Biocube 32

[PacoPetty]

As far as the lights, the white lights will continue to stay off until I need them. Don’t plan of wading into corals for a while. We do finally have an inhabitant so we’ll run blues for him. A pair of clowns have always been in the plan, just wasn’t sure which to get. I’m partial to Picassos. They have always been my favorite and I used to breed them but my son likes the storm clowns. He wanted an orange and a black storm. We came across this guy and he has a similar pattern to a Picasso and everyone liked him so it was a good fit. Down the road we’ll be looking for a nice black storm.

He is on the smaller side so I worry about him getting sucked into the power head. So far he’s done a good job of staying out of it but he likes to hang out near it so it seem as though he’s constantly swimming upstream. If he’d just hang out on the other side of the tank it’d be so mush easier for him, lol.

I also added a couple of the 21 LED actinic reef bars that kevgib67 used on his biocube. The stock lights are definitely lacking in the blues, this helps to correct that. Though with the white lights on it’s still very white. The plan is the run the whites for as short a time as possible to get some coral growth.

Beautiful clown!

 

[gar732]

Thanks! I like the thin line of white around his eyes. Kind of makes his eyes look bigger, like he’s wearing glasses, lol. He makes me nervous though, he stay so close to that power head. If I can find some noninvasive macro algae like dragons breath or something like that I’ll get a piece and put it on the other side of the tank in hopes that he hosts it. I just want to get him away from that pump. Not sure why he likes it so much. He really only leaves that corner to feed.

 

[gar732]

Got some clean up crew in the tank. It’s isn’t super filthy yet but figure it’s good to stay ahead of things. Got a scarlet reef hermit and some blue legs. Got half a dozen trochus snails and a tiger tail conch. That guy is earning his keep. Sand is nice and clean. I was going to pick up some nassarius snails but I think he might be able to handle it on his own. Besides, I never had the best of luck with nassarius snails.

While we were at the lfs I thought we could pick up a black storm. They’ve had some every time we’ve been there, but not this time. Oh well, the search continues.

 

[gar732]

Many years ago, before the wife’s cat managed to dunk my hydra 52 into my frag tank and kill every, I was gathering equipment for a new tank. Among that equipment was a then brand new apex controller. Obviously it is now a bit out of date but it’s still new, so I’ve decided to use it. Not sure if it’s still supported by Neptune or not but the plan is to plug it all in and see what happens. If it all works as it should then I’ll mount it all up more permanently.

In other news, before the tank was habitable for fish we came across tons of clowns. My son wants a black storm, and now that we are looking the local places don’t have any, figures.

 

[gar732]

Haven’t gotten around to messing with the apex yet but I did get some zoas to see how they do. So far so good, they opened up right away when I got then and are still looking good. Going to start adding some nicer zoas slowly, as I find them. This was a piece of my zoa garden in my old tank, I’d like to try to find some of these but names of some are different now and everything costs so much more than it used to.

Also added a new fish to the tank. We went to the lfs to check what they had. The wife saw a pair of twin spot gobies that she just had to have. They were flashing for each other and she thought it was the coolest thing so I was going to pick them up for her but my daughter had already bought me a Midas blenny that I didn’t know about. I didn’t want to add too many fish at once so the gobies will have to wait. The blenny has great color and is swimming around comfortably now. He’s awesome, though not very easy to photograph just yet. I also have to get a lens filter so that everything isn’t washed out in blue. The tank isn’t as blue as it is in the pics.

 

[overhead]

Got some clean up crew in the tank. It’s isn’t super filthy yet but figure it’s good to stay ahead of things. Got a scarlet reef hermit and some blue legs. Got half a dozen trochus snails and a tiger tail conch. That guy is earning his keep. Sand is nice and clean. I was going to pick up some nassarius snails but I think he might be able to handle it on his own. Besides, I never had the best of luck with nassarius snails.

