new 14 gallon set up

[Jorge1717]

good evening RC members, i am recently a new member to this salt water fish tank world and i started with a 14 gallon biocube and i wanted to know a little feed back about my set up that i finished today.i would like to know what you guys think about rock set up and if i should move them around, i want to have corals and 4 fishes (a pair of clown fish) and 2 unknown. it still has some cleaning to do but this is what i have.

Thanks!

 

[jonnyu]

Looks good I would personally take the two top rocks off and leave it as a shelf. You can cycle tank with fritz it works awesome and the only one to actually have live bacteria. Pick up some ammonia and start dosing till the cycle is complete if you like to do fish less cycle. Afterward you could add your 4 fish and if you want to be parasite free you could treat the whole tank with chloroquine. This can be purchased online or ask your local vet for a script. Then I would say you would be good to do with corals. What type of corals you looking to do ?

 

[Jorge1717]

im not sure of names since I'm new to this but i was thinking anemone for the clown fish and some colorful coral like zoas or something. in regards to everything you said, all the tank treatment is necessary before i start to put fish & corals in?

 

[Kyle954]

Looks good I would personally take the two top rocks off and leave it as a shelf. You can cycle tank with fritz it works awesome and the only one to actually have live bacteria. Pick up some ammonia and start dosing till the cycle is complete if you like to do fish less cycle. Afterward you could add your 4 fish and if you want to be parasite free you could treat the whole tank with chloroquine. This can be purchased online or ask your local vet for a script. Then I would say you would be good to do with corals. What type of corals you looking to do ?

I agree with him on removing the 2 top pieces.. I would go been farther and break up all the rock just due to the size of the rock to begin with. Would look a lot nicer with more crevices and caves from little pieces of rock vs 3 giant chunks.. Just my 2 cents! Good luck

 

[Jorge1717]

It's always good to hear feed back, I will definitely go back and see what I can with some smaller rocks I have left.

 

[Jorge1717]

So this is what I come up with, I actually like this set up better and it has small caves fish can swim through

 

[Masterofstuff]

your going to want as much horizontal space for corals as possible. just some food for thought. shade at the bottom is great. but as i get closer to the top i like to taper so i can have more coral instead of just having it all at the top. plus it helps show off each individual piece.


also more rock equals better filtration.

 

[Jorge1717]

Thanks Master I'm still new at this so any feedback helps I will buy a little more rock as soon as I can

 

[McGee10]

Did you keep the bio balls in the back or go with a media basket? I have the same system I removed the bio balls went with the media basket using Purigen and carbon.
Good luck
Mike

 

[Jorge1717]

I do have some bio balls but I also have the media wet dry filter pads

 

[Masterofstuff]

personally i dont like mechanical filtration in a reef tank. they just become a hotspot of decay and a place for pods to get trapped. plus forcing the water through a pad is gonna slow down the flow. flow is important in a reef tank. Bioballs are decent but i think those porous rock kind are even better. more surface area for beneficial bacteria etc. plenty swear by bio balls so they must work!

purigen=>carbon.

Im fairly new to reef tanks(2 years) but have been keeping planted tanks for close 15 years now. so this is all just my opinion

my tank is a 55g with a large eel and my phosphates/nitrates are almost undetectable. running only Live rock.
I run a protein skimmer though.

 

[knukles55]

I used to run purigen in my 14 biocube and I worked great

 

[Kyle954]

So this is what I come up with, I actually like this set up better and it has small caves fish can swim through

Looks a lot better! Not sure if that piece on the bottom/middle is seperate but if so you should throw it out to the opposite end where all the empty sand is and make it a little seperate island for certain frags etc..

 

[Jorge1717]

Yea that's something I will definitely think of trying

 

[Jorge1717]

So I went to the local aquarium store and I went it to buy the filter cartridge replacement for the bio cube and one of the guys that work there said it was better to use this carbon and I wanted to know what you guys out there think about this.

 

[Deep Reef]

Carbon is good for keeping the water from getting yellow. I don't currently run it but I bought a reactor to start

 

[rovster]

My first tank was a bc 14. Back then running purigen and CPE in a media rack was standard procedure.

 

[jdantunes]

Hi Jorge! Welcome to this addictive hobby that I have been in love with for almost seven years. I have only had two tanks and my first was a Biocube 14.

I ran this system for 2.5 years just changing 20% of the water every other week. I removed the bio balls and original filter cartridge. I placed my heater in the first chamber (only during cold season) and a inTank media basket in the second chamber. In the media basket I placed filter floss on the first tray, chaeto with a small light on second tray and chemipure elite on third tray.

The only issues with this system I encountered were:

PC bulbs are okay growing some corals, but some of them will loose their glow after a couple of months of being under such a weak light.

Temperature is another issue. I had to keep the feeding door open just to keep it at desired temperature swings.

If I was to use it again (I still own it but has been dry since my upgrade) I will remove the top and use either a Kessil 160 or Ai Prime. That will solve all issues I experienced.

 

[Jorge1717]

That does make sense, since I just recently started Ima give it a shot for a couple months or something then I will mostly upgrade, what you said about removing the cover makes total sense and that it something I'd definitely do if I stay with the tank.

 

[Masterofstuff]

Since we are on the subject of biocubes. I have long since dreamt of a jbj(biocube 8 or 14) as a desk tank. With some of the issues ya'll have addressed I have some questions. What is the tank temp with the lid closed and the lights on? I was always hopeful that the lid would slow evaporation and 20% every 2 weeks (or 10% 1 week) would be adequate; plus topoff. Finally are the small power compact bulbs enough for mushrooms. Are there maybe easy upgrades for the cubes. LEDs etc. Ultimately I want a very care free tank with mushrooms and some other small low bio load tank mates. I have been dividing my shrooms and collecting for when I actually go through with this plan/if.