Hey everyone!

I am in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and have been lurkin on the site (awesome!) and a few others for a while now. I can't wait (but will) to get a SW tank up and running. I recently had the opportunity to buy a used BioCube 14 with the nanotuners 3.24w lighting upgrade. The overflow from chamber 1 to chamber 2 has also been modded.

Game plan is LR, LS, some softies and a few LPS.

I am taking this slow and will definitely keep you guys updated.

I want to get the tank cycling for a month or so now.

QUESTIONS:

1) I need new 24w PC bulbs. From reading are 2 50/50s and 1 Actinic sufficient? Any other thoughts?

2) I was planing: Chamber 1--> stock filter w/ heater, Chamber 2 --> LR rubble, Chamber 3 --> MJ900 (I would rather the MJ1200 but general consensus is that it runs too hot). Any other suggestions? What is this PhosBan, ChemiPure and/or Cheato I keep reading about? Do you recommend adding it?

Those are pretty much my questions for now ... I do appreciate your help. I am SO excited!

Thanks!

Welcome neighbor...I am just across the river outside the Big D. I have had a biocube 14 for about 4 months now. I am running the MJ900 wih a hydor flo attachment, live rubble in chamber 2. I got rid of the stock filter...too expensive and hard to find. Instead I have my heater, a bag of purigen and a bag of carbon in chamber 1. On top of chamber 2 I have some filter floss(you can get a big bag for $4). you might want to get rid of the sponge in the bottom of 3 whee the intake is. As soon as I can afford it I intend to add the nanotuners lighting upgrade. I would go with the 1 10,000k 1 actinic 1 50/50 on the bulbs.....good luck!

Thanks RoyalOak .. where do you shop in the Big D? I love Tropicorium in Romulus and Oceans and Seas near the 94 and 696 .... Aquatic Discoveries in Sterling Heights is kewl to walk through as well.

How do you find the water flow with the MJ900 and hydor Flo? Do you wish you had more? What are you keeping in your tank?

check out how people have been turning the filter sections into mini refugiums. natural filtration will always out-compete man made filtration. unless of course you are up to the daunting task of cleaning out your filters daily...

for the lights, your choices seem good. personally, i'd get 2 actinic and 1 50/50. nothing beats blue. either that or i'd toss the hood and get MH. lol

lets see some pics!

Tim

Careful with shopping in the states HoomHow. I'm sure you already know about the hefty duty we pay, CITES, and more than a few warranty issues Canadians have had shopping in the south.

I'd go 2 50/50K and the 03. If you like a bit whiter look go 1 10K, 1 50/50, and an 03 for sunrise/set. Depending on the exact coral this may be more than enough.

Thanks guys, I will have pics up when I can. The tank is currently sitting outside filled with water as I check for leaks --> none! Time to go shopping

I definitely know about the hassles of border crossing ... I mean, wow! Ok, 'nuff said.

I will have to check out the difference between using 2 actinics and one 50/50 vs. one of each .... sounds pretty much like a personal preference and since this is tank #1 .... I wonder if my LPS has two tanks set up with the different lightening ....


Ok, I saw someone's AWESOME thread on modding the 2nd chamber of a BC14 to add a 13w compact florecent light (shaving the back, electrical box, velcro, etc.) and that looked amazing... my questions .... with the Chaeto, do we grow it to remove nutrients and then throw out pieces of it as it grows? ... I am kinda lost on that one .... any 'splanations?

Thanks all!

PS - Supahtim -- MH is not quite in bag just yet ... give me a year

You can use chaeto, xenia, or GSP to polish the water and remove the excess nutrients. When you prune it either sell it off or toss it. Usually there is always some wanting cheap coral or free macro.

make sure you take your time and do your reasearch

some people think it's better to learn from your own mistakes but it's smart to learn from others... I did alot of reasearch and I'm just waiting for the funds to get my baby up and going... I am doing a pico for the mean time

I am looking forward to see your tank getting started

welcome!! from a fellow ontarian. I'm about 2 hrs down the 401. Sounds like u are off to a good start. Look forward to seeing your setup. Keep up with the research you will find it invaluable. People here are very helpful.

Alright, pics to follow soon. My shopping is complete.

