New salty 29g biocube

[Bleigh]

Yea it looks like rtn. If there’s still any polyps, even 1 on the base, it has a chance

Mushrooms are indestructible as long as they don’t get lost under rocks, so I’m sure they will come back for you.

Keep your head up, it happens, good job being proactive and getting a new bulb, that will be good especially since the other one was so old. Your doing great, not your fault.

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Bleigh]

Your mushrooms will come back. Those little freaks are Rubbermaid.

I really hope so. My faves were the ones that seem to be doing the worst.

Are you in NC? Not too far of a drive here...I'd be glad to share some mushrooms.

And yes! Charlotte, NC. Where are you? I probably need to figure out what the heck is going on before I add anything else to the tank though.

Can you post a pic or your hood? I might have some other stuff you can have to fit your tank too. Mine is an old school Oceanic.

Here's what I have. I have a skimmer, a UV sterlizer, and a fan in it. I think that's all the extra equipment I have thus far. What else would you recommend?

 

[Reef Dreamer]

Welcome! There is a lot to learn. Hang in there and take it slow. I haven't read anything about your having to top it off. Are you using RO/DI water to top it off? How's your temp. I had a closed lid cube like that a few years ago when I lived in Phoenix. I had a temp problem and had to keep the lid propped open about an inch or so for more airflow. BTW the SPS are mostly the ones that grow like sticks and have small polyps compared to large polyps. I never had any. I just had Zoa's and mushrooms. Anyway, welcome to the hobby and I'll be following along.

 

[mshonk]

I didn't mow through the whole thread but what type of water and salt are you using. RODI / distilled?

 

[Ironwill723]

I am not sure which ones are SPS or LPS. I do have a green star polyp, 2 frogspawn euphyllia, my acans WERE growing nicely, and then this coral... I have no clue what it is. It's color might not be as bright either, but I may be imagining it with everything going on. Good thing I take pictures and videos of my tank constantly. I thought I was being silly, but I appreciate being able to compare the differences now.

I feel like the LFS I've been going to has been pretty decent. There's been a few times I've gone in and got something and he's asked me why I was buying it - like the Aipstasia-X. He said to get peppermint shrimp cause they were cheaper and that I should avoid putting external chemicals in as much a possible AND cause the aipstasia was so small.. When I went to buy the extra chemical testing kits, he told me I could just bring the water to them and they'd test it for free - the store is about 10 minutes from my house, so it is super convenient. I said I felt better being able to do it myself and went ahead and purchased the calcium, magnesium, and phosphate kits. He's also encouraged me to buy smaller frags from the cheaper tanks. There was a $150 coral I really wanted and he said to give it a few months to a year before I buy something that large. I def don't feel pressured to buy anything there. More, I feel like I'm having to justify why I want to buy what I'm buying. Which I appreciate, cause it's forcing me to learn a bit faster.

Honestly, I'm shocked how much I don't know about keeping a salt water tank. I thought it would be pretty easy. I've always kept fresh water tanks and minored in geophysics (large emphasis on ocean chemistry) and interned at the Georgia Aquarium in undergrad (years ago). I've done research with ocean animals, though I wasn't keeping them, I was collecting slime to study for it's antimicrobial properties. I'm FULL of theory. Guess that's why experience trumps theory - cause I know nearly nothing about keeping my own very SIMPLE tank. I am very grateful for this community though. I am learning a TON!

Anything with a hard skeleton base or body is usually a Long polyp stony (LPS) or Small Polyp stony (SPS) coral. Softies are usually all soft or rubbery looking. Don't get discouraged you are definitely on the right track. Again if it were me I wouldn't worry about dosing anything right now in a 28g cube. Water changes once or twice per month for that size tank should be all you need. If your using a salt like Reef Crystals or Red Sea Pro it already has the extra supplements added in for you. One thing I tell customers is the hands off approach is sometimes better than messing with the tank every day adding things. Check your parameters, make sure they are within range, and then let the tank be. Observe, research online and at your LFS, and then make calculated decisions. Impulse actions and shopping are usually never a good thing in this hobby. Take it at a snails pace even though it can be painfully frustrating to you to go that route.

 

[Hemmdog]

I am not sure which ones are SPS or LPS. I do have a green star polyp, 2 frogspawn euphyllia, my acans WERE growing nicely, and then this coral... I have no clue what it is. It's color might not be as bright either, but I may be imagining it with everything going on. Good thing I take pictures and videos of my tank constantly. I thought I was being silly, but I appreciate being able to compare the differences now.

