Reef Newbie

Kronic · Mar 4, 2015

I am new to the reef keeping hobby, so new I haven't even set up my tank yet. My wife bought me a Coralife Biocube 29 for xmas and I have been gathering as much knowledge as I can about the hobby so I can try and do this right the first time. I have the tank now set on the stand and did a simple filter modification since everywhere I looked people said the bio balls should be tossed. I removed them and the filter pad and put in 2 eshopps sump sponges for mechanical, a bag of Matrix bio media and a bag of Purigen for chemical, and have ordered 25lbs of live rock for the biological(arrives later today!). I also bought 40lbs of Arag-alive Fiji pink sand. The tank is still empty until the rock gets here. I also have bought Petco's Real Ocean Water to fill the tank after the rock has been set up and sand put in. I am very excited to start my first tank!

Sergio · Mar 4, 2015

Welcome to the madness and addiction. Only thing I recommend, is to be very patient. I rushed into the hobby and had my good share of issues.

kschweer · Mar 4, 2015

Welcome to R2R and the hobby!!! Best of luck moving forward

Tahoe61 · Mar 4, 2015

Welcome.:wave:

VicD81 · Mar 4, 2015

Welcome. My first Marine tank was a 29G Biocube.
Some advise

-The Filterpads that it comes with are a waste of money but do not discard it. After the carbon was exhausted I ripped off the sponge and dumped the carbon then replaced the empty tray and lined it with a reg bulk filter sponge that i would cut to size.
-Get a GOOD skimmer. The oceanic one is a waste. There are a couple good ones made for nanos.
-Invest in an RO/DI. I got one that I used for drinking water and the aquarium. It has to be one with 2 outputs as DI water is not good for you. After a water change I would refill a 5g bucket and store it for the next time. Good for flushing out your radiator also
-Do not invest in Accent lighting as it does nothing for your coral. I dont even turn mine on anymore. Unless you like the look, its another waste.

Good Luck...

saltyphish · Mar 4, 2015

Sounds like someone watched the reefthuz video on youtube. Starting off right research, research and more research. Great way to start the hobby. I currently have a coralife biocube 29 running any questions just ask.

Kronic said:
I am new to the reef keeping hobby, so new I haven't even set up my tank yet. My wife bought me a Coralife Biocube 29 for xmas and I have been gathering as much knowledge as I can about the hobby so I can try and do this right the first time. I have the tank now set on the stand and did a simple filter modification since everywhere I looked people said the bio balls should be tossed. I removed them and the filter pad and put in 2 eshopps sump sponges for mechanical, a bag of Matrix bio media and a bag of Purigen for chemical, and have ordered 25lbs of live rock for the biological(arrives later today!). I also bought 40lbs of Arag-alive Fiji pink sand. The tank is still empty until the rock gets here. I also have bought Petco's Real Ocean Water to fill the tank after the rock has been set up and sand put in. I am very excited to start my first tank!

Kronic · Mar 4, 2015

Kool, thanx for all the welcomes and advice. What skimmer do you suggest for a new hobbyist on a budget? I'm getting a Aquatic life RO buddie with the DI attachment in a few weeks. :yo:

VicD81 · Mar 4, 2015

Ehhhhh. Do you plan to use it for drinking water and do you plan on attaching it to a tap you can shut off? The reason is that this set does not come with an auto shut off and the better systems have a sediment, 2 carbon stages, RO and the DI.

check these out.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/REEF-HOME-D...291?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec0d006b3

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-6-stage-drinking-reef-ro-di-system-75gpd.html

The ebay one is the one I had untill I got a bigger tank then I needed a stand alone RO/DI system which I purchased from BRS. I still have the first one. I just took off the DI and use it strictly for drinking water.

Kronic · Mar 4, 2015

Nah I dont plan to use it for drinking water, my fridge has a built in filter for drinking water. I just need a simple RO/DI system so I don't need to keep buying the RO water from my LFS. I was planning in hooking it up underneath my bathroom sink or possibly outside to the spigot in my backyard and only running it when I need water for top off or mixing. I'm also looking into a skimmer so the less I have to spend on an RO/DI system the more likely I'll be able to get a decent skimmer sooner. As for the skimmer, The Tunze 9002 would be great but it costs almost as much as the whole biocube did lol The Coralife one is garbage I'm told, so I'm still looking for one that fits my budget but still will do a good job.

VicD81 · Mar 4, 2015

There are only a few that fit. I have the aquatic life 115 and it does a decent job. A pain in the butt to adj though and has to be modded.

Dextereef · Mar 4, 2015

Welcome! I started with a 14g biocube so I know some of the issues you will be facing. I'll repeat some of the above statements.

-be patient
-ask questions
-use the cleanest/purest water you can find. I used RO/DI from my LFS for water changes and distilled water from the grocery store for top off while I was saving up for my ro/di unit
-get the best skimmer you can afford
-vacuum/stir/clean the sand bed right from the start. I started doing this a bit too late into my biocube adventure and stirred up a bunch of trouble. These units are self contained so you would be wise to be generous with the cleaning routine.
-dont overstock and add animals slowly
-try to not overfeed. Man o man was I guilty of this one. Looking back on my biocube days this was the cause of most of my problems.
-get a good number of cleanup crew...I was too excited to get fish and coral in mine first and caused some problems. The clean up crew are actually a fun little band to watch.
-rely on the basics for good parameters instead of all the snake oils in a bottle that are out there. Be religious with the water changes and cleanings. Change the filter material frequently
-keep a log book and take notes, notes, notes, and more notes. This is where it is ok to overdo it. Over-communicate with your self.

If you need any help dont be bashful. If you dont want to post something on a thread then PM someone. We're here to help and all here to help each other navigate this wonderful and crazy hobby!:crazy:

fishroomlady · Mar 4, 2015

welcome to the forum and the wonderful hobby of reef keeping! You've gotten a lot of good advice in the posts above. I'm afraid I don't know a lot about nano skimmers but I'm sure people will chime in with a recommendation. As others said and it sounds like you're already doing it - research, research, and research some more! I've been in this hobby for 20+ years and I continue to learn something new every day!

I also suggest that you start off with quality water from the start. You can at least use RO from a store or distilled water while you wait on your RO/DI.

Please ask any questions that arise. We all love the hobby, were new at one time, and love the enthusiasm that a newbie brings

macscale · Mar 4, 2015

Biocubes can be super fun tanks to work with.
Good luck and welcome to the forum!

Kronic · Mar 5, 2015

Got it set up and running! I see a few of you have said that I can use distilled water for top offs until I get my RO/DI unit. Do I have to condition it with Prime first? Or is it good to go str