Brand New to SW

[Admonition]

So after a lot of reading through this forum and online elsewhere, I’m ready for my first post lol. I’ll start by saying I am brand spanking new to Saltwater. I have been into freshwater (150 gal Cichlid tank at the moment) for a few years now, and I felt it was time to start a saltwater tank. I will eventually setup a much larger SW tank years from now, but for now I plan to “learn” on a BioCube 14. With that in mind, I have a number of questions I was hoping you all could help me with.

 

Equipment

As far as tank “equipment” goes, here is what I believe I will need: Protein skimmer, thermometer, heater, Koralia 1 or Nano powerhead (I’m not sure which is preferable) and a hydrometer. As far as substrate is concerned, I was thinking on going with CaribSea Arag-Alive Bahamas Oolite. Is this appropriate sand? I was also planning on picking up Cured Rock instead of uncured. Is there a recommended type, or is whatever my LFS has okay? Also, I keep reading about people removing the stock pump and replacing it with something else. Is this necessary, or will the stock pump do the job?

 

Other than these items, is there anything else you would recommend I get or remove from this list?

 

Corals

I believe I would like to stock the tank with LPS and Soft Corals and stay away from SPS. In this regard, here is a list of corals I am interested in having: Candy Cane, Bubble Coral, Torch Coral, Blastomussa, Sun Polyps, Green Star Polyps, Mushrooms, Zoanthids, Toadstool Leather, Florida Ricordea.

 

Is this a realistic list? I have read that a number of the above listed corals are “highly aggressive”; however, I notice many people on this forum still stock them together. Is there a trick to placing them? Also, will the stock lighting on the BC 14 be enough to keep these corals (and other LPS/Softies) going? I’ve heard these stock lights are only a problem with SPS.

 

Cleanup Crew

Here is a list of the cleanup crew I intend to stock: Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Scarlet Reef Hermit, Peppermint Shrimp, Eyelash Blenny (or Lawnmower Blenny), and an Emerald Crab.

 

Is this a practical list? If so, how many of each would you suggest? If it’s not, what would you remove or recommend? Also, I heard Eyelash Blennies are a good addition, but I’m concerned they’ll get too big for my tank. Is a lawnmower blenny preferable over the Eyelash Blenny?

 

Fish

My intention is only to have two True Percula Clownfish. I doubt my BC 14 could hold more than two fish, correct?

 

Invertebrates

I was planning on having a Brittle Starfish. I also would have liked a Bubble Tip Anemone, but I’ve been told it’s a bad idea because of how small my tank is. Is this true? If so, is there any anemone that would work with my tank?

 

Filter/Rear Chamber Compartments

Here’s where I’m really thrown off because it seems like everyone’s SW tanks are filled with 'nothing' (whereas my FW tank’s filter has tons of stuff). From what I can gather I was planning on having a bag of Chemipure and Purigen for sure back there. I’m not too knowledgeable with Cheato, but if I can manage, I was thinking of having that back there as well because I’m told it does wonders.

 

Is this all I will need back there for “filtration”?

 

 

 

So far, I think that about covers all of my concerns. Thank you so much for reading and helping this silly SW newb. I appreciate all of your feedback; ya’ll know more than I do!

[iball1804]

Welcome!

 

Two perculas/ocellaris will do great in 14 gallons. people put them in 10 gallons sometimes!

 

For the corals, I would create a LPS island over there, and a softies island over here. That way when the LPS extend their stingers at night, they will only be able to reach themselves. I have heard and seen people putting LPS and softies together, but technically they should be separated.

[jestep]

Looks like you have a pretty good plan.

 

I would skip the skimmer unless you are going to go with a lot of SPS. The LPS and softies will do better without one. Just make sure to do weekly or bi-weekly water changes. FOr the filter chamber, run floss and then chemi-pure, carbon, or seagel, or something similar. If you can put a light back there, chaeto would be good as well.

 

Get a larger grain sand like reef select. The oolite often gets blasted all over the place.

 

Also, for the rock, I would suggest getting dry rock from Marco or bulk reef, and then adding a small piece of very high quality rock to seed the tank.

 

I would make sure to stock very slowly. IMO, a lawnmower and 2 clowns is pushing it in a 14 as far as stability goes. It may be difficult to find a balance with that bio-load in the tank.

