Finally took the SW plunge...

[NYCrooner]

Hey guys, been lurking for a while and finally signed up. Been doing FW tanks for years but always wanted to get into SW. I've decided to start small so I picked up an Oceanic Biocube 14 gl.

I got a great deal from a friend that includes all new Oceanic accessories:

- Protein skimmer
- Mini hydrometer
- Magnetic glass cleaner
- Mini ultraviolet sterilizer
- 250 gph circulation pump
- 2 pk filter cartridges

He also included:

- 1 bag of marine substrate
- 1 bag of live sand
- 1 bag red sea salt
- (unfortunately I still need a heater)

I'm excited to say the least. Got everything running tonight except the protein skimmer, ultra violet and circulation pump (waiting to cycle for a while first). Also waiting for the cloudiness to subside so I can envision where to put my eventual live rock.

My hopes are to get two small clowns, a cleaner shrimp and a starfish. No more (unless you recommend something). However I won't even consider adding anything till I get back from Aruba in August.

My questions to you all, is what else should I be doing to prepare for live stock? Also I'm really curious as to how coral works? Is that produced from the live rock or something I must purchase separately? What kind of coral would you recommend for what I have in mind.

Btw, please scold me if I'm dreaming too big. Thanks!

 

[NYreefNoob]

congrats on first SW tank, do you have a ro/di unit for making water ? if not it is strongly reccomended, i wouldnt wait for the tank to cycle to add live rock, rock should be in there now for the cycling, other wise it will cause a secondary cycle, corals are purchased separately unless you happen to buy some rock that had them growing on them, for corals because of the type of lighting i would stick with lps and softies, personally i love zoa\palys because of all the color variations and how quick they grow, and get rid of the Mini hydrometer and get a refractometer, much more accurate and get some test kits, cal, alk, mag, nitrate and amonia

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

lol your never dreaming too big in the salt world your just envisioning your next upgrade lol and corlas are purchased they dont always pop out of the rocks lol but you should put some rock in there in case u already have not done so to ease along the curing process, its ugly before its beautiful, so set it up and let it run and enjoy aruba, and if you can go snorkeling in aruba to get your mind going!!

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

yeah and noob is dead on man , your gonna def need a refractometer

 

[NYCrooner]

Thanks guys. I wasn't waiting for the cycle to add live rock, just waiting for the sand to settle. Can't see inside the damn tank. lol. It looked pretty clear this morning when I left for work so will pick up some live rock after work (along with a refractometer).

As for the ro/di unit, are there recommended units I should be looking at? Also what do you guys recommend for these hot NY summers? My tank read 86 yesterday!?!?!

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

ouch 86 is death! with a small tank like that if your not running air conditioners to cool the room its in, i think a good fan may do the trick, so let me know if you wanna give it a shot i have a fan you can have

 

[NYreefNoob]

well i got my ro\di on ebay can get the 4 or 5 unit for around 100-140 shipped, and trick to keeping sand from getting so stirred up is using a bwol or glass once sand was in and fill water into glass or bowl so it doesnt stir stuff up as much, only downside to nano's is lack og openings for ventilation and ability to just add a fan onto it to keep it cool but this also cause evap, honestly if you used straight sink water, id go buy some jugs of distilled water from grocery store to use for the top off and water changes till you get a ro\di, also check out nanotuners they have alot of mods ect for nano tanks

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

oh and a rodi unit from airwaterice.com or the filterguys.com will be more than enough, check them out, and go down to manhattan aquariums and see what they have in stock with rock as well

 

[Sea_Me]

One thing that I have learned is when doing water changes/adding water, put a bowl in the tank under the water. Fill it into the bowl, this will take the impact off of the sand, keeping the tank clear..

:splitspin

 

[NYCrooner]

ouch 86 is death! with a small tank like that if your not running air conditioners to cool the room its in, i think a good fan may do the trick, so let me know if you wanna give it a shot i have a fan you can have

I picked up one of these bad boys on ebay and will give it a test run.

If that doesn't work, will try the ol' ziplock w/ice routine that always worked great with my FW tanks or running a regular fan aim towards the tank. Just trying to avoid running the AC all day.

 

[NYCrooner]

You know the thing I keep hearing really conflicting opinions on is the Biocubes bio balls. Many of the alternatives require physical changes to the tank that I'm not fond of. I also hear a lot about live rock rubble but seems to me that it would be over kill of live rock no?

 

[Sea_Me]

I took out the bioballs in all three of my biocubes (8,14,29). The bioballs collect tons of the nitrates that can harm your tank. Within 2 days of replacing them the nitrates went from a unhealthy level to zero. I highly recommend the media baskets, best investment that I had ever made for the tanks. Get rid of the bioballs your fish will love you for it...

top layer= filter floss
middle = purigen
bottom = chemi pure elite

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-14-Media-Basket-BC14MR.htm


:goldfish2

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

you never have too much live rock , pending the space, i have seen tanks very crammed but very nice as well

 

[jdnumis]

Patience is Key as well. Don't rush things, it will cost you a lot of money and headaches. +1 with Sea me, bioballs are nitrate factories. Don't hesitate to ask questions here, everyone is awesome and will give you a lot of advice.

All the best on your new setup,

~James

 

[NYCrooner]

So here's the progress...

Chamber 1:
Protein skimmer

Chamber 2:
Biomax
Chemipure
Sponge

Chamber 3:
UV pump

Display:
20 lbs of live rock
3 inches of live sand
50 watt heater
Extra circ pump

In the mail:
Refractometer

On the horizon:
Cleaning crew

Dreaming of:
Clowns
Coral

Had some salt issues but worked that out. Now my readings are all good and ready for some cleaners.

HUGE thanks to Anthony at PetGoods for his saint like patience and wealth of knowledge.

 

[rkaragozler]

your tank is starting to shape, patience is the key, don't rush into anything. also try to keep the rock a little away from the glass, other wise it will be hard to clean the glass.
I learned in this hobby their is never a stupid question asked.

 

[NYCrooner]

Thanks. I'm definitely in no rush. Just want to make sure I'm getting it right.

Btw, great advice on the live rock near glass. Had to shift it around this morning because I couldn't get the magnetic scrub to move freely. Made a few small adjustments and now I'm good to go.

I'll let the cleaning crew take care of the diatom bloom I'm getting on the sand.