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Jackal's Biocube 16 LED - 3 Years In and Counting!


Jackal227

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2 hours ago, JordanB said:

I just found this thread this morning, and enjoyed reading all of it. I have a 16 gallon biocube as well and am contemplating adding a refugium to the 2nd chamber to help reduce the food that green hair algae loves. 

 

Ive had an issue getting rid of GHA in my tank for a while. I add more snails and crabs, but they all seem uninterested. 

 

Yesterday I took my rocks out and scrubbed them in a separate container of saltwater to remove as much algae as I could, and I vacuumed the sandbed. I wanted to break up one of my rocks to make a few smaller pieces (the lfs gave me two large rocks instead of a variety and I didn’t think about breaking them up before putting the tank together). When I took that rock out the rock flower anemone wouldn’t come off, so I just changed how the rocks lay in the tank. I really liked the rockscape in your tank though, so next time I’ll be smarter with my rocks. 

Only certain kinds of snails will eat GHA  - astrea turbo snails and astrea ninja star snails are types that do. The ninja stars are especially cool looking if you can get them, but astrea snails may not right themselves so you have to keep an eye out and flip them over if needed. 

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4 hours ago, JordanB said:

Ive had an issue getting rid of GHA in my tank for a while. I add more snails and crabs, but they all seem uninterested. 

 

Yesterday I took my rocks out and scrubbed them in a separate container of saltwater to remove as much algae as I could, and I vacuumed the sandbed. I wanted to break up one of my rocks to make a few smaller pieces (the lfs gave me two large rocks instead of a variety and I didn’t think about breaking them up before putting the tank together). When I took that rock out the rock flower anemone wouldn’t come off, so I just changed how the rocks lay in the tank. I really liked the rockscape in your tank though, so next time I’ll be smarter with my rocks. 

I never had any GHA until after my tank crash.  I let the tank stabilize so I really wasn't doing anything other than a water change every 2 weeks.  I stopped all my chemical media and my snails had thinned out.  I'm sure that all of these combined allowed the GHA to flourish. 

 

I still can't get a detectable (over 5) reading of nitrates in my tank.  It's been that way for almost 6 months now. 

 

I'm currently working on eradicating my algae problem. 

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2 hours ago, banasophia said:

Only certain kinds of snails will eat GHA  - astrea turbo snails and astrea ninja star snails are types that do. The ninja stars are especially cool looking if you can get them, but astrea snails may not right themselves so you have to keep an eye out and flip them over if needed. 

 It's interesting that you mention Astreas because I just picked some of them up today. 

 

I also got a purple spine urchin and a couple coral frags. 

 

The urchin and 3 of the snails are already munching on the algae.  The last snail isn't munching because the urchin decided that it was better off being used as camouflage 😂.

 

I'll get some pics once the corals open up.

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1 hour ago, Jackal227 said:

 It's interesting that you mention Astreas because I just picked some of them up today. 

 

I also got a purple spine urchin and a couple coral frags. 

 

The urchin and 3 of the snails are already munching on the algae.  The last snail isn't munching because the urchin decided that it was better off being used as camouflage 😂.

 

I'll get some pics once the corals open up.

That is so funny how those urchins do that! Looking forward to pics.

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Jordan, give us a FTS!  I’m sure it looks great. We are critical of ourselves.  Jackal’s tank has been an inspiration to many ppl on this forum for sure. Banasophia has some cool critters too!

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I moved the RFA yesterday because it was hiding most of the time.  Now it appears to be open more so I hope it's happier.  It came in looking this color and not slowing any tentacles on the edges. 

 

Here's the bleached RFA:

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For the new coral frags from yesterday I picked up a green star polyp.  Looking closer at it, the growth appears different than normal.   Maybe it's a branching version?  I've read about them but pictures are hard to find.  It's barely started to open up but you can see the "branchy" growths:

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We'll see how it looks as it grows in. 

 

Lastly, I picked up a small Ricordea mushroom.  It's got a nice orange and green color to it: 

y4mejePf3V77zphrWJwUOHZ-EnltxwQ4LOjt-Mtw

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Nice! I especially love your new Ricordea Florida. I wonder if the fact that your rock flower is totally white like that means it is nonphotosynthetic at this time and totally dependent on feedings...

