My first saltwater tank - 14g Biocube journal

krak256

krak256

Member
I just got everything in today.
14g Biocube
20lbs of CaribSea live sand
20 lbs of live rock
Koralia nano powerhead
50w Stealth heater
Chemi-Pure
Reef Crystals
Oceanic nano skimmer
Refractometer
So I mixed the salt with distilled water, added it to the tank, and then put in the sand. Afterwards, I put in the live rock. I also took out the bioballs, and replaced it with rubble. On top of the rubble, I put a bag of Chemi-pure. I will be replacing the filter cartridge with the skimmer after the water isn't cloudy anymore.
Attachment 202304
Attachment 202305
I have a few questions.I set the heater to 78 degrees, is that ok? Also, I was going to put the heater in chamber 3, but with the skimmer, there's no room, so I put it in chamber 1. Is that ok? Will it be able to heat the water sufficiently?
Attachment 202306
Since I have live rock, which probably suffered from some die off, do I need to put in a raw shrimp still?
Thanks in advance!


 
rebelprettyboy

rebelprettyboy

Active Member
taking this isnt ur first sw tank?
Whered u get the rock from? Online? If so you wouldnt need to put a shrimp in... And the skimmer I wouldnt put in until u get some livestock about a month or 2 down the road.
 
krak256

krak256

Member
haha rebel, it is my first tank. i've just been reading a ton from this forum and seeing what other people have done with their biocubes.
i've always wanted a saltwater tank since i was a kid. WHOO!

I got 16lbs from online, but I wasn't sure if it was a lot or a little. once it came in, i realized i needed a little more for the back chamber.
is the heater placement ok?
 
rebelprettyboy

rebelprettyboy

Active Member
dang aquascape looks good. im already ready to see it stocked... yeah the heater is good thats where OI have mine. And i put my chemi pure in chamber 3 with the hearter and a bag of purigen
 
nwdyr

nwdyr

Active Member
Looks real good so far
welcome to the addiction
Please never put ANYHTING dead in you'r tank! been in and out of SWF for 20yrs and never found any benefit to the dead shrimp thing
JMO
 
krak256

krak256

Member
thanks for all the replies! does anyone else think that the scape look a bit too symmetrical? especially up top?
 
krak256

krak256

Member
Slight aquascape update:
Attachment 202427
I also have a few questions. Right now my salinity is at 1.021. how should I go about raising it to 1.025? Should I just add salt in or should I mix it before adding it in? How much salt should I add? I'm using Reef Crystals.
When I'm aquascaping, is it ok to make the rocks lean against the glass? I always thought that was a big no no, that's why I kept all the live rock in the middle.
 
ci11337

ci11337

Active Member
mix before you add. Does that heater need to be under water more than that, if the sensor is out of the water it will try heat the whole room, depends on the heater model. Personally i would try and open up the aquascape a bit more. try and make caves that the fish can hide in but you can still see them. LR on glass is fine.
 
krak256

krak256

Member
thanks for the info ci11337. I will try to open up the scape, its just a bit difficult since I have small chunks of live rock and branches.
just tested water parameters:
PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 8 (it was dark blue...)
Nitrate: 10
Nitrite: 10
Am I in the beginning of my cycle? Anything I should do? I plan to make a 20%-50% water change in a week.
 
flricordia

flricordia

Active Member
Looking good so far. Pleasure to see someone start a nano off right too. I would leave the lights off though for the cycle, at tleat for the first 2 weeks, then turn them on for 1/2 light cycle for the next week and when your tank nitrates botom out doa 20% water change, let the tank go another week and do another 20% then operate your lgihting for the full cycle. By this time you can start adding some livestock, slowely.
Looking forward to following this thread.
What were the coral type planned for? Any idea? Fish?
 
krak256

krak256

Member
Flricordia, so I should only do a water change when my nitrates come down to 0, or in 2 weeks? I only turned on the lights to take a picture. I read one of your other posts to someone about lighting, and I plan to follow it. Should I be cleaning out the filter/sponge/filter floss while the tank cycles?
Coral wise, I fairly new so I want to start with some beginner corals. I probably will start with a zoa and a mushroom at first. Any others you would recommend? I'm worried about how to feed them.
Fish wise, I want to have a pair of O. clowns. And perhaps a golby or a firefish. 3 fish would probably be the max in this tank, correct? What other good nano fish are there?
 
nano reefer

nano reefer

Active Member
couple of tips for ya!
-make sure that heater is completely submerged
-keep the LR off the glass/acrylic, as it will be easy to clean
-i see you have a bunch of point shaped rocks. use those to your advantage and make some points -jutting from the rock.
-personally, i dont like the aquascaping, but it can easily be improved. play around with it. the more random it is, the more you will like it.
-get the ammonia to 0
 
krak256

krak256

Member
after 3 hrs of scaping and TONS of frustration...
Attachment 202470
better?
nanoreefer, how should i get the ammonia down to 0? isnt it high because of the cycle? wont it lower by itself? i do plan to make a 20% water change in a week. i will also clean out the filter/sponge/filter floss
heater is now in chamber 1, after i took out the false floor.
 
silverdak

silverdak

Active Member
ya the scape look much better now! I personally like the cave look but with spots for them to swim through. if this is your first scape... then they are such a pain!!! mine was too, i just started up my 14G bio cube. the cubes are so easy to start and the price was great too. just dont go adding livestock too quickly. make sure the cycle is complete, or your will be sorry in the end!
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
The aquascape looks very nice.
Do not worry about the ammonia. Let the aquarium go through its natural cycle and just be patient.
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Yea dont aim to get any level right now, just try to get the temperature down and let it work itself out first. Liking the scape too, maybe a few more rocks on top? Youve got 14 gallons of space to work with, and as I learned, youre going to want to use it all.
Great to see someone read the right way to do things before they act, that'll help you out so much.
 
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