gulfsurfer101 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 My first tank was a nightmare for the people here lol! I bought a puffer fish because it just so phakken cool. I didn't even have a sw tank. I bought a bag of salt from the lfs. They told me to spend 300 dollars on a bunch of stupid live rock. I was like no thank you. I pulled my rock straight out the water near my house and set my tank up while my puffer chilled in a cooler with some bubbles for oxygen lol! It was done in a matter of hours and my puffer was swimming in his own tank that night. The coolest thing about using that ocean rock was that it was full of hundreds of tiny crabs that puffer would munch on and they just kept spawning. Everyone told new my fish would die in two weeks. I sold that fish two years later when I wanted to start keeping coral. That was my first tank so I think your off to a better start than me lol! Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Hey if sh!t$ still alive then your doing something right! Right? I'm really glad to hear that I'm possibly doing something right! I'm super excited about getting my tank established and have a beautiful tank like I see on some of these forums. It almost seems impossible... I never really get into any hobbies or anything so this is all pretty darn awesome to me besides the draining of my bank account haha. My first tank was a nightmare for the people here lol! I bought a puffer fish because it just so phakken cool. I didn't even have a sw tank. I bought a bag of salt from the lfs. They told me to spend 300 dollars on a bunch of stupid live rock. I was like no thank you. I pulled my rock straight out the water near my house and set my tank up while my puffer chilled in a cooler with some bubbles for oxygen lol! It was done in a matter of hours and my puffer was swimming in his own tank that night. The coolest thing about using that ocean rock was that it was full of hundreds of tiny crabs that puffer would munch on and they just kept spawning. Everyone told new my fish would die in two weeks. I sold that fish two years later when I wanted to start keeping coral. That was my first tank so I think your off to a better start than me lol! Hahahaha that is fantastic! But Hell the fish stayed alive so you did something right! Specially since he survived 2 years!!!! Did it the old fashioned way... Old school... Hahaha like back in the day when we didn't have 2300 different stips of leds to choose from.. Lmfao! I wish I could have an eel in my tank but I know it's too small for it Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I'm really glad to hear that I'm possibly doing something right! I'm super excited about getting my tank established and have a beautiful tank like I see on some of these forums. It almost seems impossible... I never really get into any hobbies or anything so this is all pretty darn awesome to me besides the draining of my bank account haha. Well some people think smoking rock is awesome and see how fast that wipes out their bank account! I prefer my rock in the tank with the fire growing out of it! I'm really glad to hear that I'm possibly doing something right! I'm super excited about getting my tank established and have a beautiful tank like I see on some of these forums. It almost seems impossible... I never really get into any hobbies or anything so this is all pretty darn awesome to me besides the draining of my bank account haha. Hahahaha that is fantastic! But Hell the fish stayed alive so you did something right! Specially since he survived 2 years!!!! Did it the old fashioned way... Old school... Hahaha like back in the day when we didn't have 2300 different stips of leds to choose from.. Lmfao! I wish I could have an eel in my tank but I know it's too small for it Yes stay away from eels in a 14g lol! Get a 40br then you can get away with a snowflake eel. Just beware they're escape artists. It's always between them and octopuses! No matter what you do they will figure out a way to get the f*ck out! And it's usually at like 4am so you think it's someone breaking in. Link to comment
LeCharlesMuhDickens Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I'm really glad to hear that I'm possibly doing something right! I'm super excited about getting my tank established and have a beautiful tank like I see on some of these forums. It almost seems impossible... I never really get into any hobbies or anything so this is all pretty darn awesome to me besides the draining of my bank account haha. It's a fun hobby, it will snowball to all hell and take your money with it, but it's a blast. My dad was always preaching that old "if it had tits or tires, it's going to cost you", he never mentioned fish. Link to comment
Mkus Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Check out truluman leds they are by far the easiest to install and the kit can be had for $89.00 on amazon that includes dimmers and a extra plug for one more added strip which is what I did.. Link to comment
newbiereeferrob Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 the tank I have now was my first and it was slow at the start and went pretty well once I had everything situated, no major problems. As long as youre careful, nothing major should go wrong Link to comment
Stephosaurus Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 So here's my two cents based on the advice that was given to me and my experience: Your tank is still very new, and it's possible that it hasn't cycled yet. The bacteria you have added should help accelerate the cycle, but if you haven't seen your spike in ammonia yet, it's better to be safe than sorry. I would hate for your cuc to croak if it hasn't cycled yet and they die from the ammonia levels. I also wouldn't recommend that you do a water change until you're sure that your tank has cycled. The water change can slow down the process, so it's best to wait until after your cycle before doing one. I too started with tap water, then started adding RO water once I did my water changes. Short term it shouldn't cause problems, and you shouldn't have to do a big water change right away. My LFS has RO water for only like 36 cents a gallon, so I would check to see if your LFS makes their own for cheaper. If not, distilled water should be fine for topping off. It's such a small amount that it shouldn't cause problems, and it's more pure than tap. I wouldn't recommend using it instead of RO completely though. Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Well some people think smoking rock is awesome and see how fast that wipes out their bank account! I prefer my rock in the tank with the fire growing out of it! Yes stay away from eels in a 14g lol! Get a 40br then you can get away with a snowflake eel. Just beware they're escape artists. It's always between them and octopuses! No matter what you do they will figure out a way to get the f*ck out! And it's usually at like 4am so you think it's someone breaking in. Yeah I stay away from the completely! Nooooooo thank you! Hahaha. Yeah I figured as much. Having an octopus would be amazing id like to own a seahorse too that would be super sweet! Hahaha but that will be later down the road if ever. We will see how this tank plays out. That's crazy they can get out of the tanks though!!!! That wouldn't be good my two dogs would eat it! Lol. It's a fun hobby, it will snowball to all hell and take your money with it, but it's a blast. My dad was always preaching that old "if it had tits or tires, it's going to cost you", he never mentioned fish. Haha haha that's great. If you have all three might as well live in your car lmao jk. So far it is pretty fun. Researching and learning everything and talking to different people. I'm loving it. It will only get better once I have life in my tank! Check out truluman leds they are by far the easiest to install and the kit can be had for $89.00 on amazon that includes dimmers and a extra plug for one more added strip which is what I did.. Thank you! I will definitely look into that as well.. A bit out of my price range right now though but I'm going to take a look and maybe put it on my wish list! the tank I have now was my first and it was slow at the start and went pretty well once I had everything situated, no major problems. As long as youre careful, nothing major should go wrong How long have you had the tank now? A short while or a long time? Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 So here's my two cents based on the advice that was given to me and my experience: Your tank is still very new, and it's possible that it hasn't cycled yet. The bacteria you have added should help accelerate the cycle, but if you haven't seen your spike in ammonia yet, it's better to be safe than sorry. I would hate for your cuc to croak if it hasn't cycled yet and they die from the ammonia levels. I also wouldn't recommend that you do a water change until you're sure that your tank has cycled. The water change can slow down the process, so it's best to wait until after your cycle before doing one. I too started with tap water, then started adding RO water once I did my water changes. Short term it shouldn't cause problems, and you shouldn't have to do a big water change right away. My LFS has RO water for only like 36 cents a gallon, so I would check to see if your LFS makes their own for cheaper. If not, distilled water should be fine for topping off. It's such a small amount that it shouldn't cause problems, and it's more pure than tap. I wouldn't recommend using it instead of RO completely though. Thank you! Yeah I wasn't planning on doing a water change until I know my cycle has gone completely through I had made the decision to just let it play out with the water I used. I'm going to get my LFS to test all the levels for me tonight since I don't have the FULL test kit. And see what they say. They've all been really nice in the past I have called them with serveral questions for me and my bfs tank and they han't really steered me in the wrong direction yet. I'm most likely going to buy some RO water from my local grocery stores or get distilled until I can get a container to put it into for top offs. How long did it take for your ammonia levels to spike? Link to comment
Pancetta Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I would agree with Stephosaurus's advice. I have a Biocube 14g that has been up and running for almost 2 years. Going through the cycling process is kinda a rite of passage. Like taking your first driving test. Everyone suffers through it. There is a A LOT of research in this hobby. It really pays to do it though. People on this site are very helpful and the source of some of the best advice I have received. I have an InTank media basket in my cube and a MJ900 pump. you can check them out at the site below: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/ Stevie T runs that site and is a great source for Biocube info. Hang in there! David Link to comment
pvreef Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I have an InTank media basket in my cube and a MJ900 pump. you can check them out at the site below: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/ Hi Pancetta, does the MJ900 pump fit inside the last chamber of your cube? And is that the only pump you use in your cube? Are you happy with the amount of flow it provides? Thanks for your help. Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 I would agree with Stephosaurus's advice. I have a Biocube 14g that has been up and running for almost 2 years. Going through the cycling process is kinda a rite of passage. Like taking your first driving test. Everyone suffers through it. There is a A LOT of research in this hobby. It really pays to do it though. People on this site are very helpful and the source of some of the best advice I have received. I have an InTank media basket in my cube and a MJ900 pump. you can check them out at the site below: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/ Stevie T runs that site and is a great source for Biocube info. Hang in there! David Yes so far this site has been very very helpful. I'm definitely going to get the intank media once I get the money saved up... Could you send me a link to the pump... When I search it there is a million and one things that come up for it so I get quite confused on what I'm looking for exactly. Im pretty sure I know what I'm supposed to look for but I always pull up the sites and they are the long in tank power heads... Sorry if I sound dumb! Lol Link to comment
pvreef Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Yes so far this site has been very very helpful. I'm definitely going to get the intank media once I get the money saved up... Could you send me a link to the pump... When I search it there is a million and one things that come up for it so I get quite confused on what I'm looking for exactly. Im pretty sure I know what I'm supposed to look for but I always pull up the sites and they are the long in tank power heads... Sorry if I sound dumb! Lol Here's the pump: http://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Aquatics-Power-Head-MJ900/dp/B005QRHT88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454632873&sr=8-1&keywords=mj900 Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Here's the pump: http://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Aquatics-Power-Head-MJ900/dp/B005QRHT88/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454632873&sr=8-1&keywords=mj900 How do you set that up in the cube? Run it through some how? Link to comment
