New BioCube 24g, follow along...

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#1
New BioCube 29g, follow along...

I ended up with the Oceanic BioCube 29g. I couldn't pass up the deal, $199.
I bought live rock from 2 other LFS and then sand, heater, hydrometer, temp. gauge, and salt from PetSmart (on sale). Then I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $80 stand and some water. Here it is. I will update after the cloud goes away.


 

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Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#4
After I bought it I assembled it then sat on top of it and wiggled around. It is amazingly stable. I'm 230 so it will be ok. I have a step ladder to use so if I need to get into the tank it will be from high above. I could always make and anchor and mount the stand to the wall.
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#8
The cloud is almost gone.

Full set up shot.

FTS

I have some tube worms I think. They are not feather dusters but there is something in there. I turned the rock to let the little guy see the light. I will get a better shot tomorrow.
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#10
You would be correct!
So I went down to the LFS today and bought some weed killer.

I also changed the scape. I like the new one better. I tested the water and got zeros across the board and 8.2 on the pH.

I also found out that my tank was missing a part from the factory. I thought they shipped me the wrong filter cartridge but as it turns out one of the slots was missing. This explains why I scratched my head for a couple minutes on how the filter mounted. In the end I rubber banded the cartridge to the bottom of the dissipation plate. Seems to work well there right now but I will ditch it in a week anyways. I also put in some polishing pads on top of the Chemi-Pure bag that is on top of the bio balls. I also installed a protein skimmer but more on that later.

While I was at the LFS the marine manager said I could buy some fish to help cycle the tank further. He was not surprised when I told him what my numbers were. He said it was to be expected because of the fully cured rock I bought from him and another reputable LFS. I kinda raised an eyebrow at the suggestion so I thanked him for the "Joe's Juice" and went to Petco. At Petco they had a sale going on. Cool for me since I don't think the fish would live in such a new tank anyway. I bought a Green Chromis (I know they are aggressive) for $3 and a False Clown for $7. And to top it off they had crabs (blue hermit) 3 for $1. So in the end I left with a little bag of water towards home.

So on to the pictures...
Here is the new a-scape w/ flash

w/o flash,

My clown,

Front top,

Right,

Left,
 

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Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#11
Here are the pictures from the protein skimmer install. I can't remember what size it is but it is made by Marine Land and sold by Instant Ocean. I made a couple of mods to it to make it work. I bought some 1" clear vinyl tubing and extended the hose that went to the pump. I also extended the hose that went from the u-bend to the skimmer. I don't know if it will work but I'm going to try. I had to cut some holes in the back of the lid but as you can see it was minimal and the only thing you can see from the front is the foam canister.

 

Lorna

Elite Fish
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#12
A couple of points......remove the bioballs, you don't need them with live rock and they will add to nitrate problems down the road...... Your tank is not cycled and to add fish to it at this point is precipitous at best. You need to monitor the water extremely closely and if the ammonia goes up you need to be prepared to pull those fish out of there and let it cycle. A tank set up with live rock will usually have a reduced cycle, but believe me it will still need to be cycled. The process allows your hard surfaces to be populated by beneficial bacteria. That rock has some but not enough and there will still be some die off on the rock even though it may be minor.....if minor it may not be enough to initiate the ammonia cycle. A tank that is measuring zero for ammonia needs something to jump start the process, these fish will do that but the ammonia levels will likely kill them in the process. I can't believe there are lfs' out there that continue to tell people to cycle with fish. Then again I know they are in the business to sell fish at what ever the costs to the poor fish.

Another thing, even though your tank is new a good habit to get into is to quarantine your new fish BEFORE adding them to your main display as they may be carrying various pathogens that you may not want to be introduced to your costly main display tank. This is a habit that is good to get into. Your clown may very well succumb to ich or brooklynella due tothe stress from being placed in an uncycled tank so watch for the signs.....also, be prepared to do large water changes with any increase in levels....though water changes will not let the cycle progress either......so it is a touch and go.