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On 9/2/2018 at 8:30 PM, Wyatt45 said:

Jordan, give us a FTS!  I’m sure it looks great. We are critical of ourselves.  Jackal’s tank has been an inspiration to many ppl on this forum for sure. Banasophia has some cool critters too!

I assume FTS means full tank shot? I’ve had my tank for almost a year, but haven’t explored the forums much until recently. I also don’t know how to take decent pictures with the blue light on. Haha. 

 

I have a rock flower anemone, a zoa frag, acro, something else I can’t remember off the top of my head, and I just got some from Unique Corals (after I saw it mentioned here I think). I got a trumpet coral, a mushroom, a symposium, and they sent me a bonus coral which I think is a blastomusa. I only within the last few months got into coral instead of fish only. So it’s exciting! 

59F21B44-B310-4992-9A5E-993585E4519E.jpeg

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9 hours ago, JordanB said:

I assume FTS means full tank shot? I’ve had my tank for almost a year, but haven’t explored the forums much until recently. I also don’t know how to take decent pictures with the blue light on. Haha. 

 

I have a rock flower anemone, a zoa frag, acro, something else I can’t remember off the top of my head, and I just got some from Unique Corals (after I saw it mentioned here I think). I got a trumpet coral, a mushroom, a symposium, and they sent me a bonus coral which I think is a blastomusa. I only within the last few months got into coral instead of fish only. So it’s exciting! 

59F21B44-B310-4992-9A5E-993585E4519E.jpeg

 It looks good!  I really like my blue sympodium.  It's one of the few corals to survive my tank crash.  I just wish it would grow a little faster. 

 

How long have you had that acro in the sand? 

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9 hours ago, Jackal227 said:

 It looks good!  I really like my blue sympodium.  It's one of the few corals to survive my tank crash.  I just wish it would grow a little faster. 

 

How long have you had that acro in the sand? 

Thanks! I’ve had the acro since the end of July. It’s on a pyramid like plug that I’m supposed to be able to insert into a hole, but I didn’t have a hole that it would fit in. But I was also allowing it time to acclimate to my lights. Also, I wanted to get my algae under control before I commit to gluing any frags to the rocks. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
12 hours ago, Wyatt45 said:

Jackal how are things with the tank? 

I'm making slow and steady progress with the algae.  I'll try to get some new pictures up tomorrow. 

 

I've also got some new frags coming in at the end of the week.

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Tank Update:

 

The new frags arrived this morning and are in the tank.  While they are acclimating I'll update on what's changed. 

 

I removed the gyre powerhead and went back to the Hydor.  The gyre was too strong for my oolite sandbed and would move it around constantly.

 

Also my fire shrimp died.  Not sure what happened to him but found lots of chunks getting blown around the aquarium.  Maybe he got too close to the gyre and got sucked in 🤤.

 

And the last removal is the gorgonian.  It was doing well until I removed it from the tank to cut off the frag plug.  After that it never opened back up and started losing flesh. 

 

On the positive side, the gsp is growing:

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The red skirted Zoas that haven't shown much openness in the last couple of months appears to be growing again:

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Also the RFA is starting to get some color back and the tentacles are growing back around the rim:

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Once the new frags settle in I'll get some pictures of them up as well. 

 

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The new frags are settling in nicely.  Here are some early photos:

 

Bam Bam Zoas:

y4mNF8jJ5d5jmpMPBXmxqESLdszo2s6nplXGM-Iz

Once these spread they'll add a nice orange color to the mix. 

 

Candy Striped Acan:

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 The angle on this makes it a bad picture, but in person it's a very bright vibrant red.  One of the nicest Acans that I've seen. 

 

Teal Ricordea Florida:

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I really like the look of these mushrooms.  The teal compliments the orange/green one that I already had. 

 

Green Duncan and Branching Hammer:

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I had to bring back the movement to the center of the tank.  This Duncan and hammer coral accomplish that.  This hammer will be a nice center piece once it grows in. 

