Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank

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.

reefman420 · 01-09-2008, 08:26 PM

the worms are feather duster worms,perfectly harmless and a good natural filter

panmanmatt · 01-09-2008, 08:26 PM

Welcome to Reef SANCTUARY. Sounds like a nice set up. Feel free to post pics when you get the chance.

djbacon · 01-09-2008, 08:27 PM

File is too big too upload. Wow, 50k is a rough limit for pics.

panmanmatt · 01-09-2008, 08:28 PM

Host them on a place like Photobucket and just use the [IMG] tag to post them here.

djbacon · 01-09-2008, 08:33 PM

Anybody have any advice on stacking the live rock against the back wall of the tank. I have it in the middle now and everythign that I have read suggests NOT to use the walls for support for ease of cleaning. The nicest nanoreef I have seen though all seem to end up stacking against the rear wall of the cube.

Probably going to re-arrange this.

djbacon · 01-09-2008, 08:35 PM

btw, paint does wonders for downsizing photos as well ;-)

AnimeFan2 · 01-09-2008, 08:36 PM

Welcome, I have an AquaPad 12 and am restarting it again, good luck and enjoy.

lcstorc · 01-09-2008, 08:57 PM

Welcome to RS!
I wouldn't stack the rock against the back. You want to leave room for the water to circulate.
You got lucky on the heater believe it or not. When I did a very similar thing the heater shattered when I put it back in the water. Maybe you were smart enough to unplug yours. I wasn't and it was a mess.

To start your cycle go ahead and add a piece of raw shrimp from the grocery store. This will provide the amonia you need to start your cycle without risking the life of a fish. Then test test and test some more until you have no amonia and no nitrite. Then it is time to start water changes.
Also I would hold off on the purple up until you start adding corals and even then I don't use it. It is primarily calcium which you don't need right now since you have no corals to support. Your salt mix will give you plenty for corraline etc. Also purple up can throw off the chemistry in your tank by raising the alk as well as the calc and leaving the tank unbalanced.
Read up on the chemistry threads and it will make more sense.
Enjoy.

djbacon · 01-09-2008, 10:13 PM

Thanks for your advice Lynn,

I'm definitely holding off on adding any more of the calcium substitute or anything for that matter for a few weeks. Unfortunately my LFS was closed tonight so I couldn't finish the rockscaping I wanted to do tonight. Once I get the foundation looking the way I want, I might consider the shrimp suggestion.

Cheers and good luck with your 12g

djbacon · 01-10-2008, 12:32 PM

2 vagrants coming up. Just looking for confirmation on the type of critter I am looking at. The first one has about 7 or 8 buddies that look just like him.

Feather duster worm? I have looked for photos of feather duster worms on google and no images returned that looked anything like this. They all looked beautiful and colorful (clearly many varieties) . Thanks for your help folks !! Just want to ensure these are not harmful to the future inhabitants of my tank.

djbacon · 01-10-2008, 12:35 PM

2nd vagrant.

This guy is much thicker and is wearing a furry sweater which is difficult to see in the photo. He does not extend like the others.

????

lcstorc · 01-10-2008, 12:59 PM

I don't think the first one is a feather duster but I really don't know what it is.
THe second one is hard to see but may be a bristle worm from the description. Just guessing but try a search and see if that looks like yours.
It doesn't look like a fire worm. If it is a common bristle then it is fine.

panmanmatt · 01-10-2008, 01:02 PM

first picture looks to be a type of hydroid.

hydroids - Google Search

Jason25 · 01-10-2008, 01:18 PM

Just to add to what Lynn said about not using purple up. Do not dose anything in your tank that your are not or can not test for.

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.

