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My First Saltwater tank. 29G Biocube.


Difrano

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Hi all! After years of stalking saltwater forums and reading and reading and reading, my wife decided to give me a kick start on this hobby (job?), I'm not new to aquarium I had several freshwater in the past and now running a 55G Florida planted aquarium for more than 3 years, its a very low tech self sustaining tank running with 2 HOB filters without any media, just to keep the water flowing, no water changes and DIY led lighting.

 

I like low tech self sustaining tanks, and I will do my best to do this approach on this build. It may crash it might not, I will love any advice you can give me.

 

Today my wife found a brand new Biocube 29G on craigslist for $175, she sent me a text with this words: Contact this guy and buy the tank, its your birthday present, then as I know how expensive this hobby is, this will be my last birthday/fathers day/Christmas present for the next 10 years....

 

So today I arranged to pick it up on Thursday, and then if I survive the craigslist killer, I will update this post as the tank moves forward.

 

FTS Day 5 08/26/2015

 

2015-08-26%2023.25.00_zpsjxeofoqu.jpg

 

FTS Day 2 08/23/2015:

 

Did some auqascaping:

 

2015-08-23%2013.57.34_zpss2kyv6si.jpg

 

 

This is my Status:

 

  • Tank: 29G Biocube.
  • Pump: Stock.
  • Lights: Stock.
  • Powerhead: 1 Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump 425. Soon to be 2.
  • Skimmer: None.
  • Reguge: None.
  • Substrate: 40 Lbs. Arag Alive Fiji Pink.
  • Rock: Cured 15 lbs from LFS. 10+ Lbs uncured from Tampa Bay Saltwater.

Livestock:

 

  • Orange Sponge, I believe it will die.
  • Barnacles, Also believe they will die.
  • 2 small crabs, so far unknown species.
  • 1 small brittle star, same as above.
  • Lots hithickers in the uncured rock.

 

Thank you so much for time and help,

 

PD sorry for any misspelling or broken English, is not my native language.

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For the sandbed I was taught either go 1" or less or 4" or more. I have a deep sandbed and I laid my rocks on top. I have brittle stars and have had pistol shrimps with no problems with the rockwork moving. I do have very heavy dense rock however. I like the DSB because it is virtually maintenance free plus it provides a buffer should a rock fall. Also I like creatures that like sandbeds.

 

Probably soft corals and LPS would be good choices to begin with. They won't require as much monitoring and maintenance and can be beautiful in their own right. Even as an old salt I still prefer them for their gentle flowing and waving...I find it soothing. You might want to consider some macro algaes as well since you have done freshwater planted tanks. Marine macro algaes can be spectacular for adding a splash of color and many are reasonably priced and easy to grow. I think Gulf Coast Ecosystem is not far from you and they have great macros.

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For the sandbed I was taught either go 1" or less or 4" or more. I have a deep sandbed and I laid my rocks on top. I have brittle stars and have had pistol shrimps with no problems with the rockwork moving. I do have very heavy dense rock however. I like the DSB because it is virtually maintenance free plus it provides a buffer should a rock fall. Also I like creatures that like sandbeds.

 

Its is ok to go with 4" on a biocube 29? does it take much real estate?

 

Thanks

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I am thinking that a shallow sandbed is probably better in a biocube for the reason you stated, a DSB would just take up so much of your space. I have a 36g bowfront which is a fairly high tank so I was happy to take up some of that height with the sandbed.

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Hi there! Welcome to NR! I have the same tank and have since upgraded to full LEDs as well as made some additional modifications. Here are my thoughts:

 

