Starting BioCube 14!

[Been_There8]

Well, Im really happy, i just bought my self what i have always wanted! A piece of the ocean in my own house! Didnt want something too big either, been searching, and have finally found what i want.

Here go some features, and i just have a couple of questions.

Its going to be a barebottom tank. I hate having a sand at the bottom. It has always been a trouble for me, i always get random things cought in it, like poop and some other stuff keeping nitrates up, and it is always causing a sandstorm for me when i want to place a coral near the sand that needs flow., and makes it really hard when it shouldn't be.

Now The biocube has 3 chambers in the back. The last one to the left, i dont want to touch, it has a water level thing thats hard to explain, and anyone that has a biocube knows what i mean, you need to have the water level adjusted to it so that the pump functions correctly. Now the other 2 are mine, Hehehe. In the first one, i am placing the protein skimmer. Its made for it, and fits just right! In the middle chamber, im planning on having the bottom half of it liverock rubble, and the top half carbon (Plan on having it in a netted bag so water can go through). Looks somewhat like this.

|CCCCCC|
|CCCCCC|
|CCCCCC| C=Carbon
|RRRRRRR| R = Liverock rubble.
|RRRRRRR|
|RRRRRRR|


Now I am planning on just having a korila nano as a powerhead. I think that and the 140 GPH pump from the return pump should be fine. Thats 380 GPH circulation. I dont think i want to go any more than that, because before when i had just the return pump, it already made my mushrooms flap alot, but after my research, i learned that i need more, hopefully i dont have to go more, but i think i might have to.

Now just a little bit of questions.

I plan on having the following corals. Can these live under 24w 10,000K Lamp and a 24w Actinic 03 Lamp? I tried to research alot, but couldnt clearly figure out what each coral needs, so im hoping you guys can help me out.

Polyps
Mushrooms
Ricordea
Frogspawn
Candy Cane
GSP

Will the corals i have listed above "sting" each other? I have read that corals tend to sting each other when they touch, but in other peoples pictures, i always see corals touching each other.

When fraging a coral, how long can they live out of water? Is it as long as they are moist? Or should i just dip it back in every minute?


Also planning on having 2 clownfish, Maybe a cleaner shrimp, but maybe a month or 2 once everything is in. 4 snails, 4 hermit crabs, will add more as necessary.

Maybe 20 pounds of Live Rock, might just have 1 clown so its not much of a bioload, but that can wait for now

Will start it maybe in a few weeks, want to be sure i know what i need to have down, iv learned nothing good comes by rushing in this hobby.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/Imanz1/DSC00867.jpg
There she is :)

-First going to try out one of those fans for its cooling feature, while cycling is happening, if doesnt work too well, ill get a chiller, guess i got no choice, i live in California, LA.

[ludnix]

Have you checked out the thread about epoxy sand bare bottom? I think it would be something nice for your setup, as it would get rid of the problems you stated but still look natural.

I can't find the thread at the moment, but I'll try and get it for you.

The setup looks like it will be fun, I don't know if you can sufficiently keep all those corals with your current lights, maybe someone with a biocube can help you there.

[Been_There8]

So are you saying barebottom is good or bad? Iv never had any luck with sand at all.

[BradsOcean]

[welcome]

[O-man21]

You will have trouble with avalanches with a bare bottom.

Also, that water gauge thing on the side you mention is moot once you remove the bioballs. You can fill the tank as high as you want, it won't leak. Just make your own mark where you want the water level to be so you know when to top off.

I am keep frogspawn, favia, and candy canes in my as of now stock BC14. You can basically keep anything like that, however the pricey stuff gets risky with such little water volume.

I am about to install a 72W upgrade (over the 48W it has stock) on Monday evening. It's the 3.24 kit from Nanotuners.com

Question- Where do you plan to keep your heater? You can keep it in the main tank, but I think it's fugly. If I were you I would not use the skimmer at all-they are junk- and keep the heater in the rightmost (if you are looking at the tank front on) chamber, a.k.a chamber 1.

This is my tank as of three days ago:
Scroll down in link (http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=151394&st=0)


You may want to look into joining that forum too. They're great there and have tons of awesome info catering towards nano tanks. Lots of people have biocubes there.

[Been_There8]

So i never really figured out what the point of the water level thing was, whats the point of it? (I dont got bio balls, i took out)

[ludnix]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12590301#post12590301 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Been_There8
So are you saying barebottom is good or bad? Iv never had any luck with sand at all.

