A Reef is Born: Biocube 29 HQI

[Ecthaelion]

I promised in a previous post to start a journal for my first attempt at reefkeeping. I had a 55g fish-only marine tank many years ago, but I've been out of the hobby for a long time. A recent visit to my brother in Hawaii -- and some amazing snorkling there -- motivated me to get back into marine aquariums.

After a few weeks of research, I bought a gently used Oceanic Biocube 29 HQI. Its previous owner upsized to a 75g after only 4 months with the Biocube, so it was in nearly-new condition.

The Biocube is unmodded -- no cuts or other physical alterations (yet). I ran it for about a week with water and one lonely piece of liverock just to see how it would work. Tonight, I loaded it up with some better quality liverock.

My current set-up:

Oceanic BioCube 29 HQI
14k metal halide bulb in the HQI fixture (bundled with tank)
Oceanic Protein Skimmer (bundled with tank) (in chamber 1)
Marineland Stealth Pro 100W submersible heater (in chamber 1)
Chaetomorpha refugium (in chamber 2) (bundled Bioballs removed)
Oceanic's stock pump (in chamber 3)
Coralife digital thermometer (probe in chamber 3)
17+ lbs of live rock (very porous, lightweight, and fresh)

 

[GlassMunky]

That LR does look really nice. Are you going to stay bare bottom or use a substrate? What are you planning on stocking it with? FOWLR? Corals? SPS, sorties, LPS?

 

[Ecthaelion]

Thanks for the comments, GlassMunky. I've been following your threads, too!

Yes, I aim to stay bare-bottom. I have no plans for burrowing critters like jawfish, and I like the ability to siphon out detritus as it forms. I've seen a bare-bottom biocube that was carpeted with mushrooms, GSP, and other interesting stuff. Very cool look.

This will be my first nano-reef. I've kept a fish-only tank before, but this time I'm going to try my hand with corals. Species list isn't firm yet, but my goal is to do an Indo-Pacific biotope -- an approximation of the shallow-water reefs I loved in Hawaii. Both my budget and experience are limited, so I will begin with easier species and work my way up. The HQI should support Acros and other bright-light species eventually, but it will be a while before I try to keep those more challenging varieties.

For right now, I'm enjoying seeing tiny clams and crabs pop out of the rock. This is really good stuff and I'm glad I waited for this shipment.

Recommendations welcome! I am a newbie at this!

 

[Ecthaelion]

Oh, and I have hitchhikers!

 

[GrendelPrime]

not sure about the hitchhiker but 1 thing to keep in mind is the amount of heat the mh will kick especialy on a nano so just have a fan handy incase ur temp jumps up

 

[GlassMunky]

The HH seems like maybe some kind of xenia, or other softy... But I'm def not an ID expert. And yes, keep an eye on the tank temp. Is it a 75w?

 

[Ecthaelion]

This tank comes standard with a 150W 14k HQI lamp. The good news is that it is mounted high enough that it only raises the tank temp about 1 degree after 6-8 hours. There's a decent amount of air circulating between the glass lid and the water's surface. And the lamp fixture has a built-in fan. (I don't generally run it, because it is noisy as all get out.)

I'm running the tank at about 78 +/- 1 degree.

I've seen folks add an additional fan under the back left side lid. It seems like a straightforward mod, but I don't think I need it yet. We'll see how it goes.

Right now, I only have the lights on about 2 hours per day. The LFS I trust suggested not running the lights at all while my liverock finishes curing. What do you all recommend?

I will add a clean-up crew in a few more days, once I'm certain I'm past any chemistry spikes.

 

[Ecthaelion]

Added 10 red-leg hermit crabs today. They seem happy.

 

[GlassMunky]

you can have the lights on for a little. most likely they suggested this because you dont want a ton of light while its got high nitrites, or nitrates, cause this will lead to excess algae growth.

 

[Ecthaelion]

Running HQI light for 2 hours a day now.

A close-up of the anemone hitchhikers. There are six of these. Note the bumpy tentacles and spotted stalk. They also have a greenish oral disc. Consensus seems to be that these are Phymanthus sp., that they will grow and color up considerably, and that I should give them lots of room in the tank to avoid having them sting neighboring corals.

Any other advice?

 

[Ecthaelion]

Hermit crabs doing their thing and keeping the tank nice and tidy.

 

[Ecthaelion]

My liverock is hatching more hitchhikers. Discovered a tiny snail, some spionid worms, and the world's smallest hermit crab tonight. LIFE!

 

[Ecthaelion]

My first fish and frag residents were added on 2010-09-23. The coral beauty bullied the firefish on the first day, but they've settled down to peaceful coexistence now. Spike's dorsal fin was split on arrival at my LFS, but it has almost completely healed up. Both fish are feeding well on Grow.

The two frags were impulse buys at $5 each. The parent of the Montipora grew to about 8" diameter in 9 months in my LFS's display tank. The other frag may be Galaxia. It grows from thin red soda-straw tubes. Half were empty when I bought it, as shown in this photo, but the surviving polyps have really perked up this week. They fully extend in high-flow, high-light conditions. I am target feeding a couple of times per week with Reef Snow.

Happily, no change in water quality over the past 5 days.

Temp. 77.3 F
pH 8.3
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate near zero ppm (4-5 gal water changes twice per month)

Daylight cycle up to 5 hours/day now. I'm lengthening "day" by about 15 minutes per day.

 

[Garage1217]

Some of my fondest memories in reefing were that of my smaller tanks Enjoy! Looks like you are off to a good start... save the nems... I would trash them personally. I cannot stand nems except looking at them in others tanks haha!

 

[Eric]

Very Nice!

 

[GlassMunky]

Looking good dude! coming along nicely

 

[Ecthaelion]

My son discovered this little crab tonight with the help of a flashlight. It was hiding near an anemone. About a 1/2 inch long now. Hope he behaves himself as he grows up. Any hope he's a relatively harmless porcelain crab? I see only 3 pairs of walking legs.

 

[Ecthaelion]

More recent photos...

 

[Ecthaelion]

And just a few more...

 

[nos2074]

Tanks looking really good.