Help Starting my 29g BC Build Thread

kingfisher62 said:
I had crushed coral in my first saltwater tank it is much coarser than sand and allows sediment to fall into it as apposed to sand which does not. Crushed coral can eventually become a nitrate factory. In any case, nothing to worry about now.
Click to expand...

It's called caribsea aragonite. It's not the fine but probably one size up from it. It was what the lfs has in their tanks. Is that ok to use?

I will probably move some of the rock around to make better tunnels.
 
Has anyone ever heard of a way to hinge the hood on a 29G BC. Its a pain to unplug everything each time you open the tank. I was thinging of trying to epoxy some sort of hinge but not sure that will work that well.
 
You are right, it is a pain in the butt especially when I was use to the hinged top on the 14G biocube. Maybe the weight of the larger hood is too much for back of the tank or the plastic on the hood itself. Oceanic is pretty good about designing these. They started to put the windows in the back of the tank for the refugium option when they found out that everyone was modding the tank and scraping off the paint to do that. There is probably a reason they did not hinge it.
 
kingfisher62 said:
You are right, it is a pain in the butt especially when I was use to the hinged top on the 14G biocube. Maybe the weight of the larger hood is too much for back of the tank or the plastic on the hood itself. Oceanic is pretty good about designing these. They started to put the windows in the back of the tank for the refugium option when they found out that everyone was modding the tank and scraping off the paint to do that. There is probably a reason they did not hinge it.
Click to expand...

Its really too bad it isnt hinged. Mine is in a corner so I am doing a balancing act but its probably only a matter of time before it slips off. I have to come up with something. Do you actually unhook all your lights each time you need to take off the hood? Also do you have all your lights on different timers? Is there a timer out there for all three lights or do I need to get 3 timers?
 
I do not use the leds.
As for the other lights I use two seperate timers. I have my ballast mounted on a plank and raised so there is a drip loop and that allows me to tilt the hood up and lean it into the corner so I do not have to disconnect.
 
I knocked te hood off already so I guess I need a better plan.

So I have had the tank with rock running for 3 days now and everything looks good so far. No tests taken but I was told to just let it run for a few weeks first.

Changed the rocks around. Will take some pics soon.
 
I changed the scape around. Not sure if I made it better or worse but I am gonna stick with it for now. I was going to move things back so it would be close to the back wall but I am not sure if its better to have room behind the rock also. I am getting antsy though and want put something in there that I can watch but I will be patient until the end of the month.

Hopefully things will get more interesting soon.
 
New Scape
 

Attachments

  • photo4.jpg
    photo4.jpg
    40.8 KB · Views: 25
I saw some really cool rock online and have also in the stores which makes me wonder about the rock I already have. Is it ok to change around rock or will it changed the cycling of the tank? Im thinking its best to get the rock the way I want it before I add stuff to the tank but not sure if its ok to make changes to it when its cycling or when it is ok to make changes to it.

Any opinions?
 
Looks good , you seem to have more room to clean the glass now. Moving things around should not affect your cycle. You can alway add dry rock at any time , adding more LR after your tank has cycled can cause a mini spike.

Just remember you will probably be adding a little LR when you add a coral. Mushrooms, leathers, xenia, GSP are usually attached to pieces of LR and it adds up!
 
kingfisher62 said:
Looks good , you seem to have more room to clean the glass now. Moving things around should not affect your cycle. You can alway add dry rock at any time , adding more LR after your tank has cycled can cause a mini spike.

Just remember you will probably be adding a little LR when you add a coral. Mushrooms, leathers, xenia, GSP are usually attached to pieces of LR and it adds up!
Click to expand...

Thanks King. I wanted to add some live rock but I will keep as is and if I add I will only add dry rock. Seems to be safer that way.

So its ok to add the live rock with the coral on them? I wasnt sure how that would work. When I get to the time of adding coarl I will have to read up more on how its actually done or I am sure the guy at the lfs will inform me. Sure does make you want to put live stuff in while waiting for the tank to cycle. Not much is going on just staying clear for now.
 