 

I couldn't be happier with the frags that I got from Cultivated Reef.  This was my first order with them and I got more than I expected.   The Duncan and Hammer both had 3 heads for the same price that others charge for 1.  The Acan is around 6.  All of the frags were good sized and they all came in healthy.  Great value, I'll definitely place another order with them. 

 

It's feels like it's been a long time since the crash, but it's finally starting to look like a reef tank again.  

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Maintenance Day Update:

 

With the new corals in the tank I'm back to weekly water changes.  I've made great progress with the GHA and can see the rocks again. 

 

This week I added around 1 quart of sand into the tank to replace what I lose during my water changes.  A few spots were close to being bare.  Now I'm back to about 1.5 inches across the bottom (the conch was happy to be able to burrow at the front of the tank again).  I rinsed the new sand in tap water prior to adding to the tank with a final rinse with the water from my water change.  It cleared after a couple hours in the tank and aesthetically the tank looks better with a thicker sand bed.

 

As for the corals everything is doing well so far except for the GSP.  It closed up after changing out my powerhead.  I think it liked the higher flow of the gyre.  I don't want it on my main rock so we'll give it time to see if it adjusts.  If not I've got other stuff that can go in it's place. 

 

Also, I didn't realize it but it's now been a year since the tank was set up.  It's amazing how quick it goes.  To celebrate I've got something new coming in next week along with a new FTS.  It already looks so much different from the last 'jungle' picture. 

 

 

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Found the Urchin taking a Trochus snail for a ride 😅:

 

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The urchin seems to only carry them around for a few hours then let's them go. 

 

I've also noticed that my hammer has sweepers out most of the time.   My Frogspawn never did this so it might be something that I have to watch out for as it gets bigger. 

y4mhMaUJXBKUnUMpeoeIeKE5exiOeceP15iBk4it

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On 9/27/2018 at 5:45 AM, Jackal227 said:

Maintenance Day Update:

 

With the new corals in the tank I'm back to weekly water changes.  I've made great progress with the GHA and can see the rocks again. 

 

This week I added around 1 quart of sand into the tank to replace what I lose during my water changes.  A few spots were close to being bare.  Now I'm back to about 1.5 inches across the bottom (the conch was happy to be able to burrow at the front of the tank again).  I rinsed the new sand in tap water prior to adding to the tank with a final rinse with the water from my water change.  It cleared after a couple hours in the tank and aesthetically the tank looks better with a thicker sand bed.

 

As for the corals everything is doing well so far except for the GSP.  It closed up after changing out my powerhead.  I think it liked the higher flow of the gyre.  I don't want it on my main rock so we'll give it time to see if it adjusts.  If not I've got other stuff that can go in it's place. 

 

Also, I didn't realize it but it's now been a year since the tank was set up.  It's amazing how quick it goes.  To celebrate I've got something new coming in next week along with a new FTS.  It already looks so much different from the last 'jungle' picture. 

 

 

Wow, a year! Glad to hear things seem to be going well. I’m looking forward to that FTS!!! 

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Well I ran out of time today and barely had enough time to acclimate the new corals, but everything is looking good.   They're just on the sandbed for now.  I took some quick photos after seeing the vibrant colors.   I'll get them glued tomorrow probably and get a FTS.

 

Pink Ricordea to add to the Ricordea garden: 

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A trio of Acans for the Acan garden (2 green and one red): 

y4mclCC0i9KfRjYuHXXZgSS4rjNIVQKAO7HzHtho

 

Orange Leptastrea: 

y4mqvJrQrWmKK5QazM8LuBr32qvlhd3Fzk3X3Q7l

 

A stunning purple and green Montipora:

y4m6y8HQ0PAoDFSe2FHXROSViIAVeumwx9HtdIvJ

 

A very vibrant Purple People Eater Cyphastrea:

y4mdlNOopJdX-9hDzpv8CqpSM6SHdICXA0NCjizx

 

The color is coming back to the tank now and with the new additions I'm officially back to a full mixed reef 😁.  Once again I'm very happy with my order from Cultivated Reef.  Everything came in healthy and they have great sized frags. 

