Diving in, lots of questions (Biocube 29)

[Coelli]

Hi everyone, newbie here - I have kept freshwater systems in the long ago past, mostly cichlids, but haven't ever had a saltwater system. Back in my fishkeeping days the general consensus was that if you were going to go saltwater, you had to go big. I can see we've come a long way since then. For some reason recently I got the saltwater bug and knowing that technology has advanced to the point where small reef systems are possible I'm jumping in.

 

I just picked up a Biocube 29 from Craigslist, with a stand chock full of stuff (scrapers, a full bag of reef salt, an Accli-mate, a couple of pounds of live rock rubble, extra heaters, power strip with two timers, tubing, test kit, hydrometer, tons of other stuff, even bags of cable ties). Basically the couple had two reef tanks but shut them down about a year and a half ago when they were getting married and moving into a new house. Other than the water and livestock and a few odds and ends this was a huge head start for a really good price.

 

The canopy had been upgraded to a Nanocustoms LED system with a Trio 700 driver. Does anyone know what model/system this is so I can try to find out more about it? It also had the little 5-LED moonlight tube but it's not installed; is it worth putting in?

 

 

The live rock rubble looks pretty clean to my untrained eye. It's been dry for at least 18 months. Is there anything I should do other than pop it in the tank when I start to cycle it? Anything I should watch out for - does algae survive that long?

 

The sand bed is still in the tank; I figured I'd remove all of it (it's about 1.5" deep), rinse it, and only put about half of it back. Before it goes in I'll scrape the back of the tank and vacuum out the stuff that comes off.

 

I know I should remove the false bottoms and cut the tab between the first two chambers. I haven't decided yet about filtration media - was thinking about sticking the LR rubble in the middle chamber but I guess there's difference of opinion on whether that's the way to go or whether to use a different type of medium.

 

How thoroughly should I clean the tank out...? Or should I just take the sand out, clean it, put it back in, fill it with water, and not worry too much about it?

 

I'm sucking down knowledge as fast as I can and won't be thinking about livestock for a while, but I want to try to get a good start with what I have, even if it's a nearly empty tank cycling for a while.

 

Thanks!!

[seabass]

The live rock rubble looks pretty clean to my untrained eye. It's been dry for at least 18 months. Is there anything I should do other than pop it in the tank when I start to cycle it?

 

You might soak it in a bucket of vinegar solution. Then use a vegetable brush to brush it off in a bucket of clean RO water.

 

The sand bed is still in the tank; I figured I'd remove all of it (it's about 1.5" deep), rinse it, and only put about half of it back.

 

I'd just get all new sand.

 

Before it goes in I'll scrape the back of the tank and vacuum out the stuff that comes off.

 

Again, I'd run a vinegar solution in the tank to loosen any deposits. Then you can scrape and rinse it all out..

 

I know I should remove the false bottoms and cut the tab between the first two chambers. I haven't decided yet about filtration media - was thinking about sticking the LR rubble in the middle chamber but I guess there's difference of opinion on whether that's the way to go or whether to use a different type of medium.

 

Keep the live rock in the display. Live rock in the back chambers won't add much to the filtration, but will trap detritus. I suggest an inTank media basket: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-29_c16.htm

[Dramad1]

I 2nd the media basket. Can go wrong there, fuge basket is also avail. After you get it all cleaned up, I would do a leak test just to be sure its holding water.

[boogly]

I can't help with any information on the Nanocustoms LED lights but the 5-LED moonlight tube sounds like the R2 Solutions Extreme LED Moonlight and to me personally it would be worth installing if you're planning on keeping corals. The moonlight will make the colors "pop" in that 70's blacklight poster way.

 

Also, if you decide to remove all the coralline algae off the back of the tank, an old credit card or gift card can be your friend in addition to that vinegar soak.

 

Oh and lastly, I would suggest replacing your hydrometer with a refractometer. They're easier to read and more precise but I bet you've already read that. Welcome to the saltwater side =)

[Coelli]

Thanks guys. For the vinegar soak in the tank, do I fill it with a vinegar/water solution and let it run for a while?

 

The InTank basket (I might just go for the basket/fuge/guard bundle) is on my wish list. I've already got a refractometer and Koralia in my cart at Amazon along with some odds and ends. I'll head to my LFS today just to check it out and see what they have in the way of water, although a RODI system is on my wishlist too.

 

Tested all of the lighting and it works, but I still need to figure out how bright to set them, how long to have them on, etc. At this rate it feels like it'll be months before anything alive goes in the tank but I want to avoid making too many mistakes at first - though I'm sure there will still be many. I apologize in advance to my future livestock.

[Poker11]

I would not buy anything at this point. For example you don't need a refractometer, hydrometer will work fine for you at this stage (just clean it in a little vinegar) , you don't need the media basket. However, you do need a source of RO/DI water. Without RO/DI water you won't do well.

 

Your main media is going to be your live rock. Not just he rubble but the actual display rock in the tank.

 

 

http://www.reefcleaners.org/ or bulkreefsupply both have good dry live rock if you want to go down that route.. The first live stuff you will put in is going to be a clean up crew, and reefcleaners has the best I've found.

 

Setting your lights, don't worry about that. You will set that to the actual corals need once you get to that stage, but before that you will just start to grow coraline and that does not need that much for 4-5h.day During cycling you don't need lights or you will grow lots of nuisance algae.

[seabass]

Thanks guys. For the vinegar soak in the tank, do I fill it with a vinegar/water solution and let it run for a while?

Yeah, I'd run it for about an hour to help loosen everything up. Remember, don't get vinegar on anything else (it is a weak acid, and will ruin the finish on floors and such).

[Coelli]

Thanks again for the replies! One of my first purchases is going to be a RO/DI system as I know it's going to save a lot of hassle and pay for itself. The tank is up and running now on my kitchen floor with vinegar and tap water; everything looks good, no leaking and the pump is nice and quiet. Yay! I also removed the tab between the first & second chambers and removed the false floor in #2. #1 was so dirty I couldn't tell if it comes out or not so I'll look again later. I have some filter medium in the tray in #2 just to catch some of the bigger crap.

 

Nano Reefer, I think you're right and that's the same light. It sounds like something I'm definitely going to want to install. Only 3 of the LEDs work but I'll see if it's possible to get in there and fix/replace them (hopefully just a bit of solder). If not, I bet it will still be an improvement with the 3 of them.

 

It may be silly but I'm pretty excited about the cleanup crew.. I could watch those guys work for hours in my friend's tank.

 

Off to the LFS later to see if they have a good RO/DI system, if not I'll order online. I'll try not to get carried away though I remember what it was like with FW... bad enough!

 

Addit: Forgot to mention the dead live rock is also in the tank in a bowl so it can get some of that vinegar love too!

[seabass]

Off to the LFS later to see if they have a good RO/DI system, if not I'll order online.

Check out this one: http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System