rain

Hi everyone. I have a new Coralife 29 biocube. It's been up for a few weeks now cycling with live rock and sand from another larger tank. I'm new to this hobby and am a bit stuck now. I am at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites but nitrates are high. I already had the big algae bloom too. I did a decent size water change and nitrates went down but now are creeping back up. What should be my next steps? Am I just waiting for nitrates to come down to 0. I appreciate the help!! Also I have the intank media basket with chemi pure elite and purigen. No protein skimmer or fuge yet. Thank you!

Figured I would add a pic of the tank so far. It might have other types of algae? I am not sure. The guy who sold me the live rock and sand also gave me the few small corals you see and assured me they were fine right away. Who knows though. Not me!! :-)

Thanks Keraxis! rtelles - I really appreciate the fish advice. Very helpful! Glad to hear I'm not too far off so far in research. And I'm happy it sounds like the orange stripe goby should work. The sixline was at the bottom of my list anyways so I'm ok crossing him off. Question for the group again. I'm at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and a spike in nitrates (80) with a solid diatom algae bloom covering most of the live rock and sand. When do I get the CUC? Do I wait for the nitrates to come down? Thanks all!

Thanks everyone! Yes an awesome club. :-)

Thanks Jack. I'll do some more homework on the heat issue. Rob - thanks for the welcome! I had read that about watching a fish eat before you bring it home and I think I have a LFS that I feel comfortable with. But I'll check the forums here too when I am ready for the first occupant. Fun!

Thanks Jack! Did you find a good way to counteract the heat they put out?

Ah ok. That makes sense. And yes now would be the time for sure. Thanks for the pointer!

Sorry.... Was thinking more about what you said. Is the sand I have not good?

That makes sense. I was thinking about the Tunze for it already. I had no idea the power heads added heat. Whoops.... Good to know. I'll turn it off and see if it drops a bit. Any advice on what times each light should be on for? Thank you!! Rain

Thanks Tom and Paul! I just started the cycle with live rock and sand from a large sw tank that was being broken down. The ammonia is high along with nitrates so I'm assuming the cycling is started? I'm glad to hear I should be ok with the stock lighting for now. I'm definitely open to the corals that could maybe host with the clownfish instead of an anemone. Easier is better for a beginner! I appreciate the recommendations there. I do plan to take it very slow. I've been to all the stores you mention above (we've spent a few weekends now traveling around to see what's around) except for the Marine Scene (wish they were open on Sundays as that's my day to run around). So I will plan to work with one or more of them as I get going. Thanks again!! Rain

Hello everyone! I am brand new to the saltwater aquarium world and am excited to start this fun adventure. I am starting out with a Coralife Biocube 29 which is currently cycling with 35 lbs of live rock, 30 lbs of live sand, and stock filtration and lights for now. I have ordered the intank media basket and am planning to try the filter floss, Purigen and Chemi Pure Elite in it. Again, I am totally new so I'm trying hard to research as much as possible so I don't have as many setbacks and screw-ups (although I know I still will have some). I do have some questions for all of you experts out there. Some of them I realize I will get different opinions on, but I welcome that as well. :-) My goals for this tank are to have a few small, colorful fish (see question below on those), some colorful live corals, and maybe some day an anemone. Ok, here goes: 1) What else should I do besides the intank media basket? I see some people say to get the fuge basket with live rock or algae back there? Others say the Tunze protein skimmer is a must. Thoughts on what to do with that space next to the media basket? 2) I added a Koralia 425 Nano Circulation pump. Will this be ok? Might I need another one? Some people say two is better. 3) With two small daughters, my fish goals are centered around an Ocellaris clownfish or two (two I believe is better than one?) and then as many small, colorfish fish that are fun to watch as possible. Thank goodness the Ocellaris is a good beginner fish. I've read that some people say you should only have the pair of clowns and maybe one other fish or two in this size tank. Others have said they have up to a total of 6 or 7. It would be really great to have an anemone some day for the clowns to host with if possible but I realize they can be harder to keep. My thoughts on fish that interest me after the clowns are the royal gramma, yellow or orange stripe goby, firefish, six line wrasse and a red cleaner shrimp (tried to research what plays nicely with the clownfish). Recommendations on how many fish and in what order and how spaced out I would get them? Also, advice on where to get fish from? I live in the Manassas/Woodbridge area and want to work with someone who will work with a beginner who doesn't know how to pick out a healthy fish and needs good advice on feeding, care, etc. I'm open to working with people here on the forum too instead of stores. Whatever is best! 4) For lighting, I understand I have a 10k daylight fluorescent light, an Actinic blue fluorescent light and one blue LED light bar with 3 blue LEDs on it. There are slots to add 4 more LED bars. I have read a lot about lighting upgrades for the biocube but have also seen people say the stock lighting wasn't bad. I also am not exactly sure which lights should be on and from what times. Timer suggestions for each please? I like the way the stock lighting looks, but I am concerned with the heat. When the Actinic light comes on, the fan comes on with it and it's pretty loud. Not exactly soothing to hear and it still gets warm. With all the lights on, the water with no heater is over 81 degrees. If I don't use the Actinic light, then it hovers more around 80.6. So, is the tank too hot and should the fan be that loud? Are there lighting options that will be cooler for the tank? Should I be looking at replacing lighting or adding more LED bars? We keep our house around 73 in the winter and more around 75 in the summer. 5) CUC - What should I get and when?? I just started up the tank this past Friday. The water is clear and the ammonia has spiked so I think cycling is moving along. I think that's all for now. Sorry to put out such a bunch of questions!!!! I really appreciate any and all assistance and advice. Thank you all! Rain