My New Tank - 29g Biocube

[Jason In The 561]

Hi everyone

So I have kept a few fresh water tanks in the past and have really been looking forward to starting my own marine aquarium. After looking at dozens of salt water tanks they seem so much more rewarding to look after then the dimly colored world of brown and green that fresh water provides. Anyways like I said this will be my first saltwater tank and any and all advice is much appreciated from the more experienced members. With that being said lets get started on what I plan to do.

A few weeks ago I was helping a neighbor move and I came across a brand new Biocube 29g still it ts box. After a few questions and a little "encouragement" in the right direction I got him to sell it to me for $100. Sweet!! Since then it been nothing but knowledge acquisition on the net. Here's a list of what I have and whats on its way.

Have:
Biocube 29g
Aqueon 100w heater- These any good? I had it laying around and wasn't sure if I should use for water mixing or in my tank.
A few 5g buckets

On the way:
inTank BC29 package deal (Media Basket-Fuge Basket-Fish Saver)
ChemiPure Elite
Purigen
1/4 Bag of Chaeto Algae - How much of this should I be using?
Rapid LED's BC29 Dimmable Retrofit Kit
2 LED Moonlight Kit
PMW Controller for both
Rio 6HF HyperFlow Pump
Hydor Koralia Evolution 750
Reef Crystals 200g Box
And of course SpectraPure's MPDI RO/DI filtration unit (Factory Refurbished $120!!)

So whatca think? I know there's a few more things I need, feel free to give me some feedback on everything.

I still need a stand, I was trying to avoid buying the BC stand cause I could make a better one for cheaper. If anyone knows of a link for good some plans let me know. Photos coming soon as soon as I figure out to upload them :frustrat:

 

[Jason In The 561]

I wanted to comment on Rapid LED's great customer service I had when I ordered my Retrofit kit. I emailed them a few times before I placed my order to ask some questions and received very prompt and informative responses for a guy named Mike. After my order took a day longer then expected to ship out I asked what the deal was and just received this response.

"Jason,

Sorry for the delay, your order is going out this morning and you'll hopefully get it Friday. I'm actually upgrading your kit to the 24 LED version for the delay.

Thanks,
Mike"

What a champ!

Some pics to spark everyone's interest

The Aqueon 100- Any good?

Stock BC 29

More to come as things start to arrive

 

[Amba]

Those biocubes are kewl beans.

 

[NanoReefer]

ideas look great!

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

welcome and congrad on the tank for a third of the price. They're the perfect beginner tanks. you should fall in love with it in no time.

 

[little_fish]

Looks like you are set on equipment! Now just do your research about cycling a tank and the fishies you want to keep!

 

[Jason In The 561]

Thx for the welcome guys, I was starting to think no one was interested. I'm in the keys for a friends wedding and I just checked tracking numbers and I have three packages waiting for me when I get home. The retrofit kit, inTank package and the RO/DI. I'll have more pics to come as soon as I get back.

 

[Jason In The 561]

Alright so Iv been a little busy over the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to update my build thread. Everything has arrived,stand is built, LED's wired, and tank is in its third day of cycling. Here's a list of equipment changes.

-Decided to go with two hydor koralia 425's on a JBJ ocean pulse wave maker instead of the single 750. I really like the wave maker, I have it alternating between power heads every ten seconds which I think gives the tank a much more natural flow then just the 750 running constantly.

-BRS dry rock, 20lbs Pukani and 15lbs of reef saver eco rock. I had to soak the Pukani for a week and dose it with lanthanum chloride twice a day to remove the phosphates this rock is famous for leaching

-5lbs of halfway cured live rock from LFS

-Nano-Glo fuge light (works great with the intank fuge basket BTW)

-20 lbs of sugar sized Aragonite and about 5lbs of live sand

-Timer for moonlight and fuge and another for the retro kit.

Photos of the goods

inTank package

Spectra Pure RO/DI unit. Installed it under the garage sink and also added an extra hose for bucket filling.

Finished stand. Not bad for some scrap wood I had laying around.

Drivers and controller

Everything striped out of the hood

LED's in place

Wired

Testing the lights. I decided to go with 8 royal blue, 4 blue, 8 cool white, 2 white white, 2 natural white. The two blank spots are for the moonlights,

Installed in the hood with fans

Drivers and fuge light

I used a tow hitch light connector for a quick release so the hood wasn't permanently wired to the stand.

Tank and stand

The aquascape. Not sure if I like it yet, I had it "perfect" but I added the two pieces of live rock and it kinda threw everything off.

 

[NanoReefer]

you have some great looking rock and an awesome setup!

 

[chuysvt]

Nice,i hope to get my tank soon. I have a 29g biocube on layaway.

 

[Jason In The 561]

Thanks for the good words Iv been workin on gathering everything for months. Everything is going good, just waiting on the water params to stabilize. Once I read zeros across the board LFS says add a fish to get the bioload going. Is this wise? Shouldnt I start to put together a CUC before I add in a 'hardy' fish?

 

[beeguiles]

Do they mean add a fish to start the cycle? If so..I wouldn't advise that. Throw in a table shrimp and that will get the cycle going. Once ammonia reads zero, nitrite reads zero and the nitrates spike its time for a partial water change and you're first fishie.

 

[Jason In The 561]

No, the 5lbs of live rock I have in there already was partially cured so the tank has been cycling since I added it. I think they were implying adding a fish to encourage bacteria growth from the extra wastes a fish can produce? I was under the impression you add a CUC before any fish to help with the usual algae bloom and to slowly build up a bioload.

 

[Marines_Wife]

Love your setup. Very nice.

 

[beeguiles]

You could get a cuc now but if there is no algae yet you'll have to feed them algae sheets. Or you could wait for the algae bloom and then get a cuc

 

[Jason In The 561]

Just a quick update, tested today with ammonia at almost untraceable lvl's and nitrites testing through the roof. Guess that means the end of the cycle is near. I also noticed today that just about everything in the front and back of the tank is covered in 'dust'. I used sugar sized Aragonite so I expected some but my LR and every piece of equipment has been colored white with a layer of the stuff. Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[Jason In The 561]

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

So lvls finally were reading 0 for a few days so I went ahead and decided to do a 10g water change and let it run a few days more before I add anything. Question though, I noticed today that the LR is starting to form what looks like reddish brown algae on it. Can anyone confirm this?

LR

FTS

 

[little_fish]

that is diatoms, really common in new tanks and should go away on their own

 

[Jason In The 561]

Thanks lil fish! I did some reading after I posted and found my answer also. Anyways Iv been looking around LFS trying to deiced what I want to add first but haven't made any solid decisions yet. I was thinking the traditional clown and anemone or torch but idk yet.... Is it wise to get both at the same time and add to a newly establish tank? Im open to any suggestions on whats a good first pick

 

[little_fish]

Clowns are great choice for a first fish! But nems are really difficult animals to keep and I wouldnt recommend one until your tank is at least a year old and you know you have the light and water conditions required for their survival. Also there is no guarantee that they will be hosted by the nem anyways. A torch however is a pretty good beginner coral.