Absolute Beginner Biocube 29

[TyHoward]

I recently purchased a new Biocube 29, I have kept and maintained freshwater tanks since i was a kid but I have always drooled over the marine/reef tanks. My setup currently has no modifications (my first will probably be replacing the bio-balls with LR rubble)

I have 20 lbs of dry rock coming in the mail and I'm buying 10 lbs of LR at my LFS.

I don't really have any specific questions, I'm just looking for knowledge on my tank in particular

After cycling and CUC are in place it will most likely be a FOWLR tank with the possibility of adding something such as a rock flower in the future.

Any suggestions on operation of the tank and modifications to the tank are greatly appreciated!

[Coralreefer1]

Great that you decided to make the switch. Your on the right track with replacing your bio balls as they are a nitrate trap! Also, you will probably want to invest in another powerheads to increase water flow as the one outlet is not enough, especially with rock work. You have fresh water experience so you know about the cycling issue. All I can add with out inundating you right off the bat, is to go slow...as nothing good happens fast except for performing water changes to correct water parameter and quality issues.
Do a lot of research and ask questions to help you succeed, especially since the only dumb question is the one you did not ask!
It is better to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to water parameters and livestock.
Best of luck to you!

[TyHoward]

Coralreefer1,

Thank you! everyone on the forum may shun me for asking this but I haven't found a clear answer. I know the best option for water is the RO/DI, but what about using tap water conditioned with good ol' API Tap Water Conditioner? Just wanting to go ahead and get an answer before I make a devastating mistake with my tank

[gone fishin]

Using tap water really all comes down to how good it is in the first place. I would speculate the vast majority of us would not have tap water that is suitable for a reef tank over the long haul. There is the possibility of metals and mineral build up over time.

Just my 2 cents worth but eventually you will probably have a significant sum invested into your tank. The water is the foundation of the tank that everything else builds off of so it does not make sense to me not to use RO/DI. Good luck

[JakeK]

Coralreefer1,

Thank you! everyone on the forum may shun me for asking this but I haven't found a clear answer. I know the best option for water is the RO/DI, but what about using tap water conditioned with good ol' API Tap Water Conditioner? Just wanting to go ahead and get an answer before I make a devastating mistake with my tank

Hi! I'm very new to SW tanks too coming over from the freshwater world as well. For FW, we can get away with conditioned tap water for our bettas and dwarf african frogs, but it would be a disaster if I used conditioned tap water as the foundation of my reef tank. I bought a re-conditioned spectrapure 90 gallon per day (GPD) unit straight from spectra-pure as soon as I got the biocube 29. I quickly realized that the benefits outweigh the costs by a mile. I've had to do two emergency water changes in the 3.5 months I had my tank up and running. Looking back I probably didn't need to do either, but I'm new so I was overly cautious. Without having RODI and freshly mixed salt water on hand, I wouldn't have been able to do that. That is the worst case scenario though. The more common situation is having to make an extra trip to Kroger to buy distilled or my LFS for RO water which is a 35 minute drive from my house, so not convenient at all especially when you have young children. Trust me, the cost looks high, but it's really worth it in the end.

[TyHoward]

Hi! I'm very new to SW tanks too coming over from the freshwater world as well. For FW, we can get away with conditioned tap water for our bettas and dwarf african frogs, but it would be a disaster if I used conditioned tap water as the foundation of my reef tank. I bought a re-conditioned spectrapure 90 gallon per day (GPD) unit straight from spectra-pure as soon as I got the biocube 29. I quickly realized that the benefits outweigh the costs by a mile. I've had to do two emergency water changes in the 3.5 months I had my tank up and running. Looking back I probably didn't need to do either, but I'm new so I was overly cautious. Without having RODI and freshly mixed salt water on hand, I wouldn't have been able to do that. That is the worst case scenario though. The more common situation is having to make an extra trip to Kroger to buy distilled or my LFS for RO water which is a 35 minute drive from my house, so not convenient at all especially when you have young children. Trust me, the cost looks high, but it's really worth it in the end.
Thank you for the information! I've been pricing RO/DI's all morning. Definitely buying one with ing the next two weeks

[Coralreefer1]

Use bottled water, distilled, purified.

[Coralreefer1]

The other thing is many pet shops sell either RO/DI and even salt water by the gallon, which is pretty cheap and convenient.

[Davycc]

The other thing is many pet shops sell either RO/DI and even salt water by the gallon, which is pretty cheap and convenient.
+1 to this. do a bit of detective work, find a LFS that has YOUR interests at heart and stick with them. Iget my pre mixed water from Maidenhead and the guys there WON'T sell me anything the know wont do with my set up.

A good LFS is worth its weight in gold.

[homer1475]

A good LFS is worth its weight in gold.

This is one of many great pieces of advice anyone can give you.

Also I saw in one of your other threads about the Aquaticlife RO buddie. Make sure you get the DI resin add on also.

[TyHoward]

Also I saw in one of your other threads about the Aquaticlife RO buddie. Make sure you get the DI resin add on also.

Will do! I was just about to post in that thread asking about the DI adding. Thanks!

[homer1475]

Without the DI section, depending on how high the TDS is at the tap, you could have TDS still coming out(I measure two TDS before the DI). The DI resin cleans up the rest, and is well worth the price.

[TyHoward]

So as I said earlier, I'm going to replace the bio-balls
In chamber 2 with LR rubble. Could I keep the bottom tray holding the bio balls in place and put the LR on that or do I need to get a large media bag or something? How should I go about putting the rubble in the chamber?

