16Gal Biorb Life 60 converting to Marine

[KevKapawski]

Why not buy a roll of filter floss

 

Good stuff but only problem with floss in the Life tank is the access as mention. Mainly because the depth causes problems when coming to remove it, as you will be pratically washing all the detrius ect back into the water as you remove it. The best options in my opinion is either remove it totally and block of the air tube(saving power also) or keep it and fill it with small rubble to assist with Bio-filtration.

 

All will work but its probably gonna be trial and error

[BigBad82]

Yeah I hear what you're saying. I blame reef one, I love their design but they need to come up with something more practical for filtration.

[wsuran]

Hey Gentlemen,

 

Thanks for the advice! My PH and Salt levels are all good now and I'll be putting in the sand and live rocks this weekend. I'll get some photos of my progress by early next week. Take care, William

[BigBad82]

Looking forward to it!

[KevKapawski]

Me 2

[wsuran]

Hey guys! Here it is thus far. Got my rocks in. Some little cnidarians and snails came along for the ride and they're the focus of my attention these days. Still waiting for it to cycle...my amonia levels are still very low, but it is just two days since I added the live rock and sand. I ended up purchasing an Eheim 2213 external canister filter and had my girlfriend drill holes for the intake and outtake. We started the filtration system with the addition of "special blend', which reeks of rotten eggs, but is supposed to be good for the tank. Also adding a calcium buffer for the rock...maybe this is all overkill? but i'm overly excited about making this thing great. Will update with more photos once i can start adding fish. I'm sure I'll be asking for suggestions, as all i know i'd like so far are clownfish and anenomes. feel free to throw out your opinions.

[BigBad82]

Great start. Forget about keeping anenomes, they're not needed for a clown and difficult to keep. A clown goby would work well in there. So you got the bubble tube in there just for show since you've got external filtration? You going to put a blue or black background on? I started with special blend, my wife says it smells like me after a few beers........charming!

[wsuran]

THanks for the advice!.right, the bubbler isn't necessary anymore.?..I might ditch it, or at least cut it down so it's not such a focus.

[BigBad82]

Well the bubble tube will provide oxygen and good surface agitation so that's a plus. It's all down to personal preference whether you want it in there or not. Is there a powerhead hidden behind the rocks or you got nothing there?

[wsuran]

nope, no power head...would that be just to create circulation? the filter seems to do plenty of that.

[BigBad82]

Yeah powerhead is for flow/circulation. An MP10 would be perfect for your tank imo!

[KevKapawski]

A power head of about 900litres per hour is a must...the circulation that the bubbles create is not enought when you have Live rock. Live rock gets a coat of detrius and slime over time, reducing its benefits. A circultaion upgrade would prevent this, not to mention the fact its closer to the natural water flow marine fish are used too.

 

The Hydor Koralia range is good and your looking at the 'K1' or 'Nano' pumps.

 

Nice tank

[BigBad82]

I second the Hydor Koralia notion. Just invested in a Koralia Nano 900 and it's very small, perfect for such a setup.

[wsuran]

Hey Guys,

Still waiting for my tank to cycle. The amonia levels are still consistently low and I'm patiently waiting for that spike. Lots of little shrimps, Cnidarians, and snails to entertain in the meantime.

 

So just to make sure...I should get the power head, even though the canister filter with it's intake and outtake does create a circulation? basically in addition to, to make more circulation?

 

Thanks, william

[BigBad82]

Yeah definately your tank will really benefit from the extra flow. The Koralia Nano 900 is the way to go as it's really small. By the way you might not get that ammonia spike, I never during my cycle.

[KevKapawski]

A nano pump is a must with the Live Rock setup to be honest...I know they dont look pretty and are an additional cost, but the benefits are worth it. You could alway hide it behind some rock if you want.

 

Regarding the cycle, as barry said you may not have a cycle. If you dont I would stress that you should not add more than one fish at a time when you start stocking the tank and a month apart to be safe. The reason is your fish could start off the cycle and the added ammonia would be too great for the rock to handle. A good tip would be to feed the tank a small amount of fish food now, wait for a mini cycle then once its finished remove 10% of the water with some fresh water. Thats what I would do but its up to you.

