Pumps and flow for coralife 14 biocube?

[aprilnbrown]

I'm extremely new to all of this... There is A lot that I need to learn... I'm reading everything but I'm still lost. From what I've read, a good idea is to get a new pump for my cube but I'm kinda lost on what I need to get exactly. I know I'm going to need some type of new pump in the third chamber and possibly something in the tank to increase flow.. But I don't know how much power I will need so I don't have my sand blowing around everywhere in my tank and I want to make sure I'm getting the right things before making purchases...

 

But here is some info on my tank. Right now I'm letting it cycle and I've only had it up for about 5 days I have about 10-13 pounds of live sand and 14 pound of live rock. I mixed my own salt water at home and the specific gravity is around 1.024 and salinity is around 32. When I mixed my water I also put a bit of bacteria in it to kinda jump start the process of my cycle. I haven't been running any light and I dropped a bit of fish food down into the tank. I also took out the stock filter while it's cycling.

 

Any fees back or advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.

[newbiereeferrob]

Hi! I started a BC 29 a couple months ago, and I had success starting the cycle by adding half a raw shrimp for 24 hours and then removing it, along with bacteria, so in a 14 maybe use 1/4 of a shrimp, or continue using fish food if it is meaty, it all works the same.(many people will advise against the shrimp, however it worked for me personally so thats just my 2 cents). As for the pump, Im not sure about your tank specifically, but for the 29 I have been having success with the stock pump paired with a small power head to create randomized flow which my corals seem to like. Lastly, be wary about "live rock" as many local fish stores will sell rock as live rock even though it has not been in a running system for very long. If the rock has purple stuff on it (coraline) its safe to assume it is live and has lots of beneficial bacteria, if not, your cycle may take alot longer. More on this in this thread, which is not mine, but was reccomended to me and helped me ALOT. http://reef2reef.com...-shrimp.214618/ The guy who created this thread is also VERY helpful. Also, it may help everyone better advise you is you uploaded a couple pictures. But anyways, good luck with the tank and welcome to the forum!

[aprilnbrown]

Thank you so much for your reply! Yeah I've heard that a lot since I've bought the rock but I'm just hopeing for the best with it since I did spend a little over 100 for all of it. I did see some purple on the rocks that one of the main reasons I got the pieces I did.. Not a lot of it but some spots here and there don't really know what it is for sure. But I really haven't seen any change when I test the water.. The only thing that seems to be going up is the nitrates and the pH. And that's not by much... I know one of my local fish store told me that I may not even have much of a cycle... Do you know how long I should wait to know if I will have one or not?

[newbiereeferrob]

well there is no specific rule of thumb as far as a time frame for a cycle, and I would take what the guy at the LFS tells you with a grain of salt... he is, after all, trying to sell! I would say if your rock has some purple on it, which is coraline algae, its safe to say there should be some bacteria on there. how much is are your nitrates going up by? Oh and also i forgot to ask, when you made your salt water, did you use ro/di?

[aprilnbrown]

Yeah, I'm quickly learning that this takes a lot of patience and research and I lack patience and I hate research..haha! But it's good for me and I love it so far even though I've been starring at rocks in water for a week. Its actually fun researching and figuring all this out. I tried to upload some photos but it won't let me since the files are too large and I don't know how to make them any smaller on my phone. The guys at the fish store are pretty knowledgeable I even asked if I would need to buy any hardy fish or something to start the cycle because I read somewhere that, that sometimes works but he told me absolutely not he didn't really try to sell me anything so hopefully he was being honest lol.

And no I didn't I used two water and added prime into it so take out the chlorine and things in it.

[newbiereeferrob]

I would highly reccomend starting your tank using ro/di or natural seawater, it will save you alot of headaches. adding that stuff to normal water isn't as effective as I hoped it would be when I made the same mistake. and thats good that he did not try to sell you a hardy fish for the cycle, must be a decent place lol. I would say if you use fish food or a tiny piece of raw shrimp, along with bacteria from a bottle, it should get the process moving. To give you a general idea of the time frame, I added a clean up crew after 3 weeks of the tank running and cycling, 1 fish every two weeks after that until i maxed out at 4 small fish. Out of curiosity, do you know what you plan on keeping in the tank? and also a side note, if you ever want to upload a picture, theres websites that you can use to resize them if the pics are on your computer.

[aprilnbrown]

I was able to figure it out and attach pictures. Thank you.

So do you think I should try and do a 50% water change with RO water or try and wait it out and see if anything happens? I did add the bacteria while I was mixing my water then the fish food once I got everything going. I think I'm going to go and purchase a shrimp next and try that and see if that does anything.