For lights I have 3x24w. One 10,000k (Coralife) , one 50/50 (Coralife), and one actinic (Ocean Blue)... hmmm, does brand matter? we shall soon find out .... seems 24w PCs are in high demand at my local LFSs

Bought a MJ900 to replace the stock along with a HydorFLO.

API test kit. Bottle of AragaMILK (Calcium & Buffer liquid --> in place of Purple UP!)

Also got a 15lbs bag of Aragalite sand and 4 lbs of LS from 2 difference live tanks. (Didn't put the entire 15lbs bag in though, maybe half .. I will wait till it clears to see how much to add.)

Put the LR in, then the LS then the SW which I bought 10G of plus 5G of RO water.

THEN I FREAKED OUT! I was so worried that the LR would dry out and hitchhikers would die that I put it all in and then added the SW not thinking that the SW was currently room temp! (around 72-74). Well, we shall see if anything survived I guess.

Ended up buying too much LR. When the tank clears I will post pics to see what you guys think. I will probably crush the extra up to add to the 2nd Chamber.



Now, just waiting ... and watching!


(and now I can't find the cable to hook my digital cam up to the comp... grrrrr.....)

Hmm, the water is pretty darn clear this morning. found one aiptasia a couple small seastars(??) and one brown "slug" ....

anyone have any idea what it may be? if I lifted up a rock outside I'd swear i'd find the same thing. 1/2cm brown and crawls around like a snail (without a shell i think)

nanotuners fans are making a lot of noise.... I may have to replace .... currently they are EverCool 50x10mm I believe ... any thoughts ....?

I will take tests later today and posts. Thanks for your interest and help!

Alright, brief update. As I posted on another thread I am having a heckuva hard time setting up my aquascape to my liking ... I keep fiddling with it! Grrr ... I think I am going to bust up the largest pieces and try again ... am I doing any damage to my hitchhikers?

Also, my tank is running a little hot I think ... daytime temp with 1 50/50, 1 10,000K and 1 actinic is about 82.7 degrees .... night time with just the lunar lights is 79 .... is this a problem>? I do have a MJ900 running. I am thinking of putting in new fans ... the old ones (used) is making a lot of noise.

Parameters are well and good I believe ... bought premade saltwater from LFS, PH = 8.2, minimal nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia for day 2.

Can't find the stupid cord still to hook up my digicam to my computer. GRRRR!

The temp swing is a bit of an issue, and 82 is too hot for my liking. Replace the fans, they may not be pushing enough air and causing a bit of this problem.

Welcome, fellow canuck. I am in T-Dot with a BC14 that's been up for about a year with lots of mods (and mistakes). There is always a trade-off with upgrading lights and heat issues - especially with the lid down. There will be consequences for each mod that you make. I went for the nano-tuners in-hood MH upgrade and I finally surrendered and bought a chiller to battle the temperature spikes.


--bubbles

Alright, new update ... with pics. Day 4 I think?

Temp ... problem ... runs about 82.5 during the day with the lights on.... sometimes 82.9 .... yikes ....

Question: should I set the thermometer to 82 to eliminate the temp swings? Or try to lower the temps altogether? I probably will replace the old fans (Nanotuners EverCool)

PH: 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrates: 0
Nitrates: 40

Sound good?

Pics -- sorry for the poor quality ... I dropped the cam one too many times and need to get it fixed ..

Pic of the sandy dusty water .... this was so frustrating! hard to set up the rocks ;-)

Here's where it sits in my living room ....

THis is the final setup I think.... It is kind of "mountain" like but with a trench/cave in the middle (you can kinda see it in the next shot)What do you think?(first tank, would like ideas)And yes, it is stable.

Top down view ...

Also, my lighting cycle is Actinics on at 11am and off at 11pm... 50/50 and 10,000K on at noon and off at 9pm ....

Does this sound about right ..?

Added the Hydor FLO nozzle .... seems to add different flow ... anyone have any thoughts on this device?

Temp still around 82

ACK!!!!! Got home from work today and the temp was 93!!!!!!! CRAAAAAAAAPPPP!!! Seems the heater got stuck(??) and just didn't turn off ..... Right now the lid is open and a fan blowing across .... I hope it helps ...



I HOPE I DIDN"T KILL ANY OF MY LITTLE GUYS! (i.e. hitchhikers, pods, bacteria, etc ...) What do you think?