  • Good idea to remove the bioballs right away. Here's how I have mine set up: Chamber 1, heater; chamber 2 includes a media basket with floss, purigen, chemipure elite in that order, followed by a skimmer; Chamber 3 includes ATO sensor, return pump and dosing tubes. You may want to think about putting in a basket of some sort that can house at least filter floss to catch detritus etc.
  • The 425 isn't too much. I actually have two running in my display.
  • I don't think 4" would take up too much real estate if you really want to do a DSB. The tank is pretty deep and I still think it will give you plenty of room for vertical growth, but it will cut down on the actual water volume so it could limit the number of fish you can keep.
  • I put a bit of sand in, then my rocks, then the rest of the sand. My sand bed is probably about an inch, 2" at most in certain areas.
  • Regarding water, in the beginning I used Catalina purified ocean water (Petco sells it) because I found the salinity varied so much with the salt water I could buy at fish stores and I didn't trust it (one week, 1.019, next week 1.027. I then migrated to using steam distilled water and mixing my own to finally getting an RO/DI filter which was the single best investment I've made in this hobby, especially after detecting TDS readings of 45 ppm in the LFS RO/DI water.

You can find great used equipment in this forum and it can save you lots of $$ in the long run, so if you're looking for something, check out the hardware classifieds first. However, just make sure you do your research on the seller - have other members bought from them, what is their feedback, etc.

 

And your English is absolutely fine! Would've never known it wasn't your native language.

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Hi there! Welcome to NR! I have the same tank and have since upgraded to full LEDs as well as made some additional modifications. Here are my thoughts:

 

  • Good idea to remove the bioballs right away. Here's how I have mine set up: Chamber 1, heater; chamber 2 includes a media basket with floss, purigen, chemipure elite in that order, followed by a skimmer; Chamber 3 includes ATO sensor, return pump and dosing tubes. You may want to think about putting in a basket of some sort that can house at least filter floss to catch detritus etc.
  • The 425 isn't too much. I actually have two running in my display.
  • I don't think 4" would take up too much real estate if you really want to do a DSB. The tank is pretty deep and I still think it will give you plenty of room for vertical growth, but it will cut down on the actual water volume so it could limit the number of fish you can keep.
  • I put a bit of sand in, then my rocks, then the rest of the sand. My sand bed is probably about an inch, 2" at most in certain areas.
  • Regarding water, in the beginning I used Catalina purified ocean water (Petco sells it) because I found the salinity varied so much with the salt water I could buy at fish stores and I didn't trust it (one week, 1.019, next week 1.027. I then migrated to using steam distilled water and mixing my own to finally getting an RO/DI filter which was the single best investment I've made in this hobby, especially after detecting TDS readings of 45 ppm in the LFS RO/DI water.

You can find great used equipment in this forum and it can save you lots of $$ in the long run, so if you're looking for something, check out the hardware classifieds first. However, just make sure you do your research on the seller - have other members bought from them, what is their feedback, etc.

 

And your English is absolutely fine! Would've never known it wasn't your native language.

Thank you Stella,

 

What did you use to upgrade the led lights?

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A NanoBox small retrofit kit. It's specially made for your tank!

 

NanoBoxReef.com

Not the small retro fit, the duo.

Thank you Stella,

 

What did you use to upgrade the led lights?

I got the NanoBox large retrofit - Dave makes them so that you really only have to strip the hood and then install the lights. It was really easy and I can't say enough about the lights. The biocube stock lighting runs really hot, even with the fans running, so definitely not only for the light, but for the heat as well, I'm really happy I did it. here's a link: http://nanoboxreef.com/retro.html

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Today Update:

 

As expected my stand arrived, I have some comments about it:

  • Arrived beaten with some chips and scratches.

  • Doesn't look so sturdy to hold about 150 lbs for long time, I'm a little concern about this.

  • The quality of the materials are low, one of the doorknob don't hold the screw.


About the tank, today I was supposed to meet the craigslist guy that was selling the tank... I called him to make the arrangements and didn't answer.... I called like 100 times nothing.... so tonight I gave up and bought a new tank online. I was really eager to set up the tank this weekend.

And now I have an issue, I was so excited that I ordered 20 lb of uncured live rock and is set to delivery tomorrow, there is any way to keep the rock live until Wednesday when my tank arrives?

 

Some pictures of the stand:

Box:

2015-08-13%2022.52.21_zpsrshivb6p.jpg

 

Assembled

2015-08-13%2022.52.38_zps4jygyabv.jpg

Since I don't have a tank at this moment, I will entertain you with a picture that was taken a few hours ago with Motitas and a friend:

2015-08-13%2020.10.02_zpsad0njtx7.jpg

 

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What i would do is buy a food grade bucket from Walmart or a local store, then go to a local fish store and ask them if you could buy a water change ( mine gave it to me for free). Fill the bucket with it put in an air-stone and a heater, then drop your rock in it.

