chemicals question

[Evo8]

So I just bought a used bio cube 29..it cane with like 200 dollars of extra stuff..I don't know what do even do with half of it yet! Lol do you guys think all the chemicals are still good? What are these little oval things? And there is these little black mesh bags with stuff in them is it carbon? Can I reuse the bio balls? It also came with a bio cube skimmer..should I upgrade that? I'm attaching some pics for you all! Thanks again!

 

[mr_X]

All that stuff should still be good to use, though you probably won't need 90% of it.
The ceramic rings are for surface area, just like the bio balls. They will get covered with bacteria after the cycle. If you are using this for a reef tank you probably won't want to put them in anyway. You'll want to use ocean rock for that purpose.
I would toss any used carbon, but unused can go in those media bags and be put in one of the back compartments.

You can export nutrients with water changes pretty easily in that small tank. I wouldn't be too concerned with the skimmer. You could use the existing skimmer.

 

[Evo8]

Thanks! The carbon bags are all new. So I should ditch the bio balls? Ibio balls are sucj a controveral topic! Haha

 

[mr_X]

Not really controversial. Basically, bio balls house aerobic bacteria. Aerobic bacteria does not complete the nitrogen cycle. In a fish only system, it's fine to have moderate nitrate levels, but in a reef setting, you want as little nitrates as possible.
Ocean rock has the surface area bio balls do, so it is covered with the same bacteria, but it also has low oxygen zones deep inside the rock that house anaerobic bacteria, which completes the nitrogen cycle by turning nitrates to nitrogen gas, which is then expelled at the surface of the tank.
Deep sand beds also do this.

 

[Evo8]

OK gotcha...so.. no bio balls..lots of rubble..and a deep sand bed..eventually I'd like corals so I might as well set it up as if so now

 

[mr_X]

You don't need a deep sand bed. I was simply stating a DSB also reduces nitrates. Live rock will do just fine. You may want to check into using the back compartments for other media, like phosban and or carbon..etc. Maybe you can mod it for a refugium? I'm not very familiar with the small tanks.

 

[Evo8]

Does it have to be live rubble rock? Can I just place rock chunks back there and bacteria will grow?

 

[mr_X]

You are going to put 30 or so pounds of rock in the display area, correct? I'm not talking about the rear section, I'm talking about total.
You can use dry ocean rock if you like. Not rock collected from land though. You want porous, calcium based rock.
As for bacteria, you are going to add an ammonia source to the tank to start the cycle. A piece of raw shrimp from the grocery store will work. let that decompose and a bacteria colony will grow on the rock in the tank.

 

[Evo8]

I have this rock in mind..I would like to have around 45lbs of live rock at least..so can I seed rock like this with say 20 lbs of live rock

 

[Evo8]

I collected that from a local beach amd cleaned it up real good for my cichlid tank btw

 

[mr_X]

That rock should work fine. it looks like mostly coral skeletons anyway, which are calcium based. You don't need to seed the rock with other rock at all. Just add an ammonia source to start the cycle and you are well on your way.