I do know id like to have a clown fish, a goby... As for corals I'm probably going to stick with soft corals such as the hammer corrals and frogspawn corrals at first... Still need to research a little and find out what would be best for me... I'll probably have to change my lighting too... Which is another thing I'm pretty lost on as well. *sigh*

[newbiereeferrob]

I would definitely say replace 50% with ro/di or natural seawater, then once your cycle is complete, another large water change. your stocking plan sounds appropriate, you could probably even have 2 clowns of the same species and they would be buddies! and also have the goby with them. The rock looks pretty decent. I would say wait it out and see what comes of it. Finally, if you dont have them already, get test solution for calcium and alkalinity at least, ideally you want those plus a phosphate test solution and hardness test solution. you definitely wanna be aware of those parameters when you start adding stuff. Having sufficient calcium is vital for snails crabs shrimp and corals, and phosphates are no bueno, you wanna try to keep it low(Tap water is generally high in phosphates). You could also loom into getting some suppliments for the water once you start adding stuff. Definitely read up as much as you can. and if you do that and work slowly, youll be fine!

[LeCharlesMuhDickens]

Do you have the Biocube with the extra spot for another led bar? The newer ones I believe all have room for at least one extra bar. You can also add retrofit LEDs to supplement the stock lighting. As for flow, I've got the stock pump in mine with a koralia nano on the opposite side and it works great just like that.

[aprilnbrown]

I may have to do that on my next check if things aren't moving along by then I was thinking about getting the stuff they sell in the stores in the big jugs anyway... So this is all the more reason too. Was trying to avoid it just for the fact that it's so expensive like 17 dollars for a couple of gallons of water lol. Seems crazy. And yeah I'll most likely get a pair hopefully I'll be able to buy both at the same time to put them in the tank together.

 

I have a kh test but I don't have anything else. I'm definitely going to look into that as well.. There is just so many things that I want to get for the tank it's hard to figure out what to get first. I really want to get the Intank media basket so I can get the fuge light and have micro algae as well and I still need to get something to put more flow into the tank and a heater... I have a LONG way to go before I can put anything into my tank either way. Hahaha :/

@ LeCharlesMuhDickens yes I have the newer version with the extra slot for LED. Still trying to figure out what would be best to put into that slot. I'm figuring out I don't know much of anything hahaha. And I did a lot of research before hand. Its just everyone is different and there is just SOOOO many different things you can do it's hard to choose on which is right but I guess it's a lot of trial and error. Right? I'm going to look into that nano... How many gallons is it pushing?

[newbiereeferrob]

to avoid spending on water from the pet store, i bought an ro/di unit to make my own. I got a small unit that works great and i spent 70 dollars for it. in the long run its better than constantly buying water IMO

[aprilnbrown]

Don't you have to buy cartridges for it? Is that pricey? I may do that later down the line but I wouldn't be able to right now it's a small tank so it doesn't take to much. Its just the topping off part that's gonna get annoying but I'm just going to go buy me some ro water that I'll use just for that. Since I don't need to mix anything into it when topping off.

[LeCharlesMuhDickens]

I may have to do that on my next check if things aren't moving along by then I was thinking about getting the stuff they sell in the stores in the big jugs anyway... So this is all the more reason too. Was trying to avoid it just for the fact that it's so expensive like 17 dollars for a couple of gallons of water lol. Seems crazy. And yeah I'll most likely get a pair hopefully I'll be able to buy both at the same time to put them in the tank together.

I have a kh test but I don't have anything else. I'm definitely going to look into that as well.. There is just so many things that I want to get for the tank it's hard to figure out what to get first. I really want to get the Intank media basket so I can get the fuge light and have micro algae as well and I still need to get something to put more flow into the tank and a heater... I have a LONG way to go before I can put anything into my tank either way. Hahaha :/@ LeCharlesMuhDickens yes I have the newer version with the extra slot for LED. Still trying to figure out what would be best to put into that slot. I'm figuring out I don't know much of anything hahaha. And I did a lot of research before hand. Its just everyone is different and there is just SOOOO many different things you can do it's hard to choose on which is right but I guess it's a lot of trial and error. Right? I'm going to look into that nano... How many gallons is it pushing?

The one I have is 240gph. I added it to get rid of some dead spots but honestly everything in the tank was just fine without it. If you've got the extra slot, go with the blue led bar, I think Amazon has them for like $20. I personally haven't got a media basket yet, I'm building one though as its apparently a must have. Like rob said, it's worth it to buy a small ro/di unit. Buying by the gallon sucks and for what it costs, a small ro/di unit will pay for itself in no time.

[aprilnbrown]

How can you find where the dead spots are? Just eye balling it? And just a regular blue LED? Just curious, why do you recommend that... Trying to learn everything I can.

Yeah every where I look I'm hearing about the media basket.. And for how awesome they are they aren't TOO bad in price. I wish I was handy with things so I could make my own... I would probably just mess it up then have to just buy one anyway hahaha. But yeah that's high on my first buys lost for sure.

