New to forum and SW, setting up a Biocube 29

[Coelli]

I almost started a new thread in the beginner's forum to chronicle the continuing setup but I guess I should just keep it in here? I'm going to be pretty detailed in case someone sees something obvious I'm missing/has better ideas on how to do things...

So here's where I'm at! Yesterday I went to SPS Coral with my 2 jugs and came home with 8 more, 4 RO/DI and 6 SW. They (and a customer) helped me get it into the car and then all 5'2" of me got them into the house. *flex* Then when 6'2" boyfriend came home I had him pour two of the FW jugs into the tank since I don't have an in-line pump and he likes to do manly things. I rinsed the tank out by attaching a hose to the main pump, then siphoned the FW out into the bucket with my tap-water rinsed sand. Fill bucket, dump outside (leaving sand in bucket), repeat a few times til done. Am I sore today? A little...

This morning before big strong boyfriend (BSB) went to work I dumped the sand into the tank (it's about 1/2" deep - I have more sand if I decide to go deeper but I think shallower is better?) and had BSB fill the tank with SW. I attached the Koralia 425 to the right side, pointing to the left side and slightly down. That was about as far as I could get until...

The InTank Media Basket, Fuge Basket, Fish Saver, poly floss, Purigen, and Chemi-pure Elite showed up, and they're all installed now. I also got a fuge light but for now I'm out of outlets until I get another power strip, and I don't have any chaeto yet anyway. I had to install the Fish Saver backwards because the canopy wouldn't close all the way on one side. One of the tabs on the Fish Saver is crooked but I don't know if I care enough to go through the hassle of an exchange.

Everything is up and running, I added a capful of Bacter Gen-M, I've figured out how the Nanotuners 5.6 LED retro/Trio 700 tuner work, and I think we're just about ready for the live rock I should hopefully be getting tomorrow. Also going to the Marine Depot sidewalk sale to see what might be useful.

I ordered some putty with the InTank stuff and once the new LR is in I'll see what I can/want to do with the dead LR rubble. There are a few bigger and nicer pieces in there that will probably come in handy.

I wish I could find out the specs on the Nanocustoms retro. I know they're Edison Opto LEDs and I'm pretty sure I've got 2 strips of 6x cool white, 2 of 6x royal blue, and one 50/50, but that's about as far as I could get (I used the Wayback Machine to search through their website - Wayback crawled it during 2008-2011). Being a total newb I have no idea if that's sufficient lighting. I guess we'll see how it goes and if it's not, I can order new LEDs and replace them, assuming they'll work with the Trio tuner. I may replace the fans with higher CFM/lower dB fans eventually as well.

And since I already learned my lesson, here's an overly-blue pic. (The tank is still a bit dirty - I need a new magnet cleaner, I don't trust the one I got with it to not have any sand in it.)

P.S. More props to SPS Coral btw - when I mentioned that the tank came with sand but I thought I needed to buy live sand, he told me to use the sand and dead LR I had and just use the starter bacteria, even though he could have sold me live sand. So far of the 3 stores I've visited they have been the best at being willing to hand-hold a newbie.

 

[AddictedtoSalt]

Looks like you made some decent headway. I personally would add another 1" of sand, but thats me. The leds should be good for softies and some lps, maybe even some sps but they will grow slow , imho
If you want to try easy sps when the tank has matured abit let me know. I have a huge colony of birdsnest I can frag a chunk off for you. I also have some palys and zoas I can frag a couple of polyps off to get you started.

 

[oredith]

i moved the post over to member's tank..

also, that's one really well balanced cat you've got there..

 

[Coelli]

Looks like you made some decent headway. I personally would add another 1" of sand, but thats me. The leds should be good for softies and some lps, maybe even some sps but they will grow slow , imho
If you want to try easy sps when the tank has matured abit let me know. I have a huge colony of birdsnest I can frag a chunk off for you. I also have some palys and zoas I can frag a couple of polyps off to get you started.

Awesome, I will probably take you up on that. To be honest I find the softies really appealing anyway but I'm sure as time goes on I'll want to branch out (ha ha!). I'll have to do some digging and see whether I can eventually upgrade the LEDs with the drivers and controller I have now, if I wind up needing more light.

Is there a reason for more sand other than more bacteria...? I used about half of what I had, it's probably a little more than 1/2" so I could go up to at least an inch with what I have and then add some more. I guess my reluctance for a deeper bed is left over from my freshwater days with gravel that traps *everything*.

i moved the post over to member's tank..

also, that's one really well balanced cat you've got there..

Thanks Oredith. That's June, who has to be into EVERYTHING. And that's Molly, aka La Polizia aka Officer Molly aka the Hall Monitor, who constantly harasses her because she knows June is up to no good. That's actually a screenshot from a video, I was kind of hoping for something hilarious to happen and started filming.

 

[looneywun7]

Hello from Tujunga...

I have kept FW fish in the long-ago past, mostly community tanks and some cichlids, but it's been a long time since I had a real setup and I have never had, but always wanted, a saltwater system.

