Absolute Beginner Biocube 29

TyHoward

TyHoward

New member
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!
 
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!
 
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
 
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
 
TyHoward said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
JakeK said:
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.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information! I've been pricing RO/DI's all morning. Definitely buying one with ing the next two weeks
 
The other thing is many pet shops sell either RO/DI and even salt water by the gallon, which is pretty cheap and convenient.
 
Coralreefer1 said:
The other thing is many pet shops sell either RO/DI and even salt water by the gallon, which is pretty cheap and convenient.
Click to expand...
+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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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...
 
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
 
TyHoward said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
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