32 Gallon Biocube Build?

[iDon'tCare]

Greetings, so as someone who has been in he freshwater hobby for years I have been interested in saltwater as well. I was originally going to makeover a 20H I used to have but decided I'm going for a 32G biocube, so while I wait for an opportunity I need some help stocking. My original plan with my 20 was going to be-

Keep in mind I wrote it in the order I was going to add them in to avoid issues with the clown...

Live Sand
Live Rock
Corals (Especially interested in Zoanthids)
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snail
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
1 Firefish
1 Ocillaris Clown

I was thinking a nice goby? I considered a dotty back, maybe? Not sure, help me out here. I'm open to any plans, tips, and suggestions. I also would like tips of corals, so far the only one that caught my eye was the zoa and anemones.. (I know I can't keep them until I have more experience..)

Thank you!

 

[jsker]

Welcome to R2R.

 

[iDon'tCare]

Welcome to R2R.

Thank you.

 

[DanTer]

That stocking list looks appropriate to me. I have never had a BioCube so I can't speak for lighting, although I have heard of multiple scenarios in which people look to upgrade them. Zoas tend to be pretty hardy and can adapt to different tank conditions, plus they come in a plethora of different colors, so that should be reasonable. Have you done any reading/research on cycling?

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R! My wife has the 32 that has been going for about 5 months now. Nice little units. Will be happy to share what we have expienced with it. We did upgrade the lights, mainly because the boss said so. The stock lights done fine for what she had in the tank at the time but wanted to expand her coral collection.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Greetings, so as someone who has been in he freshwater hobby for years I have been interested in saltwater as well. I was originally going to makeover a 20H I used to have but decided I'm going for a 32G biocube, so while I wait for an opportunity I need some help stocking. My original plan with my 20 was going to be-

Keep in mind I wrote it in the order I was going to add them in to avoid issues with the clown...

Live Sand
Live Rock
Corals (Especially interested in Zoanthids)
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snail
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
1 Firefish
1 Ocillaris Clown

I was thinking a nice goby? I considered a dotty back, maybe? Not sure, help me out here. I'm open to any plans, tips, and suggestions. I also would like tips of corals, so far the only one that caught my eye was the zoa and anemones.. (I know I can't keep them until I have more experience..)

Thank you!

We had a dotty back, it was a nice looking fish but was aggressive towards some of the other fish. Just our experience, I can't speak for all of them.

 

[fishnchip]

Nice choice! I have a 32 gallon biocube that has been running for a little over 5 months now and I'm loving it! I did upgrade the lighting to an AI prime HD just because of personal preference (the stock lighting was doing just fine). Your stock list looks good! I have two clowns, a golden sailfin blenny, and an orchid dottyback in mine and they all seem to be getting along. As for gobies, I personally like the Yasha gobies and if you could pair one up with a pistol shrimp that would make it even better! Best of luck!!!

 

[Jesterrace]

Greetings, so as someone who has been in he freshwater hobby for years I have been interested in saltwater as well. I was originally going to makeover a 20H I used to have but decided I'm going for a 32G biocube, so while I wait for an opportunity I need some help stocking. My original plan with my 20 was going to be-

Keep in mind I wrote it in the order I was going to add them in to avoid issues with the clown...

Live Sand
Live Rock
Corals (Especially interested in Zoanthids)
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snail
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
1 Firefish
1 Ocillaris Clown

I was thinking a nice goby? I considered a dotty back, maybe? Not sure, help me out here. I'm open to any plans, tips, and suggestions. I also would like tips of corals, so far the only one that caught my eye was the zoa and anemones.. (I know I can't keep them until I have more experience..)

Thank you!

If you are going to go with a Dottyback stick with the Orchid, the others are mean. Personally I would swap the Dottyback for a Royal Gramma Basslet as it is less likely to cause you problems and will give you incredible color for your tank.

 

[iDon'tCare]

That stocking list looks appropriate to me. I have never had a BioCube so I can't speak for lighting, although I have heard of multiple scenarios in which people look to upgrade them. Zoas tend to be pretty hardy and can adapt to different tank conditions, plus they come in a plethora of different colors, so that should be reasonable. Have you done any reading/research on cycling?

Yes, but I'm still not confident with it yet and am still looking into it.

 

[iDon'tCare]

We had a dotty back, it was a nice looking fish but was aggressive towards some of the other fish. Just our experience, I can't speak for all of them.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[iDon'tCare]

Nice choice! I have a 32 gallon biocube that has been running for a little over 5 months now and I'm loving it! I did upgrade the lighting to an AI prime HD just because of personal preference (the stock lighting was doing just fine). Your stock list looks good! I have two clowns, a golden sailfin blenny, and an orchid dottyback in mine and they all seem to be getting along. As for gobies, I personally like the Yasha gobies and if you could pair one up with a pistol shrimp that would make it even better! Best of luck!!!

Thanks for sharing your experience! I do plan to upgrade lighting. I love making tanks my own and to modify them till they are perfect.

 

[iDon'tCare]

So now I'm thinking I might have in a 32-

Sand - Can someone tell me is it better to get dry or live?
Rock - Dry vs Live? I always see people saying live is better. Not sure why. I know it has bacteria, but doesn't that have a risk of introducing pests?
Corals (Especially Zoanthids)
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snail
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
2 Yasha Gobies
1 Firefish
1 Royal Gramma
2 Ocillaris Clowns - I'm thinking one could be the darker morph..

