Biocube 29

[ReefNewbie001]

So I've had a freshwater tank for ~2 years (although this was several years ago) and I thought I would step up and try to do a saltwater tank. I bought the Biocube 29 tank and came across a few questions. Please keep in mind, I am not trying to step up and do anything too fancy (just mostly LPS coral, polyps, mushroom).

 

1) What are the essentials to have on day 1 to start the cycling process? Right now, I have a protein skimmer (Coralife) and a test kit. I pretty much waited on buying anything else to get good advice on so I'm not wasting my money.

 

2) I see it's pretty much a common consensus on here to take out the bioballs. What should replace them?

 

3) Is RO water essential for the tank? I planned on getting some but the nearest fish store is about a hour away so it's no easy task.

 

4) How often does water need to be changed even with a skimmer?

 

Thanks. I'm excited to join this community and see everyone's tank!

[tjwaggoner]

As for essentials needed on day one to start the cycle, the tank, water, rock, source of ammonia. Id say a heater too but these tanks run hot enough with the lights on anyway but have a heater for security.

Remove bioballs, look up InTank products. StevieT is the owner and is a member here. Cool guy and he will hook you up with a sweet filtration set up for this tank for less than a hundred bucks shipped to your door.

Don't stress out about RODI water right off the bat, unless you live on the moon there's a Walmart nearby. Get the purple top jugs of their water and use that. That's the distilled Walmart brand, purple lid. .88 per gallon where I buy it.

Water changes are different for different systems. Bio load, type of organisms, feeding habits, etc will all effect how often it's needed. For you and what you're wanting to keep, I'd say a good 1/3 change once a month will be fine if you change your filter floss (StevieT will explain and hook you up) and don't overfeed or overstock with fish (think 3-4 fish max).

That's my take on it. There's a lot to like about these tanks. I just sold mine that had been running up until last week.

One thing I wanted to mention: the CoralLife biocube skimmer probably isn't your best bet on this tank. I've heard it pulls good skim but since it uses airstones, it's another maintenance task and something to buy regularly. A needle wheel skimmer does require maint in the form of cleaning and eventual pump replacement but not nearly as maint intensive as a airstone skimmer. Just my two cents

[ReefNewbie001]

Thanks tj. All this advice helped a lot. I'll be sure to get in contact with StevieT and see what he can do for me.