New Biocube 14, does this setup work?

[jstad]

I just won an auction on a Biocube 14 from a local seller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... SA:US:1123

I am picking it up tomorrow. I had a bunch of questions on where to start. My main goal for this tank is to have a clownfish (a "nemo" as my gf keeps wanting) and a Target/Spotted Mandarin. Is this do-able for this size tank?

The tank is currently setup according to the seller, however I will check levels and let it fully cycle in its new home. Do I want to keep the crushed coral or go with live sand?

I have had a very successful planted freshwater tank in the past, but this is my first saltwater tank. Last time I looked @ saltwater I was told to stay away from nano tanks because they are too difficult/fluctuate too much.

When referring to "live rock" does this also work for dried live rock you can buy in bins @ LFS or just in-tank live rock?

What mods are necessary to get the setup I want to achieve? I have heard "remove bio balls" and stuff like that, is all that necessary to get started or can that be changed (gradually) later on if needed? I am sure I will know more upon seeing the item close up tomorrow about the whole setting up chambers, etc.

ANY help is appreciated. Now back to more forum searching for answers...

 

[jstad]

upon reading more about mandarin's it seems those are out of the question. Any other suggestion for a "cute" small fish? The mandarin's just look SOOOO awesome!

 

[Ritsuko N]

First of all I dont have a whole lot of knowledge or experince with all in ones as I prefer the old school way of "seperates". With that said I will offer the following...

1. Yes on he clown fish if its one of the smaller species.

2. The Madarin of any variety is out of the question unless you stumble accross ones thats eating frozen food very well which is very unlikely. This also goes for the Scooter Blennies as well.

3. Ditch the crushed coral and get some live sand such as Carib-Sea Sea Floor or something along those lines in grain size. You can go Bare Bottom too if thats your cup of tea but I dont care for the sterile look. Most reefersdont put in the time required to propperly maintain a Crushed Coral snad bed to keep it from becoming a nutrient sink. Its not that it cant be used, but most just have issues with it. If I had a dime for every 911 thread from a reefer with out of control Nitrates and algae growth that was using crushed coral this girl would have a lot more diamonds as best friends!

4. Nano tanks due to thier small size are very challenging to keep successfully. Its more of a advanced aquarist game for the most part. You can have one as a Noob but you got quiet the challenge a head of you for a first tank. Before you go any further I would stop and hold short of the active and do a little reseach and get your ducks in a row and get a solid game plan formulated before you add the first drop of water. SW tanks are nothing like FW other than they both use water. They arent that hard but they are very unforgiving if you make a mistake or do something stupid due to lack of knwledge. Once you have a rock solid grasp of SW tanks and how they are kept then you can move forward with your BC-14 and have a great rewarding experience with SW.

5. The live rock that you buy dry in the Bins at the LFS is not live. Consequently the rock you buy in the tank though is live and about 3-4 times the price and quality of that so called "premium cured live rock" varies considerably from one store to the next and even from one shipment to the next. You can use the dry rock in your tank with some live sand and it will become live rock in that it will quickly colonize and harbor bacteria needed in your tank. It will unlikely grow coralline algae unless you add a few small pieces of "real" live rock to "seed" the tank.

I usually buy some "real" live rock to add to my tank and then add sun dried rock from www.macrorocks.com for the rest of my live rock. Generally in 6-9 months youd never guess that the rock I had was sun dried. Its a cheap way to go but it also demands that you have a little more time and patience.

6. Again I am not sure about this one on the mods. Maybe others here that are more knowledgable at the AIO tanks can chime in here and proviode some background assistance to guide you. I would however suggest getting rid of the bio-balls. They are great at first but after an extenbded time cuase more problems they they solve. There is a great debate whether live rock rubble which many tout, is much better. It certianly cant be worse than Bio-balls and such. Some also put a skimmer in one of the chambers. I am not sure that this can be done in your specific application but if so its highly recommended. Some skimmers are better than others so choose wisely. Some will also set up a "fuge" in one of these chambers. That is yet another possibility if applicable to your specific situation. www.nanotuners.com is a great place for you to check out and get stuff for Mods and up-grades, check them out just try to keep that credit card on a short leash!

7. As you have learned already, luckily before you made the purchase there are a lot of unsuitable fish that are cool and cheap but dont do well. Let it serve as a lesson and reseach and read a lot about this hobby so you wont have to suffer the needless pain of failure or disaster. Go to www.liveaquaria, click on fish, click on Marine. click on Nano fish and check out the various species profiles available and decide whats best for you and your game plan. While they dont have an all and inclusive list of suitable species you will find that quiet a few to choose from.

HTH's

 

[KidNano]

I have a yellow watchman Goby that will eat just about anything. He'a pretty tough little guy. Not quite as cool as the mandarin however a nice alternate.

Good luck.

Also, I agree with Ritsuko about the crushed coral. However I have it in my tank and have no problems. I vaccum it every couple of weeks. I desperately wish I had used sand though instead. It's just much nicer looking to me and the Goby can't filter through the crushed coral which I always think is pretty cool to watch.

 

[jstad]

Also, how do you go about feeding if you are away every other weekend? If I need to, I will hold off on this tank till it fits my lifestyle more in 8 months.

 

[KidNano]

your fish will be fine not being fed a couple days every other week. how many days are you talking? I know a lot of people fast their fish a couple days a week or month. You don't have a neighbor or someone that can stop by and drop in some food while your out?