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My diary of a Biocube 8


Kimberly63

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Here is an up-to-date FTS of my tank as of 3/30/08. I figured I would put a pic in my first post:

 

fts2.jpg

 

 

Original Thread:

 

Well I took the plunge on Sunday and bought the 8 gallon biocube - along with some other things and it ended up costing around $450 for everything.

 

I got around 11lbs of cured fiji LR - yes, it is too much for my tank, especially because it's so porous, but my LFS is letting me return some of it. I like how my scape turned out though:

 

firstsetuptwo.jpg

 

I got a 20lb bag of LS and only used about 1/2 of it. I ended up buying the natural ocean water in the 5gallon jugs. I got a ph testing kit, an instant ocean hydrometer, a tiny magfloat, a book on nano-reefing, an upgraged pump which I won't install yet, and who knows what else - I went kind of crazy when I was buying everything. I planned on turning the back into a fuge, I took out the bio-balls for now and added the filter floss stuff on top of the tray in chamber 2.

 

nanoreefbook.jpg

This is a GREAT book!

 

mastertestkit2.jpg

Have to figure out how to use this stuff :)

 

Since my rock was cured, I don't have any critters that I can see. but my rock sure is pretty with some red and green algae on it! It's only been less than 24hrs so we'll see what it looks like in a few days. I plan on taking some of the rock back but I'm not sure if I feel like taking another 40mile trip to the LFS - especially because I've been there about 4 times this past week!

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Ditto on the looks. I'n new to this as well, but I like the looks of your LR setup. Damn now I'm looking at mine, and wishing I had picked out better pieces.....

 

Good luck and keep us updated.

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Thanks guys! :) my batteries in my camera are almost dead, so I'll charge them and take a few side shots tomorrow. I love the scape myself, but the rocks are touching the glass on both sides and it would be impossible to clean the glass there. :(

 

I'll take a rock or two back tomorrow, then do some rearranging and have some new pics!

 

I'm really excited and I sit in front of the tank hoping to see some sort of movement and I see nothing.

 

oh well, more tomorrow! :P

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Well this morning I redid my rock work and I don't like it as much as the first layout but I really have no choice if I want to keep the sides clean with the magfloat. I took out two of the larger rocks so I figure that will be around 4lbs so I have about 6 or 7lbs in the tank. The fiji rock cost me $7/lb which is a pretty good price for cured rock. I'm also having them test my hydrometer because I think it's off. I also got a big ball of Chaeto for my soon-to-be fuge in the back but someone on here told me that it will never live because my tank hasn't even cycled yet so I'll take that back too ($9).

 

*sniff* my tank seems so empty right now!

 

I'll post pics when I get back. :)

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Okay - just got back from the LFS and they returned my rock - no problem! I took some pics of my new layout - not as exciting as the first layout:

 

fulllayout.jpg

 

 

fulllayout2.jpg

 

 

 

leftside.jpg

 

 

 

rightside.jpg

 

 

 

Heres a closeup of my rock - it's got some interesting color to it!

 

closeuprock.jpg

 

 

 

My salinity was reading wayyy high (1.028) so since it was store-bought natural ocean water, I was going to take my hydrometer down and have them test it, but stupid me forgot it at home. :angry:

 

 

My temp is reading 80 right now so that's good. <br>

 

Now just sitting back (well actually with my nose against the glass) and waiting for a sign of life! :D

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Ditch the hydrometer and get a refactormeter.

Scaping looks good.

 

Thanks! yeah, I figure that's what I'll do here soon. Especially since I'm planning on having a lot of soft corals.

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Nice tank so far Kimberly. It looks like some of the rock is resting on the glass on the sides. You might want to consider making a little gap between the rock and the glass, if for no other reason than to make it much easier to clean the glass once you start getting livestock and are unable to move the rocks then. Algae can and will accumulate to where you can't get to it without moving the rock. All you need is enough room for a Magfloat to fit between in. :)

 

With books and a decent test kit, you should be good to go for livestock in no time at all. Just keep ontop of your water testing until your tank is cycled (well keep it up after then too, lol!). Don't worry about high salinity right now since the tank is cycling. But do check your hydrometer at least against a properly calibrated refractometer so that you know where on yours the right salinity will register at. It's a way of calibrating your hydrometer. Also have your LFS maybe test your water salinity next time you go back just to be sure of what it's at. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress! :)

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Nice tank so far Kimberly. It looks like some of the rock is resting on the glass on the sides. You might want to consider making a little gap between the rock and the glass, if for no other reason than to make it much easier to clean the glass once you start getting livestock and are unable to move the rocks then. Algae can and will accumulate to where you can't get to it without moving the rock. All you need is enough room for a Magfloat to fit between in. :)

 

With books and a decent test kit, you should be good to go for livestock in no time at all. Just keep ontop of your water testing until your tank is cycled (well keep it up after then too, lol!). Don't worry about high salinity right now since the tank is cycling. But do check your hydrometer at least against a properly calibrated refractometer so that you know where on yours the right salinity will register at. It's a way of calibrating your hydrometer. Also have your LFS maybe test your water salinity next time you go back just to be sure of what it's at. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress! :)

 

Thanks Phixion - yeah, that's why I redid my landscaping because my magfloat would have never fit on the sides. Now I made sure there is 1-1.5inch gap along the sides of the rock for easier cleanup.

