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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Wyatt45 Biocube 16


Wyatt45

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First off, thanks to those on here that have shared so much and forged the path. https://www.nano-reef.com/profile/94914-jackal227/ is amazing and extremely helpful. I’ll tag a couple more folks later as well that have contributed tons of info.  So far it’s day 3 since I purchased and set up.  I put in the link live sand by Nature’s Ocean aragonite.  I placed in some cured live rock that was in a tub with filtration at my local LFS.  I don’t love my aqua scale though. Kinda want a cave or swim through. 

 

Ive read so many threads on here, other sites and YouTube regarding builds and modifications.  So far I’ve cut the tab between chamber 1 and 2.  I noticed that the water wasn’t covering the filter floss in chamber too. That issue has been resolved with the removal. While I was in there I removed the false bottom from chamber 1.  I already received and installed the intank media basket.  Amazon prime!

 

Arriving tomorrow are a cobalt neo-therm 75 watt heater and a Hydor Koralia 425 pump.  For now I’ll leave the stock pump in chamber 3 unless wiser people suggest I change it. Fortunately I have a great budget and want to do this right.  

 

I have a 90 gallon tropical tank and have done freshwater for years. This is my first foray into marine tanks.  I’m excited and anxious. 

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I was never going to do the clown thing but then I looked at them the other day at the store. They are pretty damned cute. My 4 year old would love them. 

 

I would like like to do the watchman goby and shrimp pair.  Other than that I don’t have any fish plans. 

 

Im open to stocking suggestions, especially for cuc / invertebrates. 

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I also have this tank. Its been up and running for a month. I used Dr. Tim's one and only. By using this I was able to stock My tank the 2nd week. I also removed the tab between chambers 1 and 2 for more flow. I'm running a coralife protein skimmer in chamber 1. Do a water change every week and you should do great. 0824181022_HDR.thumb.jpg.8112007dfb7d9f9d1771024646a9023b.jpg

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10 hours ago, Wyatt45 said:

I was never going to do the clown thing but then I looked at them the other day at the store. They are pretty damned cute. My 4 year old would love them. 

 

I would like like to do the watchman goby and shrimp pair.  Other than that I don’t have any fish plans. 

 

Im open to stocking suggestions, especially for cuc / invertebrates. 

The shrimp and Goby pairs are something that I'd like to have as well.  They seem to be interesting to watch. 

 

For CUC I'd recommend Trochus, Cerith, and Nassarius Snails.  They are all good at cleaning.  3-4 of each would probably be enough for the tank. 

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15 minutes ago, Wyatt45 said:

I can’t imagine putting a dozen snails in a tank this small.  Is that recommended?  Meaning no offense. 

It depends on how much waste / algae that there is.  You can always start small and add more if needed.  

 

The Nassarius Snails will live in the sand and scavenge any left over food.  The Trochus and Ceriths will eat algae. 

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27 minutes ago, Wyatt45 said:

I can’t imagine putting a dozen snails in a tank this small.  Is that recommended?  Meaning no offense. 

 

A lot of us use Reef Cleaners to order our initial clean up crew (which is recommended to be snail only). I submitted a request for a custom clean up crew when I ordered mine - I said what type/size of tank I had, what type of rock I had used (cured Caribsea Lifefrock), how long it had been wet (maybe a week at that point?), and that I was just starting to see some diatoms. He wrote back with his recommended crew and then I ordered it.

 

For my Biocube 16, he recommended 10 dwarf ceriths, 6 nassarius vibex, 8 florida ceriths, 6 nerites. I have had a good experience with keeping algae under control in my tank, and credit much of that to having a good starter clean up crew from Reef Cleaners. Here's a good article about when to add your clean up crew, and the owner John Maloney has lots of other helpful information on the site.

 

https://www.reefcleaners.org/when-to-add-a-clean-up-crew

 

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17 minutes ago, banasophia said:

 

A lot of us use Reef Cleaners to order our initial clean up crew (which is recommended to be snail only). I submitted a request for a custom clean up crew when I ordered mine - I said what type/size of tank I had, what type of rock I had used (cured Caribsea Lifefrock), how long it had been wet (maybe a week at that point?), and that I was just starting to see some diatoms. He wrote back with his recommended crew and then I ordered it.

 

For my Biocube 16, he recommended 10 dwarf ceriths, 6 nassarius vibex, 8 florida ceriths, 6 nerites. I have had a good experience with keeping algae under control in my tank, and credit much of that to having a good starter clean up crew from Reef Cleaners. Here's a good article about when to add your clean up crew, and the owner John Maloney has lots of other helpful information on the site.

 

https://www.reefcleaners.org/when-to-add-a-clean-up-crew

 

The link didn’t work. 😞

Googled it. Never mind!

