Gettijg Ready To Setup My First Reef Tank!!

Stepho725

New member
So I'm about ready to set up the brand new beautiful Coralife Biocube 29 that is sitting in my.closet! Yay!
So tomorrow I'm supposed to get my package from Big Al's and im gonna go get dry sand and rock from another forum member.
So I require some help from here of how to get this baby up and running. I'm gonna go get 25g of saltwater rodi water from my lfs and a couple of pieces of LR. And a ball of chaeto and some rock rubble for the refugium??
Then I come home and after rinsing the dry sand and rock I lay the base rock then the sand and then the live rock on top? And then add my water....? Again any help is greatly appreciated.
As far as the back in the 2nd chamber I just place the rubble and place some chaeto on top?
I figure out where I want my powerhead and place my heater in a chamber find a spot for the thermometer and that's that??
I'm thinking I'm gonna have an empty chamber for a bit till I get a skimmer?
Would it be advised for me to put my old sponge from my freshwater tank into one of the chambers to get the BB going?
When do I begin testing? Do I put the shrimp in right away?
Is that everything or am I forgetting any key actions?
thanks friends!
 
Just remember as we told others take this part the slowest. I personally like to lay my sand bed first and then push my base rock down into so that it kinda conforms to my base, I have also heard of people putting eggcrate down to keep the rock from sliding on the glass. Once you have that in place and get all of your rock and rubble in their respective homes, add your water. Place your heater in an apporiate space I put my heater inside the overflow chamber of my bio cube that way it is heating a smaller amount of water that is always mixing with the large body. Not sure if this actually works but was told this long ago and have always done it that way. Iam not sure on the cheato but you may want to wait for that until you have a little bio for it to actually live on. Get yourself a little raw shrimp from the local grocery and add a small piece. If a member near you has some sump rock to let you grab that would assist in kick starting your cycle.
 
Take it slow!!, i have a 29gal cube.
put live rock rubble in back then cheato, also you will need a light for cheato to grow.put shrimp in a let it do it's thing, may take a few weeks and don't worry about it let it go though it's cycle just do some water test when you think it's ready.good luck!:beer:
 
Congrats...I also have a BC29.

You should build your base before adding sand, this prevents the rocks from shifting and possibly falling down once you build your structure.

Once you're ready to get a skimmer, grab yourself one of these:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewi...tent=AK01114&gclid=CK7a7ffLsrYCFQgw4AodTlMAhQ

I have one and I can say it works awesome...pulls some nasty junk! And the price is awesome.

If you need a small piece of LR to get your cycle started, there are a few of us around here that could help you out. Don't be afraid to ask.
 
Thanks guys! Its very exciting :) I better get my package today!! I'm going to be super disappointed if it doesn't come!
I can probably buy that skimmer in a couple weeks. And at that time I will upgrade the return pump too I think. Either that or get another powerhead. Oh and mak or buy the media basket.
Sooo then I should be about ready to add a clean up crew. Yay. :)
Exciting stuff...but I am feeling scared....I don't want to screw things up!!
 
Best of luck! And don't worry about screwing anything up, you haven't added life to your tank yet, so you will get no stern comments from us.

Personally, I put the sand in before the rocks, and really wiggle and set the base rocks into the sand. Then I fill the tank. And then I add all my equiptment. Once its all in place I fire it all up. (I then recommend you spend some time cleaning up wires, I bet a lot of us wish we did)

I don't go with the raw shrimp route, I just throw pellets in there, so I can't shed any light on that.

Once again, best of luck!
 
If you plan to get a sand sifter fish (diamondback goby or something else) I'd suggest rock first...

Stanley (our orange diamondback) dug out all the sand under the LR and we almost lost our scape when it started to shift around.
 
I am with the put rock on glass before sand idea. Other then that it sounds like your on the right path. Just remember to go slow. Someone suggested to help start cycle to put in one small raw shrimp and let it do its thing. One thing they did not warn you about is the slight odor this will cause (trust me, the wife was not amused by that part).

Good luck


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Darn it! Got my supplied in the mail today and stupid me got the API GH/KH test kit for FRESHWATER! I know the GH won't work in salt but will the KH? Does anyone use this kit??
 
Just get a curly q florcent from homedepot lowes or walmart where ever. You want full spectrum to grow all the nasty s in. The bulb and one of those industrial reflectors that just clip on to something.
 
25g Premixed SW....3g RODI FW....9.5#LR....$155.00
Getting ready to fill my biocube.and get this bad boy going....priceless
:)
 
Whats the difference between a Percula and Ocellarius? And no don't worry I'm not trying to put one in my tank for weeks!! Just curious.
 
Whats the difference between a Percula and Ocellarius? And no don't worry I'm not trying to put one in my tank for weeks!! Just curious.

The easiest way for me to tell is to look at their eyes. A percula will have a clearly defined pupil and iris. Ocellaris have a "muddy" look to their iris'. Compare the two on google images, you'll see what I mean.
 
Okay its officially up and running! Woo! I'm surprised at how little my sand affected the clarity of the water. I feel like I did not put enough in...I only ended up putting maybe 10-12lbs - is that going to create any problems in the future??
I really like how the rock came out as it has lots of caves and cubbyholes plus it is stable so that's always a plus! I will add onto that as time goes on but for now I'm happy with it. If I could figure out how to upload a photo from my phone I would do so but sadly I'm not quite sure how as its not workin.
Anyways - did I mention how amazing the moonlight LEDs are? Do all LEDs look this good?? I'm def going to need to upgrade sooner if so!
 
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