Melee's new BioCube 14 tank diary! Pics

meleerock

Member
wow. sounds pretty intense. I will be sure to snag some gloves and be extra careful.

Thanks for the compliment!
 

meleerock

Member
Its been a few days but Im back in action. I did a 20% water change this morning and here are my current tank paramaters;
SG: 1.024
pH: 8.1
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Calcium: 390
Alkalinity: 4.28 meq/L or 12.0 dKH
Phosphates: 0
My alk and calcium are still a little off. Would increasing my SG to 1.026 make my calcium go up a bit and my alk down?
This weekend im going to get my clean up crew and get them settled in. Hopefully next week I can add my fish and pistol! Do you think I should start out with the pistol and goby pair or my PJ? Im kind of wanting the goby and pistol first then get all my coral at the swap and a few weeks later add my PJ. Thanks all.
Thats it!
 

michaeltx

Moderator
while the tank stablizes all the readings will flucuate and thats why the recomendation is to wait to add corals and some inverts for a few months after cycle to let it steep then you have more control. some corals do great even with the flucuations though.
mike
 

meleerock

Member
Mike, thanks again. Im trying to stick to some pretty hardy and easy corals for the swap since my tank is young such as zoas, rics, shrooms. Hopefully they will all do good.

Howard, The tank looks almost the same as when I got it. In a few weeks expect it a little more filled. Will take a pic tomorrow and put up another one after I get my clean up crew acclimated and settled in. Maybe I will buy a small frag or 2 as well!
Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to the progress of my tank!
 

meleerock

Member
Originally Posted by HowardJ
Got an updated FTS?
whats the wattage?
Well here is an updated pic! Not a lot of change except algea growth. Man do I need a clean up crew.
On the tank there is 1 - 24w 50/50 bulb and 1 - 24w 10K bulb. For a total of 48 watts altogether.
Thats it for now.
Feel free to comment.
 

meleerock

Member
Well... Just an update. I was not able to add a clean up crew on the weekend.
Lets just say im in a bit of a money bind with school and books and car and phone, you all know the deal
. Hopefully I can pick some inverts within the next week or worst case scenerio on the 25th at the frag swap.
I am seeing tons of pods and hitch hikers (bistles, asternia stars, what looks like mini brittle stars - i have seen a few arms searching for food while the rest is in the rock, and stomatella varia snails. The tank is doing good. In the next few days im gunna check my levels and see whats going down en la agua. (in the water) lol.
Dont be afraid to respond. Both criticism and a good
are accepted, free of charge.
 

meleerock

Member
Here is an updated list on the corals! PICS!!!
These are taken from the original sellers of the corals.
3 polyps of all Pink Zoas

3 polyps of all Blue Zoas

5 poylps of Orange Bam Bam Zoas

5 polyps of Bright green w/ orange mouths Zoas

3 Polyps of Neon Green Cloves

2 Fuzzy Green Shrooms (Located on the bottom left)

...And the most recent and coolest yet...

4" Green Nepthea

I am also getting the following cleaners at the swap. This will be the initial clean up crew. It works out better for me money wise.
5 - Jumbo Tonga Nassarious Snails
10 - Astrea Snails
4 - Scarlet Hermits
4 - Blue Legged Hermits
2 - Emerald Crabs
I think the cleaners will be good for now. If I need to I will add more later.
Hope you all like the posts. Man, am I excited for this swap. Everything listed added together totals less than $120.
Hope you all like the pics. Of course I will post some after I get everything settled into the tank!
Thanks!
 

meleerock

Member
Not yet. I am getting the Green Nepthea next week. The rest of the corals I am getting on Sunday the 26th. I will post pics of the nepthea next week and the others when I get them.
 

reef diver

Active Member
Way too many astraeas IMO I think just 5 will work. I have 2 large astraeas that my mantis cant eat, and they do a decent job, but miss a few spots
 

meleerock

Member
Thanks for the tip. 10 did seem like a lot for the tank. I emailed the person I am getting them from and am only getting 5 now. If I need more, I can always get more. Thanks again!
 

meleerock

Member
I was also wondering if it was possible to eventually add another small fish. If so, what smaller fish would do well with my setup? I would be looking for a pretty active swimmer that likes to be out in the open and doesnt hide in the rock work a lot. Thanks a lot!
 

michaeltx

Moderator
I am to lazy to go back and look LOL but what fish do you have in there now?
The corals look great though.
Mike
 

meleerock

Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
I am to lazy to go back and look LOL but what fish do you have in there now?
The corals look great though.
Mike
Well... There is not fish in it right now... My plan originaly was a bumble bee shrimpgoby, a tiger pistol, and a PJ cardinal. I am kind of having second thoughts about the PJ and want to add something else instead. Like I said, something that likes to be out in the open. Maybe I should just get a "nemo"
The corals look great so far. Lets just wait and see how they look in my tank. It is taking forever.
 

meleerock

Member
Well, the swap is coming up not soon enough...lol. Its on Sunday though so I suppose I can wait a few more days. Here is an updated list of everything I am getting at the swap! and boy is it a lot!
3 - polyps pink zoas
3 - polyps all blue zoas
5 - polyps orange bam bams
5 - polyps bright green w/ orange mouths zoas
2 - heads of green fuzzy mushrooms
1 - head of "cool" mushroom. blue, orange and turquoise
1 - 4" green nepthea
1.5 - heads of red / orange aussie acan
3 - heads of PPE blasto. merletti
5 - nass. snails
5 - scarlett hermit crabs
4 - blue leg hermit crabs
2 - emerald crabs
5 - astrea snails
GRAND TOTAL: $142.00
Pretty good deal I think
Im gunna wait a few weeks to start adding my fish in case of bio - over - load.
Im gunna do a water change early this weekend just to make sure all my levels are safe for the new additions!
Thanks for looking!
 
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