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Keep in mind I’ve only ever had tropical freshwater aquariums.  I’ve read so much lately about saltwater reef tanks that I’m regressing!  Just when I think I have an order of operations ready for this venture I read something that throws a wrench into my plans.  

 

Qustion: when topping off for evaporation should I use LFS ro/di or distilled water?  I’m now reading about LFS rodi that is high in TDS!  TDS, yet another acronym I had to look up!

 

next question, should I start the refugium now during cycling or wait?  Was going to do the same style as jackal227.  Right now I’m at 1PPM ammonia. Tank up for 7 days. 

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8 minutes ago, Wyatt45 said:

Keep in mind I’ve only ever had tropical freshwater aquariums.  I’ve read so much lately about saltwater reef tanks that I’m regressing!  Just when I think I have an order of operations ready for this venture I read something that throws a wrench into my plans.  

 

Qustion: when topping off for evaporation should I use LFS ro/di or distilled water?  I’m now reading about LFS rodi that is high in TDS!  TDS, yet another acronym I had to look up!

 

next question, should I start the refugium now during cycling or wait?  Was going to do the same style as jackal227.  Right now I’m at 1PPM ammonia. Tank up for 7 days. 

You probably won't have to do a lot of topping off from evaporation if you have a biocube with a lid on it... I literally do not top mine off between weekly water changes. The only time my water level goes down appreciably is when I'm taking water out to acclimate new fish or corals, and when you do that, you add new saltwater (not RODI/distilled) to replace the saltwater you took out.

 

You can buy a handheld TDS meter for about $15-20... I recommend getting one to always test your freshwater before using it. (This helps prevent the error where you accidentally confuse your saltwater and freshwater and use the wrong one, also confirms that your water source for topping up or for mixing your saltwater is pure.)

 

I would wait until your cycle is complete to start the refugium. Also, when you do get some chaeto (if that's what you use) I highly recommend cleaning it first before adding to your tank... I didn't think about it and had a bunch of hitchhikers in mine that I didn't want. 

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Perfect. Sounds good.  So just to confirm you don’t add rodi water really?  Just the saltwater after a water change?  We have the same tank and live close by (Roseville) so I can mimic what you do.

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14 minutes ago, Wyatt45 said:

Perfect. Sounds good.  So just to confirm you don’t add rodi water really?  Just the saltwater after a water change?  We have the same tank and live close by (Roseville) so I can mimic what you do.

Correct, I haven't really needed to add any RODI/distilled to mine for top offs, but I would always want to have some on hand just in case. Plus you will need some for rinsing things. Also if you are going to mix your own saltwater, you will want to use RODI/distilled to make the saltwater. 

 

I really like this wash bottle for keeping some RODI/distilled for rinsing things, none of our LFSs had them when I was looking:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WTHLR0E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And another thing I like that I got on Amazon because I didn't like the ones I tried locally was my coral feeder (remove the blue rubber tip):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYNLLL2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I originally used premixed from LFSs, Nutri-Seawater, or Imagitarium water before I felt ready to start mixing my own saltwater, now I use distilled from Smart & Final or Amazon Prime Now and I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt.

 

You may have read my post in MrObscura's build thread about what happened when I tried to pick up some RODI from two of our LFSs last night - total fail, so I think I'm just going to go back to distilled for now. We're lucky to have 6 LFSs nearby (plus a couple of guys that run coral businesses out of their homes), so I try to spread my spending to support them, but some things you still need to order/pick up elsewhere.

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Yeah I did read that. Hope it wasn’t the ones by me.  The one I like is in Rocklin however there is a close one to me right on Cirby Way.  Do you use the stock leds?

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3 minutes ago, Wyatt45 said:

Yeah I did read that. Hope it wasn’t the ones by me.  The one I like is in Rocklin however there is a close one to me right on Cirby Way.  Do you use the stock leds?

Yes, you are lucky you are really close to three of our LFSs. I'm in Fair Oaks (by the Trader Joes on Sunrise/Madison), so I'm in the middle of all of them. I go to all of them for different things. You're not the person I met buying his Biocube last weekend at AquaWorkz, are you? 

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I didn't add a cuc until my 1st diatom bloom. If you do feed them nori, and a clam once a week. Both of my biocube have stock lighting. Its good for softies. Get yourself a Tds meter and a refractometer. I'm using instant ocean reef crystals.Its good for your corals. I bought a aquatic life Rodi buddy. It produces 50 gl of water per day. The waste water is very large. I use it to water my plants. Good luck

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Hey again, if you do get a goby and shrimp try and get ones that are already paired up. It didn't go so well for me. Let your tank mature for like 6 months before you add to the tank. I have 2 cleaner skunk shrimp. I love them lots of personality. When you put your hand in the tank they jump on, its cool.

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