LeCharlesMuhDickens Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 How do you set that up in the cube? Run it through some how? It replaces the stock pump, comes with suction mounts. You'd basically lay it In just like the stock pump and attach the return hose on your tank to the outlet of the new pump. Link to comment
newbiereeferrob Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 How long have you had the tank now? A short while or a long time? coming up on 3 months now Link to comment
Pancetta Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Yes, it replaces the stock pump. Currently that is the only source of flow in my tank. But, I am going to reinstall a Tunze Turebelle (sp?) as soon as I can modify the hood for it's power cord. I have tried several powerheads but the tank is so small it is difficult to find one that does not have too much flow. A guy who works at my LFS has a Biocube 14 and he said he is going to go with a more powerful pump and buy a splitter for the supply nozzle. This sounds like an interesting solution to me. Sorry, probably too much information for a newbie! Do a search for Biocube 14 builds on this site and read the threads. I learned a lot doing this. David Link to comment
Stephosaurus Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Thank you! Yeah I wasn't planning on doing a water change until I know my cycle has gone completely through I had made the decision to just let it play out with the water I used. I'm going to get my LFS to test all the levels for me tonight since I don't have the FULL test kit. And see what they say. They've all been really nice in the past I have called them with serveral questions for me and my bfs tank and they han't really steered me in the wrong direction yet. I'm most likely going to buy some RO water from my local grocery stores or get distilled until I can get a container to put it into for top offs. How long did it take for your ammonia levels to spike? I added a supplement to speed it up, and it only took about two weeks, then I added a cuc a week later. Have you started to see diatoms form on your rocks yet? Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 I added a supplement to speed it up, and it only took about two weeks, then I added a cuc a week later. Have you started to see diatoms form on your rocks yet? A little on the sand but not to much. Still no change really though. Yes, it replaces the stock pump. Currently that is the only source of flow in my tank. But, I am going to reinstall a Tunze Turebelle (sp?) as soon as I can modify the hood for it's power cord. I have tried several powerheads but the tank is so small it is difficult to find one that does not have too much flow. A guy who works at my LFS has a Biocube 14 and he said he is going to go with a more powerful pump and buy a splitter for the supply nozzle. This sounds like an interesting solution to me. Sorry, probably too much information for a newbie! Do a search for Biocube 14 builds on this site and read the threads. I learned a lot doing this. David Yeah ive been searching mods And things. I used A Lot of YouTube as well haha! Just gets confusing with all the different lingo and things like that! But I'll eventually figure it out hahaha! Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Lots of which is unnecessary! Best thing to do is ditch the hood! You no longer have heat buildup so you don't need too switch the stock pump. Get a better light over your tank. Instead of trying to mod a fuge into the back of your tank just drop a bag chemipure elite and phosguard! Congratulations your done. Just swap out the media every couple of months and do like 4g wc's every two weeks and you'll be alright. Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Yeah once I get it up and going more I may start saving for that. Right now I'm doing this hobby on an extremely tight budget haha. But I think I may of done something stupid. I kept testing my waters still no trace of any type of ammonia or nitrite oH is about 8.4 or so and nitrates were only about 10 or 20 ppm so I bought a few turbo snails and another blue legged hermit to see how it went... But I also bought a blue damsel.... Didn't research on it and got a bit impatient I suppose... But now I'm afraid if everything goes well and my tank has cycled ( which I'm 95 percent sure it has which is why I added one fish) is that when I try to add another fish my damsel will attack anything I try to put in there.... Damn my impatience.... Link to comment
LeCharlesMuhDickens Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Damsels are a mixed bag, I've got two in my 40 and they don't bother anyone except each other. Mine have lived in the 40 with a pair of clowns and a fire fish just fine for years. Little bastards were free and I felt bad for them so that's how I ended up with the pair. They're active though and pretty much bulletproof. Lots of which is unnecessary! Best thing to do is ditch the hood! You no longer have heat buildup so you don't need too switch the stock pump. Get a better light over your tank. Instead of trying to mod a fuge into the back of your tank just drop a bag chemipure elite and phosguard! Congratulations your done. Just swap out the media every couple of months and do like 4g wc's every two weeks and you'll be alright. I keep reading about the heat issue but I've never noticed it on mine. Is it the older models maybe? Without a heater my BC14 won't get above 74 degrees. I don't keep my house Africa hot though, maybe that helps. Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I would do a wc pretty soon. That damsel may be alright but I'd ditch it for more suitable fish like a blenny or a couple gobies! Link to comment
aprilnbrown Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Yeah I'm starting to form the brown algae now I noticed it in my littler rock. I'm going to post a before and now. Is this a good or bad sign? Specailly since I now have a few snails and a fish. Still no spike in anything. I definitely want a sand eating goby! Hahaha. There is one in the display tank at my LFS and he is the fish that made me want to start my own tank ahAHAHAHA. Just SO I could get one in my tank. Idk why. And yeah my bfs tank has heating problems and his is the older oceanic model. But it's also very old and needs new cooling fans. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.