NEW Biocube 32 Set up Questions

[Clown79]

 

 

26 minutes ago, FrancineJ said:

Thanks! That helped a lot... my CUC is very small (there is a list on here somewhere) compared to what other people add off the start... 

So don’t use my purigen or anything (other than my matrix will have to be added while cycling) so basically just leave the inTank tray with floss, empty, empty, and matrix? 

And then once cycled (not using fish, using dr Tim’s ammonium chloride, I find it cleaner than food and such, unless there is a benefit to adding a baggie of food or just dropping in some food? Rather than the ammonia....

 

thanks again for the answers 🙂 

Special grade is 1.0 - 2.0mm

Fiji pink 0.5 - 1.5mm

 

I loved Fuji pink. Great sand. Not much difference between either. Just wash your sand well before using.

 

using filter floss during cycling is advised and changing it often during cycling is another good habit.

 

I've always used carbon during cycling but I don't cycle with ammonia or bacteria dosing.

 

once your cycle is done you can add your other media.

 

cuc- once again every tank needs different amounts. You add them as needed because they will die if there isn't anything to eat.

[Clown79]

7 minutes ago, FrancineJ said:

Sorry I did not mean adding all of the stuff at once... I meant adding it all first and then adding corals... I didn’t word it right lol 

 

Yes I always use the dr Tim’s ammonia with all my tanks and @Clown79 I hear you on the counting lol the way I did it in the past for my big tanks is measure out an amount of the dr Tim’s and add it to say 5g’s of water and stir it all up a few times a day or add a power head to mix it in quicker... test it about 24 hours later (depending on how you mix it in could be much quicker if using a powerhead or something) and then you will see how high that amount brought your 5g’s to... from there you can just adjust to what you need and then from then on you don’t need to keep counting the ridiculous amount of drops... so if you are aiming for 2ppm... and 1 tsp brings your 5g’s to that then you know to just add around 13 tsp’s.... also be VERY careful! When I first started using it I added the exact amount of drops and it sky rocketed my levels... that’s when I resorted to using the smaller bucket and calculating it from there... much easier than counting the drops and much easier than having to drain half the tank if it ends up going waaaay high! The other mistake people make with it (and you can watch dr Tim’s videos) but do not dose it everyday... wait until it’s near zero and then add your original amount back up... he explains it very well but basically people think it needs to be fed everyday when it doesn’t and that’s how they end up with longer cycling periods and overdosing it... 🙂 hope maybe I helped one of you guys with that! 

I’ve cycled my 3 64g’s using that and TSS within days... it’s better to start with adding a little less and testing every other day to see where it’s at then having what happened to us the first time and getting readings on the api kit of 8ppm+ lol

Sorry, I've never used Dr Tim's. 

 

I use liverock only or partial live rock/dry rock.

[FrancineJ]

Yes I tried to be very selective with my cuc...

this is what I have on my start up list:

(Excuse my spelling lol) 

 

2x Trochus snails

 

2x neccarius snails- will eat left over food too so if I notice there isn’t a lot of algae for them I could add a tiny tiny amount of food

 

2x Cerith snails

 

2x dwarf cerith snails

 

2x Tectus snails 

 

1-2x the mini or dwarf turbo snails (not the big ones! Lol)

 

some have told me this this is a good starter and others have told me it’s too few... but I’d rather start with too few and add if needed... I tried to select a variety of snails based on what they eat and some are similar however most of them will eat some different things than each other.. 

 

Now im a little nervous... I was told when stocking to stock (after my cuc) with my cleaner shrimp and my tiger pistol shrimp/YWG combo

 

then my royal gramma

 

then my 2 baby clownfish (they will be shipped together in the same bag from shipper and no other fish will be in the bag... I was told this was a good thing as there will likely be less aggression and is better than going and picking 2 out of a tank full)

 

then my pink line (streaked) wrasse

 

and these fish will be spread well apart..2 weeks at least... based on testing... in such giving me time to adjust any cuc inbetween in case I encounter problems where I don’t have enough or some die etc.... but now you have me concerned about adding my tiger pistol shrimp/ goby combo first... they all told me to add them first because of them being the least aggressive and move to more aggressive as I go (same with what I do with FW tanks) for that stocking list what would you advise adding in which order (I also will do a min dose of bio spira (usually TSS but different in this case obviously) when I add each fish as it helps give that extra boost to accommodate for the added bio load.... and decreases the length of time to catch up... 

 

 

[FrancineJ]

42 minutes ago, Daniel91 said:

Are we talking matrix carbon? You do not even have to run that during a cycle but it will not hurt.

But yes, you could keep it empty with floss until you feel the need to add additional media.

