Winkin's 29g BioCube Journal

[Winkin]

I've finally taken the plunge into the hobby after 4 years of dreaming and have a lot of nerves as I think I took some bad advise from the LFS in starting up, but hopefully everything is still salvageable and a crash isn't in my future.

 

Filtration Mods

 

Chamber 1: 75 watt heater and stock filter mod.

Chamber 2: RemoraC Skimmer

Chamber 3: ChemiPure Elite

 

Display

 

Koralina 1

Hydro Flow

~30 lbs fiji LR

~25 lbs LS

 

Anyways, for now here is a full tank shot (12-28-07).

 

Comments and suggestions are welcome!

 

Eddited to be a summary of thread.

[thelastmucci]

That looks real sharp man...don't sweat about the fish, everyone makes mistakes. Obviously your one of those people that actually pay attention on these forums and are well aware of what you did and what you need to do. I'm also thinking of taking the plunge and have been doing lots and lots of research both online and in books. I can't imagine if I waited four years and planned that long but I know if you want to do it right it costs a big chunk of change at first. One book I would recommend if you already don't own it (which you probably do you've been planning for four years) is the idiot's guide to salt water volume 2. Excellent book and tells you allot. I don't really have any suggestions for you because honestly I think your doing everything right.

[Winkin]

Thanks for the advise thelastmucci. The reason I've waited is because I should finally be living in one place for awhile and have the income to keep pace with 1 small tank. I originally found out about nano reefs in college and I'm glad I didn't start one back then, that would have been difficult. I've been meaning to order some books so thanks for the suggestions.

 

I also went to another LFS the other day, and although more expensive, their selection of corals was magnificant. I can't wait till everything is stable and ready for some! I also got some more of my needed equipment, a Koralina, a heater, purigen and some decent testing equipment. I haven't added the purigen yet, going to wait till the tank cycles. I got the tank up to 79-80 last night and this morning when I turned the lights on the fish went bonkers. They seem real happy now and it's fun to watch em swim in the current from the koralina. I also took my tank's parameters and got 0 ppm ammonia, 2 ppm nitrites, 5 ppm nitrate. I'll have to test again later today to see if the nitrites are going up or down but I'm glad the fish made it past the ammonia spike ok.

 

I haven't seem any algae blooms yet but I think everything is headed in the right direction.

[spanko]

Just a quick note. Looks like your set the tank up very recently, maybe the 30th when you started the thread? You have not seen a real cycle yet if that is the case. Tank looks good. Nice scape. I must say though it pains me to see people cycling with fish, but nothing anybody can say keeps people from doing it so you will have to make the best of it I guess.

 

Here is a thread on ammonia poisoning in fish to read. I hope in the future if you start another tank you will consider what a fish is going through during cycling.

 

http://www.firsttankguide.net/ammonia-stress.php

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/marineaquarium/ammonia.php

[Winkin]

Nitrites were down to 1 ppm this morning. Not sure if the Bio-spira is working making the tank cycle in a week or if it's just error in the test. Going to give things till Friday watching the ite's till I add my first half of the CUC.

 

As for the fish, they were added on day 3 (tank started on the 25th) and only because I didn't know better. I found a better LFS with a better staff and if/when I set up another tank it will only cycle with LR. I guess the 1st store didn't place much value on a damsel, but I agree, if you can do it without stressing a fish then you should.

[Gerber77]

The aquascape looks good but in the future if you want to add more fish the damsels will most likely have to go because they get really aggressive and will stress the new additions.

[Winkin]

So I'm trying to figure out how large my CUC will need to be for a 29BC. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

I was thinking:

 

8x astrea snails

8x nassairus snails

1x emrald crab

1x sally lightfoot

1x cleaner shrimp

4x hermit crabs, scarlet and blue legs

 

This enough?

[PodRod]

Hey Winkin,

 

Welcome to the hobby and to NR! Don't worry about making mistakes - we've all been there and I promise no one is mistake free in this hobby. You are at least doing your homework and researching and that's more than a lot of people do. As for information from your LFS, you will get a lot of feedback telling you not to listen to them. In reality, some are good and some are not - you will have to take what they say with a grain of salt, just like the feedback you receive here.

 

The best advise I can offer is to take it slow, research and don't try to push the cycle. Use the cycle time to prepare and don't hesitate to ask questions. There are a lot of great people on this forum that will help you along the way.

 

As for the CUC - I've never had a sally lightfoot or a cleaner shrimp so I can't help you there. Your snails seem right, but you may want a few more hermits. Some people don't use hermits at all, but if you do, then I would recommend the scarlet over the blue legged.