^^

Alright, one week has come and gone. I have realized that yes, my heater is broken. I am off to get a new one tomorrow. On the plus side I have noticed a little white and brown crab making a home under one of my rocks.... going to try to identify it this week. Also have seen a few pods moving about as well as some slug-like creatures (that have a "fingernail" like shell on their back) ... I think they are the good guys ...

On the down side, when I first set up the reef (before the temperature fluctuations) I saw 5-10 little starfish, brownish ones on the rocks and whitish ones moving on the glass .... I have yet to see them again ....

I am waiting for my diatom blooms ...

Till next time :-)

6-8 hours of light is all that is needed. 12 is waaaaaaay too much.

hydor flo is a great idea

and yeah... looks like it's time for a new camera. lol the tank does look great though. nice aquascape!

Tim

Thanks SupahTim ;-)

As of right now, I just installed two brand new EverCool exhaust fans ... Don't know much about them 50mmX10mm and there are more fan blades than on the previous EverCool ones from nanotuners (which were old and very creaky) ... Very quiet now, I like it :-)

So, we will see what this does to my heat levels.... anyone know if more fan blades are better than fewer big blades? I dunno ...

Will test water shortly ... ;-)

Operation: CrabCatch is now in full swing.

After mulling over many of the threads on nano-reefs I have decided that the cute little crab that hitchhiked on one of my pieces of LR is going to have to go .... better to catch him now that find out he is a killer a little later on ..... The general consensus it seems is that for a peaceful reef, one should do without a crab (seems, in most cases, emeralds as well)

So, with a glass tumbler in hand and a frozen spat of brine shrimp I set the trap up. Right out side his hole. Now we wait ....... hmmmm, I hope he likes shrimp ...... my wife said it looked like a boullion cube ... Mmmmm, shrimp boullion .....


I now lie in wait ......

Ok, still no crab in my trap ... I see him .... I may have to spear him .... we shall see tomorrow ... patience

On a 2nd note, here are my parameters on Day 8

ph --> 8.4
Ammonia --> 0
Nitrite --> 0
Nitrate --> 20

I used well cured live rock, and 15lbs LS with about 4lbs LS from two difference existing tanks .... Are my levels as they should be? I am beginning to see hair algae growing on the glass and some on the rocks ....

I plan on waiting it out ... some sand appears to be turning brown, thats about it ....

How about some feedback?

the brown algae should be the first part of your cycle, diatoms, and maybe the cycle will take care of that crab for ya.

Like the aquascaping, just make sure it is nice and secure.

Did you end up trimming back your light cycle? Hair algae this early in your tanks life is scarry IMO What is your water source?

Yes, actinics are now on from 2 till 10 and 50/50 are on from 3 till 9 .... I removed th 10K for now as I try to work out my heater issue .....

Ok, maybe it is not hair algae .... little LITTLE tufts of green grass-like individual pieces on the glass ... I will look more into it ....

Water source is RO topoff and premixed SW from an LFS.


And thanks for the compliments on the aqua scaping. It is secure although from time to time I wonder if I should glue it in ....

Alright, now crab-less (and probably a few pods-less as well). After trying the tilted glass with brine shrimp at the bottom in front of the crab hole to no avail, I broke down and pulled out the rock .... a couple squeezes of ice cold FW from the turkey baster, a couple shakes and out he came. I will try and grab a pic .... blackish body, red eyes -- don't really care, he is a crab

So I rearranged the live rock a bit because of this ....i don't know if I like it as well, we shall see .... also, the left over brine shrimp is now floating in the BioCube ... If this rotting doesn't kick start the cycle, i don't know what will ....

To infinity!

Here are some pics (really crappy I know --- remember? broken camera, still not fixed) sorry


One is of the crab, currently eating his last meal in a bucket (salmon pieces)


The other is of the new aquascape ... any thoughts?


Thanks!

I was wondering, do you guys feel I should build my LR up higher? Or leave it and let future corals grow up?

You lr looks great. I think I would leave the height alone and use frags to take it higher if you want to.

CRAP! another crab .... this one I KNOW is a bad guy .... smaller than the last but I can see is dark black pointy claws poking out of a hole ....


Ok, two glass in the tank on their side, this time with a piece of frozen salmon at the bottom (as opposed to brine shrimp) ...