 

Ammonium is the way to go IMO

Sorry not matrix carbon... I am adding a bag of matrix bio media in the intank media basket at the bottom... will help slightly control nitrAtes and also add more bio (other than the rock) this was advised to me by quite a few people as the small amount just helps and also will help if I need to set up an emergency hospital tank as it will already be seeded

[FrancineJ]

41 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Sorry, I've never used Dr Tim's. 

 

I use liverock only or partial live rock/dry rock.

Sorry that post was meant for whoever said they were about to try cycling their 64g using dr Tim’s... I thought it was you lol but whoever it was that’s the method that works best if using it as your ammonia source (instead of the food)

sorry that advice should have went to @Weikel

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, FrancineJ said:

Yes I tried to be very selective with my cuc...

this is what I have on my start up list:

(Excuse my spelling lol) 

 

2x Trochus snails

 

2x neccarius snails- will eat left over food too so if I notice there isn’t a lot of algae for them I could add a tiny tiny amount of food

 

2x Cerith snails

 

2x dwarf cerith snails

 

2x Tectus snails 

 

1-2x the mini or dwarf turbo snails (not the big ones! Lol)

 

some have told me this this is a good starter and others have told me it’s too few... but I’d rather start with too few and add if needed... I tried to select a variety of snails based on what they eat and some are similar however most of them will eat some different things than each other.. 

 

Now im a little nervous... I was told when stocking to stock (after my cuc) with my cleaner shrimp and my tiger pistol shrimp/YWG combo

 

then my royal gramma

 

then my 2 baby clownfish (they will be shipped together in the same bag from shipper and no other fish will be in the bag... I was told this was a good thing as there will likely be less aggression and is better than going and picking 2 out of a tank full)

 

then my pink line (streaked) wrasse

 

and these fish will be spread well apart..2 weeks at least... based on testing... in such giving me time to adjust any cuc inbetween in case I encounter problems where I don’t have enough or some die etc.... but now you have me concerned about adding my tiger pistol shrimp/ goby combo first... they all told me to add them first because of them being the least aggressive and move to more aggressive as I go (same with what I do with FW tanks) for that stocking list what would you advise adding in which order (I also will do a min dose of bio spira (usually TSS but different in this case obviously) when I add each fish as it helps give that extra boost to accommodate for the added bio load.... and decreases the length of time to catch up... 

 

 

Like I said, every person's experience is different. You will hear every different opinion out there and different experiences.

 

My clowns were my first additions in my 15g, 55g, and I had no issues with them being aggressive with livestock. The cleaner ticks off the female in my current tank but she has never hurt him. She is aggressive with me but other fish have been fine.

 

I had more issues with my pink streaked and pom pom crabs.

 

Most love pink streaked yet mine killed 2 fish and a cleaner shrimp.

 

Every fishes personality is different so there is no perfect. In this hobby there is no 100%.

 

Like cuc. There is no perfect combo or number. Some hate hermits and some like myself love them.  

[FrancineJ]

Thanks! And yes I know about how it really comes down to each individual fish... so there is no wrong or right away... I personally would have liked to add the clowns first because (from what I have read they are the most hardy on my list) Incase mistakes do happen... 

 

Thanks for your advice on the cuc... I’m not a fan of crabs so we don’t intend on adding any at any point... I think with the 32 those fish and inverts plus cuc will be a fairly decent stock... and I know some of those cuc will actually reproduce as well (not just eggs) so I’ll keep an eye on that but that’s why I kind of tried to choose a variety and limit the numbers and possibly have a lesser chance of the ones that reproduce lol I don’t mind scraping off any eggs that don’t get eaten but I don’t want to be over run with the buggers either lol  We also tried to find as many as we could that can right themselves (I know there are a couple that can’t) but just because we have so many tanks I don’t want to lose one because he got flipped and we didn’t notice... not sure how long they will last if they get flipped over... I suppose that depends on if they become a snack or not lol 

😂 

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, FrancineJ said:

Thanks! And yes I know about how it really comes down to each individual fish... so there is no wrong or right away... I personally would have liked to add the clowns first because (from what I have read they are the most hardy on my list) Incase mistakes do happen... 

 

Thanks for your advice on the cuc... I’m not a fan of crabs so we don’t intend on adding any at any point... I think with the 32 those fish and inverts plus cuc will be a fairly decent stock... and I know some of those cuc will actually reproduce as well (not just eggs) so I’ll keep an eye on that but that’s why I kind of tried to choose a variety and limit the numbers and possibly have a lesser chance of the ones that reproduce lol I don’t mind scraping off any eggs that don’t get eaten but I don’t want to be over run with the buggers either lol  We also tried to find as many as we could that can right themselves (I know there are a couple that can’t) but just because we have so many tanks I don’t want to lose one because he got flipped and we didn’t notice... not sure how long they will last if they get flipped over... I suppose that depends on if they become a snack or not lol 

😂

The one I know that can't right itself is astrea. I don't buy them anymore because of it.