 

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

[Winkin]

Well I'm on day 11 of cycling and thought I'd update my thread as I've had some changes.

 

Firstly, I've done a few mods: added a heater to chamber 1 and removed the false floor, got some filter floss on top of the bio balls, added a koralina and a diffuser to the pump discharge.

 

As for my parameters I'm at 1.023 SG, 0 ammonia, been at 1-2 ppm nitrites for about 5 days now, and seeing about 40 ppm nitrate. I'm also seeing a large brown diatom bloom at the moment, most likely because I was a newb and started with dechorlinated tap water. I'm hoping the diatoms will starve in a few days as I found a good RO water source now for top offs and water changes. Anyways, on to the pics! Attached are a current full tank shot and my three fish, Blinkin (Blue Green Chromis), Winkin (Yellowtail Damsel) and Nod (Neon Velvet Damsel).

[Pickle010]

Day 11 - still cycling and you have 3 fish?

 

Moving along a little fast - I'd say you have about 3 fish too many.

 

Diatoms are a normal part of the cycle and you may have them until you get your CUC in place to clean them up. You know, clean up crew - You would add those after your cycle is complete and before you start adding fish.

 

I realize you didn't know better when you added the fish - but take it slow and try doing more research before you put stuff in your tank.

[TUDIZZLE]

ok..ok.ok he already knows about the fish now he just has to roll with it..lesson learned

 

to the BC crew

 

 

Take things slowly and enjoy every phase of your tank...even the smallest things can be fascinating to watch unfold.

 

I would recommend a larger variety of snails in you CUC, as they all will prefer cleaning a different part of your Cube.

 

Keep the pics coming!

[Winkin]

Thanks Tudizzle. I love your tank btw, one of the first ones I saw on this site.

 

So I've added some more LR, up to 30 lbs now and did a complete re-aquascape. I'll post pics tomorrow when the water settles but I'm really happy with the look now.

 

Nitrites were down to 0 this afternoon but going to let things mellow till the weekend and if I'm still at zeros do my first big water change.

 

The diatoms are everywhere and it's hard not to go get some snails to start eating the stuff but the growth rate has slowed down so I should be ok. No signs of any cyano yet and I hope it stays that way.

 

I also ordered my lighting upgrade, decided to go with a sunpod as I really dig the topless look and wanted MH. I'm still debating if I need to replace the stock pump or not yet. I widened the gap from chamber 1 to 2 and that made a huge difference. I also split a stock filter and filled it with floss and have to change it out every other day with all the diatoms floating around, but that stuff works great.

 

All the fish are really happy, except for the aquascape as their territory got changed a bit. They go bonkers at feeding time and are a lot of fun to watch. The yellowtail has also taken over the tank, which is weird because it was so shy the first week.

 

Pics to follow soon.

[thelastmucci]

can't wait to see pics. Glad everything is coming along nicely.

[Deano]

Looking good. You might want to consider slowwwllly bumping up you SG to around 1.025. Theres nothing wrong with 1.023 sg for fish only but if you want to add some corals you need to be at about 1.025.

 

Also you need to consider that water change and atart doing a weekly changes of at least 2 gals to get the nitrates down. 40ppm is getting pretty high. Doing weekly water changes will soften the cycle and slow it down a bit but it will be less stressful to the fish.

 

You might want to thank about some differant fish once you know that the cycle has completed. 3 damsels in a 30 gal tank is not a good mix besides there are so many cooler fish then damsels available now days.

 

IMO 3 fish is max for you tank any way and if you try to remove one or 2 of the current Damsels and try to add something a little nicer you will most likely run into some problems. If you like damsels I would keep the Blue Green and trade the other 2 back to your LFS when the time comes.

[Winkin]

Thanks for the advice Deano.

 

Ya, my SG is too low and I'll be doing a 40% or so water change this weekend and plan on getting a refractometer since the hydrogmeters are usually off. I also plan to take the damsels back, but for now I like them. I want to make sure I have some decent husbandry skills before I spent a lot on a new fish.

 

I still have a lot to learn on having good water quality and figure out the best source for me. I also need to get a reef test kit as I just have a generic saltwater one to monitor my cycle. Going to start with water from the LFS and test it as that's the easiest. If not I'll look into a RO unit for my water and mix my salt. For top offs I use RO water from WalMart, which others have had good results with.