I have a fear of overstocking, I feel like I might be pushing the tank limits. Even though I plan to upgrade past the bioballs I don't want them to be so cramped that the clowns start problems. I want to avoid rehoming the fish as much as possible. Thanks everyone! I did notice people approving my list for the 32, but that was actually my stocking plan for a 20 high.

 

[OriginalUserName]

So now I'm thinking I might have in a 32-

Sand - Can someone tell me is it better to get dry or live?
Rock - Dry vs Live? I always see people saying live is better. Not sure why. I know it has bacteria, but doesn't that have a risk of introducing pests?
Corals (Especially Zoanthids)
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snail
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
2 Yasha Gobies
1 Firefish
1 Royal Gramma
2 Ocillaris Clowns - I'm thinking one could be the darker morph..

I have a fear of overstocking, I feel like I might be pushing the tank limits. Even though I plan to upgrade past the bioballs I don't want them to be so cramped that the clowns start problems. I want to avoid rehoming the fish as much as possible. Thanks everyone! I did notice people approving my list for the 32, but that was actually my stocking plan for a 20 high.

That's probably too heavy on fish. Your clowns will likely run the tank. In my 29 Biocube I have 2 perculas, a cardinal, yellow watchman (and pistol shrimp), and a small lawnmower blenny. I'd only do 1 shrimp, 2 is an overkill for that size tank. I'd do a few more Nassarius and some Trochus or Cerith snails. I don't like hermits myself because they will kill snails and generally cause havoc but they are fun to watch.

Live sand doesn't need to be rinsed which is a huge bonus. As far as rock, that's up to you. Live rock is faster than dead and you will enjoy finding hitchhikers. Some of those will be bad, and some will be good. My next tank will be all dry rock, this one I did mostly live. You can just buy a bacteria additive if you want to go dead.

 

[iDon'tCare]

That's probably too heavy on fish. Your clowns will likely run the tank. In my 29 Biocube I have 2 perculas, a cardinal, yellow watchman (and pistol shrimp), and a small lawnmower blenny. I'd only do 1 shrimp, 2 is an overkill for that size tank. I'd do a few more Nassarius and some Trochus or Cerith snails. I don't like hermits myself because they will kill snails and generally cause havoc but they are fun to watch.

Live sand doesn't need to be rinsed which is a huge bonus. As far as rock, that's up to you. Live rock is faster than dead and you will enjoy finding hitchhikers. Some of those will be bad, and some will be good. My next tank will be all dry rock, this one I did mostly live. You can just buy a bacteria additive if you want to go dead.

Oh, I can't have the clowns running the tank lol. What if I only went with one? I know they're semi aggressive, I hear they're a bit more peaceful alone. Also what do you mean by having two shrimp is overkill? What would happen? Thanks so much!

EDIT- I'm considering switching from skunk cleaner shrimp to blood red fire shrimp but I don't know if there is a difference in temperament is. If there is ANY way I'm able to have two shrimp, what if I had a blood and skunk together? As for snails I might go with a third or maybe fourth.

 

[OriginalUserName]

Oh, I can't have the clowns running the tank lol. What if I only went with one? I know they're semi aggressive, I hear they're a bit more peaceful alone. Also what do you mean by having two shrimp is overkill? What would happen? Thanks so much!

EDIT- I'm considering switching from skunk cleaner shrimp to blood red fire shrimp but I don't know if there is a difference in temperament is. If there is ANY way I'm able to have two shrimp, what if I had a blood and skunk together? As for snails I might go with a third or maybe fourth.

Having just one would probably help. Mine are certainly more territorial when they are breeding. Less fish in general means you can feed more and keep everybody happier.

For the shrimp I'm just thinking about space. Just 1 cleaner shrimp seemed to occupy a good bit of space in my 29 cube. Not sure how compatible those guys are.

 

[Reefer Deez]

Hi and welcome to R2R!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Greetings, so as someone who has been in he freshwater hobby for years I have been interested in saltwater as well. I was originally going to makeover a 20H I used to have but decided I'm going for a 32G biocube, so while I wait for an opportunity I need some help stocking. My original plan with my 20 was going to be-

Keep in mind I wrote it in the order I was going to add them in to avoid issues with the clown...

Live Sand
Live Rock
Corals (Especially interested in Zoanthids)
2 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snail
3 Scarlett Hermit Crabs
1 Firefish
1 Ocillaris Clown

I was thinking a nice goby? I considered a dotty back, maybe? Not sure, help me out here. I'm open to any plans, tips, and suggestions. I also would like tips of corals, so far the only one that caught my eye was the zoa and anemones.. (I know I can't keep them until I have more experience..)

Thank you!

I think your stocking choice looks good (still not a fan of the dotty back though lol). As far as the shrimp goes my wife has 1 cleaner, 2 peppermint and a fire shrimp. I don't think you will have a problem with room or space with your shrimp choices. Your snail and hermit population isn't an issue either, as your tank matures I think you will be looking at increasing you CuC. Just my opinion.