I personally use sand, but the epoxy sand bare bottom seems like a neat idea too. The only part of bare bottom tanks I didn't like was the look, but the epoxy sand bare bottom takes care of that.

O-man21 seems to suggest you'll have trouble with bare bottom. I know a lot of people successfully keep a bare bottom aquarium, I don't know how well this translates in a small setup like a biocube though.

[Been_There8]

WOW Never knew what that favia thing was! They look amazing, do you pronouce it "Faveeah" , want to know how to say when i walk in store.

[O-man21]

If you're good enough at aquascaping, you won't have trouble. I just always hear about peoples rocks sliding on the smooth glass versus the sand holding the rocks in place.


Nassarius snails are a great CUC member to have. They stir the sand for you. However, don't be fooled, the do NOT eat algae. Detritus and left over food only.

My link isn't working for some reason.

Go to n a n o - r e e f . c o m. (without spaces) Great forums. That's where my old link lead to.

[O-man21]

Hmmm. Is that link working for you? And taking you to a page on nano - reef dot com? Because it redirects me to the reefcentral forums home page.

[Been_There8]

Yeah, its working, just 1 more question.


Will the corals i have listed above "sting" each other? I have read that corals tend to sting each other when they touch, but in other peoples pictures, i always see corals touching each other.

[O-man21]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12589710#post12589710 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Been_There8

I plan on having the following corals. Can these live under 24w 10,000K Lamp and a 24w Actinic 03 Lamp? I tried to research alot, but couldnt clearly figure out what each coral needs, so im hoping you guys can help me out.

Polyps
Mushrooms
Ricordea
Frogspawn
Candy Cane
GSP

Will the corals i have listed above "sting" each other? I have read that corals tend to sting each other when they touch, but in other peoples pictures, i always see corals touching each other.

When fraging a coral, how long can they live out of water? Is it as long as they are moist? Or should i just dip it back in every minute?



All of those corals will work under the stock lighting.

Do you mean zoantids and palys when you say "polyps?" Mushrooms, ricordea, zoa's, palys and GSP are all considered to be friendly corals and can be placed with each other.

However, all corals play "chemical warfare" with each other (releasing chemicals into the water that slow other corals growth down, giving the "attacker" a better chance to gain real estate. This is a good reason for regular water changes, especially in a BC14. I change about 3-4 gallons a week), and mushrooms do have a mild sting that they can give to other corals. If the coral the mushroom would be stinging packs a stronger sting that the mushroom however, the mushroom will turn white and not grow in the area it's being stung.

GSP grows like wild fire and WILL become a nuisance in your tank. If you want it, place it somewhere where it will be very easy to prune back and it won't overgrow. It WILL overgrow other corals and choke them out.

Frogspawn is fairly aggressive, with longer "sweeper" tentacles (1-2" longer than it's normal tentacles) that reach out and sting neighboring corals, just be careful where you place it. If you look at my thread again, you can see that the frogspawn actually touches one of those purple mushrooms I have that is to the right of it. I have yet to see evidence of stinging on either coral. So it really depends on how the individual animal acts. I would just watch the corals behavior, and change it's placement accordingly.

Candy cane's also have sweeper tentacles, but they are much shorter than frogspawn sweepers are are generally used to capture and hold onto food.


Coral can be out of the water for however long you are comfortable with it. Use your discretion. It's always better to be safe and have it wet that sorry and have it dry out. But at the same time, many corals are out in the baking sun for 4-6 hours at a time during low tide, so they're hardier than we assume them to be.

Thanks for the compliment on the favia. It's pronounced fah-vee-uh. Also known as brain coral or moon coral. There are much better color morphs than what I have, and my piece was dying when I bought it from the LFS. It's coming back nicely now, growing over it's old skeleton. Look at fragglereef.com for some good deals on great coral.

[Been_There8]

Wow! Thanks! Really helpful! Been researching for about 3-4 hours, and those words are just what i have been looking for!

Now about the GSP and Pulsing xenia, this is what im thinking, I just place a peice of each of them in a corner, only touching the rock they are on, and 2-3 inches away from anything else, will they die since they cant reproduce?

[camlov2]

Here is a link to my biocube, it is a 29 but pretty much the same. I have problems with space and corals stinging each other so I can't imagine the problems you might have in a smaller tank. I have xenia on a rock by itself (and love how it looks) but I worry about it touching another rock and spreading. All the things you mentioned should be fine, I even have a piece of birdsnest that is growing quickly (near the surface). I would suggest take it slow, I have bought things that I like but wouldn't have now that I have found others that I like more. Space is precious.