 

Keep the updates coming

[wsuran]

Thanks again for the advice guys...I'll be getting the power head and I'll try out adding some fish food after i get some. Best, WS

[BigBad82]

KevKapawski, what food you been using? I've bought Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 and Prime Reef flakes, Dried Seaweed (Green) and also just purchased a load of the Gamma Frozen Food Blister Packs and I'm going to changes things up so the Ocellaris gets a varied diet.

[KevKapawski]

KevKapawski, what food you been using? I've bought Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 and Prime Reef flakes, Dried Seaweed (Green) and also just purchased a load of the Gamma Frozen Food Blister Packs and I'm going to changes things up so the Ocellaris gets a varied diet.

 

Frozen mysis shrimp in blister packs and a tub of dry 'new ear marine pellets'. Seem to do the job. I feed mysis one day then pellets the following day.

[BigBad82]

awesome, cheers for that mate.

[wsuran]

Hey guys! it's been a little while and i've had some success and some failure....just looking for some opinions. My tank never did 'cycle', but i'm about 7-8 weeks since the initial setup. Here's what's gone on. My levels for everything are perfect. with the live rock came plenty of tiny anenome's, shrimp, and snails. about three weeks ago I introduced one piece of live coral and a clownfish. The coral is still with me, but unfortunately the clownfish didn't survive the night. So i let the tank continue for another 2 1/2 weeks. while monitoring the levels which all have remained good. Three days ago i introduced two hermit crabs, a snail, and an angelfish. Crabs and snail are great, but i just discovered the dead angelfish . sad sad sad. i've been adding stresscoat when adding the fish. i've been letting them aclimate for about 35 minutes outside the tank while slowly adding my tankwater to the outside bowl. Any suggestions or ideas about what i might be doing wrong....i just want these wonderful things to live! thanks in advance for your time. Sincerely, William

,

[KevKapawski]

Any suggestions or ideas about what i might be doing wrong....i just want these wonderful things to live! thanks in advance for your time.

 

William,

 

Firstly, sorry to hear the bad news.

 

This is what I thinks going wrong: your tank may or may not have had a cycle but it seems that each time a fish enters your water and releases its ammonia your tank tries to do a cycle on your fish. The result is a dead fish and then your tank reverts back to its original bio load level.

 

My suggestion: Add a new piece of Live Rock that is full of coraline algae and that already has some growth of polyps, mushrooms or algae growing on it. Try and get a 2Kg piece. Leave that in your tank for about ten days without a water change then Do a 10% water change weekly there after. You should after about a month of the new LR in there be able, providing your parametres are good, add a fish. but ensure you leave three to four weeks inbetween each fish introduction to allow your tank to rebuild its bio load.

 

In summary: It looks and sounds to me that your tank does not have enought good bacteria to handle any more inhabitants in your tank and even with a cycle in your current setup your tank can not handle the ammonia introduction fast enought. The new Live Rock will add more surface for more bacteria, resulting in your tanks increased stocking capabilities. Althought your 'clean up crew' seem to be doing okay, they will have felt the effects of the introduction of the two deceased fish but as they are quiet hardy they are surviving. As you know they do not release the same levels of ammonia as a fish does.

 

Good luck

[keithsizer]

Hi,

 

How many CUC and fish do you all have in your 60l? Going at the weekend to get some CUC, don't want to get more than I need. Thinking 1x Cleaner Shrimp, 2x Hermit's and 2x Turbo's.

 

Fish we want:

 

Stripped Damsel

Green Chromis

2x Clown Fish

 

Would this be overstocking? I have 5kg of live rock and 20lbs of live sand. Cycling is going well, so far...

 

Thanks

[wsuran]

Hey Kev,

 

Thanks so much for the advice. We've followed what you've said and will be trying once again soon. I'll keep you updated. All the best, William

[edgero]

Hi all,

 

just convert my Biorb Life to marine, I added 5 kg of live rocks, 10 kg life sand, 2 crabs and 2 clown fish ... I want to add one more fish and maybe something other ...