Skaterzero22's Biocube14 (advice needed)

[skaterzero22]

Hi. I've had this cube Cycling for about 2 months. Just figured id share it with everyone.

FTS

Left

Right

Here is some algae that grew on the rocks a little bit. Just want to make sure its nothing but hair algae.

What do you guys think? Once I saw this i did a 10-15% water change and have been reading 0ppm on Nitrates and the algae has since become very brittle and weak.

Currently have no livestock in the tank. Pretty sure the Nitrate spike was because of the cycle. The rocks were all LR that I had cooking from a previous tank over a year ago. They cooked for that whole year :lolspin:

Few questions now.

Are the stock lights for the 14g Biocube good for LPS, softies, Zoas, etc? (not really thinking SPS) What about BTA's or other types of nems?

The stock return seems very weak for corals and nems. What is everyone else's experience with that pump. Any recommendations for replacements if it's not enough? (P.S. I'd prefer not to put any powerheads in the display if possible)

Also can I see some mods for a fuge in the middle chamber? Would it be beneficial enough to put a chunk of cheato in that chamber? If not, what other mods can I use to filter?

I read somewhere that PH can drop if the system doesn't have good access to air. Since a biocube is closed is this a common problem with them?

Thanks for your time

 

[rovster]

Nice start. Get some life in there!

As far as your questions go, you will get different opinions and it also depends on what you want to do. For the record, you CAN keep LPS down low and some SPS placed high with stock lighting. I had pocilipora, monticap, syphastrea, hammers, brains, candycanes and favia in my tank with stock lighting, and they all were doing well, and the SPS was growing. Not very colorful, but growing. Granted, the species I had were not high light, but don't necessarily limit yourself to Zoas and mushrooms with the stock lighting

As far as flow, I would add another power head in there. MP10 would be ideal, but a Koralia 425 would be nice. I have a MJ900 as my return, and I have both a Koralia 425 AND 240 in there, and everything is happy and there are no deadspots.

As far as filtration goes, you can't go wrong with a media rack in chamber 2. I have the one from Intank and I run floss, Purigen and CP elite and have not looked back. I bought a fuge light with the idea of using cheato at some point, but never set that up. If you don't want powerheads in the tank, you may want to try a MJ1200 as a return and maybe split the return? I don't know how that would work though.

The biggest problem with the BCs I think is the temperature control. I sometimes have to prop the lid, or open the feeding door. I don't worry about pH at all. Ever since adding LEDs, my temps have been better. But my wife likes to keep the house warm, so I constantly struggle with that.

GL! These are great starter tanks. Pretty soon, you'll be upgrading it, and then upgrading to a big tank like me

 

[sponger0]

Stock lighting isnt recommended for SPS or anemones. Plus a 14 gallon tank is a bit small for one.

You can put a Maxi Jet 1200 for the return and you shouldnt need anymore flow.

You can put a fuge in the middle sump to help reduce nitrites and phosphates to try and keep algae down.

Id take those rocks out and scrub the rocks with a toothbrush.

For corals, Id looks into zoas, mushrooms, polyps, or any LPS should be fine.

But get a CUC and one fish and start there. Keep them alive then look at some corals. Researching now is the best time before you just start throwing a bunch of stuff in there

 

[skaterzero22]

Royster, Thanks. life is coming soon. Working on PH. Still below 8.0 and i don't want to put any fish in there with that. I'll look into the MJ pumps to decide which one i'd like.. and figure out a way to split it. I'm also looking to build a sort of rack to put in chamber 2.

Sponger0, Thanks for the help. Taking the rocks out sounds like a good plan. I think im going to just stick with LPS and softies.. I like the look of em a little more and don't want to jump into SPS yet anyways. I completely forgot about Tank size regulations for Nems.. Thanks, that woulda been a stupid mistake.

Are there any recommendations for a good website to get a CUC pack? I got one online in my old 55 and loved what they had but can't remember it. The LFS around here didn't have the best choices for a CUC.

 

[rovster]

Where is your pH? 7.8 and above should be fine. Its not ideal, but not necessarily bad. GL!

 

[skaterzero22]

I think it is right near 8.0 but i'm trying to get everything right before I add live animals this time around. I wasn't as careful with my 55g and payed for it so im taking a lot of precautions with this tank. Mainly because of the small water volume. I know things can go wrong quickly.

 

[rovster]

You are fine with that.

 

[skaterzero22]

Cool. Working on my filter rack tonight and heading over to the LFS tomorrow for Filter floss and some Media Bags tomorrow. We may have fish by Monday.