Don't get me wrong! You can always add LR too but if there was any die off it might spike your parameters a little bit. Nothing to worry about.

Did you get any hitch hikers on your LR?
Take a look at your tank with a small flash light a few hours after you put the lights out. See if you got any critters. That always kept me entertained for a while I was waiting for a cycle.
 
Last edited:
kingfisher62 said:
Don't get me wrong! You can always add LR too but if there was any die off it might spike your parameters a little bit. Nothing to worry about.

Did you get any hitch hikers on your LR?
Take a look at your tank with a small flash light a few hours after you put the lights out. See if you got any critters. That always kept me entertained for a while I was waiting for a cycle.
Click to expand...

Thanks King. I will check it out tonight. I tried to look with the night leds or whatever they are called but didnt see anything. I figured I would see something moving around.

I was going to get a test kit. Do you have any opinion on one to get? Is there a kit that will cover all the tests I will need or do I need to get all different kinds of kits? I was told no need to test while cycling just let the tank do its thing for a few weeks then bring some water into my lfs, but figured it may be a good idea to get a kit now to start to learn. Let me know what you think. If you have a brand or kit in mind let me know.

Thanks
 
Sound like you got a descent LFS. Many would have sold you several test kits Half of which you will hardly ever use. When you cycle your tank you usually see an ammonia spike, then a nitrite spike replaced by a nitrate spike. If you are waiting a few weeks you really do not need the amm, or nitrite test kits. I used to check for amm. and nitrites all the time when I first started my marine tank but after the initial cycle I have never seen anything but 0.0 test results for both. If I were you I would just start with a saltwater nitrate test kit and a saltwater pH test kit. Later down the line you might want to think about alk, calcium and phosphate test kits.

I like "Aquarium Pharmaceutical" test kits
 
kingfisher62 said:
Sound like you got a descent LFS. Many would have sold you several test kits Half of which you will hardly ever use. When you cycle your tank you usually see an ammonia spike, then a nitrite spike replaced by a nitrate spike. If you are waiting a few weeks you really do not need the amm, or nitrite test kits. I used to check for amm. and nitrites all the time when I first started my marine tank but after the initial cycle I have never seen anything but 0.0 test results for both. If I were you I would just start with a saltwater nitrate test kit and a saltwater pH test kit. Later down the line you might want to think about alk, calcium and phosphate test kits.

I like "Aquarium Pharmaceutical" test kits
Click to expand...

I was actually looking at Aq Pharm kits online and they looked good. I will check that out.

You may have actually answered this but how will I know the tank has cycled and when it is done cycling. I see other tanks that have all kinds of algae after a few days. Mine looks crystal clear since the first day. Doesnt seem to be much going on in there.
 
If you have been keeping your lights on for several hours a day you will start to see it in a few days. You do not need the lights on for a nitrate cycle, but I find the tanks also go a algae cycle starting with very simple algaes and being replaced with more advanced ones. usually you will see a rusty brown on your rocks first.
 
Question:

I have the power head right below the intake to the 1st chamber. There is intake at the top and at the bottom. By me having the power head right there is it interfering with the intake or will the intake and filtration still work properly with the power head there????
 
HELP PLEASE:

I have had my tank running now for a couple of weeks and today things really started turning brown quickly. I am not sure if this is a cycling thing or if something has gone wrong. Last night I did some testing and everything looked good. My lfs guy said just let the tank run for about 4 weeks and do nothing. I dont know if that means dont do water changes or add water or really do nothing. My fear is if I wait to do anything its too late. There are some snails and crabs in the tank.

Any suggestions woudl be appreciated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Hydros w/sump
Replies
3
Views
176
wvned
wvned
S
Small Sump Leak - Worth fixing?
Replies
1
Views
156
griss
griss
S
Novice Aquarist - Sump & Equipment Questions
Replies
9
Views
388
wvned
wvned
D
New- skimmer question
Replies
3
Views
1K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
M
Back to this wonderfull hobbie after 10 years
Replies
4
Views
312
griss
griss
Back
Top