First Tank Ever - BioCube 32 Newbie Build

[jabberwock]

Lol. I hope my hobby addiction doesn’t get to that level where I need a loan.

Your plan seems solid. My only real difference was going to be add cuc before the fish. Is this ok? My hope was it would buy me some additional time on deciding on fish and coral.

The CUC will need something to eat. A fish, and you feeding the fish will feed the CUC. You also don't need to add the entire CUC all at once. Think of it as getting a maid for your fish.

 

[jabberwock]

No. I was referring to filter media

Oh, sorry...
You need filter media now. It is where a lot of beneficial bacteria will live. Google biocube filter mods for ideas. I yanked the stock filter rank and did 2 big vertical sponges, a bag of rock rubble, a floss pad across the top, and I added purfiltrum after I got my second fish.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Oh, sorry...
You need filter media now. It is where a lot of beneficial bacteria will live. Google biocube filter mods for ideas. I yanked the stock filter rank and did 2 big vertical sponges, a bag of rock rubble, a floss pad across the top, and I added purfiltrum after I got my second fish.

Thanks so much for all the help. I will make that tonight’s research project while I watch football.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Day 3
Ph is low but not as low as yesterday. The buffing seemed to help. Ammonia is zero or very close, nitrite and nitrate look to be about the same. Maybe a little more nitrate.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Silly Amazon delay on my powerhead. They now say delivery tomorrow. Unboxing and demo video will have to wait.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Finally arrived...

Excited to play with this later tonight!

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

It was packed very securely in the foam.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Been a busy day. Had lots I was trying to get done with the tanks tonight. Mission accomplished!

Day 4 Test Results

Ph is again low, ammonia almost zero and this is after I did a 2.o ppm dose of ammonium chloride last night. I definitely can process that ammonia. Now if those darn little nitrite lovers would hurry up, lol.

 

[cromag27]

Been a busy day. Had lots I was trying to get done with the tanks tonight. Mission accomplished!

Day 4 Test Results

Ph is again low, ammonia almost zero and this is after I did a 2.o ppm dose of amonium chloride last night. I definitely can process that ammonia. Now if those darn little nitrite lovers would hurry up, lol.

how much time does it take for ammonia to go from 2ppm to zero?

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

My hob, heater and glass top came in so I was able to finish up my QT/hospital tank.

QT/Hospital Tank Equipment

Marineland 10g tank
Eheim Jager 150w heater (Even though this is overkill it’s the same as I have in main tank so I can use for an emergency spare.)
AquaClear 20 hob filter
Zacro digital thermometer
Aqueon 500 powerhead
Perfecto glass aquarium canopy 20” x 10” (Got this from my lfs. This is nice because it lets you make cutouts for hob, wires, etc.)

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

how much time does it take for ammonia to go from 2ppm to zero?

I dosed last night to 2ppm. When I checked tonight (approx 10pm) it looked to be close to zero. So somewhere between 24-36 hours is my guess.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

This is my first ever video and doing this one handed while trying to keep focus was a challenge. So please don’t be too harsh on my videography, lol. My ph was low so I mixed up some buffer in a bottle. I was hoping this would help show water flow since my tank is still empty. It didn’t show up the greatest on camera and I can only dose once so I could not reshoot. Hopefully you get the idea.

This pump seemed very quiet. Pay attention to the volume level on the controller button clicking vs the pump noise itself. Even on full speed which happens throughout while I cycle through the 4 modes and at the end where I keep it on full.

I have a thermometer in the bottom back right corner below the pump and blocked by rock and it was swaying pretty good.

Feel free to ask me any questions and I can do my best on answering them.

 

[cromag27]

I dosed last night to 2ppm. When I checked tonight (approx 10pm) it looked to be close to zero. So somewhere between 24-36 hours is my guess.

on the right track. next time when when you can check again 8-12 hours later. see if it’s zero.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

on the right track. next time when when you can check again 8-12 hours later. see if it’s zero.

Ok. I can check tomorrow in the morning. 6am to 10am is my 8-12 hour window.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Here are a few regular photos of the cp-90 in my tank.

 

[Katrina71]

You might like it vertical on the left side. Large rock structure like my son. You'll see where your flow issues are when you start getting cyano.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

on the right track. next time when when you can check again 8-12 hours later. see if it’s zero.

Earliest I could get to test water was 10:30am. Ammonia was zero. That puts it at 36.5 hours. I will do my normal full check tonight around 10pm and post results.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

You might like it vertical on the left side. Large rock structure like my son. You'll see where your flow issues are when you start getting cyano.

Yes it’s hard to tell if flow might be an issue in places with it empty.

 

[Katrina71]

You should know within the next 6 weeks

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

QT/Hospital tank is looking good. Temp, ph and salinity are ready for an animal. Now if I could only decide on should be first.