 

But I'm just getting back into the hobby so if anyone see this and thinks its wrong, feel free to correct me.

My 2 cents :wacko:

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What i would do is buy a food grade bucket from Walmart or a local store, then go to a local fish store and ask them if you could buy a water change ( mine gave it to me for free). Fill the bucket with it put in an air-stone and a heater, then drop your rock in it.

 

But I'm just getting back into the hobby so if anyone see this and thinks its wrong, feel free to correct me.

My 2 cents :wacko:

You are right I believe. Just keep it submersed in a bucket between 78&82 with a bit of circulation (a small pump or a bubbler)

Today Update:

 

As expected my stand arrived, I have some comments about it:

 

  • Arrived beaten with some chips and scratches.
  • Doesn't look so sturdy to hold about 150 lbs for long time, I'm a little concern about this.
  • The quality of the materials are low, one of the doorknob don't hold the screw.
About the tank, today I was supposed to meet the craigslist guy that was selling the tank... I called him to make the arrangements and didn't answer.... I called like 100 times nothing.... so tonight I gave up and bought a new tank online. I was really eager to set up the tank this weekend.

And now I have an issue, I was so excited that I ordered 20 lb of uncured live rock and is set to delivery tomorrow, there is any way to keep the rock live until Wednesday when my tank arrives?

 

Some pictures of the stand:

Box:

2015-08-13%2022.52.21_zpsrshivb6p.jpg

 

Assembled

2015-08-13%2022.52.38_zps4jygyabv.jpg

Since I don't have a tank at this moment, I will entertain you with a picture that was taken a few hours ago with Motitas and a friend:

2015-08-13%2020.10.02_zpsad0njtx7.jpg

If the stand is damaged don't accept it. Call coralife for another!

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  • 2 weeks later...

08/23/2015 - Setup day

 

Ok Today was the big day! I was able to get the tank today so finally was able to get it wet and running.

 

Received the tank, washed and leak tested in the garage during the morning, no pics of the process my phone was dead.

 

Then empty and dry the tank then move it to the stand, the bag are the 2 million bioballs that comes with the tank:

2015-08-22%2018.19.52_zpsqedt94hh.jpg

 

Yesterday night i was able to pickup 10 lbs of Live Rock from Tampabay Saltwater, Richard had an awesome service!

Pics of the Rock:

2015-08-22%2001.35.40_zpsiqc2vqyp.jpg

 

2015-08-22%2001.35.43_zpsqz44t47h.jpg

 

Unpacking:

 

2015-08-22%2023.53.52_zps5sjrcvrc.jpg

 

2015-08-22%2023.53.58_zpsduw2nzi3.jpg

 

The Rock is awesome with some many critters and live the coraline color was awesome!, during the unpacking found 2 tiny crabs and one small bristle star i kept them, I don't plant to start heavy on corals and I believe they must live, if they become a nuisance ill catch them later.

 

I added 40 Lbs of Carib Sea Aragalive Fiji Pink to the tank and filled with water purchased at the LFS this morning.

 

Added 15 lbs of not that live rock i purchased last week:

 

2015-08-22%2023.50.55_zpscneuohhy.jpg

 

2015-08-22%2023.51.26_zpsjnexsxcs.jpg

 

The Soup is on!

 

After 2 hours and some cleanup i added the TBSW rock. So far no aquascaping just tossed the rocks for the overnight clean up.

 

Latest FTS from last minute or so, things are starting to clear up,

 

2015-08-23%2001.07.42_zpsch4qfjzj.jpg

 

Now lets the cycle go on.....!!!

 

On a note I have so many questions so i created my own noob thread at the beginners forum and will try to post all the questions there.