One other small item.....You have a very nice set up and it looks great but it could be a fire hazard waiting to happen. I didn't see any drip loops in your electrical plugs....and they run straingt down to your power bar. My suggestion would be to get a gfi box and hang it on the wall with the plugs looping up into it. This will ensure that any water that gets onto the cords drips off to the floor before running into the power source and causing sparks, fire or electrocution........

On another more positive note....It looks great and will be a great set up, this hobby is extremely rewarding but remember things must happen slowly.....only bad things happen fast.....sorry I don't mean to be harsh if this sounded harsh.....
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#13
Thanks for the response. I moved the cords already. The whole bundle was reorganized and then the strip was placed on the second shelf. I will test the water regularly and tomorrow I will take a sample back to the LFS I bought the rock at (not the LFS with the fish suggestion) and make sure I know what the differences in the hydrometer to a calibrated refractometer is. What would you suggest I do in that back chamber? More LR or maybe buy some lace rock and cure it myself over the next couple of months? About the quarantine tank, what kind of set up would I need for that and how long do you need to quarantine fish? Is it just fish or invertebrates and corals too?
 

Lorna

Elite Fish
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#14
You should at a minimum quarantine all fish and corals. Usually for 4 weeks that way if they are carrying anything it would manifest itself in that time frame. A simple 10g with a powerhead, heater and some sort of filter such as an aquaclear on it as you won't have any live rock or sand in it......add some pvc pieces to provide hiding spots for your fish and monitor your parameters constantly as these tanks don't have the filtration your main tank does. Some people place a sponge in the back of their main tank to get coated in good bacteria and then use this in the qt tank to start a cycle in there as it won't have had the opportunity to cycle. Some keep these tanks going all the time in case of emergency.....I don't. I use it if I need it then tear it down til next time. It is always useful to have a 10g hanging around for this purpose. If your fish are sick you will need one to use as a hospital tank......if you treat your fish with any meds it needs tobe done in this tank also and as inverts are sensitive to meds you won't put any in the qt..... There is a great sticky on the general saltwater forum on setting up a qt tank....good luck.\

(glad you moved those cords) better safe than sorry.....once shocked you will know what I mean.....saltwater and electricity....scary combo
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#15
I read the QT thread. If I leave my bio-balls in my main for now and go and get a QT setup would I be be able to use them as my bacteria start-up? Would any cheap hang on filter work or should I get a better filter with say a bio-wheel?

I just need a tank, filter, heater, light, and a powerhead right?

Would you recommend buying one of those all-in-one freshwater kits and doing some conversions. Like My FW grow out tank I got at Wal-Mart for like $25 or something. It came with tank, hang on filter, hood w/lights. I can change the cheap incandenscenc bulbs to the screw in 6500k fluorescent bulbs. Do you think that would be enough light? I know I need the rest of it but I need a starting point.
Thanks Lorna!
Jay
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#16
Checked the water again. Zero's and 8.2. Water temp at 79 and SG at 1.023. The fish are still eating and very active. The crabs are doing well too. Maybe I lucked out, but I'm not holding my breath. When would be a good time to do a water change? When I see the 'trates going up? Thanks in advance, Jay.
 

Lorna

Elite Fish
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#17
Jay....you are doing well so far maybe you did luck out. Watch the water and do a 10% wc each week, especially if you see any change in the parameters. The qt can be set up using the bioballs, but I fear that your main tank really hasn't had a sufficient cycle. I would leave them in there until you are sure your tank is cycled and then take half the balls out and put them into the basket of a hob filter, like the aquaclear, remove the media and use the bioballs.....You don't need to worry about light as fish don't care about the light other than, night an day......you won't have any plants or anything dependend on light in the qt. just a cheapo startup from walmart is good.....you can even use their hob filter.

