Hi folks, meet the new guy. :wavehand: Been lurking and reading voraciously for a bit, this is my first post.
I have been fascinated by reef tanks for a while, developed a love for reef critters while scuba diving. A few recent visits to the LFS and a bunch of time on the internet and I became convinced I was ready to give it a try. I had a spot in the home picked out that is perfect for a compact setup, could house maybe up to a 55g cube shape, but decided to start simple with a biocube setup to learn the ropes.
Was looking at new equipment, but figured I should check craigslist, as I know this is a work intensive hobby, and plenty of folks burn out and have old equipment laying around or for sale.
Well, crap, what do you know... A 29g Biocube for sale, up and running with a decent bit of live rock and a (purportedly) mated pair of Clowns and a nice sized Hermit. Has a 15w LED setup, protein skimmer, and a pile of extras (everything needed to run an external sump).
Went to look at it, and it seemed healthy enough, although looked overdue for a cleaning. I did the deal and packed it home yesterday.
Once I got home, I cleaned the tank, replaced the sand with 10# of new Caribsea live sand, rinsed all the rock in old tank water and put it back in the tank. I filled the tank with 50% old tank water and topped with new water from the LFS. Got the skimmer up and running (last owner wasn't using it), replaced the bioballs with Chempure and a new pad.
By bed time last night, the tank was up to temp and the fish had been lounging in my cooler about long enough, so they had to go into the tank even though the water was still fairly cloudy from the new sand. A quick sample showed 0 Nitrites, but Ammonia was just off of 0, maybe .25.
This morning, the tank is clear and bright. 0 Nitrite, 0 Ammonia. Mr. Crab has been cruising all over, can be heard banging into the tank walls and has been spotted all the way at the top of my "mountain". The Clowns look quite comfortable, they ate well and seem to really like the new aquascape I set up for them, more nooks and crannies to explore than what they had.
Over time, my plan is to build this out into a reef tank, with mostly corals and only a few fish. I'll be watching it close this week to make sure everything is stable before any more changes are made. Boy, do I have a lot to learn! I feel like a little kid who has ventured a little too close to the deep end of the pool!!!
Anyway, enough with the blathering. Here's the pics! Any advice for the new guy is very welcome!
I have been fascinated by reef tanks for a while, developed a love for reef critters while scuba diving. A few recent visits to the LFS and a bunch of time on the internet and I became convinced I was ready to give it a try. I had a spot in the home picked out that is perfect for a compact setup, could house maybe up to a 55g cube shape, but decided to start simple with a biocube setup to learn the ropes.
Was looking at new equipment, but figured I should check craigslist, as I know this is a work intensive hobby, and plenty of folks burn out and have old equipment laying around or for sale.
Well, crap, what do you know... A 29g Biocube for sale, up and running with a decent bit of live rock and a (purportedly) mated pair of Clowns and a nice sized Hermit. Has a 15w LED setup, protein skimmer, and a pile of extras (everything needed to run an external sump).
Went to look at it, and it seemed healthy enough, although looked overdue for a cleaning. I did the deal and packed it home yesterday.
Once I got home, I cleaned the tank, replaced the sand with 10# of new Caribsea live sand, rinsed all the rock in old tank water and put it back in the tank. I filled the tank with 50% old tank water and topped with new water from the LFS. Got the skimmer up and running (last owner wasn't using it), replaced the bioballs with Chempure and a new pad.
By bed time last night, the tank was up to temp and the fish had been lounging in my cooler about long enough, so they had to go into the tank even though the water was still fairly cloudy from the new sand. A quick sample showed 0 Nitrites, but Ammonia was just off of 0, maybe .25.
This morning, the tank is clear and bright. 0 Nitrite, 0 Ammonia. Mr. Crab has been cruising all over, can be heard banging into the tank walls and has been spotted all the way at the top of my "mountain". The Clowns look quite comfortable, they ate well and seem to really like the new aquascape I set up for them, more nooks and crannies to explore than what they had.
Over time, my plan is to build this out into a reef tank, with mostly corals and only a few fish. I'll be watching it close this week to make sure everything is stable before any more changes are made. Boy, do I have a lot to learn! I feel like a little kid who has ventured a little too close to the deep end of the pool!!!
Anyway, enough with the blathering. Here's the pics! Any advice for the new guy is very welcome!
That torch is a stony. Now you're in it. You need an ato, a test for calcium, one for magnesium, one for alkalinity, plus an alkalinity supplement. YOur water changes should supply that one stony with enough calcium and magnesium, but monitoring the alkalinity is now a weekly chore, and will benefit your other coral. Salifert is a good brand. And proper parameters are, for your convenience, in my sig line. Do not blow water from the zoa TO the torch. It can safely go the other way---but DO NOT let the torch reach its tentacles to the zoa's territory. 
You should also use carbon, changed every two weeks, in your water flow, to assure the zoa doesn't spit at the torch, and both should grow 
