As my description states, this is my first ever attempt at a saltwater tank. It's also my first ever post on this forum. I would like to say thank you to everyone on this forum from whom I've learned so much, and also to apologize in advance for when I ask redundant questions.

Tonight, after some thought, I purchased a BioCube 29 and stand. I realize I could have gotten better equipment and lights if I had assembled a tank piece by piece, but this being my first ever attempt at saltwater I wanted to keep things simple. Well, sorta simple. I am going to remove the false bottom in chamber 1 and put my heater there. For now I am removing the bioballs and will be using filter floss and carbon. I am keeping the stock pump and adding a koralia nano that I already have. The lighting will also be stock because I do not plan to attempt very light demanding corals.

Now for my questions:

1. How many people here use GFCI? Specifically the shockbuster outlets sold online. I have kept
freshwater tanks for years without using GFCI using drip loops and common sense. Are they important
because most reef tanks require alot of power for the equipment or is it the saltwater itself? Am I
putting myself at risk by plugging into a regular outlet until I get one next week?

2. What is considered the minimum depth of sandbed in a nano for a goby/shrimp pair? Also, how much
live sand should be used to seed bags of "live" sand?

3. I had originally planned on ordering rock from premium aquatics. However, one of my lfs that I really
like sells live rock and they say they will cut it to my specifications. Basically I bring them a picture of
rockscapes that I like and they will do their best to replicate it. The downside of this is that I don't like
the look of their rock. It looks nothing like internet pictures of live rock. They assure me it's fully
cured and full of beneficial organisms, but there is no coraline or growth of any kind. I can see no
signs of life in the tubs they have this in. It looks to me like wet base rock. I would hate to screw up
the most important filtration in my tank just to have it my way. Thoughts?

4. I have read where people use purigen and phosban. Is this something that should be added during or
after the initial cycle?

I ordered 15lbs of cured Bali Alor live rock from Premium Aquatics. I am very pleased with it's appearance. I only wish I had ordered more. I have played around with the rockscape until I decided I needed some more height. Tonight I went to one of my lfs who had premium fiji rock. It's so different than the Alor that I only got a 2.5 lb piece to see how I could fit it in. But I did pick up some hitchhikers with it. Pics below, will someone please identify? I actually have 2 of the first pic that I can see, but this one is the biggest. BTW, it looks like slime when the rock is out of water. I'm also trying to post a full tank shot but I am having trouble getting it below 1 mb.

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Here is a full tank shot. I think it should be taller to allow for more light loving corals in the future. At what point does it become detrimental to rearrange rock work?

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looks like you've got a majano anemone (green squishy thing)
the coral looks like a turbinaria peltata or turban coral but I'm prob wrong on this one.
and the green plant looks like halimeda


nice scape, looks really good. I don't think at a particular time it becomes detrimental to move stuff around but how you go about moving it will be the main thing. Just be careful with your livestock, go slow, don't change it up to much in a short time span, and you should be fine.

Welcome aboard... It's gets addicting.. Have fun.. like mentioned above go Slow.. I pays off in the end..

Thanks for the ID. I figured the anemones would be bad news. Although when I searched for majano it seems like some people like them. I will watch them over the weekend but I think I might try Joe's Juice or something to get rid of them. I am too scared of an outbreak of epic proportion. I plan on taking my time with this tank. It took me 5 years to get up the courage to actually try a saltwater tank. I'm scared right now that I will kill my live rock. The thought that I will actually one day have fish and corals in there terrifies me. At the same time I have never been more excited about a fish tank in my life. When I added the fiji rock and noticed the anemones I did a little happy dance, then I realized they were probably pests and had immediate buyer's remorse.

haha welcome to the world of reef. Hope you don't get HOOKED. (: (you already are chs you did a happy dance) Umm for one, I wouldn't worry about your live rock dying. They don't unless you put them in freshwater or you put some weird chemicals in. For your goby/shrimp question, they don't require too much sand depth. I'm sure 2 inches would suffice. With a cube, I'm thinking you could do more. Also, how much is stock lighting wattage?

My tank is 1 week old today. Parameters are as follows:

temp 78.9
ph 8.3
SG 1.026
gH 3.5
ammonia 0
nitrite 0.5
nitrate 20

I need to bring my sg down some, I am thinking of topping off today. My sandbed is approx 2 inches, it's deeper in some places as the sand as settled some. I have more pictures today for IDs. I am starting to really regret buying the fiji rock. I never really researched macro algae until this week and I am scared of the stuff growing on it. The halimeda is turning white. The lfs told me that it needed calcium so it would probably die, but now I am reading that it can go sexual. The red algae I am scared is very invasive. You can see the pods attached to it, is this about to release spores? I have not tried to manually remove anything from the rock because I didn't realize that it might be that bad. I also have counted 5 majanos that look like my previous pics, and there is 1 more that I am 99% is also majano but it isn't doesn't have bubble tentacles. I am researching the best way to proceed but would also like some opinions.Click to view attachment
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Algae pics. Picture 2 is growning on the Alor rock.

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Another algae pic, this is also on the Alor rockClick to view attachment.

2 more pics

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Is that aiptasia in the 2nd pic?

What part of TN. do you live in?

It's generally considered absolutely essential to have GFCI protection AND drip loops, when you're using electricity in proximity to water.



I'm not aware of any particular rule in that regards, but I generally strive for at least 1-2", which is where you are. If you're hoping to quickly seed dead sand with organisms, I've generally had success with just a few cups from a fellow reefers aquarium. If you're purchasing live rock that's relatively "live" it'll will generally seed the sand it's self with time.



Not to disparage any LFS, but their offer seems rather shady.



I typically have always started my chemical filtration after the cycle, since during the cycle you generally want some measurable 'bad' chemicals to spur the growth of different bacteria. Others may have differing views.

Phosban or similar GFO products are great for removing phosphates and reducing the amount of nuisance algae in our aquariums and improving water quality.

I personally don't use Purigen, just run Carbon and GFO/Phosban as chemical filtration. Randy Holmes-Farley has stated that it's possibly beneficial when ran complimentary to carbon. Although it and Chemi-Pure Elite seem to be quite common here.