(Edit) First post: 55 gal to 32 Bio Cube Too drastic?
- Thread starter Twisk
- Start date
It looks great. Soon it’ll be all grown in and full
Twisk
Active member
I still have my smaller 15g nano running in my basement on my FLUVAL canister. That was the holding tank for the clownfish the first 50 days. I only have some rock from the old tank and two large clusters of Waving hands Anthelia in there. I used them for phosphate control but don’t want add any to my bigger cube. I am debating resetting it from scratch and make it just a TORCH tank or all anemones and a clown.
Attachments
I’m not sure where your located but if you decide to do BTAs, I have a bunch of plain ones I can let go pretty cheap.
Twisk
Active member
I’m in West Chester, PA. If I reset the tank it will be a while anyways
Thanks
Twisk
Active member
3/3/2025 32 Biocube update.
I’ve been reefing for over 20 yrs. Some people don’t agree with me, but I say that your CYCLING is OVER once your tank stabilizes and you get Through the last stages of battling the dreaded hair algae. All the other hurdles are just stages. Ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, Diatoms, red algae, aiptasia and GHA.
Today I finally did my first tank maintenance with no GHA removal needed. The clean up crew have finally conquered and have full control of the tank cleaning.
Corals are growing and the fish are happy.
I’ve been reefing for over 20 yrs. Some people don’t agree with me, but I say that your CYCLING is OVER once your tank stabilizes and you get Through the last stages of battling the dreaded hair algae. All the other hurdles are just stages. Ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, Diatoms, red algae, aiptasia and GHA.
Today I finally did my first tank maintenance with no GHA removal needed. The clean up crew have finally conquered and have full control of the tank cleaning.
Corals are growing and the fish are happy.
Attachments
Looking fantastic!
Twisk
Active member
22 years these clownfish have never EVER hosted anything. I’ve had Nems, hammers even tried small terra cotta pots covered in Anthelia LOL. The past two months they have started to host my ZOAS of all things. I started to notice the male would kiss them individually and watch them close up like he was playing with it. I was starting to think it was getting a buzz off the toxins or something 
.
I Finally get a pic, not the best, of him all snug in the middle of the patch. Sorry the glass is filthy, I’ve been letting it dirt up for the snails lately.
. I Finally get a pic, not the best, of him all snug in the middle of the patch. Sorry the glass is filthy, I’ve been letting it dirt up for the snails lately.
Twisk
Active member
Just checking in with an update. Both my urchins died. A couple months apart. I think more lack of food than anything else. The GHA is all gone and the turbo has been so far doing ok with the little algae on the glass and rock work. I think I’m finally figuring out my iPhone camera & lenses for better pics too. Everything is growing well. Still have my stock biocube lights and 2added 21ledusa strips.
Attachments
Twisk
Active member
Thanks the RASTAS are actually the last thing I added to the tank. I picked them up online from STAUB AQUA FARM in WV. His photos were impressive and I was hoping they would turn out just as nice and they are. It took a while though. When I first got them I thought they were gonner s just a couple bumps of flesh on a plug. I took a gamble and bought 2 polyps, he sent me 3. After about 3 weeks I was losing hope, then one day I actually could see a hint of green in them so I just left them. Another few weeks and one would open/close then another. Now they are multiplying nice and the colors are just as vibrant as his photos. Patience did good here. I’m so pleased. Next I want to get some BOB MARLEYS for the side of the same rock.
As for the ZOAS. I don’t know. They were part of a purchase I made of about 24 frags from a friends shop that was about to close. He was just packing stuff up for me. They started short and tight like my eagle eyes. I had them on a plug rack for months and when they grew into a small rounded bouquet I put the plug in the center of my tank and they took off. Not they extend a couple inches and the clowns host them which boggles my mind. my clowns are also getting Hyper-Melanization (black spots), but goes away if they stay out of the zoas for a while.
I also thought they were Pandoras but have the Blue center that really didn’t show till months later.. Some lighting it is faint or almost white, but when they are happy that blue comes out. Almost like they close up and only show blue when I’m feeding the tank. It’s pretty striking. I had to cut them back a little because they started to grow over some AOI’s and now I think maybe moving the AOIs are easier. They are unique and wish I knew what they were. I always look around for something similar. I can check with my friend and see if he recalls a name from when he had the store. He also had a YouTube channel. Such a shame the store closed.
Here are photos now as my whites lights ramp down. Don’t mind the closed area on the zoa. That is the clownfish kisses them and they close LOL. if you want nice RASTAS check out STAUBs website. When my tank goes blue they really pop
Attachments
if they are pandoras you might want to frag out a few of the polyps closing in on your rastas to give the rastas more chance to spread, pandoras will spread like wildfire anywhere you put them. I have some growing on a kenya tree at the lowest part of my tank, in the sand. they can grow darn near anywhere.
my clowns would never host to my nems, they only hosted to my zoas and torches lol. I added 2 nems to my current tank first, hoping my clowns would find them and make that home but the clowns are also juveniles so nothing yet...
my clowns would never host to my nems, they only hosted to my zoas and torches lol. I added 2 nems to my current tank first, hoping my clowns would find them and make that home but the clowns are also juveniles so nothing yet...
Twisk
Active member
Thanks. I have the rastas on a whole separate rock.
So they should be ok. They’re in a space I want to fill with just those.
These “pandora like” zoas have been spreading. I’ve already cut back some and about to again. I stuck some AOIs in next to them but because they are reaching out they are shading and covering. I leave the large patch in the center of the tank now for the clowns. 20+ years and this is the first thing they ever gave any attention to. They sleep in them most of the day.
I may frag them anyway to cut them back. Maybe give them to a New local coral shop for credits.
Once my zoa garden had filled in and seemed pretty healthy I found myself fragging polyps out about once a week or every other week to push back some of the dominant strains like the pandoras and try to give some of the brighter strains like utter chaos, eagle eyes, etc a chance to spread into them a bit.
