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Just getting started on my first reef tank. I have had freshwater tanks in the past but it has been a couple of years. I have been researching how to setup a reef tank for over a year now. Just didn’t have the time or money to set something up, until now. MY SETUP Tank: CoralLife Biocube 14 Heater: Cobalt Neotherm 50w Lighting: Stock Lighting - 24w Actinic - 24w 10K - 1x Blue LED Bar Filtration: Chamber 1: False Bottom Removed/Heater Chamber 2: InTank Media Basket (4/29/19) - Top: Filter Floss - Middle: BRS Carbon ROX0.8 and GFO (5/14/2019) Chamber 3: Stock Pump/Temperature/ AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro Circulation: Hydor Koralia Nano 240 Sand: 20 lbs Caribsea AragAlive Special Grade Rock: BRS Reef Saver Water: BRS 6 Stage RODI System Salt: Red Sea (Blue Bucket) Dosing: BRS Kalkwasser- 2g/gal Testing: Refractometer API Saltwater Masters HI736 Ultra Low Phosphorus HI775 Alkalinity Salifert Calcium Salifert Magnesium Fish: - ORA Gladiator Clownfish A. ocellaris (LA 4/18/2019) - Randalli Prawn Goby (AA 6/8/2019) “Timon” - Black Ice Clownfish [QT] “Columbus” A. ocellaris (BLC 10/12/2019) Invertebrates: - 1x Nassarius Snails (LA 4/18/2019) - 2x Cerith Snails (LA 4/18/2019) - 1x Trochus Snails (LA 4/18/2019) - Blue Legged Hermit (AA 6/8/2019) “Jack” - Blue Legged Hermit (AA 6/8/2019) - Red Banded Pistol Shrimp (BTR 6/15/2019) “Pumbaa” - 3x Nassarius Snails (BLC 10/12/2019) - 5x Cerith Snails (BLC 10/12/2019) Corals: Soft Fire and Ice Zoanthid (WWC 5/24/2019) Green Star Polyp (WWC 5/24/2019) Weeping Willow Toadstool (BLC 6/8/2019) Blue/Green/Yellow Zoanthid (AA 6/15/2019) Purple Monster Zoanthid (BLC 10/12/2019) LPS WWC Candy Striped Lord (5/24/2019) WWC Red Comet Lord (5/24/2019) WWC Blue Dragon Favities (5/24/2019) WWC Swamp Thing Favia (5/24/2019) Lavender Duncan (WWC 5/24/2019) Duncan (AA 6/15/2018) Pink/Purple Blasto (AA 6/15/2019) Purple & Pink Acan (BLC 10/12/2019) The Dearly Departed: - 1x Trochus Snail (LA 4/18/2019-5/5/2019) - WWC Grapevine Lord (5/24/2019-5/30/2019) - 1x Scarlet Hermit (AA 6/8/2019-6/21/2019) *Jack - Misbar Clownfish (BLC 6/8/2019-7/9/2019) *clownfish aggression - 1x Nassarius Snails (LA 4/18/2019-??) - 1x Nassarius Snails (BLC 10/12/2019-10/13/2019) *Jack Startup 3/16/2019 5/21/2019 9/25/2019

I'm thinking of going lidless on my biocube 14. I have to replace the fluorescents and rather than spending 50$ on bulbs I am going to put it to new lights. I am looking for something budget friendly, under 100$. I have mostly soft corals, a few fish that I would like to have the colors pop on and some zoas and a duncan that fluoresce. I have read good reviews about this light. It has Cree LEDs and is only 60$. But it doesn't have as many LEDs as some others and isn't very adjustable. HIPARGERO LED Aquarium Light – Aquarium LED Lights 30W Saltwater Lighting with Touch Control and 3W Cree Chips for Coral Reef Fish Nano Tank My other option has some better controls and isn't much more expensive at $83. It doesn't have cree LEDs, but it has 100 LEDs and an app that I can adjust the lights on a 24hr timer. Fluval Sea Marine Nano Bluetooth LED (20 Watt) I have also read good things about the MicMol brand, but I don't know much about this nano light. It's more expensive than I like, but the options for timers and flexibility for colors is compelling. MICMOL - LED Reef Light – Aqua CC 30W Marine Aquarium LED Lights Programmable with Full Spectrum for Saltwater Coral Reef Fish Nano Tank … Anyone use these, or have other better suggestions? Trying to keep costs down, but still want something nice. I have no plans on keeping sps corals, but I will have some LPS. I have a firefish, and will be getting a clownfish and royal gramma later.