While we were at the lfs I thought we could pick up a black storm. They’ve had some every time we’ve been there, but not this time. Oh well, the search continues.

I have a tiger conch (I think, or a strawberry conch...I don't even know if there is a difference) in my Biocube, hard working little dude and my favorite thing to watch. It did manage ,while reaching to eat something off a rock, to get itself stuck upright on the wide end of it's shell, I had no idea that was even possible. It's foot was flailing all over the place. it might have eventually righted itself, but I gave it a little help. The Blue leg occasionally hitch a ride on it's back.

 

[gar732]

Yeah I honestly don’t know what the difference is between the different ones. They all look similar, at least to me anyway.
It’s funny you mention the hermit taking a ride, we were just watching one episode ride on the back of a snail.

 

[gar732]

This fish is funny, he likes to hide in whatever crevice he can find. Including ones he doesn’t really fit it. I was taking a look in the tank last night and initially couldn’t find him anywhere, then I spotted him, lol.

 

[gar732]

Got some new additions to the tank. We picked up some frags from a local reefer which gave me the opportunity to check out some stores near me. So far zoas still like my tank so we got a bunch of frags. They were cut for only a couple days so they weren’t the best looking when I got them but they seem to be settling in well in the tank.

The frag on top I got at an lfs so it’s the best looking one besides the rastas up front.

Also picked up this guy. It’s the first lps in the tank and so far so good. I was going to test the waters with a dunkin but this was almost the same price and my son really digs the euphyllia. He wants them all but they are so pricey nowadays. There was an orange frog spawn that was reasonably priced at one store that we might go back for eventually.

And finally we finally found a mate for our clown. It took some time to find one and it was an hour away but we finally got the black storm. What’s really cool is that the pattern kind of matches the orange clown on one side.

Unfortunately they are just about the same size which means there is some bickering between them. I usually get one clown bigger so there is no question about dominance but there weren’t any bigger black storms. The orange clown might be a hair bigger but was in the tank first so it’s bullying the black clown a bit. No damage that I can see but I’m worried about stressing the black clown too much. If it continues too much I’ll have to put the orange one in time out. It hasn’t even been a full day so I’ll just keep an eye out for the time being.

 

[gar732]

Good news, seems the clowns have worked out the pecking order, they seem to be cohabiting just fine now. I’ve never had problems pairing occy’s in the past and these seem to have fallen in line.

Funny story, I found one of the cats on top of the tank. No worries, that’s why we got the biocube right? Then I see she has a wet paw. Interesting. Seems she found the holes in the back of the lid for cords and was playing with the water. I now have an empty box on the back of the tank so she can’t get to the holes until I figure out a more permanent solution.

Here is the culprit in question. Her name is Desi-May, short for destruction and mayhem. It is a fitting name, lol.

 

[gar732]

I finally turned on the white lights now that there are plenty of inhabitants in the tank. It’s a little more white than I’d like but I’m not going to add more lights than I have. There are 3 different light colors so there is plenty of variation. Another blue strip might get me where I’d like but you have to stop somewhere. I’ll be more picky next tank. Right now I have them coming on for 3 hours. We’ll see how everything reacts to it and adjust up or down from there.

 

[gar732]

Not much has changed in the tank. The clowns are still bickering more than I’d like but they both look healthy and are eating well. Corals are doing well. All the zoas look great save for one that is slowly melting. It never opened after being fragged so we didn’t expect much from it.

No new fish additions since the last clown. The thought on the stock list is a pair of twin spot gobies, a starki damsel, and a royal gramma, subject to change. I’ve thought about picking up a baby hippo tang and raising it until it needs more space but I have to do more research on it before I commit. Not sure if it’s worth it as I’d have to find it a new home unless an lfs was willing to trade for a smaller one again. Also not sure if it would be a good idea to add it last. The starki seems to be the safer bet to get the same colors.

