My first saltwater tank - 14g Biocube journal

[krak256]

I just got everything in today.

14g Biocube
20lbs of CaribSea live sand
20 lbs of live rock
Koralia nano powerhead
50w Stealth heater
Chemi-Pure
Reef Crystals
Oceanic nano skimmer
Refractometer

So I mixed the salt with distilled water, added it to the tank, and then put in the sand. Afterwards, I put in the live rock. I also took out the bioballs, and replaced it with rubble. On top of the rubble, I put a bag of Chemi-pure. I will be replacing the filter cartridge with the skimmer after the water isn't cloudy anymore.




I have a few questions.I set the heater to 78 degrees, is that ok? Also, I was going to put the heater in chamber 3, but with the skimmer, there's no room, so I put it in chamber 1. Is that ok? Will it be able to heat the water sufficiently?



Since I have live rock, which probably suffered from some die off, do I need to put in a raw shrimp still?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pat8you]

78 is a good temp to keep it at. As long as there is some flow over the heater it will be fine where ever its at.

 

[krak256]

some more pics. water is still a bit cloudy. let me know what you think of the rock arrangement



is there enough room in the back for flow? i pointed the koralia PH towards the back

 

[roka64]

The rock looks good, is it stable?

 

[krak256]

Roka, the rocks are pretty stable. Some of the smaller rocks up top are a bit shakey. How do I go about fixing that?

Slight aquascape update:


I also have a few questions. Right now my salinity is at 1.021. how should I go about raising it to 1.025? Should I just add salt in or should I mix it before adding it in? How much salt should I add? I'm using Reef Crystals.

When I'm aquascaping, is it ok to make the rocks lean against the glass? I always thought that was a big no no, that's why I kept all the live rock in the middle.

 

[krak256]

just tested water parameters:
PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 8 (it was dark blue...)
Nitrate: 10
Nitrite: 10

Am I in the beginning of my cycle? Anything I should do? I plan to make a 20%-50% water change in a week. http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=2673735

 

[lando]

Looks like you are off to a good start. Parameters suggest your cycle is well underway. You should expect a decrease in NH3 and an increase in NO2. Once they both read zero, you will notice pretty high NO3 levels. At that time do a 50% water change using premixed and aged SW. Next, allow the tank to settle for a few days and test parameters daily. If NH3 and NO2 still remain at zero and NO3 remains low your tank is cycled.

 

[tamra&steven]

when you mix up you new saltwater just bring you salinity to what you want before you add it to your tank you will increase it over time with water changes.

 

[Jimbo7]

You can use different types of epoxy to secure your rocks down on top. Your LFS should have a couple different options. Did you arrange your rocks on top of your sand or did you do the rocks then add sand? This can be important if you ever get a sand sifting fish. They will dig out from under your structure if they are on top of the sand which can cause collapses.

 

[krak256]

hey jimbo, my rocks are not completely touching the floor of my tank. would a yellow clown golby be a problem in my tank? i was thinking about getting one.

can i get epoxy from a hardware store?

here is an updated pic of my tank:

 

[dsmlrussell]

The Epoxy would have to be aquarium safe. IMO I dont know if i would trust anything from the hardware store.

 

[krak256]

just did a 20% water change today.

water parameters are:
PH: 7.8
Alk: high
Ammonia: .25
Nitrate: 50
Nitrite: .2

I'm halfway through my cycle I'm guessing?

 

[theyoungaquariest]

You are much better off buying the epoxy at your LFS. It needs to be aquarium safe and hardware store epoxy usually contains toxins.....plur you can probably get a tube of epoxy from you LFS for about $2.50 at the cheapest

 

[roka64]

Yep, it looks like your tank is well on it's way.

 

[cobb12]

The live rock looks great keep it up.

Krak how much did the biocube cost?
How much did everything cost alltogether, cause i was thinking about getting one?

 

[theyoungaquariest]

cobb, biocubes are much cheaper at drsfosterandsmith.com they are around forty dollars cheaper!!!! and all of that together costs about (not including live rock) 300 dollars

 

[DJLiquid]

Do you have any current pictures?

How's the tank looking? Live rock? Just got the 14g Biocube myself.

 

[lulabulla]

i just got a biocube myself ... are you having any temp issues such as havign high temps? i need a temp of 76-78 for what i will put in there and i am having a hard time getting it lower than 79-80? just wondering.

 

[DJLiquid]

lulabulla- just make sure your submersible heater is set to 76-78 (if you have the dial type with temp on it). Also if you have your biocube in a house/ room without air conditioning it could be elevating your temps. Make sure your submersible heater is completely underwater, suction cup it to the bottom of the back wall if you haven't already. If this doesn't help or any of the above situations you have a bad heater then.

 

[pat8you]

would a yellow clown golby be a problem in my tank? i was thinking about getting one.

Any kind of clown goby would be a good choice for your tank. The are not burrowing gobys so you don't have to worry about that. The like to perch on corals and in nooks in the rock. I have one that i like quite a bit. Only thing to watch out for is they can be a bit shy so watch to make sure they arn't being out competed for food. Keep a close eye on his belly to make sure he isn't starving. Having problems with this myself recently.