2 week old marine aquarist

[aquaAv8r]

Hi everyone

Just got a LED BioCube 32 2 weeks ago from today. Here’s my setup:

Stock lighting, pump, and filtration
Live Rock and live sand
Hydor Koralia 425
Heater
15 hermits
10 snails

Pardon my ineptitude as I am brand new to this. I tested ammonia the other day and it appeared to be at 0.2

I have a Red Sea test kit and I’ll check the other parameters.

I have lots of questions but I won’t inundate this post with a plethora of q’s. I’ll try to break it up a bit.

How long should I continue the cycle without fish? (Did add a few pellets and a pinch of frozen mini mysis shrimp about 8 days ago.

Is stock lighting good enough for LPS?

Light schedule?

3-5 fish goal w various LPS. Want clowns, goby, maybe tang

Is the 425 powerhead adequate? Thinking of adding another with twice the output

How often rinse/replace filter

How often water changes/amount

Water temp fish/corals

Thanks!
A

 

[Retro Reefer]

Welcome to R2R! Nice Biocube! You want 0 ammonia after cycle then I like to let the tank stabilize a week or two if possible.. you don’t want a tang in that tank it’s to small, 3 or 4 smaller fish would be better

 

[Sod Buster]

Welcome. If you got the live rock from a fish store tank and kept it wet, you are close.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Answers to a few more of your questions..

Is stock lighting good enough for LPS?

* Only for low light corals but generally LPS don’t require a ton of light but I wonder about the quality and spectrum of stock LED’s. I upgraded my Biocube to a nanobox retro fit

Light schedule?

* 8-12 hours per day, set it up to match your viewing time.

Is the 425 powerhead adequate? Thinking of adding another with twice the output

* not familiar with that powerhead but you don’t need a lot of flow for LPS

How often rinse/replace filter

I run filter floss on top of my middle chamber as a pre filter and swap it out two or three times a week

How often water changes/amount

10% - 15% every few weeks is what I do

Water temp fish/corals

77-78 degrees

 

[aquaAv8r]

Answers to a few more of your questions..

Is stock lighting good enough for LPS?

* Only for low light corals but generally LPS don’t require a ton of light but I wonder about the quality and spectrum of stock LED’s. I upgraded my Biocube to a nanobox retro fit

Light schedule?

* 8-12 hours per day, set it up to match your viewing time.

Is the 425 powerhead adequate? Thinking of adding another with twice the output

* not familiar with that powerhead but you don’t need a lot of flow for LPS

How often rinse/replace filter

I run filter floss on top of my middle chamber as a pre filter and swap it out two or three times a week

How often water changes/amount

10% - 15% every few weeks is what I do

Water temp fish/corals

77-78 degrees

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I would definitely add more flow. I picked up two Koralia 1500gph's for less than $50 each via Amazon warehouse...... a Koralia 1500 may very well be overkill for you, but also keep in mind if you get into anemones, you will want to cover them, and this knocks their flow-rate down quite a bit.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You should be able to slip in a 12" blue light strip/stunner for better lighting and effect. These biocubes very easy to maintain and support coral.

 

[Captain Quint]

Answers to a few more of your questions..

Is stock lighting good enough for LPS?

* Only for low light corals but generally LPS don’t require a ton of light but I wonder about the quality and spectrum of stock LED’s. I upgraded my Biocube to a nanobox retro fit

Light schedule?

* 8-12 hours per day, set it up to match your viewing time.

Is the 425 powerhead adequate? Thinking of adding another with twice the output

* not familiar with that powerhead but you don’t need a lot of flow for LPS

How often rinse/replace filter

I run filter floss on top of my middle chamber as a pre filter and swap it out two or three times a week

How often water changes/amount

10% - 15% every few weeks is what I do

Water temp fish/corals

77-78 degrees

Took the words right out of my thoughts.

Welcome to R2R @aquaAv8r

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Welcome to the friendliest place on earth

 

[Mjrenz]

I have found the stock leds to be quite capable of growing lps, this guy wouldn't open up under my t5s in my other tank but loves it in my biocube

 

[oceaninabox12345]

Hey there! Welcome to the hobby! [emoji4] I think you could probably get around 4 - 5 small fish, but im not sure if i would get a tang. Only a freakishly small one would do well in there, and you would eventually have to rehome it anyway. Not sure if you want to have to do that. I'd explore Amazon for full spectrum lighting, and see what you could find that you could glue up on your lid. Or put some lps in your tank and see how it does. Theres only one way to find out! But first, of course, get your tank cycled

 

[reef lover]

#Welcometor2r !

 

[Hemmdog]

Welcome to reef2reef!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R!!!