setting up 14g biocube for clowns

[zchauvin]

I have recently set up a 14g biocube that I intend to stock with corals and clowns, perhaps a small gobey if its possible. Anyways I have quite a few questions. I have always seen people say that the biocubes are good at only one thing, causing nitrate. So, what to do? I planned on leaving everything stock except to remove biobulbs and replace with rock rubble then throw a filter sock with 100 micron filter floss on top. Should I fill the entire back compartment with rubble, half way ect? Im not sure what would be the effective amount. How about lights? I was told at lfs that the stock lights can grow pretty much anything but clams. I would love to have an open brain in my tank, but hell... I don't even know if thats a clam lol. And my biggest question is this.. I want my clowns to host one of my coral, so what to get?!? And can I put two clowns in a 14 gallon? Of course, they will be smaller clowns. Whats the maximum stocking limit? The tank will not have a heater or skimmer, Ill just be doing 50% wc weekly and my house stays around 70 something so I don't thing the heater will be a problem. Oh, whats the best and fastest way to cycle a tank? Thanks guys.

 

[Johanv]

I have a pair of occealris hosting a hairy mushroom in my 14 gal bio.

 

[zchauvin]

thanks, Finally a answer lol

 

[velvetelvis]

A 14 is a little small, but it should be OK for a pair of small clowns like ocellaris or percula. You really need a heater on the tank to keep the temperature consistent. Temperature fluctuations can cause ich, among other problems. They also tend to make corals and inverts unhappy. Stability is key in aquarium-keeping.

 

[zchauvin]

Yeah, I can add a heater no big deal

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[Ryan95i4]

In my biocube, I have rubble filling the bioball chamber nearly full...probably 80-90% of the way up

 

[zchauvin]

In my biocube, I have rubble filling the bioball chamber nearly full...probably 80-90% of the way up

Alright, so leaving just enough roof for a bag of filter floss? Hows the nitrate levels, I'm assuming they stay pretty low

 

[mischa91]

I was under the impression that rubble tends to act just like bioballs and become a nitrate factory. I run an intank media basket in mine with activated carbon, purigen and filter floss. Everything is thriving. You could also turn compartment 2 into an intank fuge.

Make sure when you install a heater into chamber 1 to remove the false floor for extra space.

I have corals, softies and lps and 2 percula clown babies in mine.

Good luck.

 

[Whip316]

in my 24 nano and 12 nano i never had problems with nitrates. just keep up on WC and have a good CUC. as for clowns you can keep mostly any clown you like. only ones i wouldnt do is a tomato, clarkii or others that get big.
most breeders keep large clowns in less than 10g of water. so if you did get a juvi clarkii pair or something similar you have 3 years or so till they might need moved out.

if you keep up on your WC i think you could keep 4 fish in the nano. in my 24g nano i kept 5 fish and my prarameters were perfect for 2 years before it took it down.

 

[velvetelvis]

in my 24 nano and 12 nano i never had problems with nitrates. just keep up on WC and have a good CUC. as for clowns you can keep mostly any clown you like. only ones i wouldnt do is a tomato, clarkii or others that get big.
most breeders keep large clowns in less than 10g of water. so if you did get a juvi clarkii pair or something similar you have 3 years or so till they might need moved out.

if you keep up on your WC i think you could keep 4 fish in the nano. in my 24g nano i kept 5 fish and my prarameters were perfect for 2 years before it took it down.

I respectfully disagree with the advice here. It's never a good idea to buy fish that will outgrow your system, because the upgrade to a bigger tank often never happens, in spite of the best intentions. Bigger species like Clark's also tend to "roam" a lot more than ocellaris and percula. They would be very cramped in a 14G biocube, which is a very small tank.

A CUC is going to do nothing to alleviate the effects of too many fish in too small of a space--they may eat algae that result, but they're not going to improve water quality. On top of that, water changes alone aren't enough to accommodate more than two fish in such a small tank. There's also the issue of crowding. A pair of clownfish are going to eventually adopt--and defend--this tank as their territory. Once they begin breeding, they may well begin to attack the other fish in the tank in an attempt to drive them out of their territory--but of course, in such a small space, the "intruders" have nowhere to retreat, and will suffer for it.

This tank would be fine for one pair of small clownfish, like ocellaris or perculas. Larger species will need a larger system. And in such a small system, I wouldn't add any other fish. 14 gallons is a very small aquarium, especially for marine fish.