I feel like the LFS I've been going to has been pretty decent. There's been a few times I've gone in and got something and he's asked me why I was buying it - like the Aipstasia-X. He said to get peppermint shrimp cause they were cheaper and that I should avoid putting external chemicals in as much a possible AND cause the aipstasia was so small.. When I went to buy the extra chemical testing kits, he told me I could just bring the water to them and they'd test it for free - the store is about 10 minutes from my house, so it is super convenient. I said I felt better being able to do it myself and went ahead and purchased the calcium, magnesium, and phosphate kits. He's also encouraged me to buy smaller frags from the cheaper tanks. There was a $150 coral I really wanted and he said to give it a few months to a year before I buy something that large. I def don't feel pressured to buy anything there. More, I feel like I'm having to justify why I want to buy what I'm buying. Which I appreciate, cause it's forcing me to learn a bit faster.

Honestly, I'm shocked how much I don't know about keeping a salt water tank. I thought it would be pretty easy. I've always kept fresh water tanks and minored in geophysics (large emphasis on ocean chemistry) and interned at the Georgia Aquarium in undergrad (years ago). I've done research with ocean animals, though I wasn't keeping them, I was collecting slime to study for it's antimicrobial properties. I'm FULL of theory. Guess that's why experience trumps theory - cause I know nearly nothing about keeping my own very SIMPLE tank. I am very grateful for this community though. I am learning a TON!

Nice blasto!!

 

[TexasTodd]

What bulbs did you put in it? Hopefully the LFS steered you in the right direction there. FW and SW bulbs are quite different.
Nice tracking on your parameters!
Is there a local club you can join?
A BioCube really shouldn't be putting out so much light it's killing things but maybe if you put 2x5000k bulbs. Should have one daylight and one actinic or blue plus-like bulbs. I'm unsure what they have in the Compact Flo these days, but LFS should be able to help.

 

[Bleigh]

Welcome! There is a lot to learn. Hang in there and take it slow. I haven't read anything about your having to top it off. Are you using RO/DI water to top it off? How's your temp. I had a closed lid cube like that a few years ago when I lived in Phoenix. I had a temp problem and had to keep the lid propped open about an inch or so for more airflow. BTW the SPS are mostly the ones that grow like sticks and have small polyps compared to large polyps. I never had any. I just had Zoa's and mushrooms. Anyway, welcome to the hobby and I'll be following along.

And @mshonk I am using RO water from the LFS for top offs and their red sea salt water mix for water changes. I also have a refractometer to measure my own salinity. He has a digital one, and the measurements have been consistent between the two. My temp goes up a few degrees during the day. So It goes from about 76 to about 78. I was told that was an okay swing. So I guess the cat's paw was the only SPS I have then? I didn't know if GSP counted as that since they're kind of small.

Anything with a hard skeleton base or body is usually a Long polyp stony (LPS) or Small Polyp stony (SPS) coral. Softies are usually all soft or rubbery looking. Don't get discouraged you are definitely on the right track. Again if it were me I wouldn't worry about dosing anything right now in a 28g cube. Water changes once or twice per month for that size tank should be all you need. If your using a salt like Reef Crystals or Red Sea Pro it already has the extra supplements added in for you. One thing I tell customers is the hands off approach is sometimes better than messing with the tank every day adding things. Check your parameters, make sure they are within range, and then let the tank be. Observe, research online and at your LFS, and then make calculated decisions. Impulse actions and shopping are usually never a good thing in this hobby. Take it at a snails pace even though it can be painfully frustrating to you to go that route.

Thanks for the info. So I'm assuming that mushrooms are softies then? Are these actually phylogenetic terms or are some categorizations subjective? At what ph or alkalinity would I need to dose? Or should I wait to test after water changes and assume that the water changes will keep that in check for the most part? I have no problem taking it slow, but I do enjoy looking at tanks and learning about mine.

What bulbs did you put in it? Hopefully the LFS steered you in the right direction there. FW and SW bulbs are quite different.
Nice tracking on your parameters!
Is there a local club you can join?
A BioCube really shouldn't be putting out so much light it's killing things but maybe if you put 2x5000k bulbs. Should have one daylight and one actinic or blue plus-like bulbs. I'm unsure what they have in the Compact Flo these days, but LFS should be able to help.

I think I got the exact same bulb to replace what I had in there originally. It's a BioCube size 29 replacement lamp: 10,000K, 16 inch, 36 Watt, Compact fluorescent Saltwater and Freshwater bulb. I know here are much better lights out there, but have been advised to wait a little and researching more before upgrading. I did find a club on facebook, but it has like 8 members on it. Is there another way to find clubs? I also have an actinic bulb that I never used with the freshwater set up, so I didn't replace it and a blue led light that (I assume) should be used as the moon light. I have reduced the photoperiod significantly, but perhaps I need to do that even more?

