new biocube 29 help!

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CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
this is my first saltwater tank. with the tank, I purchased a stealth heater, salt and a powersweep 214 (store clerk reccommended this as a back up).

I have the tank set up and the salt water in it (I used oceanic mix with RO water and it mixed with the filter running all day).

1. What else do I need to buy before putting the live rock and sand in it?
2. Is there anywhere I can find a detailed explanation of "cycling" and clean up crew information? Or does anyone have recccomendations?
3. What do I get to test the water?
4. Do I need to put any supplements in?
5. What critters are good for a beginner and a 29g nano that will look neat?
6. Do I just mount the powersweep anywhere in the tank with the suction cups?
7. Are there any protein skimmers available that don't require too much/no modification to the biocube? Is a skimmer really necessary if I don't have coral?

Thanks in advance!
 
T

Trogdor

New Member
Welcome to Nanotank

1. A device to measure the salinity in the tank. There are many such devices ranging from a float hydrometer to a refractometer. I highly recommend the refractometer. They are very accurate and are less prone to user error. Most have temperature compensation so no calculations to determine what your actual salinity is versus what it is measured at. Refractometers run around $40-$50 for the basic ones, which is really all that is needed. Refractometers

2. http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

3. Test Kit This is the test kit that I use. There are many brands out there and you will find that after about 3-6 months that you will probably rarely need to test your water. I might check all the parameters every 2 months now.

4. Chances are, No. One piece of advice, don't suppliment what you don't test for. This can cause a huge inbalance in the tank and could even cause it to crash. If you do water changes frequently, you are adding enough trace elements back into the tank so usually supplimenting isn't required.

5. This is pure personal choice. While I enjoy crabs, shrimp and snails; someone else will enjoy fish more. Fill your tank with what you desire. There is a fish guide that can help you decide what fish to put in the size of tank that you have.

6. Not sure, never used one. I would avoid using suction cups though. If it comes with a hangar use that or make your own. I find that suction cups neve held long in my tanks and I have been much happier once I put things on their hangars.

7. IMO, a skimmer isn't needed in a nano tank if you are doing water changes frequently. Others will disagree but I would try it first and if you think you need one then you can get one later. There are few skimmers that will fit into a 'pre-made' tank (such as biocube...etc) but there are some out there.

Hope that helped
 
C

CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
Update on my cube: I filled my tank with aprx. 22 gallons of saltwater (I mixed oceanic salt with RO water-->from now on I will purchase pre-mixed, it's easier and cheaper I've found)and I have about 22 lbs. of fiji and tonga live rock.

I also put in 25 lbs of arragolife live sand.

The live rock has been in for about a week now, getting some nice algea growth.

At a LFS near me, they customize biocubes, and for less than $100, they will mod mine and add a custom skimmer. It does require that they cut into the hood, but they do it so you are still able to close it. Not sure if I am going to do it.

I bought a hydrometer because the guy at LFS told me they would test my water whenever I needed.

Should I wait the full three week cycle before putting anything in the tank or should I put in snails or something to help w/ the cycle?
 
T

Trogdor

New Member
I would wait out the cycle. Nothing worse than causing another cycle to start by adding your clean-up crew too early. Plus you run a high risk of killing anything you add to the tank at this time.

I wouldn't rely on your LFS to test your water at any time unless they give you the owner's phone number to call in the middle of the night. There are many times that you need to test your water when the LFS isn't open. Anyway, I would look at investing in a refractometer. I used a float hydrometer for quite a while then switched. I won't go back to a hydrometer after using one. Mine ended up being 0.004 off and it made a huge difference. They are definitely worth the $45 investment and will last a lifetime. Anyway, it's your call but thought I would make the suggestion.
 
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CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
update:

I added some "cycle" product to my tank. Also added "purple up" product. While I have some purple algea which I know is good, I also have quite a bit of pastel green looking algea on a lot of my live rock as well. Is green algea good for the tank?
 
T

Trogdor

New Member
I've never used either but I have heard good results from Purple Up. I have a decent amount of coralline algae so I'm not interested in getting any more. It already sucks scrapping the coralline off of the display pane.
 
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CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
update:

I self tested my water with a salt water test kit. All levels were good except for the ammonia. I took the water sample to an LFS just to make sure my readings were accurate and to see if the thought I was ready for some livestock. They suggested I wait until the ammonia levels go down and more algea grows. They suggested I use the biospira live bacteria which I purchased. Because my water stays at a static temperature of 84 degrees, I think I will need to move the tank. I think I situated it too close to a window.

here are some pictures of my tank:



 
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CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
Re: Temperature. I managed to get the temperature in my tank down to about 81 degrees by placing a fan next to it for a few hours. I've shut off the fan to see it will stabilize. I really don't want to move the tank so I plan to hang a sheet over the window to keep out any light from the window. I also noticed that my tank is near a light fixture that generates a little heat.

My question: is ok if the temperature fluctuates a little bit say, for instance 1-2 degrees or will this cause spikes in my levels and harm livestock?
 
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Trogdor

New Member
shouldn't cause any issues. mine fluctuates by about 2-4 degrees depending on how hot and dry the air is in my house.
 