I decided to keep a tank Journal to help me keep track of my tank changes since I have been reading so many posts on here and I like the documentation and perhaps some helpful suggestions? FYI I am a total noob to running my own saltwater tank. I am a diver and I have done research on marine inverts (but those were preserved in formalin no care required) but I have never setup my own tank. My dream tank has tons of inverts and lots of corals and algaes competing for space (I did research on settlement tiles and that's kinda of what I want my tank to be like too). I have to add fish for the sake of my boyfriend's cat's entertainment, but I really would rather just have inverts. So a few months ago, I found this tank at a garage sale. Sure it was beat up, but I have always wanted to have a saltwater tank (This is my first saltwater tank). For $30 I became the excited owner of this albatross (my boyfriend's words). With Thanksgiving break and Christmas Break I finally had time to clean the tank out and fully access what I had acquired. Coralife BioCube 14 (scratched up with spirorbid worm tubes covering the back) In Tank Media basket Cobalt MJ1200 pump (is this too much? so loud and it blows the sand....) 10# dry rock Stock Hood with 24 W Compact fluorescents (10000k Daylight, and true actinic) Hydor Rotating Water deflector So after a month or two of getting made fun of for purchasing this tank I got it all cleaned up and made a few purchases to get it started. 12/08/18 I added 10# live sand 2# of live rock to the media rack I stacked in the sections: 1) filter floss and filter sponge, 2) Chemipure and Seachem Matrix, and 3) Purigen ( Probably a mistake to load the purigen precycle but oh well) I don't have a heater, but I live in Florida... I'm almost worried about it getting too warm... Then I played the waiting game... I did a fishless cycle with drops of ammonia and microbacter7 finally on 12/30 My tank had cycled. 12/31/18 Added CUC (pretty sure the LFS guy talked me into too many) 3 tiny blue leg hermits 4 larger red leg hermits 5 Nassarius snails 5 Trochus Snails 1/2/18 Diatoms are showing up so maybe I won't have to keep feeding my CUC as much (have only fed a quarter sized piece of nori and 2-3 shrimp pellets so far). Although it is interesting watching the snails and crabs fight over who gets the pellet first. (the snails are winning) I also got some algae wafers but there were no takers so I fished it out. Fish Store guy was evasive about returns or exchanges of snails, will be doing better research in the future as to quantities. Did another 1 gal water change because I had a little ammonia spike (more than yellow, but less than the 0.25 green/yellow) and my Nitrates were elevated. I have been reading about the pet water bottle ato's and debating about making one because I still haven't figured out how much water I need to add during the day yet. I will probably be waiting a bit before adding fish or corals, but here is my wishlist: Feather dusters/ other cool polychaetes Elysia sea slug, or other nudibranch sexy or peppermint shrimp for the cat I have to add a fish or two: Ocellaris Clown Royal Gramma (? heard its aggressive?) golby/shrimp pair then I want to easy hardy fast growing soft corals: Pachyclavularia (GSP) Discosoma Protopalythoa Xenia

Does anyone have a NON HD prime and keeping a BTA? I have a biocube 14 and non hd prime and trying to find a successful program to keep my bta healthy ( currently residing higher in the tank) and not bring all the algae.

I’m noticing some browning or algae growth on my monti. It’s been there since squirted a little reef roids on it. Any thoughts?