Anyone wanna start a 14gal Biocube? here you go

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Conski

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Well i had to write a 2 to 3 page paper on how to do something... i ended up writing 9 page paper on how to set up a 14 gallon biocube. So i might as well publish my work so anyone can just read it! there might be stuff missing but its basically how to fully mod a biocube maitain it and other stuff too.

here ya go its long so be ready to read lol

Home Reef Tank
When the question of beauty is presented to me the first thing that comes to mind is the coral reefs of the world. Most people have never seen a coral in person or even been to an ocean. Some people have access to the beauties of the ocean but for those who don’t the best way to get up close and personal with the marvels of the underwater world is to own your very own Saltwater Reef tank.
This is by no means a cheap or fast process but with patience and a little saving your efforts will not only be rewarded endlessly by the compliments of others but also by your own two eyes every time you gander into the underwater garden you created yourself. There are two opposing ideas in the reef world, one stating that you can own a cheap reef tank and the other stating you need nice “proper” equipment, which is generally expensive, but in the end your corals and fish will thank you for by growing then times more colorful and faster. I myself go under the second train of thought so besides dedication and patience the first thing you will need is money. I strongly suggest saving atleast one thousand dollars, you may spend less and you might even spend more, but by following these directions you wont need anymore then the suggested amount. Secondly you will need to pick out a tank. Ideally the bigger the tank the better when you are just starting off but lets go with a simple 14 gallon set up, using the word simple loosely. There are many complete set ups that are perfect for starting a reef habitat one of which is the Oceanic Bio-cube. These come in varying sizes from 8, 14, and 29-gallon tanks. The 14-gallon is going to be the one well be purchasing for this set up.
These tanks run at around 175 dollars depending on where you order them from and are perfect tanks for beginners. Now that you have the tank you will see that they come complete with a wet dry area “sump,” which is ideal for the proper set up of a reef tank. These Separate from the tank areas are great for putting filterpads and the heater. Another great feature about this tank is the lighting it comes with. The lighting that comes stock with this tank not only presents the corals you will eventually be putting in the tank beautifully but does a great job of keeping them healthy as well. On the other hand these lights do present problems with over heating the water to dangerous levels though this can be fixed by keeping a fan over the tank with the hood raised to dissipate the heating of the water to dangerous temperatures. Rather then doing this though you are going to avoid the problem all-together by going one step further and spending another couple hundred dollars and replacing these lights with something four hundred times better.
Go onto a reef equipment store (I suggest www.MarineDepot.com) and look for Metal Halide (MH) lights. They come under varying watts, sizes, and make, but what we are going to be looking for is the one hundred and fifty watt Current Sunpod MH system. These lighting systems are generally two hundred and fifty dollars but comes with one, one hundred and fifty watt metal halide bulb and twelve LED lunar lights, six blue and six white to use for nighttime viewing. With these lights you can not only take on any kind of coral in care from easy to hard but you can also take the hood off of your Bio-Cube for optimal viewing from the top of the tank.
Now what your going to want to do is go to one of your Local Fish Stores (LFS) and purchase minor equipment that you will need to finish your set up. The first thing you’re going to want to buy is a reef testing kit. This will be explained later when water chemistry is explained. Secondly you’re going to want to buy a Maxijet600. A smaller more powerful pump that you are going to be replacing the stock pump in the Bio-Cube with. Thirdly you will need to purchase Koralia Nano (a small underwater fan/propeller/directional pump that adds extra “flow” to the tank with and are relatively cheap at around thirty dollars). The reason we are purchasing a more powerful pump and extra pump is because of this thing mentioned above called flow. The more flow in a reef tank there is the happier the corals will be and the exchange of fresh oxygen into the tank there will be. Without flow in a tank fish and corals will begin to die off in less then four hours.
The fourth thing you will need is a type of salt mixture, I personally use Reef Crystals in my tanks so I would suggest the same to you; this does not mean your limited though. The Fourth thing you will need to purchase is sand for the sand bed. Avoid Sands labeled crushed coral or “live sand” as this is just an increase in price and very unnecessary to have for reasons later explained. Get your basic Carib Sea Aragonite sea sand; this will suffice perfectly for what you need. Last thing you will need to buy is a thermometer, 150watt heater, ( I suggest the Rena Smart Heater, these run for around forty dollars but work perfectly)and an Instant Ocean hydrometer(this measures the salinity or concentration of salt in the water). The ideal temperature for a tropical reef tank is seventy-eight to eighty-two degrees. You will want to avoid dropping below seventy-five and going above eighty five as these can cause stress to your fish and corals. Another thing to keep in mind is a fast change in temperature by 5 degrees can be near fatal to everything in the tank.