Now I lie in wait .......



Aside from that, tested yesterday
ph 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20

Going to take a water sample in for testing as soon as I can locate a decent LFS ......

Alright, as of today, still have the crab ... i left one shot glass with salmon still in the tank .... not too sure which hole he is hiding in at the moment .... GRRRRRR


Went to the LFS to have my parameters checked ...

pH 8.0
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20

SG 1.025-1.026

He used the Aquarium Pharmacies test for the above and a hydrometer for the SG.... is that normal (to use tests and a hydrometer that I can use myself at home)? Not exactly a SW store mind you ... don't think I will go back ...

But I am glad to see my Ammonia spike ... I will keep an eye on it and if it gets much higher I will do a partial water change to soft cycle ...... ALTHOUGH, if I did a hard cycle it may kill the crab, wouldn't it? Would the 'pods' and worms and things also die????

Thanks :-)

just let your aquarium cycle. don't do any water changes during the cycle. it will screw up the cycle and make it last a lot longer than normal.

i hope you didn't pay the guy at the store to test your aquarium with AP kits and a hydrometer..

Tim

Absolutely not!!! I dunno, I think he charges more for the university crowd here in town....

What tests do they normally use? I assume at least a refractometer ....


Do you think the 'pods will be killed off by the high level of ammonia?


Thanks SuphaTim!

sadly, the first law of reef keeping is that nothing ever kills the things you don't want.

Alright, the crab is here by REMOVED!!! Speared with a pair of scissors

I did, however, find a MASSIVE worm ... no word yet on the kind ... really pink and centipede like ... do bristleworms with grey bodies lose the grey as they get older? This thing has to be at least 10 inches long ... very very sensitive to light.... crazy ... i will leave him for now ...

check mine out!

haha yay! the worm is probably either a bristle worm or a fireworm. both very beneficial.

your observations of your new aquarium is making me want to start up another one..

Tim

Thanks guys.

DarkLyte ... how about an update on your tank? Looks good :-)

Thanks Supah ... it is one GIGANTIC worm ... hidin out now ...

Still waiting for the inlaws camera ... I will get you guys some shots! This is EXCITING!

i will have a update soon.. there hasnt been much because i just moved back to the bay area last month and settled in with a new job. i am going to Hong Kong in 2 weeks for a week so after all that is done i will prob get a yellow watchman goby and a new cleaner shrimp

Alright, tomorrow is Week 4 and all my params are 0, well Nitrates are 20 but a water change will fix that. Went out and bought my CUC. Let me tell you, it is very exciting to have something moving in there other than 'pods and a few small star hitchhikers.

So, here is what we have ...

1 small pep shrimp -- whom the wife named "Dave" (pretty funny cause he likes to hide and a frequent comment is "Where's Dave" and my reply, "Dave's not here man") lol

3 Nasarius snails
1 Cerinth (and one baby Cerinth hitchhiker)
2 small blue legged hermits
1 small zebra hermit
1 margarita snail
1 Asterna(sp?) snail

All in all I am happy. Just takin it slow ... ;-)

Plans for purchasing in two weeks include a small (hopefully female) emerald crab, a few more Cerinths, a few scarlet hermits, a small fire shrimp, a small skunk cleaner.

Any thoughts on which to add first? corals or fish?

My fish plans are either a) a pair of ocillaris clowns and a yellow watchman goby or
an ocillaris clown, a YWG, and a Banggai Cardinal ....

If ever I get a working camera I will post pics! :-)



Oh, also bought some Chemi-Pure Elite that I will start adding in the next few days as well as a few pieces of LR rubble with some nice Coraline algae on it to hopefully "seed" my LR.

Congrats on the next phase of your tank. It is cool to finally have something to watch that is active.


I think adding corals first is best. The bioload added to the tank is much smaller w/ corals and it will also limit the amount of food/waste you are putting into your nano. This will give your tank plenty of time to develop and prepare for the bioload of fish and regular feedings.

Kewl, thanks Tudizzle ... I was kinda thinkin along the same lines .... well, ok, maybe I am just excited to see some purdy colours in my tank ;-)

Update: Hopefully I will steal my inlaws' camera to show you some pics in the very near future! Stolen! YEAH!

