cdrewferd's first saltwater tank

[cdrewferd]

Hey guys. This is my first saltwater tank. Just picked up a Biocube 29 gallon with protein skimmer and heater. Also had 20lbs of live rock, 1 clown, 1 colorful wrasse, a bubble anemone and some snails and hermits. Also came with a selection of supplies and some food. Paid a whole $200 for it.

The buildup will be slow. Gotta build a stand for it so I can get it into the living room and out of the bedroom. Sorry the pics are blurry, iPhone doesn't take the best pics.








Drew

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[cdrewferd]

I've been looking at changing out the filtering setup. I've been on InTank's site and have a few questions.

1. Would it be better to go with a media basket, and Fuge Basket rather than a protein skimmer?

2. If I can do all 3 of the above, which order should I do them in? Want to get the most bang for my buck in the beginning.

3. As far as swapping to LED's is the RapidLED DIY kit for the Biocube 29 the best thing to get?

4. How many fish can I realistically fit into this 29? Can I get 6-7 in there and be ok if I have the filtering setup properly?

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[john miller]

When I had a fuge in my stock media basket of my 28 gallon Nano Cube I had a problem with the cheato growing to fast and clogging it up and reducing the flow. Reduced flow meant cyano problems so it had to go. Something to keep in mind. Putting a nice macro in the DT like "ange062" does is always an option.

6-7 fish sounds like a lot. What else are you thinking of stocking?

 

[cdrewferd]

Not too sure on fish yet. Would like a mate for the clown and a target mandarin. Probably some shrimp, and crabs too. I would also like to upgrade the lighting so I can have a clam or 2.


Drew

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[ange062]

6-7 is pushing your luck IMO unless you are running a big skimmer. I have 5 in mine, plus 3 clams, and tons of corals. I also overskim, change water every week, etc etc etc.

I am going to have to +1 on John's comment. Only other update would be that a GFO reactor is seriously a cheap and awesome addition that does way better for controlling phosphates then even DT macro's. Go read my build thread for info.

 

[cdrewferd]

I'm getting ready to order the media basket, fuge basket, underwater light for the fuge, some chem-pure elite, and a few other things from inTank.

Would it be ok to do these upgrades while the tank is running? I need to take the false floor out of chambers 1 and 2 and wasn't sure if that part could be done with water in the tank.


Drew

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[cdrewferd]

Got the water tested and everything looks good, though the salinity is a little high so I'm going to work on bringing that down. Will wait about a week or so before I get anything else for the tank. Not sure if I wanna get a mate for the clown, or just trade him in at the LFS for something else. What kind of shrimp would you guys recommend? I think they could be fun to watch.

 

[cdrewferd]

Added a few more rocks today and redid the scape a little.

Also added my first coral. Got this little frag of zoas.

On the zoas, can I get them off their plug some how?


Drew

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[cdrewferd]

What do you guys think of my powerhead placement? It's in the front left corner.

 

[john miller]

Stay away from a skunk cleaner shrimp. When I first got mine things were okay, now that it is huge it harasses the crap out of my fish.

Powerhead placement is similar to mine, crossing flows is good. It will take about 6 months of adjusting to finally find a sweet spot. Then you'll adjust it some more.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

what are your parameters at?
SG:
alk:
Cal:
NO4:
NO3:
temp:

this tank looks way too new for fish and corals and inverts...

i love the rock work...as for removing the zoa from the plug...i wouldnt worry about it...they will grow off it in no time...if it really bugs you, you can pull the frag out, and usually you can get a butter knife or credit card under the mat and peel them off the plug, if they were freshly added to the plug you can likey just pop the glue off the plug with a butter knife...though i highly doubt the presence of palyotoxin in the aquarium trade, protecting yourself from bacteria in the water and on the coral is a very good idea, if you have cuts on your hands were gloves, and were glasses to protect your eyes..

 

[cherubfish pair]

Sorry the pics are blurry, iPhone doesn't take the best pics.

Hey no stress. Those pics are always better than none. :artist:

 

[cdrewferd]

what are your parameters at?

I'll be taking some more water into the LFS in a couple days to get tested. When I had it tested on Friday, everything looked good but the salinity, it was a little high. I've worked on bringing that down and the same LFS sold me the frag, so they remembered my tank.

As far as the tank being too new for anything, this is how I bought it. I bought the tank with the clown, wrasse, and anemone. Only thing I've added is some rock and the zoas.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[cdrewferd]

Took some water in today, everything looked good but ph. That's a little low. When I get that up, and get the water retested in about a week I'll write down the numbers for you guys.


Drew

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[john miller]

Do yourself a favor and buy a cheap API saltwater test kit & a refractometer. Two things you are going to be using a lot of.

 

[cdrewferd]

Ok, I'll look into those.

Quick question on feeding. Should I be turning off the return pump only, or also the power head? Need to clarify so I can show my wife the right things to unplug.


Drew

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[john miller]

I don't turn off anything. I just add small bits at a time. But I have a lot of hermit crabs to clean up any left overs.

 

[cdrewferd]

Awesome, thanks.

Another question, I just found some worms in my tank.

There are 2 of them. Are these a problem?


Drew

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[john miller]

Kind of tough to tell in the pic for sure but appears to be a common bristle worm, Google images to double check. Good thing to have in the tank because it cleans in the tiny crevices of the live rock. If you see two then there is probably 10 or more that you don't see. Be careful because they do "bite". Accidentally touch one and you'll see first hand why they are called "bristle" worms.

 

[cdrewferd]

Got some goodies in the mail today.

Hopefully I can get everything installed after work tomorrow. I'll try to take pics of that process as well.


Drew

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