A couple of days ago I picked up someone's used setup, a Biocube 29 with a Nanocustoms 5.6 LED retro. The stand was also completely packed with miscellaneous stuff like extra heaters, a full bag of reef salt, about 5# of completely dry/dead LR rubble (and there was about 30# of dry sand in the tank). It had been sitting for about 18 months but was fairly clean other than some old coralline on the back and a lot of sand/snail shells in the filtration chambers.

I did a tapwater/vinegar soak and then tapwater rinse of the tank and LR, which is sitting out in the sun now, and removed the tab between chambers 1 and 2 and the false floors in both. I'm waiting on an RO/DI system to arrive tomorrow along with some other stuff like a refractometer, extra circulation pump and extra water pump, and then Friday I should get the InTank Media Basket, Fuge Basket, Fish Guard, a fuge light, and filtration media. Once the RO/DI system gets here I'll start making enough water to rinse everything thoroughly before filling the tank with FW, draining it, and then finally filling it with saltwater. I'm really excited to do the final fill. Like, REALLY EXCITED. :clap2:

I don't have a plan for livestock yet and am not in too too much of a hurry; I'll probably putty a bunch of the LR rubble together first into something useful since I already have it, then buy the rest of the LR. Not sure yet if I should buy it online to keep costs down or get it locally so I can pick my own pieces instead of gambling. Hmmm...

Learning as I go along here but also trying to avoid too many early mistakes.

I should add that I heard about Socalireefs from the great people at SPS Corals, where I stopped in yesterday!

welcome!

 

[oredith]

there's 2 major groups in the hobby, those who like deep sand beds (DSB), which i think is technically 3"+

and then there's those that prefer bare bottom.

bare bottom has the advantage of being easier to clean (not as much media to trap the detritus).

the DSB allows for wrasses to hide at night, looks more natural, and helps the nitrification cycle.

it's a personal choice. I personally like a DSB. mine ranges from 3 to 8" deep in my current tank.

 

[AddictedtoSalt]

Awesome, I will probably take you up on that. To be honest I find the softies really appealing anyway but I'm sure as time goes on I'll want to branch out (ha ha!). I'll have to do some digging and see whether I can eventually upgrade the LEDs with the drivers and controller I have now, if I wind up needing more light.

Is there a reason for more sand other than more bacteria...? I used about half of what I had, it's probably a little more than 1/2" so I could go up to at least an inch with what I have and then add some more. I guess my reluctance for a deeper bed is left over from my freshwater days with gravel that traps *everything*.



Thanks Oredith. That's June, who has to be into EVERYTHING. And that's Molly, aka La Polizia aka Officer Molly aka the Hall Monitor, who constantly harasses her because she knows June is up to no good. That's actually a screenshot from a video, I was kind of hoping for something hilarious to happen and started filming.

Yes more bacteria is right, fromnwant I understand you need an aerobic which is provided by the rock amd top of sand, and than an anerobic zone which is provided by a deeper sand bed. One zone contains bacteria that needs an oxygen rich environment and the other bacyeria.that requires no oxygen. The problem is the no oxygen zone is usually on achievable woth a dsb (deep sand bed) of 4" to 6" deep. I like sand beds in the 2" to 4" deep area or none at all.
In could be completly wrong of course and hopefully someone else with more knowledge will chime in.

 

[Coelli]

Welp, things are moving slowly along...

I stopped by Ellis Aquatics on the way home from Marine Depot and bought too much live rock. Unfortunately I couldn't really fit both of the pretty big (~10lb each) pieces of purple Fiji in the Biocube without making it impossible to put much else in and still leave room around the sides and back, or look good. Not that I'm still not mulling it over... after a bunch of re-arranging I got impatient and decided to call it quits for now. This is the current state of the tank...

I will probably have to re-home the other big piece. It's really nice, I just can't seem to make it work.

I picked up a bunch of stuff at the sale including an Oceanstream wave kit that had never been used. Only one of the pumps worked at first, so I took the other one out and replaced it with my Koralia for now... but now the first one doesn't work either (even plugged straight in). Not sure what's up yet but I'll keep screwing around with them. I'm kind of in that throwing my hands up stage right now so a break is in order.

 

[AddictedtoSalt]

You could always break the piece into smaller ones but you risk getting shapesnyou dont like.

 

[Coelli]

You could always break the piece into smaller ones but you risk getting shapesnyou dont like.

Yeah, I thought about that. It seems a shame to break up such a nice piece.

 

[Coelli]

Okay, I'm done aquascaping. I mean it. For now. I guess some women love to move furniture around but that's never been me. After several rounds of "How much live rock can I put in this thing?" I got all 30 pounds in, including both purple pieces. Hopefully the back won't become a problem...

Front:

Right side:

Left side:

We'll see what springs out of the live rock. So far I have lots of this, and hopefully the ride home didn't kill it (assuming it's not bad).