[ChuckNasty]

A little tip... When buying RODI water from your LFS, make sure you inquire as to when the filters were last changed, some RODI water from LFS is horrible because they havent been properly maintained. So a lot of people will recommend you either invest in your own RODI system, or make sure you know what quality of what you're buying

As for other tips...
Don't get lazy with maintenance, which I'm sure you won't, being an experienced aquarist for a while it sounds.

Invest in a QT tank at some point.

Start scouting out a good cleanup crew now so you can stay ahead of the game when your tank is up and running. I would start with some nassarius, trochus, and cerith snails... Look em up on google. Maybe a Skunk cleaner or Peppermint shrimp. A couple scarlet hermits never hurt either.

Invest in a Refractometer to test for salinity; it will save you the headache of trying to decipher the swing arm cheapies. PH , ammonia, nitrite, nitrate test kits for sure... Alkalinity, and maybe calcium test kits if you're thinking of adding coral at some point.

When you start cycling your tank, you can jump start the ammonia process by adding some fish food, or cutting up a piece of cocktail shrimp. It will break down and release ammonia. Just something to think about since your buying dry rock.

[soulpatch]

There is a nano section on this forum where many of us have build threads for our biocubes or other similar tanks. Almost all of your questions are answered in our threads...even though questions you have yet to think about asking...

[homer1475]

there is a nano section on this forum where many of us have build threads for our biocubes or other similar tanks. Almost all of your questions are answered in our threads...even though questions you have yet to think about asking...

+1

[Alex2089]

consitancy and stability are key factors in this hobby. I have a reef aquarium that was built nine months ago and I am still improving it. Those beautiful tanks that have soo much coral to where you can't even see the rock take at least 2 years

[Coralreefer1]

Get rid of bio balls and you will be all the happier as will your livestock!

[TyHoward]

Get rid of bio balls and you will be all the happier as will your livestock!

Thats what I plan to do, but I want just wondering it I replaced it with LR rubble, should that be in something such as a media bag or could it just sit in the filter

[CStrickland]

Thats what I plan to do, but I want just wondering it I replaced it with LR rubble, should that be in something such as a media bag or could it just sit in the filter

What do you want the rubble to do for your tank?
Like, if you're making a pod refuge it can really help to have it in little bundles that are easily transferred to the tank, but that's pointless if you aren't gonna move them ever.

[chefbill]

Copy and paste from previous post:

I think my 29g BioCube has turned out nicely. I guess you'd call it a mixed reef. It has stock lighting, with the edition of 3 more LED lunar bars. I did add an addition PH for more erratic and powerful flow.

When I first started the tank, I used the middle chamber as a refugium with chaeto and live rock rubble. After using algaefix for a hair algae problem, most of the chaeto died off, so I removed what remained and the rubble. Replaced all this chemipure elite, ceramic rings and a nitrate reducing pad and purigen. Also added a Corallife skimmer to chamber 1.

Here's what's happening:

Zoas and palys grow very fast. Mushrooms split rapidly, in fact, just sold the last mushroom out of my tank last night, finally. I have a yuma that doubled in size, but hasn't split. I had a devil's hand that looked like a SPS frag when I got it, 8 months later it was 7 inches across and 8 high. Rics always detatch and get lost in my tank, only softy that hasn't taken off in the tank.

I have frogspawns and hammers putting out heads, but a torch was going gangbusters for 6 months, then dies from brown jelly in 3 days. Duncans grow like weeds, as do candy canes. Cyphastrea and favias have noticeable growth. Lobos on the bed have amazing color, but I've not had them long enough to notice any growth, other than amount of 'puffyness'. Acans don't do well, nor have plates, but all other LPS have done well.

Ponape and green polyp birdsnest are doing great, green slimer has put out 2 nubs/stalks in 3 weeks, monti caps and a monti setosa growing well. ORA mint pavona and a cactus coral sending out plates constantly. These are the only SPS I've tried to keep, but all have done well.

And amazingly, the stock lights are great for NPS, I have a chili coral that looks amazing, bright red with starck white polyps. My sun coral isn't looking great, but to be honest, I probably need to target feed it more.

Also, when I had an issue, ELEVEN MONTHS after purchase, Corallife went above and beyond fixing the problem, to the extent of sending me an entire new hood, as well as an extra set of cooling fans. This was knowing that most people would never buy a 2nd biocube, as everyone wants bigger and more LOL. Still, I received a few hundred dollars worth of freebies, not by being 'that guy', just being polite and honest. Their customer service is top notch.

IME and IMO, these AIOs are doing exactly what they say they will, just accept the inherent limitations of stock. The nice thing is they are also easily customizable, rimless, LED, seperate sumps, media racks, anything can be changed.

[JakeK]

Thats what I plan to do, but I want just wondering it I replaced it with LR rubble, should that be in something such as a media bag or could it just sit in the filter


I am using SeaChem matrix in a bag in chamber two along with media rack for filter floss, phosguard and carbon. I also have a tunze 9001 skimmer in chamber 2. Before using the skimmer my nitrates always were negligible even with 4 fish and I think the matrix was helping out with that.

If you want to use LR rubble to better assist with managing nitrates then I would suggest the matrix in a bag so you can lift it out to siphon detritus that collects in chamber 2.

[TyHoward]

I am using SeaChem matrix in a bag in chamber two along with media rack for filter floss, phosguard and carbon. I also have a tunze 9001 skimmer in chamber 2. Before using the skimmer my nitrates always were negligible even with 4 fish and I think the matrix was helping out with that.

If you want to use LR rubble to better assist with managing nitrates then I would suggest the matrix in a bag so you can lift it out to siphon detritus that collects in chamber 2.

Great! Thank you so much