 

Apparently diatoms do not make bubbles so I guess I have cyano after all, but it isn't slimy or stringy at all just very brown and powdery. Last night was busy but I'll try and get some pics up tonight.

 

Thanks all for the help, I have a lot to learn!

[Winkin]

Tank's dirty but here's the new aquascape.

 

[Deano]

Going to start with water from the LFS and test it as that's the easiest. If not I'll look into a RO unit for my water and mix my salt. For top offs I use RO water from WalMart, which others have had good results with.

 

Apparently diatoms do not make bubbles so I guess I have cyano after all, but it isn't slimy or stringy at all just very brown and powdery. Last night was busy but I'll try and get some pics up tonight.

 

Thanks all for the help, I have a lot to learn!

 

Glad to help! I don't get to upset about others making mistakes as long as something is learned from it, I have been doing this for a very long time. It would take 100 noobs to make all the mistakes I have in the last 10 years. Not so many now a days! Been their done that.. And yes we use to cycle tanks using Damsels, boy have things changed alot in the last 10 to 15 years in this hobby. One thing that hasn't is the expense.

 

My only concren with the stuff from Wally World is if the system has not been properly maintained you could possably not be getting as good a quality of water as you would from a more realiable source. If you continue to to use Wallys water I would at least invest in a TDS meter so you can monitor its water quality. Of course your own RO unit is the best.

 

I used Culligan Water from the office water cooler for a year with no problems in my BC29 that I have at my office. Since they got rid of the water cooler I have been bring RO/DI water from home.

 

In a new tank going through the cycle the air bubbles are usally caused by a gas exchange from the algea dying off. This is normal.

[Dooderino]

Welcome to NR fellow BC29er. Tank looks great and diatoms are a good thing. My CUC consists of 4 nassaius snails, 2 mexican turbo snails (they work like they are from Mexico too! LOL), 4 blue leg hermits, 3 scarlet hermits, 2 vietnamese yellow tip hermits, 2 blue knuckle hermits, 1 blue-eyed hermit. 12 in all. I went to my LFS and bought some smaller shells for the blue legs and to a craft store to get some shells for the others. I picked out about a dozen shells in various sizes and put them in the back of the tank. I call it the trailer park. I have yet to have a problem with the crabs and they are always swapping shells until they get settled into a happy home. I think my blue-eyed hermits has swapped 6 times. I also have an unknown crab that hitch hiked on some rock. I have a peppermint shrimp, fire shrimp, and a huge brittle star. That's what works for me anyways.

 

And don't worry about the fish. I did the same thing as you. Damn LFS'. Just be sure to do your weekly water changes. I do 3 gallons a week. Use this time (cycling) to learn about SW and learn about the parameter tests.

 

Looks good! Keep the pictures coming. Everyone LOVES pictures.

[Winkin]

New Pics! I did my big water change this weekend and cleaned up a bit, also added the purigen to chamber 3. I also added a small CUC: 4 red leged hermits and 3 mexican turbo snails. The LFS was mostly out of snails so I'll be getting some more this week. Now onto the pics.

 

I got my Sunpod of Friday and go it all set up too.

 

FTS

 

Side View

 

New mexican turbo. A bristle worm made it into the picture and it's the first one I've seen.

[Winkin]

Not much to add, just letting the CUC do its thing and waiting a few more water changes to add any corals. I got some more members for the CUC to bring the totals to 4 red tiped hermits, 1 emrald crab, 3 mexican turbo snails, 3 cerith snails and 3 narssius snails.

 

Last addition will be 3 astrea snails when the LFS gets more in. I'm also doing some initial research on gobies. I'd like to get one when I remove the damsels. I was thinking a yellow watchmen gobie. Any advice on what type to get?

[Winkin]

Planning on doing a fuge mod and think I need a few more snails. Getting a little green algae now in addition to the diatoms. More pics to come soon. Water parameters are good but still at 20 ppm nitrate. It's slowly comming down with water changes and should go to 0-5 when I get the fuge mod in. Fish and inverts are happy. One hermit is molting at the moment and hiding while another traded in his shell. They sure have a feast to graze on at the moment.

[Winkin]

Two new additions this weekend and some new pics!

 

Oz the Emrald crab.

 

Pepin the Skunk Clearner Shrimp

 

Close up of one of the hermits

 

And finally Marv the YWG

[Obi Juan kenobi]

Tank looks good Winkin.

[thelastmucci]

I love skunk clearns..plan on getting some myself someday.

[thelastmucci]

I love skunk clearns..plan on getting some myself someday.