[FrancineJ]

Yes lol they are one of the worst! That’s why I left them off my list lol... there were a couple on my list but they were more “occasional” flippers lol so I figured we would be ok... now I thought of a couple more questions:

 

1-some of those snails will or may eventually reproduce (trochus and tectus that I can think of) now I know what we do in the FW world if we get over run by snails is drop in a peice of lettuce at night and my morning nearly every snail will be on it munching away... Then I just pick off the ones I want to keep and discard of the rest with the lettuce by morning or sell them back to my lfs... but I don’t know if this same approach is wise with a SW tank or if I start to get over run do I just pick them out? (The ones I don’t want) like with my hands....and sell them back to my lfs?.... Also will my CUC since it is all snails, require acclimation like a fish? Or how do you go about adding them?

 

2- I had asked but I don’t think I got an answer... what is the proper way to acclimate all my fish and shrimps?

what I do in FW is float the bag like 15-20 mins... and then cut a little slit in the bag and add a couple small cups - about 10 mins apart... I usually end up with about double the water they came in and then I net them out and don’t let any of thei water get into mine... however I could see how this could pose a problem with SW because if I remove the water then til it off my SG will be lowered.... so how do you guys acclimate your new fish? 

 

[Clown79]

I have yet to see any eggs survive into actual snails. 

 

I float my fish and then add them to the tank. Keeping them in the water with ammonia from pre and poop to drip acclimate is more stressful.

 

My corals are only temp acclimated with floating, dipped, then added.

 

Shrimps and delicate crabs I drip acclimate.

[FrancineJ]

Thanks! And apparently some of those snails on my list you won’t ever even see the eggs one day you will just see these very tiny things (kinda look like bugs) and most people mistake them for “something else” pardon me I can’t remember that name lol 

 

thanks for that advice and what about the snails (cuc) do I just temp acclimate them in the bag as well or can they go right in?

 

[Clown79]

32 minutes ago, FrancineJ said:

Thanks! And apparently some of those snails on my list you won’t ever even see the eggs one day you will just see these very tiny things (kinda look like bugs) and most people mistake them for “something else” pardon me I can’t remember that name lol 

 

thanks for that advice and what about the snails (cuc) do I just temp acclimate them in the bag as well or can they go right in?

 

I just float the bag and add.

 

Really the only thing I drop acclimate was my shrimps and urchin.

 

I don't really even drip. I put them in a container with the water they are in and then with a cup I add water from my tank for an hr. I put in a little at a time and allow them to adjust.

Then I add them. 

[FrancineJ]

On 9/25/2018 at 2:07 PM, Clown79 said:

I just float the bag and add.

 

Really the only thing I drop acclimate was my shrimps and urchin.

 

I don't really even drip. I put them in a container with the water they are in and then with a cup I add water from my tank for an hr. I put in a little at a time and allow them to adjust.

Then I add them. 

Ok thanks... that’s how I change over my FW fish to brackish as well.... (not all my fish lol but the ones that the pet stores sell as FW but are technically or can be in brackish water like my gobies and mollies) 

 

Thank you once again 🙂

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, FrancineJ said:

Ok thanks... that’s how I change over my FW fish to brackish as well.... (not all my fish lol but the ones that the pet stores sell as FW but are technically or can be in brackish water like my gobies and mollies) 

 

Thank you once again 🙂

Ya they never really mark them as brackish do they?

Where are you located in Cda?

[FrancineJ]

23 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Ya they never really mark them as brackish do they?

Where are you located in Cda?

No.... unfortunately they keep all these fish in freshwater... then they die... a violet (dragon goby) can live like 10-15 years or more but they are dying after months to a year because they are truly brackish... I have a 75g tank... it has 7 mollies... 4 bumblebee gobies and my dragon goby.... the difference in him from when I transferred him from fresh to brackish water is unbelievable.... they have a totally different personality... the same with the bumblebee gobies... they are light brackish too.... and what people don’t realize about brackish tanks is that fish that can live in it (like mollies and other livebearers) are actually healthier in brackish water... the salt somehow keeps them healthier and able to fight off certain diseases and infections better 

and I am in Ontario Canada.... not too far from Ottawa 

[jmcdaniel0]

Do you know if reefcleaners.com ships up north?  If they do,  I suggest just using on of his quick crew packages.  It is simple and cheap.

 

For pods I use algaebarn.com again, I don't know if they ship up north.  

 

As far as sand.  I prefer a larger grain as well.  I have found no benefits from using *live* sand over plain old dry sand.

