16 gallon Biocube

[BioReefed]

14 years ago I started my first reef tank, it was a 5 gallon JBJ nano. I had it maybe for 6 months and then I sold it after I had my first son.

3 months ago I came across a picture of a reef tank and for some reason I felt that I have to start another one after all this time. I researched and compared different tanks, and finally made a decision. I thought the 16 gallon Biocube would be perfect. Not so big, and not as small as like the one I used to have.

 I was really exited to start it so I went to one of my LFS and got everything I needed to start my new hobby.

 

The spot I chose (my wife's home office) was perfect for the size of the tank. I had to convince her that this was a perfect spot, she wasn't so sure, but now she loves having a little bit of ocean in her office.

 

I'm not a very patience person, but I knew I had to wait until the tank cycled to start adding some stuff. I really wanted to put some sand, water and all the corals I had in mind right away.

  I decided to keep the stock lights that came with the tank since my idea was to stick with mostly soft corals. I also bought a wave maker, an automatic top off system, and the best heater I could find. Not to mention, the test kit, net, bucket, and whatever else I needed for the beginning.

And here we go, December 10th 2022 I started the new tank.

 

I used live Fiji sand and live rock along with ammonia and live bacteria to start the process. I think in about 2 and a half weeks I started to see some Diatoms forming in the rocks and in the sand and I knew the tank was almost cycled. I tested the water parameters and everything seemed to be going in the right direction.

 On week 3 I went to my LFS and got some snails, hermit crabs, and a peppermint shrimp. And a week after that I purchased my first soft corals, and a couple of Ricordea mushrooms since I heard those are very hardy and easy to keep. I just wanted something in the tank.

On the following week I bought a photosynthetic gorgonian, and the week after I got a small leather coral and my first two fish.

 

I kept testing the parameters in the water and they seemed perfect. Ammonia 0, NItrates 0, Nitrites 0, pH 81. All good, but......

 When my tank was almost a month old, I added some Purigen and Chemi-Pure in the media basket of the tank. I saw many videos on youtube of people adding the same thing to their tanks to keep the Nitrates and Phosphates low.  I didn't know you don't want to keep those parameters constantly at 0.

I started to notice that my leather coral was looking bad, and also my Ricordea mushrooms were looking different. I kept testing the water and everything seemed perfect, of course everything reading 0. The water was too clean, and then I found out I had to remove the Purigen and Chemi-Pure from the filter and feed a little more.

 I removed that from the back of the tank, and I also started to dose some NeoNitro and NeoPhos to raise the levels a little bit.

 I noticed a big change from the corals right away. I was feeling good knowing the change was making a good effect in my tank, but then....

 

 I started to notice some type of brown/red stuff growing on the sand. I thought it was Diatoms and maybe it was normal, you know, part of the process.

Then that brown/red stuff started to grow more and more and some strings of it started to appear everywhere. So I did what most people do, try to find some answers on the internet. And from what I could research I thought I had some Dino's in my tank. But I needed to make sure it was really that so I could treat the tank accordingly.

 I borrowed a microscope and found out it was cyano bacteria. Not a good thing, but way better and easier to treat than Dinos.

 

 

 

 I hated looking my tank like that. I siphoned and removed as much as I could, but that thing kept coming back. I was told this is part of the process since my tank its really young.

 I started to do some water changes 2 times a week, I was adding some Microbacter7, and trying to keep the parameters as best as I could.

 But I made another mistake. I bought a new coral and I put it in my tank without dipping it first. Well, I was not only dealing with cyano in my tank now, but also my fish got a disease and died. So now I have to wait 8 weeks before I can add more fish to my tank.

 

I started to see a difference in my tank after a few weeks of siphoning the sand and doing water changes every two weeks, the cyano is not showing as much and the corals are starting to look a lot better. And today it has been three months since I started my tank, I'm still dealing with the cyano and waiting a couple more weeks to be able to add more fish again.

 

Here is the most resent picture of my tank at 3 months old.

 

 

[debbeach13]

Welcome back to the hobby. Sounds like a rough start but the tank looks great in that last picture. 

[demonclownfish]

A cheap 10 gallon, hob filter, and a heater makes a good quarantine system to keep fish in a copper solution for a few weeks to keep them healthy/fight off parasites/and treat for anything as well as get them eating well. You're going to want to do that if you plan on adding more than the clownfish later on and it will save you many headaches.

[BioReefed]

5 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Welcome back to the hobby. Sounds like a rough start but the tank looks great in that last picture. 

Thank you. Yes it was a rough start, I was about to quit after the second month, but I invested a lot already so I decided to give it a chance and keep going.

[BioReefed]

4 hours ago, demonclownfish said:

A cheap 10 gallon, hob filter, and a heater makes a good quarantine system to keep fish in a copper solution for a few weeks to keep them healthy/fight off parasites/and treat for anything as well as get them eating well. You're going to want to do that if you plan on adding more than the clownfish later on and it will save you many headaches.

Sounds like a good idea. And the quarantine tank will be only for when the fish get sick?, or to put the new fish there before it goes to the main tank?

[demonclownfish]

2 hours ago, BioReefed said:

Sounds like a good idea. And the quarantine tank will be only for when the fish get sick?, or to put the new fish there before it goes to the main tank?

