biocube beginner needs help

[kristyk]

Hi! I have never posted on any blog, but I recently purchased a size 8 biocube from the local farm store. The fish guy there set me up with established saltwater (he convinced me to go salt as it's much more fun!) and live rock, live sand, etc. I got it all together and running and am adding a half cap of bactervital each day as he suggested. After a week, I have a good slimy cover of brown algae everywhere. Now that I have time to sit down and research, I realize I should have done that earlier (the purchase was a spur of the moment as my tax return came in) and am thinking....holy cow! What have I gotten myself into? My fish guy is super helpful and has already answered a few questions, but he failed to mention how a smaller tank can be so challenging! I have all the gear and am going to wait another month to let the tank cycle so I can read up on everything. Was planning to maybe put a starfish and one or two clownfish in there to start. He mentioned that they do a water change about every month or two, but it really isn't as bad as all the sites say as long as you check up on the tank. ADVICE? What do I need to know now before I get farther into this? K

[reefer4200]

type in cycling into the search field, will help you get started. What you need to know is this is a very patient hobby, its an absolute must unless u want things to die on you. Watch all your levels closely as things change daily, but be patient and take care of it closely and you will adapt and learn as the days continue. I dont know A LOT, but i have learned a great deal and continue learning with this site everytime i on. These people are great.

[mempho reefer]

welcome to the wonderful world of saltwater. With some research and time you'll enjoy a great new hobby. Find out a bit more about your tank. What kind of light kit do you have? Do you have a protein skimmer? Do you have a filter? Do you have live rock and what kind of substrate do you have? The standard is one pound of live rock per gallon of water and the same for sand. The clown idea is a good one but your tank is just big enough to support one. I would not suggest a starfish as they need a tremendous amount of algae to survive, most die in captivity. If you plan to keep corals some stars find them quite tasty. If you're planning on keeping fish only a one month cycle should suffice however, if you plan to keep corals you'll need a bit more time.

[kristyk]

I appreciate the comments. I put live sand and live rock and established water all from the local farm store in our small little town. They have tons of saltwater tanks and the owner is really knowledgable. I am happy to let the tank cycle for more than a month as I am now freaked out about doing anything else to it! It's the oceanic biocube so it has an 18 watt actinic 03 blue straight pin, and 18 watt 10,000 daylight straight pin, and 2 .75 watt blue-moon glow led lights. Pump flow rate is 106 gph, and the cooling fan is a 50 mm. My guy sold me a stealth 100 watt aquarium heater to put in when the tank is ready to go.

I don't know what a protein skimmer is but I'm pretty sure it's something I would need to add to this kit. Had I been smarter, I could have researched this more but now I know I have at least a month to learn all about it.

The recommendation of the one fish is good and I plan to add just one thing at a time until I get comfortable with testing the water and doing water change outs.

Looks like most people replace the bio-balls with something else in the back, so I will look into that. Don't know what a protein skimmer is.

Eventually, I would like to have a sea anenome and some plants in there....so any specific suggestions would be appreciated! I will keep checking back for any other advice!

Thanks,
Kristy

[lcstorc]

Welcome to the addiction.
With that size of a tank you are going to need to do water changes much more than once every month or two. The solution to polution is dilution is really the rule in saltwater so water changes can fix most things.
About the anemone. You don't have nearly enough light to support one. Also they need a very established and stable tank. They are one of the harder things to keep. Not sure about plants since I have never tried those.
Congrats on your purchase and learn and enjoy.
This is a very rewarding hobby.

[zy112]

Welcome to RS!

Even though you jumped right in luckily you have time to do a lot of research while your tank is cycling! I would look into a small protein skimmers; and yes smaller tanks require much more maintenance and monitoring. However, you can accomplish a great nano reef with some effort.

On another note I would through out the idea of a starfish and 2 clowns. Maybe a small goby.

[CREEPIN]

i have a biocube and i just put in a Biocube Protien skimmer and i love it...
keep it lightly stocked and water changes as often as possible (i do one every 6days) and add fresh RO water everyday to make up 4 eveperation
hope this helped?
Frank

[kristyk]

Frank and others,

What are your suggestions for what to put in there to start?

[lcstorc]

Well you are pretty limited with that tank size.
Personally I would get a couple of clown gobies. They look nice and have a great personality. Plus they stay small. That is the only thing I can think of where you could have more than one.
If not that, then I would probably do sexy shrimp. They are so adorable but would become a snack in my tanks.

[jnohs]

hello there i have the 14 and 29 biocubes. alot of people say that you should have a skimmer and 99 percent of the time you should. But I belive that on a tank that is that small, you should not bother with a skimmer. 8 gallsns is nice in a way. I t will only be difficult if you go fast. the cubes are very nice products. and what is nice about the 8gallon is the lighting is pretty strong. how you might ask? the tank is so small that the furthest any thing can be from a bulb is 1 foot. There for everything is well lit. also it has a built in surface skimmer and inter-changeable carbon filter cartridges. now take these next comments with a grain of salt. I would not bother taking readings with all those test kits. I stoped months ago and finially just left the tank alone. I have found that leaving a tank alone is one of the best things you can do. Of course you will allways do "top-offs" and water changes. With a tank that small again i would just buy pre mixed water for my changes. and just change 25 percent a week witch is a lot but with such a small tank a little extra water per change is nice. remember just go slow it will take about 9 months to relly come about. that is to say that in 2 months it will be nice and swarming with life but after 9 -12 months the life swaming will be intense. just sart with soft corals for now. and i must try to say "stay away from polps" they are very annoying in the long run. and soon are looked at a weed. there are much more advanced soft corals than polyps.

[kristyk]

Jnohs,

This is great advice. Anything else you can think of will be helpful. When you say soft corals, which ones should I choose? Any particular one that you think would look good?

[chromiumlux]

Hello KristyK,
I will have to agree with others about the research into your tank. I recently set up my 14g biocube--about 2 1/2 months. Just got the rock in a few weeks ago after a long cure period. I am amazed at how many life forms are still in the rock. I'm not too sure about this bacteria additive you are using. I am sure that if you got some quality rock everything is already there to help your tank cycle. I have learned that if I cant test for it I dont add it. I prefer to go the slow method and let nature take its course. Of course, thats my way of doing things. There are a lot of people here at Reef Sanctuary who have many years of experience. My suggestion is read,read,read, and read some more about everything pertaining to this hobby--Oops!--addiction. Then start asking questions about everything.
Welcome to the wonderful world of water changes! And dont forget to get yourself some good test kits and test that mini ocean before you add too much too soon. Water changes are important too.

[CREEPIN]

hey, i would keep the tank as lightly stocked as you possibly can..
just make sure u change that water and top off

[AQTCJAK]

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