Kate's 29gal Biocube Build Pt II

[sharkiegirl94]

So I went down to my LFS today and bought some liverock for my new tank setup. I'm hoping to start my cycle this way. I did find some green bubble algae and removed it outside the tank. I've arranged it how I want it and I think it looks good. Still waiting on some reef rock from an online store. More updates soon! I do have a few questions:

1. Can somebody give me a link or tell me a complete list of common/uncommon hitchhikers? I believe this rock was actually aqua-cultured and not harvested because of the way it looks. There are no corals on it that I can see just fyi. I do eventually plan to have corals in the future.
2. Does anybody know the wattage for Coralife Biocube LED bars? I have one blue and two white, plus the two fluorescent ones...which I have not been using that are 36 watts...I mentioned I eventually want corals...
3. How long does dead rock (Caribbsea) take to seed/grow stuff on? Days/weeks/months?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

1. http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html
2 can't help on as I've never owned a bio cube but I'm sure some one will chime in.
3. It will become "live" during your cycle, but base rock tends to go through a couple "ugly" phases before it starts to color up so that may takes few months

 

[dingusplease]

+1 everything BigRedsReef said!

Also, about your LR, usually they don't come with corals (unless you're buying a lot of rock from someone you know is selling rock from a reef tank.)

 

[sharkiegirl94]

I'd like to know what those "ugly" stages look like...also, after my cycle, should i add fish or CUC first? Corals will be last because i read it takes 6-8 months or longer to be well established.

 

[dingusplease]

I used all LR for my tank, and the only "ugly stage" I had was a diatom outbreak.

Also, I would add a cuc first, because of the live rock die-off (but build it up over time, so they all have enough food.)

One more thing, I think you could add corals sooner an 6 months, depending on what kind you get. For sps tp you need an established tank and lots of experience. For softies, you could add them even a couple weeks after getting your cuc going (if your params are relatively stable and there are no other problems.)

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

The rocks will go from white to brownish before finally coloring up