 

This crazy tank is going to make me have to live in a box. It better be worth it in the end hahaha

Do you guys like doing this? Or do you just do it to have something to do?

[newbiereeferrob]

Don't you have to buy cartridges for it? Is that pricey? I may do that later down the line but I wouldn't be able to right now it's a small tank so it doesn't take to much. Its just the topping off part that's gonna get annoying but I'm just going to go buy me some ro water that I'll use just for that. Since I don't need to mix anything into it when topping off.

yeah but they last pretty long, especially if you arent producing much water, definitely something to invest in at some point

[aprilnbrown]

What is your outlook on the protein skimmer?

yeah but they last pretty long, especially if you arent producing much water, definitely something to invest in at some point

Definitely. Specially since my bf has a 14 too that he is trying to bring back to life when he got it it was in pretty rough shapes nitrates through the roof.

[LeCharlesMuhDickens]

How can you find where the dead spots are? Just eye balling it? And just a regular blue LED? Just curious, why do you recommend that... Trying to learn everything I can.

Yeah every where I look I'm hearing about the media basket.. And for how awesome they are they aren't TOO bad in price. I wish I was handy with things so I could make my own... I would probably just mess it up then have to just buy one anyway hahaha. But yeah that's high on my first buys lost for sure.

This crazy tank is going to make me have to live in a box. It better be worth it in the end hahaha

Do you guys like doing this? Or do you just do it to have something to do?

Haha between reef tanks, firearms and vehicles, I'm working to support my hobbies. It's fun though, at least it's not crack right? As far as the LEDs, the blue ones just seemed to give the corals a bit more pop. A lot of folks have said that the white sort of washes out the color, there are some videos and pics floating around with comparison I believe. The dead spots are usually where you'll see detritus (crud) build up.

 

The cartridges for the ro di last a while if you're just using it for a small tank, sure beats lugging 5 gallon jugs back and forth too.

[gulfsurfer101]

We love playing god to our own little worlds lol! As for your tank I think your good with the stock pump. A good pump to look into for inner flow would be a jebao wp10 or jebao rw4. Both those will work bad@ss for that cube. The hood is good but if you want to go like another level and most people do I'd ditch it and go with something from this century like a kessil or reefbreeders nano! Probably be a good idea to do that water change and add some snails and hermits, aka clean up crew(cuc)! Don't worry you'll get the lingo down too btw!

[aprilnbrown]

I may look into that once I get the hang of things but that probably won't be for a while from the looks of it haha! It's definitely going to take some time to get used to the lingo. I thought I wasn't able to add a clean up crew until the cycle was complete? Can I add them before then?

[CronicReefer]

I may look into that once I get the hang of things but that probably won't be for a while from the looks of it haha! It's definitely going to take some time to get used to the lingo. I thought I wasn't able to add a clean up crew until the cycle was complete? Can I add them before then?

The best way to know if your tank is ready is to bring the ammonia up to about 1-2ppm and it should take about 24 hours for all the ammonia to be converted into nitrite and nitrate. Your pretty much good to go with a clean up crew after that. Usually its good to do a large water change after the cycle has completed as well to provide a fresh environment for the new inhabitants.

[gulfsurfer101]

In all honesty unless your rocks came from fiji on a plane then to your airport then sat out a day before you added them into your tank then your cycle is pretty much over after the first couple of days. The cuc will help to speed up your nitrifying bacteria!

[aprilnbrown]

I did put a blue legged hermit into the tank and he is still alive and the rocks had a brittle star that is still alive as well so that's a good sign right?

My ammonia hasn't went up at all ive been testing every other day.

My rocks definitely didn't come from Fiji. Hahahaha! I'm probably going to give it a couple more days then take a sample up to my local fish store and get everything tested and buy a fish and see what happens. Hell if they test my water and say it's fine then my fish does because it wasnt they will replace my fish or refund me my money and I'll start from square one again. But I am hoping that doesn't happen.

 

Is there anything I should absolutely have before trying to add a new fish or is the stock well enough for now? Sorry I'm asking so much.

[gulfsurfer101]

Hey if sh!t$ still alive then your doing something right! Right?

[newbiereeferrob]

if they seem happy and healthy, I'd say its definitely safe for a CUC! and dont worry about asking questions, its what were all here for and its the best way to learn!

[aprilnbrown]

I know I just feel maybe I should know all this before I started my own tank... Thank you all for being so helpful and nice! I really appreciate it!

I think I may try to add a few more hermits and see how that goes. The hermit I put in there seems to be doing well moves all over the place eating shit lol

If they do good then it should be safe for a fish I would imagine. At least with a good hardy clown. Hell my bfs could probably survive a darn nuclear holocaust it's been through Hell and is still kickin. How was it for you guys when you tried to set up a tank for the first time?