As far as you main....you may want to bump up your sg slowly......to say 1.025 as a goal. Remember top off with ro water as salt doesn't evaporate....
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#18
Jay....you are doing well so far maybe you did luck out. Watch the water and do a 10% wc each week, especially if you see any change in the parameters. The qt can be set up using the bioballs, but I fear that your main tank really hasn't had a sufficient cycle. I would leave them in there until you are sure your tank is cycled and then take half the balls out and put them into the basket of a hob filter, like the aquaclear, remove the media and use the bioballs.....You don't need to worry about light as fish don't care about the light other than, night an day......you won't have any plants or anything dependend on light in the qt. just a cheapo startup from walmart is good.....you can even use their hob filter.

As far as you main....you may want to bump up your sg slowly......to say 1.025 as a goal. Remember top off with ro water as salt doesn't evaporate....
Thanks for the advice! I will do a 10% change today. I will also bring up the SG a bit with my top-offs over the next week. I live in the desert so the water coming out of the tap is amazingly warm. It's not hot but in the summer it is every bit of 85+. Right now it is probably in the upper 70's. I also have an RO system I bought awhile back to go with my water softener. We have pretty hard water here. I did read that a water softener screws up the sodium levels in the water so I will be careful to use my RO only unless I get my larger purchases from the store.

I'm only concern about the lights because I want to do some corals later and I thought it would be a good idea to quarantine them as well. The tank I bought from Wal-Mart has a hood with 2 screw in light receptacles. I was in Lowe's the other day and I saw "daylight 6500k" screw-in florescent bulbs. I wasn't sure if two of those in a 10g would be enough to quarantine some corals for a few weeks. What do you think?

Another question I have is kinda complicated. So after I take out my bio balls I will have a big empty space in the back. I know I don't need to put anything back there but I would imagine the water falling back there is going to be quite noisy. The room I have the tank in is much like a bedroom in size and want to get the noise down a bit. I have a debris (filter floss) filter pad sitting on top of my balls right now and it soaks up all the noise. I also put a small 2"x2" piece under the PS return to quite it down too. If I were to make some tabs to hold a shelf I would build, with a bunch of holes in it for flow, could I place the chemi-pure bag and the filter pad on top? Almost like turning that dead space into a staged canister filter using chemical and mechanical filtering only. Or maybe I should turn it into a 'fuge instead?

Sorry for all the questions. You know how us noOBies are...
 

Big Jay

Medium Fish
Sep 10, 2007
72
0
0
#19
So I changed the 'scape around again. I think I finally got it. Lots of caves and the better side of all the rocks are showing.

Left



Right



Crab



The weeds



Red spot



Limon, the Chromis



Crab #2



Floyd, the clown
 

Lorna

Elite Fish
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#20
Yes that idea with a raised platform with the chemipure is a good one.....you could replace the balls with live rock pieces under the chemi pure. I wouldn't make it a fuge unless there is a way to light it as the macro algae would need a light source. The light for the qt could be just the straight pc that comes with the tank but upgrade the bulb to a daylight bulb. Most soft corals and polyps, shrooms etc would be okay under this lighting for a short time frame and then acclimate them to the main tank light slowly......Once you get into lps and sps corals you should think about upgrading the light for your qt to something stronger....you'll be a better judge of that as you get more into the hobby.

Your aquascape looks great. Your rock is close to the glass and you realize you won't be able to clean it, but it appears to be the back side so that is okay....just make sure you can fit a mag cleaner between the rock and the glass all the way round the other sides. You also have a nice large aiptasia in there that you will want to get rid of asap as it will spread and they are not beneficial will sting everything and take over your tank......get some joe's juice and zap it. DO NOT TRY to pry it off or pull it off or squish it as it will spread and every piece will create a new one.......beleive me you want to get rid of it while it is relatively small and hasn't spread. I remember the first thing I saw on my live rock was one, and I was excited......a few peppermint shrimp took care of it. Though peppermints are not guaranteed to eat them mine did..... :) Oh and nice clown and chromis