My biocube 29 HQI journey

[C_Zwicky]

Hey guys. Kinda new to the forums but I figured I'd post a thread with progress on my new biocube 29 soon to be nano reef.
So far i am loving this tank and the setup I have
Only thing I have yet to dial in is how I want the water flow as I was having problems with sand being kicked up, and I had a faulty ballast so the new one is on it's way courtesy of oceanic.. Currently in the tank I have all my livestock. I have 2 occelaris clowns, a scooter blenny, a six line wrasse, a neon dottyback, and a 4 stripe damsel. I also have 6 nassarius snails, a skunk cleaner shrimp, and a starfish( not sure what type freind gave me him out of his 46 bowfront but he is reef safe ). I also have 26 lbs of tukota live rock and 25 lbs of reef sand. I will post a list of the corals going into my tank shortly. Meanwhile here are some pictures to peak your intrest . Also any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. First saltwater and reef tank. Especially advice from owners of other biocubes about how you might have made your system better. Also anyone who has a biocube hqi(metal halide version) if youve had any problems with the lighting or corals because of the lighting it'd appreciate any input

 

[C_Zwicky]

Here's some pictures. Last one is a picture of my starfish taking a snail hostage. This lasted about 2 hours quite interesting

 

[obscurereef]

Nice! Love the rock, but if I may suggest, I think a piece in the very middle would fill it out more and allow more places for corals . That neon dottyback is gorgeous, wish I could get one, but dottybacks tend to be aggressive. It will look awesome with various corals. How long have you had that scooter blenny and burgundy sea star(?) for? Those are supposedly harder to keep and often require old established tanks.

 

[C_Zwicky]

Thanks for the reply obscure. I actually plan to put another piece in the center but I haven't had any time to go to my supplier. The blenny I've had for about 3 weeks and is a happy little guy. I've added some copepods for him and he loves them. He also eats mysis and brine shrimp and will even eat flake from time to time. The starfish I actually just got today but he seems to be enjoying the tank. He actually moves around quite a bit. My water parameters are pretty close to perfect and I strive to keep them that way. We'll see if the star stays happy but the blenny is loving life atm.

 

[obscurereef]

Sounds good, what coral do you plan on getting first?

 

[C_Zwicky]

I'm still debating the particulars. I know I'm putting in a pulsing Xenia, two types of zoas, a finger leather, a chalice from a friend, one type of brain coral, a rose tip bubble anemone, and a green encrusting gorgonian. Possibly a green flower montipora and a Aussie button coral frag from my older brother.