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Wow i love the rockwork! love the big ledge.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I tried to find some flat pieces to have some nice spot for zoas

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Thanks Phixion - yeah, that's why I redid my landscaping because my magfloat would have never fit on the sides. Now I made sure there is 1-1.5inch gap along the sides of the rock for easier cleanup.

 

Definitely makes a nice differance. :)

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Okay so it's been 2.5 days, and nothing so far. lol. yeah, I know I have to be PATIENT but it's driving me nuts because I want something interesting to happen. I haven't even spotted a movement! It's kinda frustrating if you ask me. :(

 

Currently I haven't turned by back chambers into a fuge yet. I left the stock filter in there for now along with the floss until my tank cycles, then I'll upgrade the pump. I bought a minijet 606 but I'm not sure if that's good enough for the soft corals. I also had to special order a new nozzle if I wanted to upgrade the pump so I ordered a hydor flo nozzle - I think it was around $11. The pump was around $22. I also cannot find a submersible light ANYWHERE. They did have a "spotlight" kit at the LFS for about $25 that had two small spotlights and color lenses but I wanted something real simple and cheaper like an x-mas tree light bulb so I found a sight that sells a good one that someone posted on their forum:

 

http://www.discount-pumps.biz/pond-lights.htm

 

I think it'll work perfectly and I think its a little easier than razor-scraping the black paint off the back.

 

I decided against putting the LR in the back. I'm too nervous of the consequences.

 

I also tried looking for a refractometer on craigslist and no results - so I guess I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and order one. Does anyone know of a good place to get one? I might try ebay.

 

Well more later - I'll post if I see any form of life! :)

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Okay, I'm a little aggrivated today. I tested my water with my hydrometer last night and it read 1.027 so I took out 2 cups of water and added distilled water. plus I added another 2 cups of distilled for top-off. and this morning my hydrometer read 1.030. Piece of crap hydrometer. So I redid it again and it said 1.024. My temperature has been at a steady 80 degrees. So yes, I'm going to order a refractometer today so I don't have to worry about it any more. I noticed on my LR that some of the nice bright green coraline algae (is that what its called?) is turning dark in some spots :( what does this mean? Is it dying? Plus not one thing is happening in my tank. Everything is looking the same since day one. Plus not one sign of life which I'm a little sad about.

 

So when I get my Refractometer, how do I calibrate it - as it says to do?

 

And I also heard about getting a digital ph reader is a good idea. does anyone know a good place to get one?

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Okay I just bought my refractometer and digital ph monitor for my tank - both with a warranty so that's good. Plus I also bought my submersible light for my fuge and total cost was around $100 including tax and shipping.

 

 

Jeez, now I'm REALLY broke and it'll probably be a LONG time before I can get any livestock.

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That's ok, patience is key. ;) You'll be amazed how off a hydro is once you get the refracto. Most will say calibrate with RO water, but you might want to get some 35ppt calibration solution to be extra sure as cheaper refractos can tend to be off due to the lense manufacturing process and accuracy of the instrument.

 

Where did you manage to find a pH meter so cheap?? I'd like to have one!

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That's ok, patience is key. ;) You'll be amazed how off a hydro is once you get the refracto. Most will say calibrate with RO water, but you might want to get some 35ppt calibration solution to be extra sure as cheaper refractos can tend to be off due to the lense manufacturing process and accuracy of the instrument.

 

Where did you manage to find a pH meter so cheap?? I'd like to have one!

 

Where can I get this calibration solution and how do I use it???

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I'd like to say that I saw my first form of life when I got home late this evening (around midnight) I have my moonlights on now, and I sat and stared into the tank and low and behold, was a small caterpillar type thing, about as long as a tiny gnat or tiny black ant and it was kinda clear and didn't have any color. When I flicked on the light it looked just like a tiny little caterpillar or something. Wonder what it was? It'll probably grow huge and eat my future fish knowing my luck. :P

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Where can I get this calibration solution and how do I use it???

 

I haven't purchased any myself having 30ppt solution that came with the Digi-Lab digital salinity meter I have, but I do believe you could get some from Marine Depot or Dr Foster Smith. It's basically the same stuff that's used for calibrating pinpoint meters. Here's a link to it on Marine Depot. Thanks for the link to the pH meter, Kimberly! :)

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