29g Biocube First Salt Tank

[Fate]

After weighing my options on drilling my 150g I decided I'd try a 29g Biocube instead to get the hang of the salt game first. I've been in the hobby for many years from Goldfish, Co2 injected planted tanks to wild African Cichlids but I understand Salt water is a whole other animal.

Not sure if these things are better than the Red seas or Nanos but the tank I'm looking at is the 29g Coralife Biocube:

http://www.amazon.com/Coralife-1560...TF8&qid=1460608743&sr=8-10&keywords=nano+reef

I plan to make this a reef tank. Besides upgrading the lighting what else do you think I should upgrade for this tank? I know I'll need the protein skimmer, maybe even upgrade the pump. Can someone point me into the right direction on everything I'd need to get this thing Fully reef ready, complete noob here

Thanks

 

[peter]

For that price you could probably find a bigger tank with almost everything you need, but theres usually people selling cubes pretty cheap on here or clist. Whats your budget look like so we can steer you in the right path.

 

[james-lee]

Here is my BC29. Great tank and don't ever have to worry of water spilling should anything ever get clogged. If you decide to buy a used one make sure to see if there are any bad scratches since deep ones will still show on glass. I will most guarantee if you do get one the first thing you will do is take the lid off since the lighting in my opinion isn't bright enough.

Don't mind my cat she is a ham lol.

The stock coralife pump is fine and provides enough flow. Use zip ties to tie around the neck of the pump and the input to the outlet nozzle to ensure it never gets loose and sprays water everywhere. I have a protein skimmer but to be honest after rocks and sand you are probably left with 20 gallons of total water volume so a 5 gallon weekly water change will be fine if you go skimmer less. Though I have a mp10 the wR4 or wp10 is great for this size tank. I would also invest in a nano flipper it just works wonders on the hard green algae that builds up. If you keep at it and clean every other day you wont have a problem and less chances of scratching the glass when using the blade end. Right chamber that water flows into I have the heater in aswell as the temp probe to the reef keeper. Middle chamber is my skimmer that I seldom use. and of course last chamber is return. If you ever top off fresh RODI water I use the right chamber to give the water a chance to mix with the tank before reaching the return pump and entering the tank. Hope this helps.

 

[cymaster007]

A good financial tip- in the summer tons of tanks and equipment get posted up for sale. People leave for college or move or their tanks overheat so they breakdown and sell. That's the best time to shop for used equipment and supplies. Check out a 34g Solana cube or something and get a small sump with it. It will give you a lot more wiggle room to work with. You can pick up a good led or t5 fixture for cheap that will be more effective than the biocube light.

What livestock are you planning on keeping in there? If you go with a smaller tank you will have some limitations on the quanitity and sizes of fish you'll be able to keep.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Fate]

Budget is not an issue but like most of you here I'd like to make it as cost effective as possible without cutting any corners. To be honest I'd love to go bigger due to all the limitations and less room for error on the smaller tanks. But like I said in my OP I'd like to familiarize myself first then once I get the hang of the tank balance I'll go all out and go with a huge in the wall tank.

As far as fish go I haven't thought that far out yet. I want to make the primary focus coral and build around it. What would I be limited to with a 29g or 34g cube?

 

[james-lee]

Id jump on that 50 gallon fs that was posted. Sweet deal!

 

[Fate]

Id jump on that 50 gallon fs that was posted. Sweet deal!

Thanks for the tip James.. I did end up getting that setup and upgraded a few pieces of equipment

 

[james-lee]

Nice!

 

[russ13]

Yeah 50 gal is a great setup. Smaller tanks can be harder to keep than large ones sometimes. I would recommend getting a controller with whatever setup you use. I just got one and would it works great. I will have them on all my tanks from now on