When fish get sick or when adding a new fish to the main display to make sure they have no hidden sickness. Use Cupramine additive in the the quarantine tank to help kill off anything that may have come with the fish from the distributor or LFS. Saves alot of ich/velvet/etc headaches in the main display. I generally QT fish for 3 weeks to 2 months depending on species/feeding behavior/visible abnormality. 3 weeks is generally plenty of time. 

[BioReefed]

1 hour ago, demonclownfish said:

3 weeks is generally plenty of time

Thank you, last question. Do I have to cycle the quarantine tank too? or just add water and go

[demonclownfish]

31 minutes ago, BioReefed said:

Thank you, last question. Do I have to cycle the quarantine tank too? or just add water and go

next water change you do just use that water for the qt and add cupramine

[demonclownfish]

get some small PVC pipe sections for the fish to use as hide's and whatnot to keep stress down 

[growsomething]

You could ways keep a small sponge of small pieces of rock in your sump or hob so you always have some live rock to put in a qt tank, or for any new startup.  Never add it back without sterilizing the sponge, and never add the rock back as it absorbs copper, meds, etc.  Just my $.02 as a non-qt'er, good luck!

[Lebowski_]

How are you enjoying the Biocube? I've heard some mixed thoughts on it (white's too bright, lights not strong enough) but I've also seen 2 beautiful biocubes on this very site.

 

Just found out Coralife bought Oceanic, which was what I remember being sold under back in the day.

[BioReefed]

17 hours ago, Dannyboy17 said:

How are you enjoying the Biocube? I've heard some mixed thoughts on it (white's too bright, lights not strong enough) but I've also seen 2 beautiful biocubes on this very site.

 

Just found out Coralife bought Oceanic, which was what I remember being sold under back in the day.

I really like it. The stock lights are good enough for most corals. I was researching for awhile to see what tank I wanted and this is the one I chose and I'm glad I did. Go check Banasophia's 16 gallon Biocube. She was also the reason I chose mine. 

[BioReefed]

I added a couple more things to my tank. A birdnest coral and another gorgonian.

I also started a QT tank, and got two Mai Tai Clownfish. They will be there for three weeks, I didn't add any medication, I'm just observing them and  hopefully they will survive to be able to transfer them to my main tank.

 

 

 

[Lebowski_]

It really looks great. Well done!

[BioReefed]

I waited for a little over 2 weeks. I noticed the fish were doing great in the QT, no spots, nothing abnormal. They were eating good and behaving normal, and since I had my MT running fallow for 7 long weeks, I thought it was time to put the fish in the MT. I know I supposed to keep the fish longer in the QT but I couldn't wait any longer.

They seemed to be enjoying their new home.

 

Now I'm trying to figure out what other corals I can add to one of the rocks that look empty. I want something red or blue that moves, maybe a sinularia or kenya tree or something like that. Any sugestions?

What could go here?

[debbeach13]

Everything looks fantastic. 

[BioReefed]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Everything looks fantastic. 

Thank you!!

[BioReefed]

Looks like the cyano doesn't want to go away. It is still forming in the sand, I have to syphon the sand when I clean the tank to remove as much as I can. It looks great after I clean it, but in a few days it comes back again. Not sure what else I can do.

But I'm still adding some new corals little by little, I still have not found the right one I want for the main rock middle top.

I started a small zoa garden also, and here's a side picture of my tank.

 

 

 

 

[Lebowski_]

People complain about how white biocube

lighting is but I really like it.

[growsomething]

Looks natural at snorkling depth.  Much prefered over windex tanks for me.

[BadCrab]

This little biocube is looking great, and has a nice diversity of coral for interesting texture and color.
I would recommend against adding a kenya tree.  They're prolific enough that you may end up regretting it when they out-compete everything for space.
A sinularia, I think, would be the better choice.  Were you thinking cabbage or finger?

[BioReefed]

8 hours ago, BadCrab said:

This little biocube is looking great, and has a nice diversity of coral for interesting texture and color.
I would recommend against adding a kenya tree.  They're prolific enough that you may end up regretting it when they out-compete everything for space.
A sinularia, I think, would be the better choice.  Were you thinking cabbage or finger?

Thank you. And yes that's what I heard from someone else, they told me I will regret getting a kenya tree.

Not sure about the sinularia, I will have to see some options. Next month here in Dallas we will have the Aquashella Aquarium Festival, I'm pretty sure I will find what I'm looking for there.

[BioReefed]

On 4/22/2023 at 2:49 PM, Lebowski_ said:

People complain about how white biocube

lighting is but I really like it.

I think so too, and also you can get better pictures. I wish there was a little bit more blue but I'm ok the way it is.

[BioReefed]

A little update on the tank.

I have moved a few things and got some others. My tank is about 6 months old and it's doing great. That cyano bacteria is gone, and the tank is maturing really good.

I've got rid of the clove polyps, but I got a montipora digitata coral, a few more zoas, a couple of cristata torches, another plating montipora, a leptrastea coral, and two new fish, a blue neon gobby and a pigmy Hawkfish. And also I glued some of my GSP on the back of the tank, the GSP polyps are growing fast and they are very long.

Here are a couple of pictures.

 

 

 

[growsomething]

Do you feed the nps gorg directly, or the whole tank, or not at all?  What's your method of controlling excess from feedings?

Looks really good.