putting together a biocube 14

[asgrande]

I'm just trying get a hand in figureing out what is the best way to do this.
I already have a coralife biocube 14 I want it to be a predominatly sps. And I've already looked at doing a steves led retrofit kit. Will this grow sps? Also what protein skimmer works the best for this tank? I know I don't need one but I want one. Will I be able to have both a skimmer and fuge? And I plan on putting a maxi jet 900 as well. And just for fun a vortech mp10 and an apex jr or lite to control the whole show. What can I tweak or add or not do? I'm new to nanos I'm used to bigger tanks so this is going to be a lil different.

[asgrande]

Anyone?

[LedZep fan2]

Steve's LEDs are great, you'll be able to keep anything and everything under them (you'll need to be careful introducing corals to the high intensity of the LEDs though). As far as a fuge, you could use one of the chambers in the back of the cube. That way you could still grow cheato and all that good stuff. Skimming, I'm not sure what kind of skimmer would fit in the back of the cube. Possibly DIY? On my nano cube I run no skimmer at all and instead do weekly water changes where I change about half the tank's total water volume. This way, I don't have to rely completely on dosing and a skimmer. Instead I replenish all the nutrients using water changes and remove excess organic material.

Swapping out the return maxi-jet will probably help with circulation - IMO a vortech would be overkill for a nano that small. You're better off putting that money towards corals and instead get 2 koralias in there. There's even a DIY in the sticky up top where you can add another maxi-jet to the 3rd chamber and have it come up and over the top of the back of the black acrylic.

Hope this helps!

[asgrande]

Ill probably skip the skimmer. And just run a fuge in chamber 2 put my heater in chamber 1. I like the fact that with the apex I can change the flow pattern of the vortech without being home so ill probably still get one.

As far as livestock. What fish would do well in a 14? I only want one. But it has to be something that will use the space. Not just sit there? For corals I am going to let the tank mature and do only sps and a crocea clam seeing as they only get 6". So it also needs to be compatible with that. What are some good choices?

[LedZep fan2]

For fish it gets a little tricky since the tank is fairly small. You could always go the classic route of a pair of clowns and leave it at that. Gobies and blennys are not a bad idea either, they stay small and have tons of personality - such as the bicolor blenny, starry, citron gobies, ect.

If anything you want to make sure what you get stays small. The fish I listed all stay relatively small and would do great in a nano of your size.

[hawks66]

2 clowns and yellow watchman goby are my current 14g stock

[Whysoserious]

I think of it this way even though I am relatively new to the hobby and still undergoing the learning process.

1) Equipment you purchase, such as Vortech and Skimmer [Hob-1] will retain value and carried over to a bigger nano cube if needed to upgrade.

2) I have the Apex lite that I got on a good price, and it is one of the best things ever. I would recommend this regardless of tank size. It is just awesome and puts your mind at ease.

[asgrande]

I had an apex jr before. Ill never run another reef tank with out at least that.

[asgrande]

Ok so far I have the tank up and running with sand and rock in. I just ordered my stevesleds retrofit kit and I have an mp10 comeing this week. Because I don't have a light yet I have havent had to worry about any filtration besides bio. What route should I go for filtration? There are 3 diffent choices I've seen. A intank media basket with purigen carbon and a fuge. Or a tunze 9002 protein skimmer or a nano reactor with biopellets in it. Which has shown the best results and proven sps growth? Since I want this tank to be sps only.

[cody6766]

I wasn't floored with my old 9002's performance. It seemed to work okay, but I sold it and never noticed a difference in water quality. It was on my Solana, not my BC. I ran a CPR bakpak on my BC and never noticed a difference when I removed it. I'd say your money would be better spent on the cost of salt for regular water changes than a skimmer, unless you drill it and plumb in a sump. As far as the back chambers, I'd toss some chaeto in the second chamber, keep it well lit and be done with it. I'd order a reef keeper lite to keep your temps where they need to be, as well as run your lights and other equipment. You're not likely to have heat issues with the LEDs, but it's good for stability and emergencies (read the AC out thread in General). It's $120 well spent, IMO. Keep your rockwork sparse so you don't have dead spots. It's easy to over do it in a tank that small. Lastly, an ATO is a wonderful thing. Evaporation is low in a BC with an LED retro, but it's still there. Stability is the key for SPS.

[asgrande]

Thanks for the advice. I'm just going to get some cheato and put that in there. And ill sage up some extra money and get an apex jr. I had problems with my rkl and like the apexs better.

[asgrande]

http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m609/asgrande/20130721_210922_zps4fd25ba7.jpg
So far it has the stevesleds retrofit kit. The mp10 will be here monday. So far it just has 3 nerite snails and a cherub angel with cheato In the middle chamber Next is either going to be a reefangel controller or an intank media basket

[Whysoserious]

Nice Rock Work! Good start

[asgrande]

http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m609/asgrande/20130722_194005_zps50ec64fb.jpg
Mp10 added today.

[rovster]

I run an MP10 at 60% in my 14, its not overkill, I would add a second if I could, LOL! You do not need a skimmer. You can grow plenty of SPS with LEDs, I have a Rapid kit, but I'm sure Steve's is just as good.