Just Starting Biocube 14

[Pocket_Tamales]

Hey all, I tend to lurk in online forums, so I'm trying to break the mold by joining the discussion early on in my journey. Couple of questions that I've tried to answer myself by digging around, but can't find anything.

 

I just set up a Biocube 14 this past Saturday (4 days ago now) and I've been doing nothing but reading about reef keeping while I let it cycle. Currently completely stock, though I have removed the bio balls. I started with 12lbs of live rock and 20lbs live sand (my first mistake .) I've since removed the excess sand and my bed is about 1.5 inches deep. I tested the water today and it came back nearly 0s across the board for Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. I have a couple of hitchhikikers - amphepods (I think) and some algae growth.

 

Since it's just been four days, is there a chance that the cycle has yet to start? I figured with such a high volume of live sand/rock I wouldn't need to feed the tank. However, I'd hate to just be sitting on a dead tank and have yet to start a cycle. I didn't plan on adding any live stock at all for at least two months, as everything I have read up to this point leads me to believe that although I may have the anaerobic bacteria necessary to keep nitrates down, I still need to grow the aerobic bacteria to have a truly stable environment.

 

A friend has a trumpet coral that is not doing well. It's clearly dying and there's nothing she can really do to save it at this point. She asked if I would keep it while my tank stabilizes as a last ditch effort, since it's doomed one way or another. I'm hesitant to take it (common sense dictates I don't want dead inverts in a brand new tank), but I can't really find anything about what this would do to my cycle/long-term stability. If there's a chance it could live and it wouldn't do damage, I'll take it. If there's almost no chance of survival anyway, though, I'd rather just not take the risk.

 

Sorry for the wall of text! After reading the stickies and a multitude of articles on this site, I'm excited about this journey.

[dpoltsdsu]

There's a chance that the cycle hasn't started yet. To really know, I would add a frozen shrimp from the grocery store and leave it in for a couple days. After you remove it, test the water. If it cones back as zeroes again then you should be good to go. The coral does have a better chance of surviving in the other tank in my opinion. I would try to find the root of the problem in the other tank first before transferring it over to yours!

[Balix]

Dr. Tim's ammonia works great too

[Pocket_Tamales]

Thanks, DP and Balix! I was hesitant to add any more "stuff" since it seems to be a pretty decent ratio of live rock/sand for such a small tank. Headed to the store for a turkey baster and a shrimp now .

 

Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon. I plan on moving it to its permanent stand as soon as it's time for a water change.

[LongDoggy]

I don't think your cycle started yet. Since you don't plan to add livestock for about two months I think your on the right track.

Definitely grab a shrimp or a cycle starter to kick start the process. Ive noticed tanks tend to look smokey/murky when cycling so you may have some visual indicator of the process occurring.

 

I have the Biocube 14 and my cycle took about two weeks. My tank has been running for a little over four years now and has gone through a lot over the years. Feel free to check out my thread in signature for my tank lifecycle, successes, and failures.

 

Any questions I can help with feel free to ask! Good Luck!!

[Astinus]

There's a chance that the cycle hasn't started yet. To really know, I would add a frozen shrimp from the grocery store and leave it in for a couple days. After you remove it, test the water. If it cones back as zeroes again then you should be good to go. The coral does have a better chance of surviving in the other tank in my opinion. I would try to find the root of the problem in the other tank first before transferring it over to yours!

My Tank has cycled, 29 Gallon tank) but, I am curious, as I usually am. What size "Shrimp(s) do u recommend? This is more targeted for for future Reefers, and Cycling.

TY DP.

[aquageek]

Add a shrimp like mentioned above, or ghost feed the tank, or dose ammonia - really you just need something to feed the beneficial bacteria. Also add a bacteria starter such as Dr Tims One and Only to help establish your nitrifying bacteria faster.

[TFish77]

You can also grab some dirty filter pad from your buddies aquarium and just drop it in yours. Works well.

 

Either one of these can help get your tank stable relatively quickly too.

 

[Pocket_Tamales]

Thanks all for the replies, threw a shrimpy in there, so I'll continue to monitor amonia for the time being. I do have lots of white flecks floating around, looks kind of like dead algae. Should I worry about mechanical filtration at this stage? I just have the stock filter in but plan on switching to filter floss and (maybe, depending on how the water tests at the end of the cycle) activated carbon in place of the bio balls.

 

From what I understand, just about any dead shrimp will work. I went to the deli and asked the guy for a single shrimp. He gave me a funny look haha.

 

So hard to be patient, but that's one of the major reasons I started this tank. I want to practice patience and delayed gratification, as those are things I generally struggle with. I figure since this hobby will literally make me pay for impatience, it'll be a great exercise. Plus, I'm absolutely fascinated by what I have learned so far.

 

I was a little put off once I realized I may have payed more than necessary to get the all in one, but considering the vast number of people with the exact same setup, there is so much experience documented to learn from.