FTS - Nov 1, 2007


Params:

temp 79 degress (pretty darn constant)
Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-20 with a full 4 gallon water change done a few days ago

Alright, two days ago I added some fun things to my tank ....

SWMBO and I liked our feather duster so much that we bought another ;-) LOVE IT!


I was really trying to hold back and be patient but the LFS had a Yellow Watchman Gobie for $4.99 -- bought it. The first few hours after I acclimated him he looked a little grey but I read that they sometimes do that when stressed .... 2 days later (today) he is very happy, eating and bright yellow with some neon blue specks in his cheeks -- so cool! He is named "Mick" (as in Jagger) becuase of his HUMONGOUS lips! lol

Also picked up a skunk clear whom SWMBO named "Flower" --> remember Bambi? Yes, the skunk didn't mind being called flower.
Flower


Dave - Peppermint Shrimp



I got a great deal from a local reefer on some zoa frags although I think one is a palythoa (no matt, just a head)
???


Same kind, different rock


- neon green zoa



- one flourescent orange zoa (with some GSP growing WAY TOO CLOSE -- see thread on what I should do about this) -- both are growing out of a purple coloured "mat", with one darker than the other.



- one flourescent green harry mushroom -- very cool


- one stalk of pulsing xenia -- again, very cool and already pulsing wildly.


- also I think they are the palythoa, but they have an extended stalk (head) with the actual disc on top. Orange tentacles and outer ring with a neon green center.


- and one awesome Yellow Polyp colony



So, all in all, I love my tank and am very excited. I have some issues with getting the neon green zoas to attach but I will play around with that when I get home. Edit - you can see the elastic band.

If anyone can ID any of the zoas/palys that would be GREAT!

Thanks again for your help. I know the pics make things more interesting ;p

pretty exciting! it is so scary buying things for the first time! I dont want to kill anything or mess it up. I glues a rock of neon green star polyp to another rock last night...pretty crazy.

Ha Ha! Stole the inlaw's camera! ;-)

first their daughter now their camera...hahaha


Nice new editions. I really like feather dusters too but they never show up around here.


looks like button polyps in the 5-6th pics. They can grow pretty fast and overtake some stuff so keep an eye on um

If you want to try and id you zoas check out zoaid.com. I prefer to make up my own names.

looking good!

Wow HoomHow, I am really tired right now but it took me a solid 10 seconds to realize that there wasn't actually a bug on my LCD, it was just your avatar!!

Oh, and nice tank!

Nov 9th, 2007 ... Alright, done shopping for a while. Got some great deals with local traders/hobbyists. Thanks guys! As always, let me know what you think about selection and placement in the tank. As a newb I am bound to make some mistakes but I am definitely willing to learn from them. (Hopefully they are limited by the amount of reading/learning/searching I have done...)

Tank Params

Temp 79 degrees
Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 (yes, going to do a WC however I am having issues with a 2nd NEW stealth heater I bought) GRRR!
Lighting: 3 X 24w PC (one 50/50, one 10K, one actinic)


LIVESTOCK
1 peppermint shrimp "Dave"
1 skunk cleaner "Flower"
1 Yellow Watchman Goby "Mick"

FTS


Left Side


Right Side


Top Down with ID


Zoo Rock with feather duster, yellow polyps, and others ;-) Love this pic.


Frogspawn and "Flower"


ID??? SafeCracker Zooz?


Blasto M, Strped Grn Mush and Nuclear Greens


Caulastrea and Xenia


Sinularia


Whammin Watermelons?


Mick and his blue dots


Mick in his cave




Thanks for lookin'! and Thanks for your help!

Alright, params as of today:

Temp: 79 degrees
Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10

If you caught some of my other threads I was kinda of panicky the last few days ...

1) My sinularia was drooping --> better now, as perky as ever

2) My Striped Green Mushrooms looked like they had patches of grey "dead" matter on it --> nope, much better now ... I believe it was the adjustment from a MH light to PC .. they are happier

3) Still watching this one -- my Green hairy mushroom developed a HOLE where his mouth used to be ... someone suggested that it was splitting ... hmmm, I can kinda see that .... He looks healthy other than the hole which IS getting bigger and DOES look like he will break into two ... I dunno ... any suggestions?





Thanks to everyone who helped ease my mind ... geesh, wait till my wife and I have kids! lol

very nice man..i like the names of ur inverts and fish hah