There's also been one 1/2" long crustacean of some sort, and an itty bitty tiny snail is making its way up one side of the tank. Whether they survive the cycle remains to be seen!

The main pump was switched out for the MJ1200. The wavemaker is up and running, the other pump just took a minute or so to warm up or something and finally kicked in. The protein skimmer is in with the recommended mod to the air intake but since I know nothing about protein skimmers I'm sure it will take a bit to figure that out. It's by far the noisiest part of the system.

Time for a glass of wine. Tomorrow, installing the moonlight in the canopy, possibly upgrading the fans if I feel like going to Fry's, and lots and lots of cable management. I might skip Fry's and just order these, I have this brand in my PC and have been very happy with them (high CFM, low Db).

 

[Coelli]

Who's got two thumbs and is floating ice in her tank? This chick!

Woke up this morning and the temp was 84.5. It was climbing last night and I floated ice to bring it down a bit and was hoping it would come down more overnight, but no go. We keep our house at 80 in the summer so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I have the back of the hood open with a fan blowing in now and I'm looking into my options.. fans and ATO or just bite the bullet and get a chiller? Man, I should have looked for one at the MD sale yesterday but I really don't know what I'm looking at so I guess it's for the best...

The tank cleared nicely overnight except for the microbubbles from the skimmer. So far our baby snail has doubled in size (though it's still really really really tiny), and we've spotted a microscopic pod and something larger that ducked back into its cranny when the flashlight hit it (might be the same dude I found in the bucket and dumped back in the tank). Plus two tiny feather dusters. Everyone seems to be okay so that's good news... I feel like a cyclon shining the flashlight all over the rocks and into the holes asking, "Are you alive?"

Today I'll test the water just to see where we're at and then again in a couple of days. I don't expect too much of a spike since the LR was pretty thoroughly cured and the sand was dry and rinsed well. Still added a little more Bacter gen-M today just to help.

Between the pumps, skimmer, and fans there's quite a bit of noise in that corner

Oh yeah, the photo! It's not as crowded with rock as it looks.

 

[JDEllis]

Looking good, I like the aquascape

 

[Coelli]

Looking good, I like the aquascape

Thanks. Wasn't sure if I could get it all in, but I liked all of the pieces and kept trying. btw is the purple Real Reef? I forgot to ask! I'm too green to be able to tell the difference.

 

[swiftism]

Some one just posted a JBJ chiller that would work perfect for that tank.

I have a 30 gal tank, with a chiller and I still need the ATO without it my skimmer is not effective.

 

[swiftism]

http://www.socalireefs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=686656

 

[Coelli]

Thanks a million for that pointer. I have to decide if I can afford it after spending so much the last few days already (though granted, the Marine Depot sale saved me around $200) and whether the circuit can handle much more. The tank temp is slowly dropping with the fan added, it's at 80.2 now and we'll know what the final verdict is soon. I just ordered the Noctua fans for the hood, so that should hopefully remove a little more heat from the top. I love the idea of the chiller but maybe not the bulk, noise, and heat. But that's a great price... I have some serious wiring spaghetti going on already too... another project.

Here's my super-high-tech cooling system now.

 

[AddictedtoSalt]

Be prepared to add top off water to the tank with the fan blowing across it. The cool the tank by evaporation. Good thing is you'll only need to add ro/di and not salt water. The scape work is looking pretty good.
Well done

 

[Coelli]

Be prepared to add top off water to the tank with the fan blowing across it. The cool the tank by evaporation. Good thing is you'll only need to add ro/di and not salt water. The scape work is looking pretty good.
Well done

Thanks. I moved one of the rocks in front to make a shelf - aesthetically I don't know if I love it, but it seems more useful there. That's the white one sticking out in front. It's wedged in pretty good right now but if I decide to keep it there it may get puttied if it can't be braced further. (Also, the photos are deceptive - there's a lot more free space than it looks.)

I have 10 gallons of RO/DI sitting next to the tank and just topped it off a little bit ago. The tank has gotten down to the mid-high 78's so far today even with the lights on, so the fan is working... I guess it depends on how much more I want to spend on equipment and how often I have to top off. Besides the money, I'm getting concerned about just how much the outlet can handle!

I stopped by SPS Coral to return their jugs and Aaron tested my water. Phosphates are .14 so I will run GFO for 10-14 days and then we'll see what's up. Otherwise, I'm good to go for fish, crabs, and snails, which is great news and much sooner than I expected. I just have no idea yet what I want to stock the tank with... I know I want a clown pair, but I don't think I want them until I've got at least a couple of softies going and the tank is more established. Maybe a blenny to start with? A 6-line wrasse? I love saltwater tanks but it's always been the inverts that I found most appealing. Maybe I already got the finned stuff out of my system with FW!

 

[Jhuneke]

Looks like a great start one trick for helping the temps is to keep a pitcher if RODI in the fridge for topping off .. And just do it a few times a day spreading out the daily amount thru the hottest part of the day. Or even freeze some topoff water for emergencies , then just chuck it in