 

[Ironwill723]

Scientific name for softies would be Alcyonacea corals. Soft coral would be more common or a hobbyist term. Yes, mushrooms are a soft coral. General range for ph is 7.6-8.4. Don't chase the number though, it will increase or decrease throughout day and night. I wouldn't dose for any of the parameters in your size tank. Your water changes will cover those in the salt mix. Just make sure your salt level is at 1.026.

For your bulb 10,000k is fine. It is on the whiter side but fine for corals. A lot of people go a little bluer with a 12-14k bulb but 10k is fine for now.

 

[TexasTodd]

Doesn't the hood run two bulbs? The 10000k bulb should work okay.
You can run the blue LED's during the day for more color.

 

[Bleigh]

Scientific name for softies would be Alcyonacea corals. Soft coral would be more common or a hobbyist term. Yes, mushrooms are a soft coral. General range for ph is 7.6-8.4. Don't chase the number though, it will increase or decrease throughout day and night. I wouldn't dose for any of the parameters in your size tank. Your water changes will cover those in the salt mix. Just make sure your salt level is at 1.026.

For your bulb 10,000k is fine. It is on the whiter side but fine for corals. A lot of people go a little bluer with a 12-14k bulb but 10k is fine for now.

Doesn't the hood run two bulbs? The 10000k bulb should work okay.
You can run the blue LED's during the day for more color.

Next time I need to replace the bulb, I'll go with a bluer bulb - I do like the color of the corals under a bluer light.

I do have two bulbs. One is the 10,000k and the other is the acetic blue bulb. I've been running those throughout the day. I've been having the blue LED's switch on when the white and acetic blue bulbs turn off as a moon light. And then the LED's turn off around 10 pm. Do most people keep all three lights running during the day?

 

[Hemmdog]

Next time I need to replace the bulb, I'll go with a bluer bulb - I do like the color of the corals under a bluer light.

I do have two bulbs. One is the 10,000k and the other is the acetic blue bulb. I've been running those throughout the day. I've been having the blue LED's switch on when the white and acetic blue bulbs turn off as a moon light. And then the LED's turn off around 10 pm. Do most people keep all three lights running during the day?

Yea, keep the leds on during the day as well.

 

[PirateDan]

LOL!! I think I have some research to do before my next pay check. The only real issue is, I like having a top on the tank for now. I'd be worried my 5 year old would drop things in there. I keep telling him, no throwing things in the house, but it doesn't seem to have made an impression on him yet.

Steves leds. A little work too switch out but they’re grate! And you can keep you’re top on. This is mine with Steves leds it’s growing fast.

 

[PirateDan]

Steves leds. A little work too switch out but they’re grate! And you can keep you’re top on. This is mine with Steves leds it’s growing fast.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Tank is looking good. Hoping those corals turn around for you.

Mushrooms are actually anemones, but they are usually classified as soft corals. They are very hardy.

I would not worry too much about pH right now as long as it is in an acceptable range. It will often be lower at night, so people often test pH at the same time of day to discover any trend. I would not dose anything to adjust pH. There are more natural ways to do that if it runs too low.

For the lights most run blues, then add whites and run them together. At night, whites come off first then blues off.

 

[Bleigh]

The 3 corals are still looking sad, but so far, the others seem to be spared.

Also, it looks like I have some type of algae growing on my rocks. I see some greenish looking areas and some round, flaky, brown spots. The brownish areas are more visible near the blasto. I'm wondering if I need to increase my CUC numbers and variety.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I'm wondering if I need to increase my CUC numbers and variety.

What snails do you have now, if you recall? I like a mix of Trochus and Cerith snails. Together they cover most nuisances and can flip themselves over. Nassarius snails help keep the sand clean, but do not control algae. Nerites really only go after green film algae.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

And yes! Charlotte, NC. Where are you? I probably need to figure out what the heck is going on before I add anything else to the tank though

I am in south Charlotte. Wonder if you are my new neighbor that moved next door. ;Smuggrin

Have you been going to Nemo’s?

 

[Bleigh]

I am in south Charlotte. Wonder if you are my new neighbor that moved next door. ;Smuggrin

Have you been going to Nemo’s?

I've been here for about two years now. I've been to both Nemo's and Aquatica.

 

[Bleigh]

What snails do you have now, if you recall? I like a mix of Trochus and Cerith snails. Together they cover most nuisances and can flip themselves over. Nassarius snails help keep the sand clean, but do not control algae. Nerites really only go after green film algae.

I honestly cannot remember what I have. Mine look most like the trochus and turbo snail pictures I googled. The type I presume is a Turbo snail is really big and the type I presume is trochus has a pointy shell. (I also have some red legged hermit crabs and peppermint shrimp.) Here's a picture that has both types in it.