Bio Cube 14 Gal Plan

[FriscoTX]

I've been duped.

I just figured out that the ls that I bought wasn't really ls - it's the bagged stuff. When I went to pick up the ls the guy on the floor couldn't find the sand that had been there from the est. tank. He blew me off a bit and told me that the stuff in the "bucket" (read 1st post) was just the same as the stuff in the bag. So I thought I would wait and find a better deal as this store is entirely too overpriced. I then picked up a bag of the aragonite lS from a different store. Now I find out (after doing some research here) that it is not the same and is pretty much a gimmick.

AARGH.

Ok - so question: should I ditch the stuff I have in the tank already, or should I go back to the not-so lfs and get the bucket of the live stuff he was referencing?

 

[lando]

Since you already have it and your tank is cycling, I would just leave it in the tank. It is more expensive but will do the same job. Chalk it up to a lesson learned and steer clear of that LFS in the future.

 

[FriscoTX]

Will the tank cycle as effectively? I had planned on it being a quick cycle with the ls. Will I need to add an amonia source?

 

[lando]

I tend to error on the side of caution. There is no substitute for a good old fashion hard cycle. Might as well throw in a raw shrimp and let the tank go for a couple of weeks.

 

[FriscoTX]

Water parameters as of last night:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 1
PH 8.15
Alkalinity 5.5
Calcium 380

I added a tsp of Ammonia Hyrdoxide & 1.5 scoops of Bio-Calcium. I decided to go the liquid ammonia route mainly because the decaying shrimp thing grosses my wife out hehe. I'm hoping to get that calcium up too so the reef will start showing some colors.

 

[roka64]

I have 4 rotting shrimp in my 125G. I love that aquascaping job! Where did you get that rock?

 

[FriscoTX]

Thanks! I bought at a lfs here in Dallas. It's a mix of Fuji, and what the lfs guys call "Tonga-Fusion" which I assume is a mix between Tonga and some other (Fuji) rock.

 

[FriscoTX]

Here are some updated pictures. I re-did the aquascape. While I liked the old version, this one will be more practical for the tank's future residents. I moved the stack back a bit and opened up the internal cave and created a couple additional exit/entrances from the side and back. The ledge out front will provide a nice porch for any polyps or softies. I like the ledge effect and also think that the bowl at the top could house an anenome in time.

Life on the reef:

So far the only thing growing has been the different coraline algae. I think everyone wonders what suprises they'll get with their batch of rock and have visions of the sessile and motile variety. I am however happy to report that I have my first set of Feather Duster Worms!

 

[roka64]

Pretty sweet!

 

[FriscoTX]

New residents!

Say Hello to Popcorn and Dash as named by my 3 & 5 yr old boys

So far they are shying away from the reef. I hope that they get to the point where they swim in and out of the cave. Even the entrance from the front since its much bigger.

I fed them a teensy bit of flake last night and they were pretty excited but didn't seem to like it that much. I plan to wait a day and feed them some brine shrimp on Christmas.

 

[Sadielynn]

Very nice I like your scaping and the names are GREAT perhaps suggest one name to be butter and the other remains as popcorn

 

[FriscoTX]

hehe - i wanted to name them Nano & Nemo; my wife wanted to name them Pico and DeGayo - but the boys won out