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1 hour ago, Jackal227 said:

Well I ran out of time today and barely had enough time to acclimate the new corals, but everything is looking good.   They're just on the sandbed for now.  I took some quick photos after seeing the vibrant colors.   I'll get them glued tomorrow probably and get a FTS.

 

Pink Ricordea to add to the Ricordea garden: 

y4mydjEOPdsyjZMWUs8lReLgkO9XxeaV8pUDUQ4W

 

A trio of Acans for the Acan garden (2 green and one red): 

y4mclCC0i9KfRjYuHXXZgSS4rjNIVQKAO7HzHtho

 

Orange Leptastrea: 

y4mqvJrQrWmKK5QazM8LuBr32qvlhd3Fzk3X3Q7l

 

A stunning purple and green Montipora:

y4m6y8HQ0PAoDFSe2FHXROSViIAVeumwx9HtdIvJ

 

A very vibrant Purple People Eater Cyphastrea:

y4mdlNOopJdX-9hDzpv8CqpSM6SHdICXA0NCjizx

 

The color is coming back to the tank now and with the new additions I'm officially back to a full mixed reef 😁.  Once again I'm very happy with my order from Cultivated Reef.  Everything came in healthy and they have great sized frags. 

Wow that monti is stunning! 💙

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1 Year Update:

 

Wow!  I can't believe that it's been a year already.  I started this tank never having one before, but I did lots of research.  I'm still learning new things everyday and I believe that's part of the fun in this hobby.  

 

I knew early on that once I got into keeping a reef tank that I would be hooked.  The 16 gallon biocube has always been a proof of concept to me.  If I can do it successfully then it'll justify going to a larger tank (even though nano tanks seem to be tougher to keep) financially and space wise.  I still feel like I'm another year away from upgrading, however I've already done the research and even have a parts list for when I'm ready.  After that the biocube will turn into a quarantine/observation tank for all livestock before it goes into the larger tank. 

 

There's been a lot of successes as well as struggles but the constant changing keeps it interesting.  It's been a fun journey thus far.

 

Thank you to everyone that has followed along and helped me out along the way.

 

A Year in Pictures:

 

6 Weeks:

First fish and corals. 

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4 Months:

All 3 fish that I still have and my experimental SPS frags that were doing very well.

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7 Months:

This is the last FTS before my tank crash.  The only corals that survived are the Zoas, Palys, and Blue Sympodium.

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10 Months (post tank crash, aka the green forest):

This was tough to look at but is the reality of letting my tank naturally stabilize. 

y4mhMGFhqs26hSLCW40jxLI7rX6mOKLuVPnT-XP3

 

1 Year FTS's (started recovery):

As you can tell I've made a significant dent in the algae and started adding some color and life back to the tank with the new frags.  There's still a bit of Diatoms from the newly added sand.  I can't wait to watch the corals grow in and develop over time.

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Current Stocking:

 

Livestock:

-Nassarius Snails x 2

-Trochus Snails x 1

-Astrea Snails x 4

-Cerith Snails x 4

-Fighting Conch

-Scarlet hermit

-Purple Spined Urchin

-Ocellaris Clownfish x 2

-Royal Gramma

 

Corals:

-Zoas (Red Skirts and Bam Bam's)

-Purple Blastomussa Wellsi

-Red Mint Blastomussa Wellsi

- Green Duncan

-Ultra Branching Hammer

-Sunny D Palys

-Blue Sympodium x 2

-Green Star Polyps

-Green Rock Flower Anemone

-Orange/Green, Pink, and Teal Ricordea Florida Mushrooms

-Candy Striped Red and Green Acans

-Orange Leptastrea

- Purple and Green Montipora

- Purple People Eater Cyphastrea

 

I wasn't expecting to have to restart this system when I started, but I'm glad that I decided to continue on and rebuild.  The journey has been a fun one and I look forward to seeing what the next year brings. 

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I had a similar experience with my tank, had a crash and then slowly over time things recovered and are now better then ever. Just give it time, it seems that after the first year is when things really begin to stabilize and take off.

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