 

I don't think the tank is too small for a BTA, but they're much more aggressive than your corals. There's not a lot of room and the nem may go wandering around and will certainly wreak havoc on any nearby corals. Make sure the tank is at least 6 months old and stable before adding the BTA if you do decide to get one, but keep in mind that he will move until he finds his spot.

[JoelRHale]

You've gotten a lot of good help towards starting your sw tank, what's in the 150? I keep mbuna and just love cichlids, it seems like a lot of cichlid keepers have their hands in both realms.

[wartskin]

For your equipment drop the hydrometer and get a refractometer, I would keep the skimmer and get the uv sterilzer too, also a grounding probe, you can run your cube right outta the box or upgrade it that's a $$$ matter I would upgrade the pump though and instead of the bubble do a maxi mini

.02¢

 

Oh and don't forget the test kits

[Ls2Goat]

The stock pump puts out heat and lots of it compared to say a maxijet 900 that almost doubles the flow with half the heat.

I use a koralia nano 240 in mine with the mj900 and love the flow.

If you are talking about the biocube skimmer, skip it as it is garbage if you want a skimmer I think tunze has a nano(not sure on this) but a skimmer is not needed in a nano of this size.

First thing to do in the back chambers is to remove the false floors in the first 2 chambers, If you plan to use other filtration besides the stock.

I have a intake media basket in mine that has floss on the top shelf cheato in middle Chemipure bottom and purigen in place of the stock sponge.

The reason for not having much more is simple, your live rock does the majority of the filtration in the system.

The stock lighting is OK at best, fore a inexpensive DIY upgrade look into the nanotuners 3.24 pc and fan upgrade and pair that with the PC-R bulbs and you will see almost 50% improvement.

Rock is a personal choice on what you want same with sand. but my recommendation is don't get a super fine grade of sand, I have the figi pink in mine, 15-20lbs depending on how deep of a sand bed you want. I purchased the nano pack of live rock from gulfliverock dot com(many others on here recommend them as well).

As for live stock I have 2 percs and a yellow watchmen goby/pistol in mine and the bio load is fine.

I have the reefcleaners 10 gallon quick crew with a few hermits and various other hitch hikers, I'd recommend avoiding the emerald and go with a decorator or pom pom crab instead as they are less likley to eat your corals.

 

That's my 2 cents and as a fellow bc14 owner converted from FW, welcome.

 

Posted from my iPhone

[Admonition]

FOr the filter chamber, run floss and then chemi-pure, carbon, or seagel, or something similar. If you can put a light back there, chaeto would be good as well.Get a larger grain sand like reef select. The oolite often gets blasted all over the place. I don't think the tank is too small for a BTA, but they're much more aggressive than your corals. There's not a lot of room and the nem may go wandering around and will certainly wreak havoc on any nearby corals

How would you recommend getting a light back there? Are there submersible lights people use? As far as the sand, what about the CaribSea Arag-Alive 'Fiji Pink' or 'Special Grade Reef Sand'? They're 0.5-1.5mm and 1-2mm grain size respectively. Would that be large enough? I just didn't want huge pieces. I definitely don't want the BTA to wreak havoc on my corals, so maybe I'll hold off it until later, thanks for the help!

 

You've gotten a lot of good help towards starting your sw tank, what's in the 150? I keep mbuna and just love cichlids, it seems like a lot of cichlid keepers have their hands in both realms.

Thanks The goal was an all-male peacock tank with a Hap or two. Still getting there stock wise, but here’s what I have at the moment: 1 Aulonocara OB Peacock, 1 Aulonocara Baenschi, 1 Placidochromis Electra, 1 Aulonocara Caroline Swallowtail, 1 Aulonocara German Red, 1 Nimbochromis Venustus, 1 Otopharynx Lithobate (zimbawe rock), 1 Aulonocara sp. Lwanda, 1 Aulonocara Maylandi, 1 Aulonocara Stuartgranti Chiwindi, and 1 Ancistrus dolichopterus (Albino Bushy Nose Pleco). All full grown except the Maylandi.

