New Biocube 29 Questions

[captaincaiti]

hi everyone! :wavehand: i've had my biocube set up for a week now and figured i'd pop in with a couple questions, especially on things i keep getting five different answers for haha.

i have 40lbs of arag-alive sand (equals out to about 2 inches it seems), and i used nutri-seawater as well as live rock. i'm going to pick up another 10-15lbs of live rock today since currently i only have 14lbs (i always think it weighs more when handling it). so hopefully that'll do it. i'm also finally getting rid of the clouding issue from the sand and it all seems to be settling for the most part. of course i took the sponge out to clean it today and it clouded up again, but i'll be taking a picture to post once that settles.

so basically, a couple questions:
1. i haven't seen a spike in anything, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are all stable at zero, PH of roughly 8.0, salinity is a little higher than 1.026 but i'm picking up more distilled water today to correct it. i've been told that a tank like this won't really cycle because of the nutriseawater/live sand/live rock, or that it won't cycle until a fish is in it, and about 10 other things. so basically is the tank already cycled? should i do anything first or am i fine to add a fish in a few days after adding the rest of the live rock and checking everything?

2. clean up crew vs. fish first. again, i've been told both, clean up crew first because it's cheaper but also fish first because otherwise the clean up crew will have nothing to clean.

3. i've set up my live rock so that there's a thin piece ontop of two larger ones to create a tunnel, but it's not as stable as i'd like it to be. is there anything that can be used to attach them that also isn't a pain to pull apart later if i want to rearrange things? if my only option is a more permanent one, what does everyone recommend using?

4. i've narrowed down my stocking list to what i believe i want, obviously adding them slowly over time and such. so that list right now is: 2 snowflake clowns, 1 purple or red firefish (maybe a mated pair of one or the other if i can find one, if not i don't want them fighting so just one), and a hi fin red banded goby. the first two are ones i'm pretty much set on, the hi fin i've been changing out and i'm concerned it may fight with the firefish.

would this be a good stocking list to have, or is there a different type of third fish that would work well? i love blennies and sand sifting gobies, but i know my tank isn't established enough for them. but i know most of my stocking list is mainly middle-tank fish, so i was looking for something maybe at the bottom to even it out? there's such a wide range and i feel a little lost looking haha.

also, cost factor aside what would be the best of these fish to start with? i know most of them are hardy, so i was looking at the hi fin to start with because it'd be less expensive, or the firefish, but i'd love to hear opinions!

sorry for how long this is, but i wanted to ask everything since i am new to saltwater, even though i've ready every possible new to reefkeeping post. basically if you have any tips/tricks/advice outside of what i've asked i'd love to hear it!

 

[gone fishin]

hi everyone! :wavehand: i've had my biocube set up for a week now and figured i'd pop in with a couple questions, especially on things i keep getting five different answers for haha.

i have 40lbs of arag-alive sand (equals out to about 2 inches it seems), and i used nutri-seawater as well as live rock. i'm going to pick up another 10-15lbs of live rock today since currently i only have 14lbs (i always think it weighs more when handling it). so hopefully that'll do it. i'm also finally getting rid of the clouding issue from the sand and it all seems to be settling for the most part. of course i took the sponge out to clean it today and it clouded up again, but i'll be taking a picture to post once that settles.

so basically, a couple questions:
1. i haven't seen a spike in anything, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are all stable at zero, PH of roughly 8.0, salinity is a little higher than 1.026 but i'm picking up more distilled water today to correct it. i've been told that a tank like this won't really cycle because of the nutriseawater/live sand/live rock, or that it won't cycle until a fish is in it, and about 10 other things. so basically is the tank already cycled? should i do anything first or am i fine to add a fish in a few days after adding the rest of the live rock and checking everything?

Was the rock actually Live rock? Did it have critters all over it or was it cured fish store rock that has some bacteria? If the latter you should add an ammonia source to check on the cycle,I prefer to add pure ammonia up to 2-3ppm. It is possible the cycle has not started yet.


2. clean up crew vs. fish first. again, i've been told both, clean up crew first because it's cheaper but also fish first because otherwise the clean up crew will have nothing to clean.

I would start with a couple CUC critters and add more when needed. you can feed them a few bits of pellet food if there is not much algae.

3. i've set up my live rock so that there's a thin piece ontop of two larger ones to create a tunnel, but it's not as stable as i'd like it to be. is there anything that can be used to attach them that also isn't a pain to pull apart later if i want to rearrange things? if my only option is a more permanent one, what does everyone recommend using?

You can use some JB waterweld 2 part epoxy putty and super glue gel. Make a little ball of putty add a bit super glue to either side and stick the rocks together. If you want to remove it later it should just pop off.

4. i've narrowed down my stocking list to what i believe i want, obviously adding them slowly over time and such. so that list right now is: 2 snowflake clowns, 1 purple or red firefish (maybe a mated pair of one or the other if i can find one, if not i don't want them fighting so just one), and a hi fin red banded goby. the first two are ones i'm pretty much set on, the hi fin i've been changing out and i'm concerned it may fight with the firefish.

I would do the goby or fire fish first then the clowns, they are more aggressive. I would do just one firefish if they are mated then one may still knock the other on off.
would this be a good stocking list to have, or is there a different type of third fish that would work well? i love blennies and sand sifting gobies, but i know my tank isn't established enough for them. but i know most of my stocking list is mainly middle-tank fish, so i was looking for something maybe at the bottom to even it out? there's such a wide range and i feel a little lost looking haha.

also, cost factor aside what would be the best of these fish to start with? i know most of them are hardy, so i was looking at the hi fin to start with because it'd be less expensive, or the firefish, but i'd love to hear opinions!

sorry for how long this is, but i wanted to ask everything since i am new to saltwater, even though i've ready every possible new to reefkeeping post. basically if you have any tips/tricks/advice outside of what i've asked i'd love to hear it!

There is a good sticky at the top off the forum called setting up, look for the big red arrow, that may be of use to you.

 

[captaincaiti]

thanks for the info! it is live rock with critters all over it. there were two things that skittered away before i could see what they actually are, and there's a small snail wandering around on the rock, plus a couple tube worms that i've seen here and there.

and thank you for the note on the firefish! i'll definitely stick with one then, especially with a smaller tank like i have.

 

[gone fishin]

It sounds like you got actual live rock then. It is possible that you will not see much of a cycle depending if the rock was kept wet during transport. I would wait until you added your final rock pieces before adding any other critters.

 

[captaincaiti]

got the rest of my rock today, and figured i'd post some pictures! i have to rearrange since the water got cloudy while putting the rock in, so i just put it in where i could without being able to see, but this is the basic idea!

 

[gone fishin]

looking good. hard to tell but make sure you leave enough room to get a glass cleaner in there to clean the film algae off.

 

[captaincaiti]

and finally finished with the rock! added a couple snails, as well as a purple firefish. thought i'd post some updated pictures! firefish is in hiding still, but the snails are out and about!

 

[flooddc]

Looking good!
I can't really tell from the photos. Did you put the base rocks in before adding sand or you just set them on top of the sand? If you just set them on top of the sand, there is a chance that the sand under the rocks get shifted and cause the rocks to fall.

 

[captaincaiti]

Sand was in first, but when putting in the base rocks I wiggled them into the sand as far as they would go. Hopefully no issues with it! The LFS said to put the rock in after water and sand were in because it was all live and I didn't think to look up other opinions until the sand was in.