Need Stoner Friendly Help

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phish-phan

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Hey, Thanks for reading this:

I'm a recent purchaser of the 29 gal bio-cube, everyone at the fish place is trying to sell me a bunch of shat i probably don't need. I just would like to know what you the experienced hobbiest thinks i need. I'm trying to develop a reef tank with clowns, gobys perhaps some Coral (is there a certain time to place coral in the tank?) and Enemies and perhaps a sea cumcumber. ( Sea apple) and lots of inverdabretes ( cleaner shrimp or maybe crab or something) I noticed the fellow who had the same tank as me and it looked like his live rock took up alot of space. Also i would like live sand. Is a heater nesscessary for the bio cube? also anything to mixing salt to water changes would be great info. I've looked up a few books at the local library but your input would be fantastic. It's an expensive hobby and i just want everything to work out to the best performance. ANY MODIFICATIONS that you've done to the tank? The bio-cube comes with this weird filtration thing called bioballs. i've heard of people taking them out and replaceing them with other stuff, also i have heard the better circulation the better....what would be the best maybe to add to the stock water pump or what . Very Confused. Any input would be great input ! haven't had the cash to buy any supplies yet but very very soon i will start to add substrate and saltwater and live rock Thanks for reading and i will try to post pictures of everycycle that i do!
 
I would continue to read, make a plan, not that you have to stick to it but it helps in figuring out what you will need. A protein skimmer is something you will need. Best piece of advice is to read and research, it will save you some headaches and money. You said you wanted "Enemies" I swear I have some in my tank sometimes. Im sure you meant anemones, which I would wait till you have a well established tank, they tend to be finicky about water quality and stability.

-Joe
 
Quick advice-- take out the bio balls and replace them with a bag of Chemi-pure, rinse your prefilter sponges often, add plenty of live rock (you should have a lot, many benefits) and come up with an effecient way to do regular water changes. Set it up and let it run with just the rock, sand, and water for a good month or so to cycle. While this is going on, read, read, read-- especially if you are worried about the cost. Your tank is relatively small so you might want to reconsider/refine some of your stocking list (sea apple is very risky in a small tank with all the fish, shrimp, corals and anemones you are considering).
 
Yeah, have lots of patience with your tank. I just cycled my first tank for three weeks, thought I was ready, and managed to kill a few snails. A week after that I added more snails and they are all still alive, so I guess it just needed that extra week to stabilize.

And the rock may take up room, but it helps with the filtration and will eventually become the home for all those corals and inverts. Put a few big chunks in there for sure. I have a 25G tank with 32lb rock, and some people have said I should have even more. Good luck.
 
Get some more Helping Phriendly Books. ;) "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner is a great book for all fish fans of the other type.

For now take the bio-balls out and add some aragonite sand and live rock before you put anything else in your tank. Get some test kits for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and calcium and alkalinity for later. Make sure the water you put into the tank is really nutrient-free by getting an RO/DI filter too. Remember patience is the key man and ask a lot of questions here before you buy stuff. To put it in "our" terms, Coronal Forbin's Ascent wasn't done in a day, but soon you will fly like the famous mockingbird!

P.S. They'll be back sometime
 
first off, good choice in staring tank. them all in ones are pretty nice. second dont do anything just because some guy said it worked for him, especially if he works at the LFS. you need to research eavertying you add, and like amny pointed out already take it slow. i ask my LFS people questions just to test thier knowledge, then ask them something i dont know. a reef tank is a great idea, but it will require higher lights then what comes standard if you decied to get anemones, more advanced corals, or clams. plus possibly a extra powerhead or upgrade your current pump to increase your flow. if your planning having gobies down the road. you might not want to go for straight aragonite sand, i find it is much too fine for them to build good dens, mixing it with some courser sand and adding things like snail shells will help them construct a den. IMO the gobies that build little dens are the best, so intresting to watch :D . try and stay away from a sea apple, you will find out with more research when they die they will take your entire tank with it. when you choose you LR some will be really dense and some will be really pourus and light. just try and get anywhere from 1-2 LBs of LR, whatever you like remeber your going to look at it the most so keep adding more till you like it or you hit your 2LB quota. you can go with more or less. you would just need to augment your water changes or water cirrculation. Live sand is a good idea, but just make shure its the real stuff not from a bag. you will want to add a heater unless your house stays at least 71-72 all year round. you can find lots of grea info at the tops of every sub forum, click the green "sticky" posts and follow the links or text, or check out reefkeeping magazine. the past issuses cover mostly anything you need to know. and if you want, the first mod many people suggest is to remove the bio-balls (they are unwanted in a reef system), and put heaters, pumps, LR rubble, or macro algea (little light over the chamber required). hope this helps. keep us posted on the progress :D feel free to give me a PM if you need any more adivce :bum:
 
thanks for all the helpful info everyone. from what I understand, the reverse-osmosis filter can be quite a *****- is that what everyone here uses to make up their salt water? I had a friend recommend that I buy distilled water, but I would really like everyone's input here too. Also- does anyone buy their live stock/rock online? or is that discouraged? I'm in Michigan, so I'm not finding the best options in stores here. There are two stores in town and one had the same dead fish lying in the tank both times I went (about a week apart!).
thanks for the advice about the anenome's and sea apples... fortunately I'm not even close to that stage yet, definitely trying to do this on a budget.
eventually, I'd like the big picture to be: substrate (from BCreefmaker's post, a heady brew of aragonite, course sand, and shells), 25-30 lbs porous live rock, with lots open spaces for water to flow and fish to swim/hide, hermits and cleaner shrimp, maybe a couple corals and anenome's, and then peaceful fish like gobies. I have a great encyclopedia that details several species of fishes specs, their behavior, living conditions, etc., but if anyone has any personal advice, what to avoid, etc. I would always appreciate it!
Once again, thanks for all your replies. I will post updates as soon as I can!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9786850#post9786850 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Engine 7
What do you mean "Stoner Friendly"?
Click to expand...

i think the 420 at the end of PhisPhan speaks for itself ;)
 
i had some "enemies" in my tanks ......like high nitrates,poor water flow,algea blooms,aggresive fish,equipment trouble etc....
i would not recomend that for your new tank.......
take it slow and read read read....oh yeah on the "stoner friendly" bit i'd say save the bong hits for watching your tank not working on it......be weary of online advice...
 
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