I need a larger tank.

http://chicoreefclub.org/viewtopic.php?t=61

[O-man21]

Xenia does look very good in little clumps like both I and camlov have in our tanks. However, it will just grow thicker if it runs out of rock area to grow on. I've also seen it grow onto glass. It's best to just prune it back (straight razors or very sharp scissors work best. Try to cut as straight and smooth as possible) when you feel like it starts to look bad. Then do a water change. Corals will fart all over the place after being cut, releasing chemicals that will make other corals fart in retaliation and it all goes in a downward spiral from there.

All of the above words are exactly the same for GSP. Neither will die because they can't grow anymore, they'll just start growing over themselves.


Hey camlov, is that all growing with the stock lighting?

[Been_There8]

Yeah, im debating if i want a leather or not because of space needed for it, and im just 14 gallons. And you guys know what level my nitrates have to be to have xenia? Like about 10? I hear they do bad in good water

[O-man21]

Well mine grew from 1 stalk to 6 stalks in about 2 months. It has slowed down growing dramatically now. But it used to not pulse, now it does it nonstop. My water its usually very good, but my nitrates do get around 10-15 ppm right before my water changes.

Don't worry about your nitrate levels being too low at all. That's not possible. If we did a water change everyday we would still have nitrates, just because the BC14 is so small. They get high very fast.

Try to keep up with it, because the xenia will not die withOUT nitrates, but other corals might die with nitrates.

[Been_There8]

Yeah, i hate how everyone sais that corals will die when nitrates are over 0, but i have very well seen tanks at a constant 15 or so nitrate that have very nice looking corals.

[Been_There8]

Oh yeah, 1 more thing. I want to start buying corals from online, my LFS doesnt always have good looking corals, and i always see some awesum blue zoos online, and i was wondering, whats a good site to buy corals from. My mom is that type of person that really doesnt trust the internet, and she said i can just use 50$, and if it works, i can keep getting from online, because she doesnt really like doing buisness over the internet. I was wondering if there was a website that shows you the exact picture of what you are getting, and has done good for you guys. Thanks!

Somewhere in USA, and i live in California if that helps any.

[Been_There8]

.

[camlov2]

Yeah, this is with stock lighting, I am really impressed.

[ludnix]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12619548#post12619548 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Been_There8
Oh yeah, 1 more thing. I want to start buying corals from online, my LFS doesnt always have good looking corals, and i always see some awesum blue zoos online, and i was wondering, whats a good site to buy corals from. My mom is that type of person that really doesnt trust the internet, and she said i can just use 50$, and if it works, i can keep getting from online, because she doesnt really like doing buisness over the internet. I was wondering if there was a website that shows you the exact picture of what you are getting, and has done good for you guys. Thanks!

Somewhere in USA, and i live in California if that helps any.

I can't say that I've heard of anyone saying that had a bad experience with any of the more common vendors like Live Aquaria, Marine Depot Live, Saltwaterfish.com, etc.

You're probably going to have to a tough time with only $50 though, overnight shipping is really high after paying $20 for a coral.

Have you tried requesting for corals from you LFS? If you ask for some nice blue zoas or something they might be able to get them for you without you having to deal with your online vendor credibility or shipping charges.

[O-man21]

Fragglereef.com FTW! Located in Cali, will save you on shipping.
mistercoral.com (It's actually Mr in the address, they just edit it.)
zoanuts.com

$50 is tough to work with for online. Can you supplement it with your own money?

Camlov, that's great! I just upgraded to the 72W kit from nanocustoms.com. It makes a huge difference. My frogspawn is so much more puffed up now, and all the colors are better.

[O-man21]

Careful where you get the blue zoa's. If you want true "tub's Blues" it's going to cost you a pretty penny and they better have a pedigree so you can frag them in the future and get your money worth.

Keep your water PERFECT if you want to dabble in the high end of this hobby.

[camlov2]

What has happened with your water temp once you upgraded? I know my lighting is borderline for a few of my corals and would like to upgrade. I would think the temp would go up a little with double the lights but the site says that the upgrade will actually decrease the temp.

[O-man21]

I just did the mod yesterday. Finished it right before I posted, so I don't know yet. They say it's because of the "Better designed heat shield" but I find that very hard to believe, because the "heat shield" is literally just a flat piece of steel with holes punched. If anything, it's because they send new fans in the kit and they are wired to run 24/7, not just when the 10k lights turn on.

It definitely was worth the money though, it adds a lot of light. The only problem is it's all to the back of the tank, the front doesn't get much of an increase. Very straightforward install.