01-09-2008, 08:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
reefman420 Elegance coral Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: minneapolis Posts: 1,085 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank the worms are feather duster worms,perfectly harmless and a good natural filter __________________ 155 oceanic bow front,20 long refuge packed with caluerpa and mangroves,40 gallon sump,175lbs LR,3x250 watt xm 10ks,aqua-c remora,and pro-clear 150 skimmers sailfin tang,kole tang,royal gramma,cinnimon clown,2xpink skunk clowns,six line wrasse,mandarin, 155 bow coral-orange montipora cap,superman monti cap,scripps green polyped staghorn,ORA pink poccilipora,ORA blue millipora,green slimer,yellow UK acro,pink birdsnest,armor of god zoas,various zoas and shrooms,hammer,frogspawn,clove polyps,favite,fancey toadstool,reg toadstool,yellow leather,purple leather,devils hand,2 types xenia,ricordea florida,ricordea yuma,kenya tree,galaxia,bubble coral,button polyps inverts are lots of snails and hermits,crocea clam,maxima clam and seabae anemone,rbta

01-09-2008, 08:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
panmanmatt Golden Moray Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Waretown, NJ Posts: 2,255 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Welcome to Reef SANCTUARY. Sounds like a nice set up. Feel free to post pics when you get the chance. __________________ The mind is like a parachute, it only works when opened. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(")

01-09-2008, 08:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
djbacon Neon dottyback Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 601 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank File is too big too upload. Wow, 50k is a rough limit for pics.

01-09-2008, 08:28 PM	#5 (permalink)
panmanmatt Golden Moray Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Waretown, NJ Posts: 2,255 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Host them on a place like Photobucket and just use the [IMG] tag to post them here. __________________ The mind is like a parachute, it only works when opened. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(")

01-09-2008, 08:35 PM	#7 (permalink)
djbacon Neon dottyback Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 601 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank btw, paint does wonders for downsizing photos as well ;-)

01-09-2008, 08:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
AnimeFan2 Tubeworm Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: USA Posts: 37 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Welcome, I have an AquaPad 12 and am restarting it again, good luck and enjoy.

01-09-2008, 08:57 PM	#9 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,433 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Welcome to RS! I wouldn't stack the rock against the back. You want to leave room for the water to circulate. You got lucky on the heater believe it or not. When I did a very similar thing the heater shattered when I put it back in the water. Maybe you were smart enough to unplug yours. I wasn't and it was a mess. To start your cycle go ahead and add a piece of raw shrimp from the grocery store. This will provide the amonia you need to start your cycle without risking the life of a fish. Then test test and test some more until you have no amonia and no nitrite. Then it is time to start water changes. Also I would hold off on the purple up until you start adding corals and even then I don't use it. It is primarily calcium which you don't need right now since you have no corals to support. Your salt mix will give you plenty for corraline etc. Also purple up can throw off the chemistry in your tank by raising the alk as well as the calc and leaving the tank unbalanced. Read up on the chemistry threads and it will make more sense. Enjoy. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash.

01-09-2008, 10:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
djbacon Neon dottyback Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 601 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Thanks for your advice Lynn, I'm definitely holding off on adding any more of the calcium substitute or anything for that matter for a few weeks. Unfortunately my LFS was closed tonight so I couldn't finish the rockscaping I wanted to do tonight. Once I get the foundation looking the way I want, I might consider the shrimp suggestion. Cheers and good luck with your 12g

01-10-2008, 12:59 PM	#13 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,433 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank I don't think the first one is a feather duster but I really don't know what it is. THe second one is hard to see but may be a bristle worm from the description. Just guessing but try a search and see if that looks like yours. It doesn't look like a fire worm. If it is a common bristle then it is fine. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash.

01-10-2008, 01:02 PM	#14 (permalink)
panmanmatt Golden Moray Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Waretown, NJ Posts: 2,255 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank first picture looks to be a type of hydroid. hydroids - Google Search __________________ The mind is like a parachute, it only works when opened. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(")

01-10-2008, 01:18 PM	#15 (permalink)
Jason25 Elegance coral Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Lancaster,PA Posts: 1,117 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank Just to add to what Lynn said about not using purple up. Do not dose anything in your tank that your are not or can not test for.

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