New Tank Questions (Pre-Purchase)

[mrhankuk]

All~

I am in the process of gettting a BioCube 29G Tank and wanted some input on a few things.

First, I ultimately want to do coral and fish. From my learning I understand that to do a reef tank, one must have the proper lighting. As the BioCube doesn't have the greatest lighting to start with I was hoping to start small (budget limiting) with the basic setup as the tank comes, add some LR and LS and let that get established. Once that is ready I wanted to add some damsels and other fish down the line.

Once the money is available I wanted to add the lights and upgrade to some corals and reefs.

Does this sound like a good plan?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[GREG]

YOU & I ARE IN THE SAME BOAT IM STARTING WITH MY FIRST NANO BUT STILL TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH IS BETTER BIOCUBE OR AQUQPOD BEST OF LUCK TO YOU MR;G :roll:

 

[rescuediver19]

aquapod is what I have and i enjoy it thorougly

 

[71raw]

I HAVE AN AQUAPOD 12G AND ITS DOING GREAT!

 

[Bad"Royal"gra]

What to buy

Deltec have brought out a nano reef. which is rather good, 70w of lighting
external ballast and cooling fans and a single pump i would put one or two more in myself. but for £190 its a bargain 18x18x18 in size.

 

[mrhankuk]

Confusion

A little confusion... This weekend went to a couple of LFS stores and asked the questions I had. I am planning on getting the BioCube 29G tank. Both answered differently on these:

1. How long do I cycle the tank for if I have LR and LS? One said "2 days" the other said "3-4 weeks".

2. Do I need to have damsels to cycle the tank? One said "At least 6" the other said "Your LR will take care of that"

3. Do I need to have a protein skimmer and upgraded lights for basic corals? One said "Definitely for both" the other said "For basic corals, the lights are ok but you will need a protein skimmer for more advanced corals."

Maybe I am looking to hard for a "set" answer, but the discrepancies make me worried.

What are the thoughts out there?

Regards,

Mark

 

[reefman23]

This doesnt suprise me... there is such a a large amount of false info out there. The one who said, "3-4 weeks", "Your LR will take care of that", and " "For basic corals, the lights are ok but you will need a protein skimmer for more advanced corals" is the closer of the two.

One thing about this hobby is YOU WILL NEVER FIND A HARD SET OF "ANSWERS". There are SOOOOO many opinions/info about what works best. In the end, it is all about reading and studying accurate, trustworthy websites, books, journals, magazines, experienced hobbyists, etc. Even among those you will get varying info.

I hope this helps,

Jesse

 

[Angel]

I agree ^^^ Sounds like the one that said two days, six damsels and definitely on both either knew and was looking for a sale or was ignorant and passed this information on to you. I wouldn't bother asking for any information from that one any longer.

Jesse is right, while there is no set rules, peoples experiences vary with their tanks. What works for one may not work for another as no two tanks are exactly alike.

 

[salty]

The guy who told you to cycle your tank with fish is out to make a sale.

I’m setting up a tank over Christmas and my plan is to wait at least 4 weeks before adding any thing. I mean get your tank and go home set it up, put your water in and let it run for about 48 hours so that you get a good mix out of your salt, your temperature will settle. Then after the 48 hours measure your salinity one more time and if it’s good, go get your live rock.

Then from the day you toss in your rock start counting 4 weeks, just make sure to do small water changes and test your water at least once a week.


I know this might seem a little over kill to most, put I have been doing this for a long time and I have never come across problems being patient.



reefman23 Is totally right there are no straight hard answers, but remember just to be patient and not to rush any thing in the salt or fresh water hobby.

 

[mrhankuk]

salty and all ~

Thanks for the information. Everything I read points me in the direction of what you have said.

A couple of more questions:

1. Without any modifications (i.e. lighting, protein skimmer) to a BioCube 29G what corals can survive ok?

2. I know that more corals can survive with more enhancements, is there a definitive list that I can look at and plan accordingly?

3. I am being told that I can't expect to put anything but gobies in my tank, yet I see a lot of pictures of nano tanks with other fish besides gobies. Once again is there a list of fish that work well in a nano?

Again thanks for all the help!

Mark

 

[salty]

You can try a couple different clowns, damsels, fire fish, fish that stay relatively small will work.
Just a note on the Damsels they tend to be rather violent when it comes to other fish so if you do get them you might not want to get a whole lot else.

Also remember you can’t stock your tank very heavily so a max of 4-5 fish would be all you could put in. My plan is to get my self a pair of clowns and a watchman goby pair if I can find one here.


For most stony corals you will want to have more light. Most softies will survive in the stock lighting of a NC, but I’m not familiar with the biocube lighting.