Now that you have all the proper equipment for the set up of your tank (and most of the expensive stuff is out of the way besides live rock) you can begin to put together your soon to be reef tank. You should’ve already set aside a part of your house dedicated for this tank to be, with a sturdy stand to place the tank on, as these tanks can become quite heavy. You will need to realize that water will sometimes be spilled onto the floor, so if you have hardwood floors then I highly suggest you take that into consideration before putting the tank up.
Now that you have a designated area, which is safe from flying debris, away from direct sunlight, and easily accessible from all side, you can begin the putting together off all your pieces. The first thing your going to want to do is take the tank and place it where you want it. Remove the hood from its hinges with a screwdriver and store it (this hood is still usable and you never know what it can come in handy for.) Now that you have done that look into the the back left hand corner where the pump is in the sump that we are going to be replacing. Take the pump out and put in your Maxjet600, connecting the same tubing from the stock pump (which you should store as well). Make sure the tubing is securely in place and goes directly into the return nozzle. The return nozzle is what puts the water that gets sucked into the sump area back into the main portion of the tank. If this tubing is off then you have a potential spill disaster on your hands. Next take your Koralia Nano and put it on the wall of the sump on the ride hand side of the tank where the water goes through the slits into the sump area (do not place into back sump section this is where your heater and filter pads go). Position it facing the opposite corner of the tank. Next you will want to place your heater into the right hand corner sump section of the tank( Behind the slits “intake” and where the Koralia Nano is).
You have already dealt with the left and right sides of the sump portion of the tank so now lets deal with the middle part, which has a “drip” plate on top of it. Remove the drip plate (keep this) and start removing the things listed in the directions manual as “bio-balls” from that portion of the sump. BioBalls work great in freshwater set ups but in the world of saltwater they can begin to collect Nitrates which is something you do not want in high levels in your aquarium (these will be discussed in the reef chemistry later on). So the back portion of the tank or sump should look completely altered, with the new pump intact in the left hand corner the middle section with the drip plate removed as well as the bioballs (you don’t need to store these, do as you please) and in the right hand corner of the sump section there should be the filter pads which came with the tank and the heater you bought. On the outside wall of the sump should be your Koralia Nano facing the opposite corner of your tank.
Now you will need to mount the MH’s to the ceiling with the Hanging arm kit provided with the lights. Follow the instructions. The Bio-Cube is fourteen inches wide and the sunpod is twenty inches wide so you will have some overhang over the tank which is not something you should really be to upset about. You will want the lights hanging about 7 to 8 inches above the tank, and you will also never want to touch the glass that the bulb is in unless you want third degree burns. Now with the lights and equipment in place you are ready to start the tank up.
Now the fun begins! Go back to your LFS where you will be purchasing Live Rock. Live rock is an essential part of the marine aquarium and is what will make your sand come alive (which is why you didn’t buy the “live sand” before). In a reef you will need at least one pound per gallon of water. These days for visual purposes the less is better so you can get away with having twelve pounds instead of fourteen if you so please, that part if really up to you. Buy an extra two pounds of live rock (LR) rubble though. You will take these pieces of rubble and place them into the compartment of the sump where the bioballs were and then place the drip plate back on. Live rock prices vary on how well “cured” it is. Very well “cured” rock can go for about 8.99 a pound. The less and less cured the rock is the less you will spend on it. Its better to get the best stuff they have that way your set from the start.
With your live rock now purchased go home and place it into the aquarium in the way that you find looks the best to YOU! Now you can either poor the sand in now, or you can rinse it in a bucket for a couple days to remove the initial cloudiness of the water when you poor it in. either method works and is again completely up to you, BUT! If you do rinse it be sure to use clean reverse osmosis water. Reverse Osmosis/De-Ionized water is absolutely essential to owning a successful reef tank. Is is the most purified water you can own. You will either have to go out and buy your own Reverse Osmosis machine on the internet (they run up to two hundred dollars) or you can go to a LFS that sells it for dirt-cheap. Buying your own machine will be the easier route to go though. You will need to change the water in your tank every week, and instead of driving back and fourth with a bucket of water in your car that you paid 75 cents for, you can just buy your own machine hook it up to a faucet and store the water in a 32 gallon trash container to be there whenever you need it.
