425 nano koralia powerhead

[Mysaltlife]

Any thoughts? I'm thinking about getting one for my biocube 29?

 

[Phranque]

Got two of them in my 28 nano, down in each bottom corner..... I'm happy with them. You looking for anything specific??

 

[Mysaltlife]

Just researching for now. Don't have any coral yet but when I get some I wanna get a powerhead....any thoughts on a protein skimmer, some say yes, some say in the biocube you don't necessarily need it??

 

[Convict2161]

I had 2 in my bio cube 29 along with a upgraded pump (MJ1200) I was unhappy with them, could have placement I guess, maybe... In the end I went with a single Vortech MP10 and couldn't be happier.

 

[Mysaltlife]

I had 2 in my bio cube 29 along with a upgraded pump (MJ1200) I was unhappy with them, could have placement I guess, maybe... In the end I went with a single Vortech MP10 and couldn't be happier.

This might sound stupid, but what is a vortech mp10? Also I am thinking about the fuge basket, what would you put in it?

 

[Convict2161]

This might sound stupid, but what is a vortech mp10? Also I am thinking about the fuge basket, what would you put in it?

I use this company

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Oceanic-Biocube-29_c61.htm

And this is the Vortech MP10

http://ecotechmarine.com/products/vortech/vortech-mp10/

In chamber one I have my heater and a bag of chemi pure elite, chamber 2 I have the inTank media rack running top poly floss, middle purigen and bottom phosguard, also next to the media rack I have a bunch of live rock rubble and another bag o chemi pure elite. Chamber three I have the upgraded pump, the maxi jet 1200 and I removed the sponge between chambers 2&3.

Have you seen the inTank video?

 

[Phranque]

This might sound stupid, but what is a vortech mp10? Also I am thinking about the fuge basket, what would you put in it?

Top of the line powerhead. But, what amazon wants for one MP10, I can get seven 425's and still have change......

As far as the fuge, never ran one... I just use a skimmer.

 

[Convict2161]

Yea that's for sure. The MP's are a lot of money no argument there, and your left with no change after buying one.

 

[Mysaltlife]

Ooooh ok, that sounds awesome! I have seen the video, and I am def gonna get the media and fuge basket. I have filter floss and chemi pure in there now. And when I am ready for corals I'm gonna get a powerhead. Any suggestions on test kits? Right now I just keep testing at my lfs... But I wanna be able to test daily. I've been looking on amazon but there doesn't seem to be one with everything...thanks you guys for your input much appreciated.. I am a newbie but super hooked now and also budget conscious...

 

[Phranque]

Yeah, you definitely want to do your own testing... Being budget concious, the Red Sea kits are probably one of the best values. There are better (and worse), but for the money, they are great kits. And once you get rolling, there really is no need to test every day.... right now I test twice a week, and that's only because I have enough corals in mine that it's starting to deplete calcium and alkalinity a little quicker than my normal water changes are supplying, so I'm going to need to start dosing my tank with supplements.

 

[Mysaltlife]

Yeah, you definitely want to do your own testing... Being budget concious, the Red Sea kits are probably one of the best values. There are better (and worse), but for the money, they are great kits. And once you get rolling, there really is no need to test every day.... right now I test twice a week, and that's only because I have enough corals in mine that it's starting to deplete calcium and alkalinity, and I'm going to need to start dosing my tank with supplements.

Ok good to know, I saw that Red Sea kit on amazon seems to be in my price range...how far along is your tank? When do you think I can start putting coral in?

 

[Phranque]

The two kits to have are the Algae Control & Reef Foundation Pro. These two kits will give you tests for nitrates, phosphates, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium.

Saw your post over on tinsel's nano thread.... didn't want to hijack it. Like I said, I had corals in it within a few days after cycling was complete. Good starter corals are just about any of the "softies".... mushrooms, zoanthids, palythoas. What kind of lights in your BC?

Here's my tank, 3 months in:

 

[Mysaltlife]

whoa!!! yours looks awesome!! thats a lot for just 3 months! i just have the stock lights that come on the coralife biocube 29. i hope they will be sufficient...any thoughts?

 

[Mysaltlife]

oh and you can hijack anything i post, i am still figuring out this site...its kinda confusing..

 

[Phranque]

whoa!!! yours looks awesome!! thats a lot for just 3 months! i just have the stock lights that come on the coralife biocube 29. i hope they will be sufficient...any thoughts?