 

For your equipment drop the hydrometer and get a refractometer, I would keep the skimmer and get the uv sterilzer too

I was looking at the refractometer, costly buggers. Any recommendations on a brand or are they all pretty much created equal? Any suggestions on a UV sterilizer? I wasn’t sure one was necessary in this small of a tank so I didn’t list it.

 

The stock pump puts out heat and lots of it compared to say a maxijet 900 that almost doubles the flow with half the heat.I use a koralia nano 240 in mine with the mj900 and love the flow. If you are talking about the biocube skimmer, skip it as it is garbage if you want a skimmer I think tunze has a nano(not sure on this) but a skimmer is not needed in a nano of this size.

 

First thing to do in the back chambers is to remove the false floors in the first 2 chambers, If you plan to use other filtration besides the stock. I have a intake media basket in mine that has floss on the top shelf cheato in middle Chemipure bottom and purigen in place of the stock sponge.

 

The stock lighting is OK at best, fore a inexpensive DIY upgrade look into the nanotuners 3.24 pc and fan upgrade and pair that with the PC-R bulbs and you will see almost 50% improvement.

 

[…]my recommendation is don't get a super fine grade of sand, I have the figi pink in mine, 15-20lbs depending on how deep of a sand bed you want. I purchased the nano pack of live rock from gulfliverock dot com(many others on here recommend them as well). I'd recommend avoiding the emerald and go with a decorator or pom pom crab instead as they are less likley to eat your corals.

Yeah, I’ve noticed everyone seems to upgrade the pump. So you recommend the Maxijet900? Anything special I need to do if I upgrade to that pump? Or is it simply unhook the stock pump and plug in the Maxijet900 in its place? And okay, thanks, I wasn’t sure if I should go the Nano route or model 1 with Koralia. Also, with a bag of Purigen in place of the sponge, does it get clogged up?

 

As far as the skimmer is concerned, what exactly makes it not necessary in a tank this size? Is it simply because my water changes in a low volume tank will pretty much do the job of a skimmer already?

 

I keep reading about the false floors being removed, but I’ll be honest, destroying my brand new tank makes me nervous lol. Are they easy to ‘remove’ or will I be breaking some plastic? Also, what is the added benefit of removing these floors? Do you find the intake media basket being worth it instead of just stacking the media without it? And which chamber did you install that media basket?

 

As far as lights are concerned, I was just concerned the PCs weren’t going to be enough to keep the corals I wanted. But I feel better now that ya’ll say it shouldn’t be an issue for LPS and softies. And for the sand, I started looking at the ‘Fiji pink’ and the ‘special grade reef sand’ by Caribsea instead. As for the crab, I was under the impression that an Emerald Crab was a significant addition because of its ability to clean up the tank and take care of bubble algae. I had no idea it had a tendency to eat corals. Does the pom pom crab have the same cleaning ability?

 

Sorry if I come across like a machine gun as far as questions go. I have a tendency to ask lots of them Thank you very much to everyone who has replied. I appreciate all of your amazing help!

[Ls2Goat]

How would you recommend getting a light back there? Are there submersible lights people use? As far as the sand, what about the CaribSea Arag-Alive 'Fiji Pink' or 'Special Grade Reef Sand'? They're 0.5-1.5mm and 1-2mm grain size respectively. Would that be large enough? I just didn't want huge pieces. I definitely don't want the BTA to wreak havoc on my corals, so maybe I'll hold off it until later, thanks for the help!

There are 2 popular options:

first being the inexpensive submersible fuge light that intake sells for I believe 19.99 or so

second would be the more expensive JBJ NanoGlo magnetic light that I use I believe it is 45.00-60.00 depending on where you buy it.

As I said the Fiji Pink is what I use and love it, but it comes down to what you like better but roughly 1mm grain size is the norm for the most part.

 

I was looking at the refractometer, costly buggers. Any recommendations on a brand or are they all pretty much created equal? Any suggestions on a UV sterilizer? I wasn’t sure one was necessary in this small of a tank so I didn’t list it.

The refractometer is going to be 35.00-45.00 depending where you get it and is a great investment, a hydrometer is a hit or miss some times they are perfect and others are off by almost 10% or more, if you want corals I HIGHLY recommend a refract, but a hydrometer is good to start with.