A word of caution, you may use tap water treated with chemicals if you like, and there is many people who do, but this could lead to disaster down the road, there is several things in your water that could harm a reef-tank. Using RO water eliminates these threats and keeps you a little less nervous about what your putting into your tank.
Now that you have the rocks in place and the sand added and the water at hand, either being RO or treated tap water. You’re going to mix your salt with the water. Take the salt and pour it into the water. Pour small amounts in measuring the salinity of the water. You will want to make the salinity 1.021 through 1.026 on the scale provided on the hydrometer. 1.025 is the ideal though. Once the proper Salinity is achieved pour the water into the tank. On the left side of the tank there is a minimum/maximum line, you want to fill the water in the tank until its in-between those two lines. Now plug your Maxijet600 in (be sure to use drip loops for each of the things requiring electricity for safety reasons) as well as your Koralia Nano. You should now have everything up and running besides the lights. Worry about those later.
You will now be tempted to run out and go buy fish and corals, and I warn you strongly to stop that thought and be paitent! Your fish tank needs to cycle and achieve the proper water chemistry. Every new fish tank goes through a cycle known as the nitrogen cycle. The first thing you will need to do is whip out that reef testing kit you bought. The first part of the cycle is Ammonia, which is deadly to fish, after a week this will pass and another chemical will be introduced known as nitrite, which is even deadlier. This “cycle” could take anywhere from a week to a month you just have to be patient and test daily until you get no traces of either chemical in your fish tank. The end result of the nitrogen cycle is the chemical I mentioned much earlier known as nitrate, and once you get readings of this you are all ready to go! You will want to keep this chemical below 20ppm if you keep corals and 40ppm if you’re only going to be keeping fish. Either way you should change your water once a week, which will in turn keep these it below 10ppm unless your water is somehow poor (which is often the case when using tap).
Now its time to go back to your LFS yet again and purchase your clean up crew (CUC) which will consist of snails, hermit crabs, cucumbers, and starfish. Ask your LFS fish specialist his opinion on what you will need. Take whatever you got and acclimate them (refer to instructions online on how to properly do this) to your water. Let them do their magic for a week before you go out and by that long awaited nemo you have had your sights on.
Now that you have successfully been patient with the setup and cycling of your aquarium go and out and by yourself a clown fish or two to put into your tank! Its important to replicate day light and nighttime in your aquarium for your fish so put timers on your MH light. Turn the light on from 12 to 8pm or anything that’s fitting to your schedule that keeps the light on for atleast 7 to 8 hours. After they turn off have your timer turn on the LEDS for optimal nighttime viewing.
Corals are a whole different ball game to the aquarium. When you introduce them into your tank (and with your lights you bought and spent so much money on you definitely should) you will need to monitor other parameter of the water. Two important things you should test are alkalinity and calcium levels. Your alkalinity should be between eight and twelve and your calcium should be between four-hundred and five hundred. If these two parameters are kept in check then you should have no problem keeping corals. Although you are a beginner so I would suggest polyps, softies, and any form of LPS (Large Stony Polyp) coral, Avoiding any SPS (small stony polyp) which are hard twig/tree like corals. Although your lights can easily handle these types of corals, you will want to avoid them because they are added stress and very delicate. After time you can take these corals on. Be sure to research anything you want to buy before actually buying it though.
There are other pieces of equipments that you can by as well, such as protein skimmers, Auto Top of systems (you will manually have to poor freshwater into your tank daily in order to keep the water level constant), Reek Control systems, Refractometers( a more accurate way to measure salinity) and APC units( for power outages) but you have all that you need to keep your reef tank up and running. You will probably have about three-hundred dollars extra and youll be glad you have that once you begin to divulge further into the coral reef world, because these things can become expensive! Keep on top of maintaining your tank, doing water changes and testing, and you will have yourself one hell of a discussion piece for your guests in your home. There is plenty of sources online such as Aquaria-Central.com that will help you out with any questions you will have about your tank, and are most times more then glad to help out. Problems will arise in your tank, they are always bound to, and in times like these its pivotal to reach out to fellow reefers on websites or your LFS for help.
The hobby is very rewarding and relaxing as well, and if you can stay away from power outages if you don’t get an APC(battery generator) then you will be a successful refer in no time, but most all have fun!
 