 

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Update Day 5 08/26/2015

 

The tank is running awesome, today i got my first Nitrate reading:

 

PH: 7.9

Ammonia: .25

Nittrite: 0.25

Nitrate: 10

 

I did some reshape on the rocks and now I'm happier with the results:

 

FTS:

2015-08-26%2023.25.00_zpsjxeofoqu.jpg

 

2015-08-26%2023.25.39_zps2u3dgik0.jpg

 

Right side, you can see little Chuck lurking in the sand:

2015-08-26%2023.25.30_zpsjqtpdxzr.jpg

 

Left side:

2015-08-26%2023.25.20_zps01sf1wxo.jpg

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Update Week1 08/29/2015:

 

Today my tank is a week old! It was a very long week getting used to test and keep track of my parameters today's test:

 

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 40

PH: 7.8

Salinity: 1.025

 

Based on what i have read in the forums look like my tanked has established a complete cycle, the hitchhiker crab died or molted and i left the carcass inside the tank for 2 days now and 0 ammonia, some brown and green algae is starting to grow on sand and rocks. so now i will do a 10 gal water change and get my first set of CUC.

 

I will add just a few CUC because i don't want to rush the tank, then wait another week and then add more.

 

I'm so excited!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update 08/30/2015:



Did a 5 Gal water change today's test:



Ammonia: 0


Nitrite: 0


Nitrate: 20


PH: 7.8


Salinity: 1.025



Today i added a small CUC:


6 Astrea Snails.


6 Cerith Snails.


2 Blue legged Hermits, kids named them Sam and Florita.



Algae bloom is in full scale, I have some brownish algae (I belive is Cyano), and lots of green algae on the rocks.



I don't have pictures basically nothing changed.




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Update 09/07/2015:

Today's test:

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20

PH: 8.0

Salinity: 1.025

Temp: 81 F

The CUC is doing and excellent job, every spot of sand and glass get perfectly cleaned as soon as the algae appears, i have some spots on the live rock that is growing some brown algae i believe the CUC is too big for that smalls cracks. During the week i added a DIY Fuge and fuge lamp to my middle chamber. I bought a cheato ball and put it in there but it almost disintegrates 3 days later came from a baseball size to a ping pong size im running fuge lights from 8 PM to 8 AM, i believe the tank still doesn't have enough nutrients.

On 09/04 I added 2 small Skunk Cleaner Shrimp as my slowly stocking process. They are awesome if i put my hand in the tank they come out ASAP and start cleaning it, my kids love them. So far they have no name and the kids are voting for them.

 

Regarding the TBS live rock I'm surprised that the orange sponge, the tunicates and the barnacles are still alive, everyday i find some new friend around the tank.

The PC lights on the Biocube generates too much heat, im keeping my house at 76 F and the tank was running at 82 F before lights out and 79F before lights on, I did some research and there are a lot of nice leds kits for the tank but they are overbudget at this time for me so I decided to try this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NNDHVCG it arrived on Friday. My plans was to put this lights inside the Biocube hood but when they arrived i realized they were too thick to fit in the light cover so I had to come with a plan B.

I had two options one cut the hood and place the lights on top of it, second remove all the guts of the new light and install them inside the Biocube hood. Due to the tank being on the living room all the aesthetics decisions have to get the approval from the management (My Wife :)). She said no to N 1 after i shown her what it would like, from a internet picture.

So i had to move for second option, I had a busy weekend so I took the Labor day to do this DIY project, started at 11 AM and finished at 6 PM.... But i was able to fit all the electronics and the lights inside the hood and placed the light switches where the original ones were and placed the potentiometers drilled in the hood. I was able to play with the APP and it is great you can set up to 24 settings per program, so you can create 4 programs one for each week of the lunar cycle.

I have the pics of the retrofit process but had to travel this morning to LA for work, as soon as i have some time i will upload them. Also did not have much time to test the lights.

