Just a few Questions

R

regenesis000

AC Members
Dec 7, 2006
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Okay so i have done the freshwater thing, and my tanks are running nicely and are doing quite well, and i decide to start up a 14 gallon Biocube reef tank cause i heard that Biocubes are good tanks and relatively easy for beginners.

Heres what ive don so far:
1-mixed salt/RO water mixture and put that in, along with the substrate (not live sand)
2-put about 14-15 pounds of cured live-rock in.

Its been running this way for about a week and a half now, ive done all the water tests yesterday and they all turned out well. (at optimal levels)

Anywho i have a few questions and would greatly appreciate it if you all coould give me a hand.
1) Is a protein-skimmer necessary in this size of a tank? i have the one that is by oceanic and specially designed to fit in the first filtration chamber of the biocube. however if it goes in there, the filter/sponge thing doesn't fit. (it says in instructions to remove filter cartrige). dont really know what to do here...
2) have i done anything wrong/left anything out so far? if so what improvements can i make?
3)when approximately is it safe to start adding fish? i know i wont be able to fit very many, or anything large in my tank...dont have a problem with that. What fish would do well in a new tank? hardy, etc...
4)should i add snails, hermit crabs, a cleaner shrip? or at what stage?
5) when is it safe to start adding coral? and is there anything special that has to be done to maintain it? lighting hours etc.

one other thing, what is my protein skimmer supposed to look like when it is operating? i dunno if its broken, air pump works, but bubbles seem to be very small.

Sorry about all the questions ;) and once again i greatly appreciate all the help you guys can give me.
 
1) i would definitely use the protein skimmer. don't worry about the faom, you'll have enough bio from the LR. for the skimmer, a good starting point to have the foam reach is just below the neck for the collection cup. you should be able to adjust the air to get it up there. small bubbles are fine, normal. it may be a bit hard to adjust until it has been run awhile and gets it's slime coat :)

2)what did you use for substrate? IMO, live sand is the best. other than that, looks good. good choice on a biocube! great tanks.

3)are you sure the cycle's done? i think technically you can add fish after the nitrates level out. i've also been told to wait at least 1-2 months. not really sure why, maybe someone else here can say more about that. my guess would be to let any fish dependant parasite or something like that die off. just a guess.

4)add snails when you start getting algae. be careful with the hermits, they will eat the snails for their shells. so try and throw some empty shells in there. you can add the cleaner any time after the tank is cycled. i might wait awhile if i was you, though. the cleaners aren't cheap.

5)depends on the coral. soft corals are for the most part pretty hardy. i have some star polyps from a guy who said he had them in a bucket in his garage for the better part of a week, no movement, no light, threw them back in a 29g and they were fine. LPS and SPS are more finicky. with the power compact lighting over a bio cube, i think most SPS are out for you anyway. they like a lot of light. some LPS might work very well for you, but you would have to make sure to keep your calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity levels in the water where they should be. if you see a coral you like, go home and research it before you buy. i've gotten into trouble(and i think i'm not the only one) impulse buying a coral. mine was a dendro, low light, high flow. pretty touchy, i ended up taking it back.
i'm by no means an expert, but i think that's a basic overview. anybody else, by all means correct me if i'm wrong :)
 
there's also a whole bunch of "sticky" threads at the top of the forum page. sit down and get to reading, lots of good info there.
 
regenesis000 said:
Okay so i have done the freshwater thing, and my tanks are running nicely and are doing quite well, and i decide to start up a 14 gallon Biocube reef tank cause i heard that Biocubes are good tanks and relatively easy for beginners.

Heres what ive don so far:
1-mixed salt/RO water mixture and put that in, along with the substrate (not live sand)
2-put about 14-15 pounds of cured live-rock in.

Its been running this way for about a week and a half now, ive done all the water tests yesterday and they all turned out well. (at optimal levels)
<<I would suggest you need to start the cycle on this, as if you have had minimal die-off from the live rock, your not going to havea good level of bacteria generated. What patterns between ammonia, nitrite and nitrate have you seen in the test results?>>

Anywho i have a few questions and would greatly appreciate it if you all coould give me a hand.
1) Is a protein-skimmer necessary in this size of a tank? i have the one that is by oceanic and specially designed to fit in the first filtration chamber of the biocube. however if it goes in there, the filter/sponge thing doesn't fit. (it says in instructions to remove filter cartrige). dont really know what to do here...
<<Add the skimmer in there, and leave out the filter media, your live rock is your filter>>
2) have i done anything wrong/left anything out so far? if so what improvements can i make?
<<Your off to a good start, Your best bet is to read and understand the nitrogen cycle, if you dont already, and get the cycle underway on the tank>>
3)when approximately is it safe to start adding fish? i know i wont be able to fit very many, or anything large in my tank...dont have a problem with that. What fish would do well in a new tank? hardy, etc...
<<Wait at least a week or so after the cycle has finished and you've done a 50% water change. Personaly, i dont see a need to wait longer as at this point, all levels will be acceptable and the environment fine for fish. Due to the size, choice of fish are slightl limited. Choices range from perc clown fish, goby's or fish of that size..Would not add more than 2 fish>>
4)should i add snails, hermit crabs, a cleaner shrip? or at what stage?
<<By ll means, add a 3 or 4 turbo and cerith snails, a cleaner shrimp, just wait till the cycle is finished, as in number 3 above>>
5) when is it safe to start adding coral? and is there anything special that has to be done to maintain it? lighting hours etc.
<<I would wait for a few weeks at least, after the cycle before adding coral. Coral are more prone to failure than fish in a new tank. Keep a lighting period of about 8 or 9 hours daylight, nothing special besides good water parameters, and research of each species>>

one other thing, what is my protein skimmer supposed to look like when it is operating? i dunno if its broken, air pump works, but bubbles seem to be very small.
<<This is more than likely due to the lack of protiens and gunk in the water column..This should change when you start stocking the tank>>

Sorry about all the questions ;) and once again i greatly appreciate all the help you guys can give me.
Click to expand...

Added some comments above in red...

Dont be sorry about asking questions, thats what we are all here for, to help others, to learn ourselves and to get a greater understanding of our hobby...

Niko
 
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