As of right now, the tank is at 80 degrees. It used to run from 79 at night to 83 right before lights out. So on day 1, I see no increase in temp. They could be right and it may hold at 80 all day, we'll see.

[O-man21]

I'll post some before and after pics later.

Sorry to hijack your thread been_there! Keep asking questions are you come up with them! I'm more than happy to answer!

[Been_There8]

Well, the thing is that my mom really doesnt care for the money as much for the coral that we are getting, she just said that she doesn't trust online because it could die on the way, or just give us any crapy coral/fish they see. She said i got 500$ for corals out her money, and what ever i want from mine. She just would rather to buy it from our LFS, because we could see if the coral is opened, or how it really does look close up. I tried looking on some sites, but they just show a general picture, I want to know exactly what i am buying though(Pic Wise).

[Been_There8]

And 1 question, is a koralia 1 wooshing across the bottom of the tank and the 140GPH from the nozzle in the tank good enough for the tank? My only problem is adding mushrooms, i had enough problem with just the 140 before.

[O-man21]

You want to look for WYSIWYG, which stands for What You See Is What You Get. That way you know the exact coral you're getting from online.

I live in the middle of nowhe---er...Iowa, and I ordered corals from fragglereef.com. They were shipped overnight for $39, arrived before 10AM, and were great looking frags. I got a freebie frag too! And I only spent $10 there!

Trust me on fragglereef. They're great there.

It's up to you on the flow. You can never have too much, but you don't want a dust storm either. I have the stock return pump spinning a Hydor Flo, and then a Rio 50 and a Rio 90 for supplimenting it. I think I have the perfect flow for the tank.

[O-man21]

Koralia's are good because they aren't quite just a linear flow. It does spread out a little from the PH, so you can expect it to not have a very strong flow and then none in other spots. It's just good flow everywhere it's blowing.

[Been_There8]

Ok, and do i remove that sponge by the pump, or do i leave it there? I have already removed the bioballs.

[O-man21]

I left it.

As long as you have something in front of it to catch detritus than you're all clear. They only time it's a problem is when it catches the detritus and becomes a nitrate factory.

[Been_There8]

So as long as i just wash it with hot water every week when im doing a water change, ill be fine?


And i got a question about my lighting. While i got live rock in the tank while its cycling, do i need to have the light on or no?

[only_mnh]

On a side note, be careful with Xenia. It will take over your tank if you let it grow out of control.

[O-man21]

You don't need it on but it will help your coralline grow faster.

Like I started earlier. Yes, xenia and GSP will take over your tank.

[chrismunn]

ive havent had the bad luck with GSP because mine wouldnt dang spread. my xenia split a bit though.

so i just set up my biocube 14g last week and i want to add the oceanic bio cube skimmer, but everybody keeps saing its garbage. is that true? and i cant see why you would need a heater? i cant even get the temp in mine to go below 80, and i have the lid open and the room its in is 75...

how do you put a chiller on these tanks without drilling a hole somewhere in the lid to pass some tubing through? you cant huh?

i cant wait to see where your bio cube goes been_there8.

oh yeah, whats the stock return pump that comes with these tanks? i bought mine used from somone and it came with a rio 600. is that what they normally come with? i was thinking of throwing a mag 1.5 on there instead but i dont think it puts out any more flow than the rio 600?

[Been_There8]

Its not, you just have to know how to use it. Once you learn how, its really good and works nice. Go to this, I explained it with a picture too.http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1339289&perpage=25&pagenumber=6
And the heater, you dont need to have one in the summer, but its still safe incase it gets cold, so it doesnt fluctate alot. And i wanna see where my biocube goes too, just got to wait until i come back from vacation :) The stock pump that comes with the biocube 14 has 140GPH .

[chrismunn]

but what kind of pump is it? i just looked up the rio600, which is what i have on mine , and its rated at 200gph. even with the 200gph i dont think thats going to be enough flow for me. i want to add one of thoes hydor korilia nanos.

i think im going to get the skimmer. actually ive heard 2 people say they dont work, and ive heard 2 people say thier awsome. im just going to have to try it out for myself

:edit: you are the first and second person to say its a good skimmer. when i said 2 people i was refering to your reply here, and what you said about the skimmer in the link you provided. i just didnt know it was you who showed the pic telling where to set the water level :lol:

[O-man21]

As long as the room it's in never drops below 75, you won't need a heater.

[Been_There8]

Well your rio pump, has more flow, your has 200, stock comes with 140. All you have to do is add a koralia nano or a koralia 1, and you got your flow perfect. :)