[Astinus]

I was a little put off once I realized I may have payed more than necessary to get the all in one, but considering the vast number of people with the exact same setup, there is so much experience documented to learn from.

I Have had an AIO in the past..back in 2007. Was happy with it then. Unfortunately it broke during a move (No Live Stock Lost)

Since then, moved to Florida and Got another AIO. 28 Gallon.

We love it.

[Pocket_Tamales]

I Have had an AIO in the past..back in 2007. Was happy with it then. Unfortunately it broke during a move (No Live Stock Lost)

Since then, moved to Florida and Got another AIO. 28 Gallon.

We love it.

Going to be moving across town in a month or so... That's going to be another can of worms, I'm already nervous about it! But I won't have finished cycling by then so at least if I time the move with a hefty water change it shouldn't be too crazy. One of the big reasons I went with the 14 instead of the 29, I rent and don't want to risk moving around a bigger tank.

[msparklym13]

HI!

I have a Biocube 29 and so far really happy with it. I am also a beginner in the salt world so wanted an AIO. I kept the bioballs and added the Biocube skimmer a heater and additional LED in hood. Tank has been going for 4 months with better than average success. I have lost two fish (one died the second day) and corals all thriving :-)

 

From my understanding adding the bacteria to speed up the process is great. I waited two weeks (I am also trying to improve my patience!!!) and when I took water to LFS they said it had fully cycled!

 

If it were me I wouldn't take anything sick/possibly dying. It might be fine but why risk it with a new tank??

 

Good Luck!

[Pocket_Tamales]

If it were me I wouldn't take anything sick/possibly dying. It might be fine but why risk it with a new tank??

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the post, glad you're enjoying the hobby, can't wait to get to where you are!

 

I finally got some shots of the tank! Obviously it's nothing much at this point:

 

This was day one after the sand settled. Sand EVERYWHERE, was able to turkey-baste it away nicely, though!

 

Wanted a more vertical grouping of rocks, ended up getting one more and setting up a couple of "caves." I'm really happy with the way it's looking now:

 

I'm currently on day 8 of the cycle. Last test was at the LFS and everything was low, I have ammonia/nitrate test kits coming in tomorrow and temperature has been at a steady 81F since I began monitoring temp. I live in a very well-insulated apartment which is awesome for keeping the temp stable.

 

A couple more questions at this point that I can't find good answers to here or elsewhere:

 

1. There seem to be a few different kinds of algae on my big rock. I know it's home to a few pods (one actually molted yesterday , saw his carapace cruising around for a few minutes before it got filtered out) but some of the algae looks dead. Does any of this look like menace algae? I think there was definitely some dead algae on the rock when I got it. I understand that a diatomic bloom is normal during a cycle, but some of the stuff on this rock does not match up with what I find when I search around for diatom blooms.

 

What looks to be diatom on one of the smaller rocks:

 

2. I've been trying to leave everything untouched to encourage both anaerobic and aerobic bacterial growth. I am noticing some air pockets in the sand. I plan on stirring things up when I do my first water change. The sand bed is no more than 2 inches at its deepest, but I'm curious at this point as to whether I should break up these pockets or just let the tank do its thing for now. From what I've read this could be Nitrogen gas, Oxygen or at worst Hydrogen Sulfide gas.

 

Since the temp has been stable at 81F, I don't plan on purchasing a heater for the tank. The only upgrades I'm planning on for now are going to be switching out the proprietary filter for poly-floss once the cycle is finished, then a power-head for more water movement once I start adding some corals. I'm eventually going to switch out the stock lighting with an LED retrofit, but I plan on working my way up to the creatures that would require more than just the stock lighting and will probably move on that once the stock bulbs start to dim.

 

Also been working through "The Reef Aquarium Vol. 1" by Delbeek and Sprung. Although I'm still a beginner, I would definitely recommend it to other beginners out there! Some of the information is out of date, but it's fascinating reading some of their postulations and finding that their hypotheses from 23 years ago were spot on (when compared to the information out there today.) The book focuses on stony corals, but so far there is plenty of great information on natural reef systems and water chemistry.

 

Thanks for reading, and I hope someone has some information/advice on the algae!

[msparklym13]

HI!

Your live rock is looking great! I am super happy for you :-) As far as temp goes I think it might be bit too warm. My understanding on most reef fish and corals is 72-78. Again I am a newbie so might be off but from what my expert fish friends told me - With regard to algae how is your clean up crew? Mine looks similar and when talking to my LFS I picked up more hermit crabs- My water is perfect but my rocks look same. In a 29 Biocube I should have 8 hermits plus snails. If you are short on clean up crew it might be your problem !! Best, M

[Astinus]

If u haven't got a CUC yet. Reefcleaners is a great place. https://www.reefcleaners.org/

I wish I could answer ur algae and air pocket concern.

[Pocket_Tamales]

HI!

Your live rock is looking great! I am super happy for you :-) As far as temp goes I think it might be bit too warm. My understanding on most reef fish and corals is 72-78.