Thank you! That was quite a bit in a short period of time, but I had some fantastic deals fall into my lap, so I just watch it carefully & did a lot of water changes.

As far as your lights.... I have no idea what "stock" is. Do you know if they are fluorescent, metal halide, LED??? And did you get the tank new or used?? If it's new, your OK, just keep in mind that fluorescent & MH bulbs require annual replacement. If you picked it up used, I'd get a new set of bulbs in there for peace of mind. LED's don't require changing (at least not for a long time).

oh and you can hijack anything i post, i am still figuring out this site...its kinda confusing..

What I was referring to was that you posted a different question than the original subject matter in someone else's thread..... that's called "hijacking". That's why I brought you back to your own thread for discussing this stuff.

 

[Mysaltlife]

So the lights I have are 1-36 watt actinic blue and 1-36 watt 10,000 k daylight and 1-.75 watt blue LED bar, and my pump flow rate is 264gph (1000 L/H) whatever that means lol. I bought the biocube brand new. Today I am going to test my levels and tomorrow hopefully I can add a pair of percula clowns and maybe a couple pieces of coral if all tests well.... Any thoughts?

 

[Mysaltlife]

So I had my water levels tested today and everything was next to perfect. But I did notice some green algae on my live rock....this is okay right? But I think I am running my lights too long. What is a good schedule with the lights I am going to get a timer tomorrow, I'm gonna get one of those strip timers cause I have the whites and the blues that I need to run... Just not sure how long for both ad how long for separate...

 

[Phranque]

So the lights I have are 1-36 watt actinic blue and 1-36 watt 10,000 k daylight and 1-.75 watt blue LED bar, and my pump flow rate is 264gph (1000 L/H) whatever that means lol. I bought the biocube brand new. Today I am going to test my levels and tomorrow hopefully I can add a pair of percula clowns and maybe a couple pieces of coral if all tests well.... Any thoughts?

OK, sounds like you've got the fluorescent, which will allow you to keep softies (mushrooms, zoas, palys) and some LPS.
As far as the fish, are we talking true perculas or false perculas (ocellaris)? If you don't know the difference, read these, and I'd recommend the ocellaris since they're a bit hardier (and cheaper should you happen to lose them).
Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: True Percula Clownfish
Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Ocellaris Clownfish

So I had my water levels tested today and everything was next to perfect. But I did notice some green algae on my live rock....this is okay right? But I think I am running my lights too long. What is a good schedule with the lights I am going to get a timer tomorrow, I'm gonna get one of those strip timers cause I have the whites and the blues that I need to run... Just not sure how long for both ad how long for separate...

First thing, what exactly is "next to perfect"? We like to hear numbers. What specifically is your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, salinity, pH, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium? This is why we recommend your own test kits so we can get exact numbers directly from you to diagnose possible problems.
Second, if everything was next to perfect, you shouldn't have green algae already. Light is only the catalyst for algae.... cutting back the lights doesn't cure the underlying issue. The reason you have it is due to excess nutrients somewhere in your tank..... namely nitrates & phosphates. Did you do a complete water change after your cycle was complete? You need to do this to get rid of the nutrients from the cycle.
As far as lighting schedule, everyone varies.... I'd have the actinics come on an hour before and stay on an hour after your main light (staying on with the main light), and probably run your main light for 6-8 hours. Then run your blue LED moonlights for an hour or two in the evening after the actinics have shut off.

 

[Mysaltlife]

I did do a 10 gallon water change after the first two weeks, my water levels yesterday were ammonia-0.0 nitrite-0.0 nitrate-5.0 KH- 10 salinity- 1.023 didn't test ph calcium or phosphate. I am going to get a home test kit as soon as my budget is right, they are pretty expensive. I'm pretty positive I was running my main light too long and as of yesterday my clean up crew took good care of that algae. Today I got a pair of percula clowns, one torch coral, yellow zoa, and a mushroom coral. I'm going to wal-mart later to get a timer for my lights. I plan on doing another water change next week... Here is a pic I took today.

 

[Mysaltlife]

At the store the clowns were called perculas, and they were 9$ each... Not sure if they are true ones or not I read the links you posted....they are pretty lively though, swimming all over the place they seem to like their new home what should I get next? I was thinking of a bangai cardinal or a watchman goby, and I def wanna get a cleaner shrimp. What are the real green flows coral at the bottom of your tank?