Starting Saltwater Aquarium

[Supraz]

I'm planning on going to my LFS and getting a Biocube 29 today after work. Im also getting the protein skimmer designed for that aquarium. I wanted to started on my setup tonight but had a few questions.

If I wanted to use live sand is there anything I need to know prior to putting it into a new tank? I wanted to put it in with a couple of crabs to start the cycle.

Is it ok to add live rock that early as well?

Is it ok to start my tank without the bioballs that are included since i would remove them eventually anyways?

Thanks for your help.

 

[rwynn]

Nix the bio balls, wait on the crabs until a little later at the end of the cycle.

Mix the saltwater and get it to the right specific gravity(1.025 is a good numbers).

Once the water is up to temp(76 - 82) add the LR and LS.

The rock and sand die off should get the cycle started, if you don't see an ammonia spike after a couple days add a piece of shrimp from the grocer. Keep testing Ammonia and Nitrites until Nitrites spike and then hit 0 again.

Edit: Make sure when adding the rock that the base rock is resting on the tank bottom and not sand, otherwise you will end up with a rockslide.

 

[tankedchemist]

You do not need to buy live sand. save money and buy the dry stuff. LS doesn't make a darn bit of difference.

And the skimmer made for the biocube is crappy. Won't help all that much.

are you planning on keeping corals?

 

[andysgirl8800]

You can also save some money and buy dry sand. the bacteria in the live rock will seed the sand and it will become "live" on its own.

 

[rwynn]

+1 Tanked and Andy

 

[Supraz]

@Tanked Yes I do want to add coral.

So I should just get the live rock and aragonite sand. Setup the tank and get the saltwater to 1.025 gravity. Then get the temp up to 76-82. Once thats done add the live rock and sand. The dying live rock should start up the cycle? If thats the case, is it in my best interest to only get a couple lbs of live rock since im going to be killing it off?

 

[tankedchemist]

then the stock biocube VHO lighting will not be good enough.

I saw in an LFS in Seattle, a version that came equipped with a metal halide instead. I don't have personal experience with that model, but I'd definitely be worried about heat.

Personally, if you want corals, I'd get a regular tank instead of the all in one model. I bought a biocube 29 to start with, and within a few short months basically gutted the whole thing, bought new lights, etc.... to make it run well enough.

By the way, you don't really want to keep your temp as high as 82 in a cube. you'll end up ith a temp spike and a dead tank.

you're not killing off the live rock. you're just allowing some stuff-- say sponges or whatever-- to die and thus produce ammonia. The ammonia stimulates growth of your first important bacteria, which converts it to nitrite. these bacteria live in the live rock-- that's why you need the rock. The more rock you start with, the shorter your cycle will be.

 

[Supraz]

I thought that the biocube was ok for coral as long as it wasnt the SPS coral. I went with the Biocube because it seemed like a decent choice for a beginner... Do yall recommend something else for a beginner?

 

[Supraz]

@Tanked I think what you saw was the biocube 29 HQI...

 

[rwynn]

In the showcase thread there are a couple people, BL1 and Katib, that have the all in ones, BL uses MH and Katib uses LED, both would keep coral perfectly fine as far as lighting goes. You would need to make a few mods to the skimmer and fuge(all are well documented).

 

[tankedchemist]

It is "ok" insofar as softies-- mushrooms, leathers, and zoanthids mostly-- won't actually die in the tank. However, they don't grow much at all, and they slowly lose their color. the minute I got new lights (they were T5's) everything colored up and exploded in growth.

check around and find out if the MH version of the biocube runs hot. I know that the VHO version did-- had to keep the back lid thingie opened 24/7, and I still got a temp spike last summer, in an air conditioned room. But it's something to look into.

Personally, if I could have done it all over again, I'd have just started out with a normal tank... biting the bullet and learning things completely would have saved me a lot of cash on the biocube. But they're neat tanks-- it's a better shape than a "normal" 29 gallon imo.

 

[tankedchemist]

Rwynn's right about he LED's-- those are a new thing and might be worth trying. It would be easy to get a strip of LED's and adhere it to the BC lid. Might be able to have coral growth in a BC that way.

 

[Supraz]

Thanks for the input rwynn :) Ill take a look at my options when i get to the store as far as other tanks are concerned. I live in Dallas and the one near me is pretty large. Ill let everyone know what i settled with once im done.

 

[rwynn]

There is a biocube with an LED ficture built in actually. Cuts down on the heat from Kati's experience so far.

 

[rwynn]

Awesome, I'll be in Frisco this weekend visiting my inlaws. Any good fish stores up that way?

 

[flipsta]

hi there

i am a newbie myself and went through this awesome forum to find out the best set up for a beginner. i am not going with coral but a FOWLR setup. i have a glass 29gal tank with a all-in-one regular fluorescent light and biowheel/carbon cartridge filtration cover.

i was steered not to use the biowheel/cartridge filtration... but instead get a pair of small powerheads (one one top for surface currents and one towards the bottom), a protein skimmer and live rock. this filtration is all i need to start. you can then add whatever lights you want, but for my FOWLR setup the regular light is fine.

i hope this helps. good luck. its pretty exciting to get started.

:)

 

[Supraz]

@tanked thanks for your input too! Ill see if they have an LED option. What watts should i be looking for in the LEDs?

Dallas North Aquarium
2910 East Trinity Mills Road
Carrollton, TX 75006-2318
(972) 492-6165

 

[BL1]

Supraz, as of right now, the JBJ nano cube is the only one offered with LEDs. It is a really great setup and there is more than enough light to grow any coral with it. However, you're probably going to spend between $700-800 for that setup (well worth it I think though). I have the JBJ HQI, I had some issues with the tank heating up to 84-85 degrees its first week. I put a small fan behind the tank blowing on the refugium/canopy and I haven't had the temp go about 79 since then. As for the biocube HQI, if you get that one, you shouldn't have the same issues with over-heating that I had because the lamp is actually above the tank and there is room to keep it cooler. I've attached a picture of it so you can see what I'm talking about.
If you decide to go with the regular biocube for now, just to check it out, when your tank gets setup and your ready to add some high-light corals you can upgrade the canopy (after doing that though, you'll have spent as much as the LED tank). There is another forum you should check out, it's nano-reef.com there you can get a good idea of what corals people have successfully kept in their tanks with the different lighting options out there. In the end what it comes down to is your preference and what you want to spend right now, and in the future.
If you have any more questions,

 

[BL1]

As a matter of fact, check out the link to this page, he is a new member here ... but, he has the stock CF hood on his tank and he has some very impressive corals.
Photo Journal - Urbanek's 28g Nano-Cube - Nano-Reef.com Forums

 

[wontonflip]

Great advice from everyone...if you're getting dry aragonite, make sure to rinse it out very well, just so it won't keep clouding up everytime it gets stirred in the tank. It doesn't hurt to rinse.

Make sure to use RODI or distilled water. If you use tap (even treated tap), you're asking for algae breakouts. Always use rodi/distilled. You can buy distilled from your LFS or distilled water from Walmart. A lot of us invested in our own rodi unit. Saves time and money, IMHO.