thinking about diving back into saltwater

[abm]

ok so i had a 55 gal. reef tank about 4 years ago...and had a heater explode while i was away on a trip and lost my whole tank....but now its a few years later and im thinking about geting back into the hobby i was either thinking about geting a 29 gal biocube or i belive its either 30 or 34 gal red sea aquarium. i belive the red sea one includes everything you need to get up and running quickly...im not so sure about the biocube as i wasent able to find alot of info on them, i was just wondering if any of you have had experience with these. and maybe give me a direction in wich to go when i make my purchase...also i know ive been away from the hobby for awhile and wondering if theres anything new out. at this point any and all advice would be much appreicated.

thanks.
Andrew

 

[daugherty]

biocubes are good tanks also as are the redsea ones i think you can get a good tank out of one for what you pay for them

 

[Smitty]

I agree...both tanks will do great as a plug and play. Just pay attention to getting one with decent lighting. Also, welcome to the site and back to the hobby!

 

[dcantucson]

I have the Red Sea set-up and have been very happy with it. I also have a 12 gallon Nano that is all complete and I like the Red Sea much better. I think the Red Sea has better lighting as well.

Welcome back to the hobby and to Living Reefs.

 

[abm]

ok so i decided to go with a 29 gal biocube....picked it up for 255.00. now my next question i should need about 35-40 pounds of live rock? and about about live sand how much will i need, the last tank i had was crused coral at the bottom but from what i read on here sand is alot better? Anything else i should pick up really soon?

 

[yote]

Dont worry about buying live sand.Get dry aragonite instead.Its cheaper and will become live.

 

[abm]

ok so i got my tank and got the salt water circulating in there. now its time for a few questions

1. where is the best place to buy your live rock online? as i have no lfs

2. is it best to use all live rock, or some base and live mixed together?

3. ive seen people modify there biocubes is there any mods that i should do?

4.im sure theres a thread here with the acceptable watar paramaters but i cannot find it can someone help me out?

5.bio ball should i keep them in or take them out?

 

[Sinluien]

Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums

they have some awesome rock and usually somethings on sale. thats about all i can help you on im a newbie my self. i think you can use dry/dead rock and your live rock will start to spread to it.

 

[Bifferwine]

These other sites are good too:

Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock
Salty Critter - Your Saltwater Specialists - Saltwater and Reef Aquariums Supplies and Equipment
Marco Rocks The finest aquarium rock available, base rock, live rock, reef rock, marco rock, reef tank saltwater fish, live corals, Marco rocks, Fiji live rock, Tonga Live rock

You can save money by mixing live and dry. The live rock will seed the dry rock over time.

Bioballs are up to you. If you want to clean them all the time, leave them in. But if you get tired of cleaning them, they can lead to high nitrates.

I wouldn't recommend modding your BioCube at this time. Maybe down the road if you want to keep more light intensive animals, you can upgrade lights.

Your basic water parameters:
pH: 7.8 to 8.4
salinity: 1.022 to 1.026
temp: 76 to 82
ammonia, nitrites: 0
nitrates: less than 20