Yeah, I’ve noticed everyone seems to upgrade the pump. So you recommend the Maxijet900? Anything special I need to do if I upgrade to that pump? Or is it simply unhook the stock pump and plug in the Maxijet900 in its place? And okay, thanks, I wasn’t sure if I should go the Nano route or model 1 with Koralia. Also, with a bag of Purigen in place of sponge, does it get clogged up?

The MJ900 seems to be the norm for the BC14 replacement pumps, it will not fit 100% as it is a bit larger. You will need to trim about a inch off of the return tube and the pump will sit elevated.

 

As far as the skimmer is concerned, what exactly makes it not necessary in a tank this size? Is it simply because my water changes in a low volume tank will pretty much do the job of a skimmer already?

As long as you are doing weekly or bi-weekly water changes and don't have a heavy bioload a skimmer is not needed. Not to mention the Biocube skimmer itself is pure crap.

 

I keep reading about the false floors being removed, but I’ll be honest, destroying my brand new tank makes me nervous lol. Are they easy to ‘remove’ or will I be breaking some plastic? Also, what is the added benefit of removing these floors? Do you find the intake media basket being worth it instead of just stacking the media without it? And which chamber did you install that media basket?

The floors are just pieces of plastic that get in the way, you just stick a flat head screw driver in and they pop up if you want/need to put them back in again you can.

With the floors in the chambers the space is reduced by almost 25% and you can not fit a heater in the back chambers.

A added note; detris builds up under the floor in chamber 1 and will eventually become a nitrate factory.

The media basket goes in the middle chamber and keeps the "media" separated and contained it keeps the water flow smooth, if you stack it on top of each other it can restrict the flow.

 

As for the crab, I was under the impression that an Emerald Crab was a significant addition because of its ability to clean up the tank and take care of bubble algae. I had no idea it had a tendency to eat corals. Does the pom pom crab have the same cleaning ability?

Again the crabs can be a hit or miss, some love to demolish corals and others don't do much else. My hermits eat the bubble algae when it pops up I dunno if that's normal or not, but if you have no other reason why you want a emerald I'd add the crab when you need it.

[JoelRHale]

Not to keep hijacking, but since you've gotten more than helpful replies from other members, I don't feel bad, :wuv: Otopharynx lithobates! I would like to have an all male set up in a 180+ gallon tank some day. I would also have P. Electra and other blue dominated haps then throw some color in with a red empress and sunshine peacock.

 

But anyway :ahem: back to saltwater

[stifler51]

id skip the skimmer and uv all together its not needed. I took my uv out. just one less thing adding to the electricity bill and more money to spend on something needed like the media basket.

 

Also i have Oolite sand in my tank with a MP10 on the tank about midway up the right side and my sand stays in place for the most part, although i may kick a little back in the corner when i clean the tank. The downside is my damsel likes to go down on top the sand and tail kick it looking for food and ends up getting sucked up into the MP10

[Admonition]

Thank you all so much for the help! Ya'll have really cleared a lot up for me. I think the only other question I have is how many of my "Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Scarlet Reef Hermit, and Peppermint Shrimp" cleanup crew would you recommend in this tank given its size, the two clown fish, and possibly a lawnmower blenny?

 

Edit: I almost forgot to ask. That JBJ Nano-Glo Led Fuge Light you suggested and use yourself- does the light increase the temperature of the tank? I'm debating between spending a little more money and getting that or just getting the single bulb from inTank (which I'm not sure is enough light). Thanks!

 

Not to keep hijacking, but since you've gotten more than helpful replies from other members, I don't feel bad, :wuv: Otopharynx lithobates! I would like to have an all male set up in a 180+ gallon tank some day. I would also have P. Electra and other blue dominated haps then throw some color in with a red empress and sunshine peacock.

 

But anyway :ahem: back to saltwater

 

Hehe. I love my otopharynx lithobate, amazing color. And the Electra? Gorgeous blue. A friend recommended him and I'm so glad I picked one up!

[Ls2Goat]

I like the JBJ simply because the light itself is mounted outside of the tank and held in place via a magnet on the inside, as for temperature when I added it there was no increase in heat in my setup.

 

As for the inverts, you can add as many as needed to keep the algae in check, and it depends on how many other inverts such as snails are in the tank as well. I'd recommend start with a few and add them as you see fit, you don't want them starving and fighting the other livestock for food.