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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9 pages? In what, 24pt font and quadruple spaced? LOL.

You know, putting a break between the paragraphs would make that soooo much easier to read. I will read it all in a few.. but the last part caught my eye.. battery generator? It is a battery backup, a generator runs on fuel to keep power going. ;)
 

Conski

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May 8, 2009
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9 pages? In what, 24pt font and quadruple spaced? LOL.

You know, putting a break between the paragraphs would make that soooo much easier to read.
lol its 12 font double spaced! i just copy and pasted it, i dk why it didnt copy the same format!
 

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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Proof reading, or better yet, having someone else proof read before turning it in would be a good idea..

There are other pieces of equipments that you can by as well, such as protein skimmers, Auto Top of systems (you will manually have to poor freshwater into your tank daily in order to keep the water level constant), Reek Control systems, Refractometers
Man, that is really hard to read.. I am trying but it is hard in that format. Just sayin....
 

Conski

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May 8, 2009
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oh its just the rought draft ;)
 

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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ok, good.. glad you posted it up before you turned it in so you can get some positive feedback on it.. give me a few hours to read it and I will let you know.. lol
 

Conski

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May 8, 2009
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nice! id love a proof reader grammar/punc. corrector! :) FIX IT ALL FOR ME ;)! and keep in mind these people know nothing about it so exact details or anything
 

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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www.centralcoastreefclub.com
Now you can either poor the sand in now, or you can rinse it in a bucket for a couple days to remove the initial cloudiness of the water when you poor it in. either method works and is again completely up to you, BUT! If you do rinse it be sure to use clean reverse osmosis water.
I don't agree with that part on using RO water to rinse the sand. I poured 200lbs into a trashcan and ran a garden hose in it for a day then drained and layed it out on a black tarp for a day to dry out. It is a little (actually A LOT) expensive to rinse sand in RO water. As long as you let it sit out and dry any chlorine and ammonia should dissipate and your left with clean dry sand that won't make your tank milk white for a few days.

More to come....

Edit: Another thing I notice is sometimes you state "RO" and sometimes you state RO/DI but are talking about the same thing. I would go back over that part and make sure to get the terminology correct for those so you don't confuse the reader.

Edit2: What would make that article much better is to segment it into sections like. Section 1: Selecting the tank, Section 2: Buying the equipment, Section 3: Initial setup, Section 4: Adding your filtration (powerheads/live rock)... etc, etc.
 
Last edited:

whyzee250

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Aug 17, 2005
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Once this rough draft is corrected I think this thing will be much easier to read. It's easy writing papers about stuff you're into, right Conski? It's the stuff you don't like that sucks to write about. lol
 

Conski

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May 8, 2009
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dude you have no idea, i couldve easily wrote 20 pages on it. and ace i cant break it down into sections she wants it firstly secondly etc.
 
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