I’m currently waiting for fedex to come deliver me some corals. I really don’t miss the online ordering process. Hoping the corals look like pics and come in in good shape, waiting for FedEx to arrive whenever they feel like it. I requested to have the package held for pickup but that didn’t work for some reason and it got loaded in the truck anyway. If I was able to pick them up they’d be well into the acclimation process already. Nothing I can do now but wait. And wait, and wait. lol.

 

[gar732]

Corals arrived, late as usual. 3 arrived receding but still alive. I ordered a couple montis to see how they do in the tank but they are in rough shape, one of the receding corals. The rest are lps. acans, a blasto, a chalice, and a gold hammer that isn’t as gold as I thought it would be but is in great shape otherwise. The acans definitely lost color but that’s expected. They weren’t showstoppers but should be nice if they color back up. They are getting nice an puffy so that’s a good sign. I reduced the white light for now so they can get used to it gradually. I’ll bring it back up over the next few days. I’ll have to wait for the white light tomorrow to get some better pics. The plan is to mount the acans at the base of the rock work but I through them on the rack for now to see if they recover. I didn’t want to glue corals down that weren’t going to make it. I’ll probably get them where I want them tomorrow.

In other news, the orange clown is officially in jail. She’s been going after the black clown pretty hard and he has some damage to his fins. He’s acting fine and looks healthy otherwise but I’m not going to wait for things to get worse. I’m hoping a few days in time out is the reset they need.

 

[gar732]

Orange clown is on early release. I planned on keeping it in the box for a few more days but it was time for a water change and it was in my way. So far so good with clowns, hopefully it lasts. Here is an updated tank shot.

Moved some corals onto the rocks now that I’m confident everything is doing well, want to get the frag racks out of the tank. The only coral that isn’t doing great is the starburst cap. It was receding in the bag when it arrived so I wasn’t expecting much. The acans were all off color so I wasn’t sure which was which. They are all looking better and color has improved enough for me to realize I didn’t get half the acans I actually ordered. As a matter of fact it seems 3 are frags of the same acan. Can’t imagine the shop is going to do anything about it now and if they did it would probably mean having to place another order to get the right one. Apparently I need to be more careful of where I order from. I guess reasonable prices means you have to be prepared to be disappointed. If anyone has any suggestions on a good place to order from that doesn’t cost a small car please let me know.

 

[DerekCaudill]

As far as the lights, the white lights will continue to stay off until I need them. Don’t plan of wading into corals for a while. We do finally have an inhabitant so we’ll run blues for him. A pair of clowns have always been in the plan, just wasn’t sure which to get. I’m partial to Picassos. They have always been my favorite and I used to breed them but my son likes the storm clowns. He wanted an orange and a black storm. We came across this guy and he has a similar pattern to a Picasso and everyone liked him so it was a good fit. Down the road we’ll be looking for a nice black storm.

He is on the smaller side so I worry about him getting sucked into the power head. So far he’s done a good job of staying out of it but he likes to hang out near it so it seem as though he’s constantly swimming upstream. If he’d just hang out on the other side of the tank it’d be so mush easier for him, lol.

I also added a couple of the 21 LED actinic reef bars that kevgib67 used on his biocube. The stock lights are definitely lacking in the blues, this helps to correct that. Though with the white lights on it’s still very white. The plan is the run the whites for as short a time as possible to get some coral growth.

Beautiful clown there! Following your build. I just installed two 21LED Reef bars last night in my 32BC. What setting did you end up going with? Custom? I agree about the whites and I am using the same timing schedule as @kevgib67 on the stock lighting.

 

[gar732]

Thanks! I have all the blues come on at 11am with the 21 led lights ramping up and then back down at 9pm. The colored leds on the biocube come at 12 -8. It’s not near as blue as it looks in the pics though. I need to get a filter for the phone camera. The whites come on from 2-5 for a high noon effect and hopefully coral growth. With the whites on it could really use another blue strip at least for my taste. The whites really wash everything out.

