Baby 32G BioCube First Saltwater Aquarium Build

Mr. Stooge

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Good morning guys! Here are some pictures of my build so far!
I have a 32G BioCube that is 2 months old. Hope you enjoy! ;Headphone

I started off with live rock and went with live reef sand for the substrate.
current inhabitants include
1- Black Ocellaris Clown fish. ~ Luna (shes the oldest)
1- 6 Line Wrasse ~ Houdini (he/she likes to hide lol)
1- Zoanthid
1- Favia Brain Coral

looking for suggestions on what I should add next since I'm new to the hobby and don't know whats good for newbies!

Upgrades that I've done to the tank (so far) are:
InTank Media basket
InTank Fuge
Power Head is a MaxFlow MCP-1 660 G/Hr
Tunze 3155 ATO

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Mastiffsrule

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Hello

Tank looks great. I would not rush too fast. Looks like you may still have some ugly stages ahead which is normal. I saw a snail I think, I would maybe add a shrimp and CuC if more is needed. A Goby would help stir the sand and usually they are peaceful.

Take your time and keep us updated. Make sure to test your water now that you have coral in there.
 
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Mr. Stooge

Mr. Stooge

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Hello

Tank looks great. I would not rush too fast. Looks like you may still have some ugly stages ahead which is normal. I saw a snail I think, I would maybe add a shrimp and CuC if more is needed. A Goby would help stir the sand and usually they are peaceful.

Take your time and keep us updated. Make sure to test your water now that you have coral in there.
Thanks! The cuc are in there just hidden. I have a 6 hermit crabs 1 turbo 2 nassarius snails and 2 trochus snails. The shrimp and goby are on the wish list! I want to the sand to get a little more mature before I add a goby so that it doesn't clear out all of the micro fauna right away and for the shrimp I'll probably get one soon since my water nutrients have stabilized and the tank just finished another ugly cycle since posting this
 

hikermike

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I would go easy on the corals unless you, like me, like to experiment and accept the risk.. Plenty of softies and LPS. As for fish..go for it. Will raise the ire of many here but the 1 gal/1 " of fish is an absolute myth. One day I'll start an article on it but have little time now. (I've been in aquariums since 1951 so I'm not a newbie.) More important is what fish is it....like lion fish are absolutely filthy but most gobies produce little waste. Most important is to add the fish slowly and the less dominant/smaller fish first and think about swimming room. An engineer goby can grow to a foot and be happy sitting under a rock but some angels etc. will grow bigger and want to zoom all over the tank. If you want your tank to look different every day get an engineer/convict goby or 2. If you don't want a fish that looks like an eel (but doesn't eat other living things) but still want your sand to look white every day, then get a sand-sifting goby and watch them go at it. Wait on the mandarins/dragonets until your tank is "old". Note Scooter blennies are not blennies..they'rer draggonetes/mandarins..stay away. I bring this up cuz another fish very interesting and USEFUL is a Lawnmower blenny and they look similar. Mine really mow down any hair algae. If you are afraid of live rock secondary to aiptasia then toss a bunch of peppermint shrimp in the tank. Those from Petco were a bust but from My LFS went after a tankful and finished them all off in a week. Warning, can't get them if you want coral/fire/cleaner shrimp as they will eat the peppermint. They're all hardy as are the interesting emerald crabs and like most all crabs/shrimp you can have as many as you want...not much bioload. Anenomes? Think about it...if they die...that's an awful lot of bio to dump on a tank. I've had arrow crabs and like them but they quickly molt and end up being 8-9" and really dominate a corner. Will eat bristle worms though...love em.
 
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Mr. Stooge

Mr. Stooge

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I would go easy on the corals unless you, like me, like to experiment and accept the risk.. Plenty of softies and LPS. As for fish..go for it. Will raise the ire of many here but the 1 gal/1 " of fish is an absolute myth. One day I'll start an article on it but have little time now. (I've been in aquariums since 1951 so I'm not a newbie.) More important is what fish is it....like lion fish are absolutely filthy but most gobies produce little waste. Most important is to add the fish slowly and the less dominant/smaller fish first and think about swimming room. An engineer goby can grow to a foot and be happy sitting under a rock but some angels etc. will grow bigger and want to zoom all over the tank. If you want your tank to look different every day get an engineer/convict goby or 2. If you don't want a fish that looks like an eel (but doesn't eat other living things) but still want your sand to look white every day, then get a sand-sifting goby and watch them go at it. Wait on the mandarins/dragonets until your tank is "old". Note Scooter blennies are not blennies..they'rer draggonetes/mandarins..stay away. I bring this up cuz another fish very interesting and USEFUL is a Lawnmower blenny and they look similar. Mine really mow down any hair algae. If you are afraid of live rock secondary to aiptasia then toss a bunch of peppermint shrimp in the tank. Those from Petco were a bust but from My LFS went after a tankful and finished them all off in a week. Warning, can't get them if you want coral/fire/cleaner shrimp as they will eat the peppermint. They're all hardy as are the interesting emerald crabs and like most all crabs/shrimp you can have as many as you want...not much bioload. Anenomes? Think about it...if they die...that's an awful lot of bio to dump on a tank. I've had arrow crabs and like them but they quickly molt and end up being 8-9" and really dominate a corner. Will eat bristle worms though...love em.
Thank you!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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