 3
Starting with Koralia Nano for extra flow
I'm wondering if I should put the Purigen and Chemi-pure Elite in chamber 2 on top of the LR rubble, or if I should just leave it in chamber 3?

Also... wouldn't adding water from my 29 and putting in cured LR cause me to not really have much of a cycle?
I'm not planning to "rush" things and will certainly be keeping up with my parameters before adding anything, but it was just a thought.
I'm planning on moving my n-a-k-e-d ocellaris clowns into this one and will try Picasso's once again (ordering them from here) for my 29.
I want to do my aquascape in a "U" shape because I really, really, really want an Aussie elegance to go in the middle to be my centerpiece.
 
mojo46825

mojo46825

Member
Yes if your live rock is cured you should be good. However if its out of water for any given time you are more than likely going to have some die off on the rock wich will cause a small cycle. The die off on the rock will cause an ammonia spike wich will cause a cycle. If you are getting it from a pet store you should be fine. If you are ordering it online and it will be out of water for some time it will have to be re cured. As far as where to put the chem pure I have run it in both places. My daughters 8 gallon I put it in the last chamber but in my 29 I run it on top of the media. I have bioballs and some live rock rubble in the middle of mine. Cant wait to see how it turn out.
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by mojo46825
http:///forum/post/2543199
Yes if your live rock is cured you should be good. However if its out of water for any given time you are more than likely going to have some die off on the rock wich will cause a small cycle. The die off on the rock will cause an ammonia spike wich will cause a cycle. If you are getting it from a pet store you should be fine. If you are ordering it online and it will be out of water for some time it will have to be re cured. As far as where to put the chem pure I have run it in both places. My daughters 8 gallon I put it in the last chamber but in my 29 I run it on top of the media. I have bioballs and some live rock rubble in the middle of mine. Cant wait to see how it turn out.

The LR is coming from one of my fellow local reef club members established tank. He has about 300lbs of mixed LR for sale. I'm going to take a styrofoam box with me with some water in it to transport the rock from his place to mine.
I plan on doing the "hypersalinity" thing with the LR (taking a bucket with saltwater in it and bumping up the SG to 1.030-1.040 and putting the rock in it for a minute to allow all the critters in the rock to crawl out... bristleworms, mantis, crabs, etc... ) and then putting the rock aside to go in my tank. I certainly do not want any "nasties" in my tank.

Maybe I'll try the Purigen and Chemi-pure Elite in the middle chamber on top of my LR rubble this time to see how it does.
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
Wow, Kat here we go again
I have never heard anything about the hypersalinity that you mentioned, but it does sound like a great idea. I am excited to see how you set this tank up because of how beautiful your other cube is
Good luck and talk to you soon
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by subielover
http:///forum/post/2543300
Wow, Kat here we go again
I have never heard anything about the hypersalinity that you mentioned, but it does sound like a great idea. I am excited to see how you set this tank up because of how beautiful your other cube is
Good luck and talk to you soon

Yeah, I did a lot of reading this past weekend.
This is what I've read about hypersalinity:
Submerse the new rock into a bucket filled with saltwater with a specific gravity of 1.035 to 1.040 for one minute. Any invertebrates including mantis shrimp, bristle worms, and crabs will quickly evacuate from the rock and into the bucket of water. Remove the live rock from the bucket and sort through the invertebrates in the bucket. Determine those you want to add to your system and discard unwanted pests.
Hopefully, I will have some *real* updates after this weekend!~
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Aha! Here is the build thread! I am now officially tagging along!
Really interested to see the hyper salinity thing and if it works. In you reading does it talk about any affect it may or does not have on the nitrifying bacteria onin the rock?
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2543470
Aha! Here is the build thread! I am now officially tagging along!
Really interested to see the hyper salinity thing and if it works. In you reading does it talk about any affect it may or does not have on the nitrifying bacteria onin the rock?
I read that it doesn't affect anything "beneficial" because it doesn't stay in the hypersalinity water but for a minute.
I don't know.... but we'll see!~ I'm gonna keep reading up on that and see if I read anything negative about doing it. Maybe I'll post a thread up on "New Hobbyists" and see what everyone else thinks?

