Reef Sanctuary - View Single Post - Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube

djbacon · 01-09-2008, 08:24 PM

Hello Reef Sanctuary -

I've finally got off my arse, quit droolling over all the fine tanks here and started one of my own. Due to limited space I chose the 14G Biocube and so far am sticking with the stock equipment. My intention is to grow as beutiful a soft coral reef as possible in te next two years before we move to a new home and upgrade to a larger size.

For now its a simple set up, about 10 lbs of cured premium live rock and an inch of sand set up in a bit of horseshoe formation. Waiting for the tank to cycle and then look forward to adding a family of mushrooms and zoas, a couple fish and whatever else I can finagle out of my local LFS. For now it's lonely and dark in my tank. Just a few rocks and the algae they came with. Dropped a dose of "purple up" in there on the advice of the LFS. The Rocks were already rich with algae but a little color ought to lay a nice foundation.

Never really blogged before and already have a sore finger after burning the #### out of it on my heater. Made the mistake of trying to move it after plugging it in. Out of the water those things get damn hot.

A little worried about heat in proximity to the back of the tank and posibly melting the plastic but I have to think that the folks at Oceanic thought of this and made the rear tank wall out of something realtively heat tolerant.

I got started on a bit of a fast track I suppose, since I live across the street from a very good LFS in San Francisco. The Live (premum fijian) Rock, Sand and Water all came straight from their tanks. I trust these guys to some extent because when I went in all gung ho before Chrstimas they MADE me buy some books and made sure I read them before they would even really engage me about the hobby. I've been wanting to do this forever but did not realize how complex it all could be. The challenge just got me more excited really. Anyway, Im hoping for a slightly shorter cylce due to the aforementioned but am still going to be patient and take my time. Wait for a few weeks of stable readings in my tank before adding anything else.

I have noticd that the live rock already has a few little white polyp looking things emerging from the holes in the rock. Not sure what they are. Could they be hair worms, feeding tubes? Will take a close up of them and post tonight. I have read that sometimes dangerous bacteria and worms can reside in live rock but these came straight out of the "cure tank" at the LFS where they have been for months.

For now -that is all. This is the result of the mayhem in my living room last night. The dust has settled and I'm looking forward to getting this tank going. I think I am going to break apart the larger chunk of live rock tonight and work a little more on the aquascape.

01-09-2008, 08:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
djbacon Neon dottyback Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 601 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Hello Reef Sanctuary - I've finally got off my arse, quit droolling over all the fine tanks here and started one of my own. Due to limited space I chose the 14G Biocube and so far am sticking with the stock equipment. My intention is to grow as beutiful a soft coral reef as possible in te next two years before we move to a new home and upgrade to a larger size. For now its a simple set up, about 10 lbs of cured premium live rock and an inch of sand set up in a bit of horseshoe formation. Waiting for the tank to cycle and then look forward to adding a family of mushrooms and zoas, a couple fish and whatever else I can finagle out of my local LFS. For now it's lonely and dark in my tank. Just a few rocks and the algae they came with. Dropped a dose of "purple up" in there on the advice of the LFS. The Rocks were already rich with algae but a little color ought to lay a nice foundation. Never really blogged before and already have a sore finger after burning the #### out of it on my heater. Made the mistake of trying to move it after plugging it in. Out of the water those things get damn hot. A little worried about heat in proximity to the back of the tank and posibly melting the plastic but I have to think that the folks at Oceanic thought of this and made the rear tank wall out of something realtively heat tolerant. I got started on a bit of a fast track I suppose, since I live across the street from a very good LFS in San Francisco. The Live (premum fijian) Rock, Sand and Water all came straight from their tanks. I trust these guys to some extent because when I went in all gung ho before Chrstimas they MADE me buy some books and made sure I read them before they would even really engage me about the hobby. I've been wanting to do this forever but did not realize how complex it all could be. The challenge just got me more excited really. Anyway, Im hoping for a slightly shorter cylce due to the aforementioned but am still going to be patient and take my time. Wait for a few weeks of stable readings in my tank before adding anything else. I have noticd that the live rock already has a few little white polyp looking things emerging from the holes in the rock. Not sure what they are. Could they be hair worms, feeding tubes? Will take a close up of them and post tonight. I have read that sometimes dangerous bacteria and worms can reside in live rock but these came straight out of the "cure tank" at the LFS where they have been for months. For now -that is all. This is the result of the mayhem in my living room last night. The dust has settled and I'm looking forward to getting this tank going. I think I am going to break apart the larger chunk of live rock tonight and work a little more on the aquascape.