Cheers,

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Tank Log, date 09/13/2015

 

Today Test:

 

Nitrate: 20

PH: 8.0

Temp: 79.5 F

Salinity: 1.025

 

FTS 09/13/2015, 50% White 50% Blue:

2015-09-14%2001.31.14_zpshub038h9.jpg

 

My Nitrates didn't change in a week, is weird but I believe the algae bloom i have is consuming some Nitrates. I did a 5 Gal water change after my test where done,

 

The tank is coming along very nice, the live rock is blooming with all kind of hitchhickers, during the week several tube worms started to surface from the sand, and some others started to show on the rock, but they are facing the back of the tank :wacko:, two new guys appeared and started to be very active chomping on the algae one 1/2 inch Emeral Crab, and another reddish crab with white tip claws that never saw before. Also found several tiny hermits and a gorilla crab molt :(, this have me little worried about the future of the CUC. Today also added 3 Nassarius snails to help removing detritus and food leftover.

 

Some Pics

 

hello from Blanquito:

2015-09-13%2016.46.26_zps0158yczd.jpg

 

And Rojito is awesome too:

 

2015-09-13%2016.47.07_zpsb7sydv8q.jpg

 

Cyano or Diatoms on the sand?

 

2015-09-13%2016.48.44_zpsnx1rjudo.jpg

 

Funny Top down:

 

2015-09-13%2016.50.06_zpsznneiatu.jpg

 

Unknown guy:

 

2015-09-13%2016.48.23_zpsp7fxezr2.jpg

 

Living on the edge:

 

2015-09-13%2016.46.35_zpsemdjz7bm.jpg

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As promised here are the pics of my Led upgrade:

 

This is what i bought for $145 they are programmable and Wifi:

 

 

71VRCPHQGqL._SL1500_.jpg

 

 

71byxArvdpL._SL1500_.jpg

 

So i opened my hood and removed all the guts, then opened the led set and did the same, on the Biocube hood removed all the screw bases but the ones on the back of the hood just twisting them with a pliers, And proceed to arrange the new stuff on the hood:

 

2015-09-13%2013.18.46_zpslpwcdsrm.jpg

 

I replaced the noisy biocube fans with the ones that comes with the led set, but they where bigger so did a custom 3D printed cardboard duct to optimize air flow on the fans:

 

2015-09-13%2013.48.07_zps2gsgn4wm.jpg

 

2015-09-13%2013.48.02_zpssyua17hi.jpg

 

Then i secured the 2 led drivers near the ventilation slots of the hood:

 

2015-09-13%2013.18.56_zpsflxhbqbm.jpg

 

As you can see on this pic i drilled the hood and placed the potentiometers and also replaced the 4 light switches with the two that comes with the led set.

 

Then attached the lights for a functional test

Whites:

 

2015-09-13%2013.52.59_zpswvvispb7.jpg

 

Blues:

 

2015-09-13%2013.53.40_zpsw39cnsbv.jpg

 

Royal Blues? is this UV? don't think so:

 

2015-09-13%2013.54.50_zpspbqjqvgr.jpg

 

The leds comes with lenses that don't allow the light to spread at the height its going to be on the tank, so did several tests and removed a few of the lenses so it have good penetration with a lot of spread.

 

I wnatd to fit everything inside the hood to reuse the waterproof case that the default Biocube lights have. I used a couple of screws to secure the led board to the hood cover, please excuse me but trying to remove the black paint i did a mess trying to sand it with a dremmel, the acrylic melted and mixxed with the paint creating a disaster, then i realized that was easier to just scrape it... but the damage was done:

 

2015-09-13%2016.18.31_zpsbf3gj7nj.jpg

 

Leds secured in place:

 

2015-09-13%2016.22.14_zpspkph1g6f.jpg

 

FInal test with some of the lenses removed and all the lights on:

 

2015-09-13%2016.23.05_zpsg38beai7.jpg

 

Top of the hood:

 

2015-09-13%2016.39.33_zpscvfegg6w.jpg

 

Switches detail:

 

2015-09-13%2016.39.38_zpsh9iuf4po.jpg

 

In place:

 

2015-09-13%2016.51.53_zpsuthswqrf.jpg

 

Closed look:

 

2015-09-13%2016.45.34_zpsox7afavu.jpg

 

Led array reflected:

 

2015-09-13%2016.50.06_zpsznneiatu.jpg

 

If you made it this far, thank you and hope you enjoyed it.

 

 

 

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