Thanks for tagging along! I'll be needing everyone's help!
 
halostalker

halostalker

Member
Congrats Kat
another tank to work ur magic in=P. i'll be here trying to help and supporting u all the way

If u get the rock from a tank and quickly put it into another u shouldn't have a cycle(i didn't notice one with my tank). plus adding some water from ur 29 to ur 14 would help out alot.
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by MaTT B
http:///forum/post/2543732
WE WANT PIX RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok I posted in your thread you post in mine

No pics until this weekend!~

........ headed to your thread ...........
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by HaloStalker
http:///forum/post/2543766
Congrats Kat
another tank to work ur magic in=P. i'll be here trying to help and supporting u all the way

If u get the rock from a tank and quickly put it into another u shouldn't have a cycle(i didn't notice one with my tank). plus adding some water from ur 29 to ur 14 would help out alot.
You *better* be here to help me with this one!~

Well, I'll be taking the rock from the tank and putting it in a styrofoam box or rubbermaid container and will drive about 45mins back home, set each piece of rock out and squirt it with some saltwater to see if anything comes out that I don't want in my tank, and then I will put it in.
I plan to take 5 gallons from my 29 (from water change) and take 5 gallons from Nutri-sea water to put in this tank. The 20lbs of LS I'm gonna add is going to be from a new bag. I'll rinse it and put it in and go from there and see how much of a cycle I'm gonna get.
 
nwdyr

nwdyr

Active Member
Let's get this party started!!! whoo hooo
Hey, never heard of that salt thing.I will hopfully be starting my frag tank set-up tomarrow if all my eq. comes in! I will try that with my LR, But I don't think I will be getting any for a week or so. I can't find anyone around here to buy it from cheap, and it's 9.50 lb at the LFS
So I will be watching to see how that works for you, as we all know I need as much help as I can get when it comes to getting rid of nastys!!!
If I get 1 gorilla crab in my frag tank i will go crazy. You won't get much of a cycle, if at all. I did the same thing with my 24gal tank, and I didn't even have any "cured" water to start with and I had no cycle just using LR and Live crushed coral. for my frag I am going to use LS, about 5-8 gallons of water from my 24gal, and hopfully some LR right away. So I don't expect much of a cycle either. Some people here told me I was crazy when I set up my 24gal, said I would get a big cycle and kill my clowns, but I never did and they are still here and happy~! we are starting new tanks together..awwww the family that reefs together.....
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by KAT74
http:///forum/post/2543931
You *better* be here to help me with this one!~

The 20lbs of LS I'm gonna add is going to be from a new bag. I'll rinse it and put it in and go from there and see how much of a cycle I'm gonna get.

Why would you rinse the live sand? Don't you buy live sand for the life in it and wouldn't rinsing it destroy or clean out the life you are paying for?
 
K

kat74

Guest

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2544655
Why would you rinse the live sand? Don't you buy live sand for the life in it and wouldn't rinsing it destroy or clean out the life you are paying for?
Hmmm.... Okay, I got confused
... I remember reading this from the Dr.'s website regarding a bag of LS I was looking at when I was going to add it to my 29g:
Store at room temperature. Do not open bag until you are ready to use it. For best results, use approximately 1 pound of Caribbean Live Sand per gallon of saltwater. Rinsing is not necessary but recommended if you are adding to an established and stocked aquarium.
So no rinsing then. And I think that I am going to go with what my LFS has, which is Carib Sea Arag Alive LS, and see if they have it in Fiji Pink.

Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Too many things going on, easily confuses me!~
 
fishermon

fishermon

Member
Kat,
In your cube do you use the biocube filter cartridges? I bought a stealth 100w heater (I think thats what you have). It goes into 1st chamber right? I've got lots of LR rubble to replace bio-balls. Should I cut some filter floss to put on drip tray on top of LR?
Sorry to drill you, but I just want to half way know what I'm doing when I get my cube Thursday.
I've got everything ready-plenty of LR 35-40lbs, 30lbs of LS, and a very impatient aquarist.
Will you check out my 29g cube diary & check out my stocklist. I'd love to get your opinion.
 
K

kat74

Guest
Originally Posted by FISHERMON
http:///forum/post/2544700
Kat,
In your cube do you use the biocube filter cartridges? I bought a stealth 100w heater (I think thats what you have). It goes into 1st chamber right? I've got lots of LR rubble to replace bio-balls. Should I cut some filter floss to put on drip tray on top of LR?
Sorry to drill you, but I just want to half way know what I'm doing when I get my cube Thursday.
I've got everything ready-plenty of LR 35-40lbs, 30lbs of LS, and a very impatient aquarist.
Will you check out my 29g cube diary & check out my stocklist. I'd love to get your opinion.

No, I don't use the Biocube filter cartridges. I have the Biocube skimmer in chamber 1, and it pretty much goes right where the cartridge would have gone, and the filter cartridge costs more to replace than to just use filter floss and toss in a bag of carbon for a couple of days each month, so I don't use it. Yes, I cut out a big piece of filter floss and put it over the drip tray in chamber 2 and change it out every couple of days. That thing catches some nasty stuff!
The 100w stealth heater, I put in chamber 1, yes. It's taller than the chamber itself, but don't worry, it will still work.

..... going now to check out your thread!
 
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