prdoring Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 5/9/2012 New FTS! Hi all! I have been lurking for some time trying to consider my entry point into nano-reefing. A few weeks back I had the idea to turn one of my fresh water tanks into a nano-reef... then the lurking got serious. After a bit I decided to just say screw it and I ordered a 14g biocube. So my stuff is coming in the mail and I figured I would start my log here. So here is the rundown. What I Have Bought Coralife BioCube PC/LED Fish Tank, 14 Gallons Hydrometer Refractometer (And never looking back) 50W Heater Hydor Koralia Nano 240 Aquarium Circulation Pump, 240 gph API Salt Water Master Kit Hydor FLO deflector Aiptasia X Filter Floss Eggcrate (Media Rack Material) Corrugated Plastic (Media Rack Material) Digital Timer Surge Protector Mods Chamber 1 False Bottom Removal 1/2 Overflow Tab Removal DIY chamber 2 media rack Hydor FLO Planned Mods Mid Chamber fuge Fan Upgrade (If Needed) (~4-6 months from now) DIY led lighting (~4-6 months from now) DIY Ethernet controlled lighting / heat The lighting and Ethernet controller mod will be built sometime in the future (I.E. When I have enough time to build/program the system) I have a really decent LFS close by so I will be buying live rock/sand and any stock from them. Planned Stock 2 Clowns Goby of some description ? Planned Corals Frogspawn Hammer Various Ricordea Various Zoanthid More.. but above is what I know I will be getting. As far as CUC goes... this will depend on LFS stock and the algae/pests I encounter while cycling. I will try to post as many pictures as possible. Even boring ones of boxes showing up, and me hugging the mail man! Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 04-12-2012 Halfway through work my tank arrived! Eight hours later I came home and made the following modifications. Removed False Bottom Removed Balls Removed Sponges Removed flow restricting tab from chamber 1-2 Then I set it up for a wet-test. Everything Is working like a charm! I am super excited for my third monitor. So Saturday morning I will be going down to my LFS to pick up some live rock/sand RO/DI and Premixed H2o and some filter floss. I plan on doing a fuge in chamber 2, so my question is... when in the cycle is a good time to add Chaeto? Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Hey, your plans sound great so far. Only suggestion I have is to ditch the hydrometer and invest in a refractometer. They're only like $50 but are so much more accurate than hydrometers. Add the chaeto a few days to a week after you add your rock. If you add it right away, there won't be any nutrients for it and it could die Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 ditch the hydrometer and invest in a refractometer If LFS is not super overpriced I will pick one up there... If not I will go home and immediately order one Link to comment
louy99 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 i would add the chaeto once your cycle ends. there is no reason to add it that early. are you going to order a media basket? Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 i would add the chaeto once your cycle ends. there is no reason to add it that early. are you going to order a media basket? Actually there is a reason. Chaeto sucks up all the nitrates produced during the cycle and any phosphates that may leach from the rock thus preventing algae outbreaks after the cycle Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 are you going to order a media basket? I will most likely build one I have most of the tools and supplies on hand... just need a lazy Sunday to do it. Link to comment
louy99 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Actually there is a reason. Chaeto sucks up all the nitrates produced during the cycle and any phosphates that may leach from the rock thus preventing algae outbreaks after the cycle oh, i just figured the amonia and nitrite would not be good for it Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 oh, i just figured the amonia and nitrite would not be good for it Algae actually tolerate those quite well. And in the absence of nitrate they will use ammonia as a nitrogen source. I actually cycled my last tank with chaeto and in the few months it's been up, I have not had a single nuisance algae pop up Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Ok! Rock and sand in! Check it out! Pretty nice scape huh! Just kidding... Here it is +2 hours Starting to clear up I guess... Later tonight when it is a bit clearer, I will post a few scape shots for opinions. Also I found this dude on one of my rocks, any idea what it is? Link to comment
banshee Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Welcome to BioCube land. I give it two months before you are wanting to upgrade! Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 14, 2012 Author Share Posted April 14, 2012 Welcome to BioCube land. I give it two months before you are wanting to upgrade! Haha yes, In my fw days I caught a bad case of MTS and upgrade fever. It will take all of my willpower to not to let it get out of had this time For now hopefully the 14 will keep me sane Link to comment
banshee Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 I only say that because we started with a betta on my desk, then a Glofish tank for the kids, then the Biocube SW tank, then a pico SW on my desk. Now I'm running three tanks and wishing for a bigger SW! Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 I only say that because we started with a betta on my desk, then a Glofish tank for the kids, then the Biocube SW tank, then a pico SW on my desk. Now I'm running three tanks and wishing for a bigger SW! Yeah this is my first SW endeavor... If it goes well... I have a 5g sitting in a closet just itching to become a pico... On a side note... does anyone have an ID on whatever that last picture was? Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Give in to MTS!!! I have 4 permanent tanks+a quarantine tank+copepod cultures+guppy breeding bucket+ I take care of my brother's 3 freshwater tanks. MTS FTW!!!! Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 +guppy breeding bucket Ahhh the guppy... those little jerks are what got me into this hobby Natural progression: Small FW->LargeFW->Small Reef-> I'm screwed Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Ahhh the guppy... those little jerks are what got me into this hobby Natural progression: Small FW->LargeFW->Small Reef-> I'm screwed They got me into it too. Now I just breed feeder guppies to feed to my bangaii cardinalfish Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 The tank was a bit clearer this morning, so I was able to get some shots of the scape... What do you guys think?... any suggestions? Link to comment
Quantum Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Looks good just a tad bit cluttered. Imo you could get away with 1 less rock. GOOD LUCK! Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 So the one hitchhiker from earlier turned out to be an aiptasia, I hit it with aiptasia X so hopefully I got it before an outbreak. But heres a new one! Anyone have any idea what this is? Its quite small, and much more green in person. It has a very green center that fades to a brownish green on the tips. Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Also, I moved the scape around some I feel like this has more flow/oredr to it... opinions? Link to comment
banshee Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Is the back left rock one big piece? I think you might like it better if you break it into 2 or 3 pieces so you can make a nicer shape with some caves or an arch, etc. Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Is the back left rock one big piece? I think you might like it better if you break it into 2 or 3 pieces so you can make a nicer shape with some caves or an arch, etc. Yes it is, but the picture is deceiving, It is quite flat, only about a half inch thick so I have it butted up against the back wall to create a sort-of backdrop. Link to comment
hirschy75 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Might wanna think about making a cave and using that flat piece as the roof. Fish love caves and it's a good shelf for corals Link to comment
prdoring Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 OK Did my first water test tonight... the results are strange. PH : 8.0 Amonia : 0 Nitrite : 0 Nitrate : 20ppm Why is my tank reading like it is cycled? Its way to early for this reading... any ideas? Link to comment
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