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CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
I have some kind of fungus growing on one of my rocks, it has long hair growing from it, any idea what it is (and if it is a good sign or a bad sign):



 
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Trogdor

New Member
hair algae...might as well get a toothbrush and scrub it off now before it gets worse. scrub it off in a separate bucket so you don't contaminate your tank with the debris and spread it further. it's not a 'bad' sign but one that you want to address now while your tank is cycling.
 
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CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
Update:

All of the sudden, my tank has become very colorful. The sand is now covered with brown spots all over the place. I also have a lot of this same brown color (imagine the color of the spots of burnt cheese on pizza) on my rock and its sprouting up on the glass of the tank too. I am slowly getting more green and purple algea as well. I am concerned about all the brown spots, what is it? I think all of this stuff starting popping up because I have now started using the lights (both bright purple and bright white during the day and the dim led purple at night as I was told) I am going to get my water tested again today as well.
 
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Trogdor

New Member
Cyanobacteria...or otherwise known as blue-green algae. It's a common algae that plagues new tanks for some reason. It will sometimes take several weeks for it to fully disappear. It's color range can vary quite a bit. You will notice it being clear or non-noticeable in the mornings and then darkening by evening. It is usually a brown or purple color and it has a strange look to it. If you use a turkey baster you can blow it around and it will clump to itself.
 
K

KidNano

New Member
If you don't have any fish or coral in your tank yet, leave the lights off. your algae problems will slowly fade away with out light. There's no need for them until your cycle is complete.
 
J

johnanddawn

New Member
def agree people often make the mistake of trying to cure (cycle) new tanks with the lights on - don't do it! that green algae (fungus as you called it) is a bad thing caused by too many nutrients and improper curing of your rock
the brown stuff is likely diatoms not cyanobacteria. diatom blooms are almost inevidable in a new tank set-up. syphone, scrape, filter them out and they will go away in a week or two
i recommend that you shut your lights off, wait two more weeks, then slowly bring your photoperiod back up. you should be able to add your first critters then
quit using the purple - up and don't let the LFS talk you into buying anything else, nanos are best run with just constant water changes and NO SUPPLIMENTS! at your stag suppliments will just cost you unneccessary money and likely mess up your water quality parameters
 
C

CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
update!

I self tested my water and all of my levels were good. I purchased two damsel fish (blue), four snails and three hermit crabs. I also added some branching tonga rock.

the livestock has been in for over a week now. The hermit crabs made short work of my hair algea problem. So far, only one snail and one crab has bit the dust, everything else is still alive. I have stopped using purple up and cycle. My algea is not nearly as bad now that I have the snails and crabs. I do still have some ugly brown on the sides of the tank though, the snails seem to get most of it.

The two damsel fish I have are extremely agressive and fight all the time and something very strange has happened.

I purchased about three days ago a "lawnmower" blenny. On the first day I had him, I found him in one of the back chambers. I took him out, put him back in the tank and have never seen him again. He is not in any of the chambers, and while it is possible that he is underneath some rocks, I have no idea where he is. is it possible that the damsels killed and ate him? I saw them nip at him a few times. I see no signs of him or anything, it is very strange.

I feed the damsels flake food once a day. I have done nothing but add in RO water to replace evaporation.

when should i begin water changes? Am I supposed to vaccum the sand like you vaccuum the gravel in a fresh water tank?

Thanks !
 
N

NanoReefaholic

New Member
Have you checked inside the powerhead? The tube on the bottom is known for sucking in fish. If not chances are your hermits have already cleaned up the mess and you may not find the leftovers, unless it went carpet surfing that is.

Damsels are known for their aggression and even one has a common name 'blue devil' for good reason. There are some interesting types of damselfish so to each their own.

Don't vacuum the sand in the same way but if you start to see 'garbage' in a corner try to hover the vacuum over that area until the matter is removed. If you start to have a algae mat on the sandbed I'd vacuum that out though.

BTW, what are 'good' levels? To me good is only 0,0,0.
 
K

KidNano

New Member
clueless said:
when should i begin water changes? Am I supposed to vaccum the sand like you vaccuum the gravel in a fresh water tank?
Click to expand...
has your cycle completed? you should start doing water changes since you have livestock in there now. Normally when your cycle completes you do one large water change and then start adding coral then fish. If your cycle hasn't yet completed then doing water changes now will delay the completion of your cycle however it's important to keep your little friends alive.

How about some pics? :)
 
C

CLUELESSBIOCUBE29

New Member
update:

I let my tank cycle all the way through before adding livestock. It took six weeks with 25+ lbs of live rock to get ammonia/nitrite/nitrate down to immeasureable levels. Cycle was complete when I added the livestock a little over a week ago (the tank is now 8 weeks old). Have not done a major water change yet (or any changes for that matter, I have yet to purchas a syphon). Should I do a large one now? Or just small water changes? I add about a gallon a week of fresh water just to replace evap.
My damsels are EXTREMELY agressive. I'm pretty sure they took out the blenny as they fight with each other constantly and even peck at the crabs and snails. I have only been testing my salinity since I added livestock (to make sure that when salinity rises due to evap, I add enough water). How often should I test ammonia/nitrate/nitrite etc.? what do I do if one of the levels is too high? I will add some pics of my tank later tonight. thanks for all the help.

What can I add to the tank that my crazy damsels won't kill?
 
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