 

Yeah, looking around the temp does seem high, but it's stable - which I've read is a good thing. I'm going to try opening up the little feeding flap and see if that dissipates some heat, otherwise I may need to look into some better fans. I've definitely read complaints about the ventilation on the actinics.

 

If u haven't got a CUC yet. Reefcleaners is a great place. https://www.reefcleaners.org/

I wish I could answer ur algae and air pocket concern.

 

Still waiting on a cleanup crew - I want to make sure I can add an ammonia source and have it test zero within 24 hours before I add any critters, don't want to stress anyone out, even snails and crabs! I'm sure once I get them in there they'll clean things up nicely, I just don't really recognize a few of those algae. They also don't really seem to be spreading to the other rocks, with the exception of the tiny splotch of brown.

[Astinus]

Understandable.

[Pocket_Tamales]

BTW, Astinus - checked out your build thread - your rocks are incredible! Also, thank you for your military service. We wouldn't have the lives we do without you.

[Lifer]

Looks great P_T. I started my cycle the same way. No readings for the first week or so and then I added a raw shrimp and purchased a bottle of Aquavitro Seed to help start the cycle. Worked great. I started my tank in Jan this year and I only have a CUC and some coral frags. I have experienced a few rounds of algae from the original diatoms to the green coating on the rocks to some hair algae. I don't feed the tank but have been reacting to each bloom and have managed to keep it under control with water changes, manual cleaning and the right equipment. Just keep up with the maintenance and maintain great water. Algae will not stick around. I think I'm going too slow this time!!I said I would wait til the 6 month mark before getting a fish.

[Pocket_Tamales]

I've decided to use this thread to document the tank's cycle, as there don't seem to be many posts of that nature. I know it's the least interesting part of the hobby, but it's pretty fascinating watching it all happen and spotting the changes every day.

 

Last night I saw dozens of little white bugs (almost positive they're copepods) crawling on the glass and floating around. Hadn't seen them before, so I freaked out thinking the tank had fleas or something. I wasn't able to get a picture of them, but did notice some significant changes when I got back from work this evening:

 

First major change is that the sand bed has been disturbed. When I left for work this morning (and even at lunch time) the sand bed was smooth and sterile-looking. Came back to this:

 

And new, tiny gas pockets. I initially thought these might be burrows for the pods that showed themselves last night, but it seems more likely that they are gas produced from the denitrifying bacteria in the sand after Googling around.

 

 

There are also definite signs of a diatom bloom on the way:

 

 

So exciting to see all of this life spring up in one day; the tank looked completely different this morning.

 

I've dropped the temperature in the room a couple of degrees and left the feeding flap open and the temperature has been stable at 80 degrees all day - a step in the right direction from the previous 81-83. After ghost feeding the tank every few days, ammonia tested .25 yesterday evening, 0 today at lunch. I dropped a couple flakes in at lunch, so I'm about to test ammonia and nitrate to see where things stand about 5 hours after dropping the food in.

 

Thanks for reading!

[LongDoggy]

I found with the Biocube 14, the only way to combat heat is to do LEDs. After doing the retrofit; I was running around 77.5-79.5 depending on the season. I don't run a heater at the moment. Had a heater malfunction and almost cooked the tank!

[Pocket_Tamales]

Did you try fans Doggy? I was hoping to last on the stock bulbs at least until they burn out, but the temp definitely gets high :/

[Astinus]

BTW, Astinus - checked out your build thread - your rocks are incredible! Also, thank you for your military service. We wouldn't have the lives we do without you.

Thank you!

In regards to my service, It was an Honor for me to Serve! I am Proud and Glad I was able to serve the People of the USA.

[LongDoggy]

Did you try fans Doggy? I was hoping to last on the stock bulbs at least until they burn out, but the temp definitely gets high :/

There is not much room for fans to do much cooling without cutting away the hood. Plus using a fan will make an ATO even more of a necessity.

I'm not even kidding when I say going LED on the cube was an amazing decision.

I was able to keep any coral, my temps were well in control, and I seem to have also gotten a hold on an old hair algae issue of mine. Odd coincidence that it was persistent when I had stock PC bulbs and it has not reared its ugly head in the last 2+ years I've had them.

[Pocket_Tamales]

There is not much room for fans to do much cooling without cutting away the hood. Plus using a fan will make an ATO even more of a necessity.

I'm not even kidding when I say going LED on the cube was an amazing decision.

I was able to keep any coral, my temps were well in control, and I seem to have also gotten a hold on an old hair algae issue of mine. Odd coincidence that it was persistent when I had stock PC bulbs and it has not reared its ugly head in the last 2+ years I've had them.

After reading through about half of your tank thread, doggy (it's way too late, going to have to finish it tomorriw) I'm going to take your word on that. Not only do you know your stuff, you've documented years of experience on this forum .

 

Thanks for taking an interest and for the awesome tank thread. I hope to share your success one day!