 

I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt.  I usually give mine an hour or two max.  In my opinion, if the water is clear and parameters are spot on, you are good to go.

 

With your experience,  you shouldn't have many problems.  It is all more or less the same.

 

Just take your time lol.

 

 

For cycling, I use regular home grade 100% percent ammonia.  Nothing fancy.

 

Lighting:  from what I have read the LEDs should be good enough for you.  If you decide to run the tank topless I suggest an AI Prime HD or Kessil.  Steve's lights are great but they are not cheap.

 

That's just my take on things.  

[FrancineJ]

Thanks... won’t be running topless as I am stocking a goby.... and the rest I have figured out... 

 

now just working on what do do after the cycling: 

Using floss purigen and chemipure elite in my intank media rack (with an empty slot of phosguard just in case, or something else just in case) 

 

then trying to figure out this Fuge thing...

I think I’ll be adding my dry rock to my Fuge during cycling to make it easier and all cycle at the same time 

then Chaeto then stocking with some pods

 

upgrading pump to the cobalt mj1200

 

Will probably eventually upgrade to Steve’s led kit

 

for anyone still teading this i have stumbled upon the greatest tool EVER! It is 100% accurate (I’ve been testing it in my brackish tanks) and it is soooo simple!! It’s like the icecap version but cheaper and works better!  Well worth the extra money.... forget about hydrometers and refractometers.... check this one out!!

 

https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Scionix-Digital-Salinity-Hydrometer-and-Temperature-Meter.html

 

now that’s the Canadian price so it would be cheaper for you guys in the US... but watch some videos on it! Will make it that much easier for my son (and me 😂)

 

 

[jmcdaniel0]

That is interesting.  

[Clown79]

It's a digital reader like the Milwaukee.

[FrancineJ]

Ya it’s great!! Especially for ease of use and it’s 100% accurate... it will display in SG, salinity, and that new percentage measurement and it will also give you the tank temp... it comes with a decent size bottle of calibration fluid and you just need to calibrate it ever now and again... and it takes about 5 seconds.... hold the button, dip it in, should read 30ppm and then it’s calibrated... wipe off with cloth and put away.... there’s a really good video where I guy in his store or whatever it is literally goes from tank to tank and it’s on eveytime... it would be so convenient for people with MTS lol

 

and it’s much easier to use (and WAY cheaper) than the Milwaukee one... I almost bought that one and then this one appeared.... 

[Daniel91]

But has the accuracy been validated?

[jmcdaniel0]

She said it was on all of her tanks.

[Clown79]

 

32 minutes ago, Daniel91 said:

But has the accuracy been validated?

None of them can be 100% accurate always.

 

Theres always human error, temp issues, and calibration needed.

 

My refractometer needs calibrating very rarely,  it's always bang on but other brands need it every week.

 

It's like hanna checkers, ppl think they are bullet proof accurate- they aren't and certainly there are ones that don't function properly.

 

With proper care a refractometer and digital refractometer are pretty accurate and they are easy to use.

[jmcdaniel0]

2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

 

None of them can be 100% accurate always.

 

Theres always human error, temp issues, and calibration needed.

 

My refractometer needs calibrating very rarely,  it's always bang on but other brands need it every week.

 

It's like hanna checkers, ppl think they are bullet proof accurate- they aren't and certainly there are ones that don't function properly.

 

With proper care a refractometer and digital refractometer are pretty accurate and they are easy to use.

This is very true.  I have been using the same one I bought off of Amazon for 19.99 for years now.

 

 

[FrancineJ]

Sorry what I meant by 100% accurate is I tested my water with a hydrometer, 2 different refractometers and then this pen and all came out the exact same... 1.005 (one of my brackish tanks) 

 

i didnt mean it would be 100% all the time... just mid worded... but it is much simpler to use then other models of things (like your example of the Hannah checkers... was gonna purchase a couple but from the feed back and reasearch they require calibration quite a bit and it’s not that cheap for the stuff, let alone each machine itself) 

 

i had looked at other options like the Milwaukee and ice cap one that’s similar to this one and for the price and quality it really seems to be much easier considering it’s a child using it as well... he knows how to use a refractometer and hydrometer but this will take a lot of time off of checking his water to see if it’s right and also a quick dip every couple days for the first while will just be easier for him...

i posted it mostly for beginners like me that may stumble upon this thread and may not have experience with hudrometers (banging them to get the air bubbles off the needle) or trying to look through the eye piece of a recractometer and trying to get it accurate... just thought I would share because I think it’s a great tool for beginners 🙂 

experts like you it probably takes 2 seconds to check your salinity and I’m guessing you probably don’t even have to measure your salt out exactly anymore... it’s one of those things you just learn better as you go lol 

I am OCD anyway and will probably recheck it with the refractometer every now and again anyway lol