El_Guapo13

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So this past Friday (January 31st), I came home from work to find some water on the floor around my 16 gallon Biocube. I looked, and sure enough there was a leak. The next day, I bought some aquarium silicone sealant and bought a 29 gallon tank from Petco along with a cheap 30 gallon HOB filter to put on it. SInce I only needed it for a day, I figured that would be fine.

And then came Sunday.

I drained the 16 gallon and moved the water, live rock, corals, fish, and cuc over to the 29 gallon, and topped it off with some more salt water and plugged in the HOB filter as well as moved my Hydor Koralia Nano Powerhead over to the 29 gallon for additional water movement and aeration. I then did the last thing to my 16 gallon, I removed my sand and put it all in a 5 gallon bucket, intending to put it back in the 16 gallon after I have successfully fixed the leak in a few days.

Once that was done and I could see the bottom of the biocube and all silicone seals.... I came to a horrible realization. Now a bit of context. The leak was coming from the bottom left end of the glass, where the glass meets with the return chamber. I was hoping that the leak was from the seal failing on the glass side, since if it was in the return chamber, then there would be nothing I could do because my arm can't fit into the return chamber (only 2 inches wide, so my arm gets stuck once my wrist is inside). Plus even if it could fit, my arm would then be blocking my view so I wouldn't be able to see where I need to reseal it, plus there would be no room for maneuvering. Well, lucky me, there was nothing wrong with the silicone sealing in the display side. Which meant it is in the return chamber. So my 16 gallon is unfortunately dead, unless/until I can find a professional to fix it sometime in the future.

Thankfully, I have that 29 gallon. So here is the current setup:
1 Hydor Koralia Nano Powerhead
1 Kessil A80 Tuna Blue
Aqueon Quit Filter 30 gallon
125 watt Heater


I ordered an AIO kit and Pump from Fiji Cube that I will place in the tank as a permanent filtration unit to replace the temporary HOB.

I am thinking I probably need either another Koralia Nano, or just a stronger Powerhead to replace the Koralia Nano. Please feel free to give me advice on this.

As for the A80, everything I read says I only need one, but I might get a second in the future simply due to the fact that some corals aren't getting enough light because of the shadows being cast on them from the aquascape's rocks.
 
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El_Guapo13

El_Guapo13

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So from this:
20191130_200053.jpg


To this:
20200202_181402.jpg

20200202_181415.jpg
 
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El_Guapo13

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Now, because the sand was the last thing I got out of the 16 gallon, I obviously did not put it in the 29 gallon, and the 29 gallon was already full with water and running by the time I found out that I could not fix the 16 gallon. So I did not put sand in there because I was worried it might cause issues by getting all over in the corals not to mention any apike it might cause. Problem is, I have some Nassarius snails and a Fighting Conch. They kinda need sand. And by kinda, I mean that last I checked, it is required to have sand for those critters.

So now my dillema. I have to add sand, to a full tank. I assume, that what I should do is drain the tank (mostly), remove the fish and cuc and put them in aerated buckets or those little 2.5 gallon tank carrier things you can get at Petco, same with frags and small rocks thay are currently sitting on the bottom, then put the sand in once there is only like a half inch to an inch of water left in the tank (should be assumed that all the water will be in buckets so I can put most of it back in once the sand is in).

But here is my question, would it be fine to use live sand, or could that cause an issue like a crash or mini cycle? So should I use live sand or dry (dead) sand?

Also, I should mention that I will probably wait until I get the AIO kit in to this, as that needs to be in the tank before I put the sand in.
 
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El_Guapo13

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How long has the sand been out of the water?
Over 24 hours. But even then, it was maybe 10 lbs of sand. Not enough for a 29 gallon, so I would end up needing to buy more anyway. Which is the main reason I was asking if it would be best to use live or dry sand.
 
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fishguy242

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don't use that sand,when you dump it out of the bucket you'll know why,sewage
 

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as far as adding sand ,don't empty tank use a bowl or container with lid fill tight take to bottom slowly open let slide out no cloud no mess hope this helps
 

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If you want to use that sand dry it out in the sunlight to avoid a possible ammonia spike. When I had a 29g years ago I was running a Korelia 2 and 3 in it. You will definitely want some more flow.
 
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don't use that sand,when you dump it out of the bucket you'll know why,sewage

I figured as much, so I got rid of it. Plus it was overflowing with bristleworms, so I figured I might as well get new sand as the worms in my rocks will repopulate anyway.

as far as adding sand ,don't empty tank use a bowl or container with lid fill tight take to bottom slowly open let slide out no cloud no mess hope this helps

I did not think of that. I guess I will stop at Kroger later to get a cheap bowl with a lid. I will still need to drain my tank a bit though, partially to avoid the water overflowing from all the sand being added, but mostly to place the AIO in the tank as I mentioned previously.
 

fishguy242

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maybe 2 250's
 
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maybe 2 250's

Lol. Just went back through my order history on Amazon. I thought the Koralia Nano I have was the 240 gph one, turns out it is the 425 gph model. Still think I need another one, but maybe once I get in my AIO kit with the 210 gph pump the flow will be better.
 

Gernader

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Lol. Just went back through my order history on Amazon. I thought the Koralia Nano I have was the 240 gph one, turns out it is the 425 gph model. Still think I need another one, but maybe once I get in my AIO kit with the 210 gph pump the flow will be better.
I also have a 29g long tank. I am using 2 of koralia nano 565 gph in my tank lol! I probably will make a build thread of my setup soon :D
 
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El_Guapo13

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I also have a 29g long tank. I am using 2 of koralia nano 565 gph in my tank lol! I probably will make a build thread of my setup soon :D
Nice. I will have to follow once you make the thread. What livestock do you have in it so far?

I currently just have what was originally in my 16 gallon biocube, two clowns and a sixline. Of course, now that I have a bigger tank, I would like to get a few more fish.

Definitely need to add to my CUC since there is not enough for a 29 gallon lol
 

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Nice. I will have to follow once you make the thread. What livestock do you have in it so far?

I currently just have what was originally in my 16 gallon biocube, two clowns and a sixline. Of course, now that I have a bigger tank, I would like to get a few more fish.

Definitely need to add to my CUC since there is not enough for a 29 gallon lol
So far, my livestock include an anemone, 2 ocellaris clowns, ruby longfin fairy wrasse, cleaner shrimp, a bunch of Nassarius/Cerith/Trochus snails, 1 emerald crab, and many corals. (By the way, I do not use a sump, no skimmer, and no dosing). So I keep up with weekly water changes to replenish the elements.
 

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You can add sand with a 2 liter bottle. Put sand in the bottle, fill with saltwater. Keep your thumb over the hole as you invert it inside your tank. Once the sand has left the bottle, close off the hole with your thumb or cap and remove the bottle. Repeat until you get your desired depth

 
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El_Guapo13

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You can add sand with a 2 liter bottle. Put sand in the bottle, fill with saltwater. Keep your thumb over the hole as you invert it inside your tank. Once the sand has left the bottle, close off the hole with your thumb or cap and remove the bottle. Repeat until you get your desired depth


Cool. I will have to try that.

Since my tank already has all my previous tank's inhabitants (coral, fish, cuc, also rocks), would it be okay to add live sand, or could that cause a mini cycle or even a crash? Would I be better off purchasing dry sand?
 

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