 

[gar732]

So the orange clown is back at it again. The black clown is in hiding and the orange is constantly going back after him. The only time I’ve had this hard a time pairing clowns was when I was trying to pair a lightning maroon. Pairing occy’s has always been almost automatic. I’m going to have put her back in the box and keep her in for at least a week. Hopefully it does the trick this time, otherwise I’m going to have to remove her from the tank entirely, but that’s not ideal.

The initial thought for this tank was to keep everything as simple as possible. The more I go through all my old gear the more complex the plan becomes. I’m going to set up the tunze ato. I don’t lose much water but I have it so why not. I still have to get apex installed as well. The tank is basically all lps and zoas right now but I’d like to eventually get a couple acros in there so I need to figure out dosing. If I can keep things relatively stable dosing by hand I will likely keep it that way but if not I’ll have to look into a doser. I have an old kalk reactor I might try, again since I have it already.

 

[overhead]

I was lucky, I had a 15 gallon tank to put my smaller clown in to avoid the larger more aggressive clown. No idea what I will do in the future, I might just let the clowns grow some and add a much smaller clown in the future...but if I do that I might end up needing another tank to put another bullied clown in. I just can't seem to play the Commodus role with the thumbs up or down thing while the fish fight it out.

 

[gar732]

See that’s a rabbit hole I’m not trying to go down. I’m not just going to set up another tank, I’m going to want to make it nice. Then I’m going to start justifying all types of upgrades for it. It’s the way it always goes. We set up a betta tank for my son that turned into a planted tank. But you make a good point, I can’t just let them battle to the death either.

I worked more corals into the scape so I was able to remove one of the frag racks. I’ll be able to put the acclimation box in the tank without being in the way now. The orange clown wasn’t terrible today from what I saw so I might wait another day or so to see how it goes before putting her back in the box. My son is ready to go out and get another but that’s only because he’s not the one paying for these clowns, lol.

 

[overhead]

See that’s a rabbit hole I’m not trying to go down. I’m not just going to set up another tank, I’m going to want to make it nice. Then I’m going to start justifying all types of upgrades for it. It’s the way it always goes. We set up a betta tank for my son that turned into a planted tank. But you make a good point, I can’t just let them battle to the death either.

I worked more corals into the scape so I was able to remove one of the frag racks. I’ll be able to put the acclimation box in the tank without being in the way now. The orange clown wasn’t terrible today from what I saw so I might wait another day or so to see how it goes before putting her back in the box. My son is ready to go out and get another but that’s only because he’s not the one paying for these clowns, lol.

I understand, I ended up with two tanks...well three if you count my QT tank. When I was looking to get a tank I started out looking at used stuff on Marketplace. I talked to a guy that had an IM15 with pretty much everything I would need. Tank, rocks, sand, media tray, skimmer, pump, dosing pump,light etc etc. I decided not to buy it due to price and a couple of friends with experience saying I would be better off starting with a little larger tank. A few weeks after starting the biocube, the dude with the IM15 lowered the price so much I could not pass it up.

It is interesting, the IM15 has been very easy. The Biocube has been a bit of a struggle with different type of algae and difficult livestock. It has nothing to do with the tanks and more to do with luck and how I did things, but I completely understand now how one person can say starting a reef tank is simple while another might say it is impossible. The fish in my IM15 are chill, the crabs don't kill snails, the peppermint shrimp does not eat coral, etc. Just a completely different experience. It has worked out for moving coral that a peppermint shrimp in the Biocube decided was delicious and dealing with the fish aggression issues. My Biocube is an algae covered Thunderdome at times.But it is twice the work.

If I did not have the second tank I would have had to give one of the clowns back to the LFS. I posted a video here, but the aggression was getting out of hand, IMO. The larger clown would not leave the smaller clown alone, it went from staying apart and only seeing aggression at feeding time to constantly chasing the smaller clown around the tank.