George's 32g Biocube Build

[george9]

Hello everyone! I just couldn't fight the itch any longer and am finally making my return to the hobby with a 32g Biocube reef in my apartment. The tank has been up and running since November 23, so just about one month now and have my first couple clownfish arriving in a few days.

I cycled the tank using Biospira and a bit of pure ammonia. It took about a week to process 2-3 PPM of ammonia in 24hrs, and at the end of this period, I decided to get started with a couple super easy softies that I will monitor for a few weeks to make sure everything is stable. I guess I kind of wanted to use these hardy corals as the 'canaries in the gold mine' as I go through process of trial and error. This way when I add fish and more temperamental corals, I'll have a good feel of what my 'stable' neutral state parameters are and it'll be easier to tell when something is off in the tank. Slow and steady wins the race here!! Anyways, lets get to some specifics.

Equipment:
32g Biocube and stand
AI Nero 3 (2000 gph) and Hyggar mini 2600 gph pump

Filtration:
I am currently running CPE, Purigen and filter floss in the InTank media rack, and some live rock rubble and a good ol' ball of chaeto in the InTank refugium basket.

Rock/sand:
40 lbs of special grade live sand
30 lbs of Carib Sea LifeRock

Fish:
Planning on just two designer clowns for now. I have a orange storm and davinci clown coming in from trusted breeder in a few days for my first fish additions.

Corals (current):
red and blue mushrooms
GSP
kenya tree
orange ricordia mushroom
zoa frag


So, let's get into a few more details:
The corals have been doing well for the past three weeks. Starting about two weeks ago I started seeing diatoms - no nuisance algae (yet). The diatoms appear to be to be regressing a tiny bit but it's hard to tell. I added chaeto about 3 weeks ago when my nitrates were still between 20-40PPM. The chaeto took the nitrates down to 0 officially yesterday, which I am a little concerned about since I have no bioload yet. I have slashed my fuge light period and hoping my new clown additions in a few days will bring this back up over the next week.

I do think my zoas are struggling a bit with the reduced nitrates. I also believe I am seeing a bacterial bloom as the past couple days the water has had a slight milky tinge to it, I am seeing white particles in the water (def not bubbles), settling on glass and the rock and there are clear stringy areas on the rocks and glass along with the diatoms. The water smell has also increased the past few days and the filter floss turns dark brown within hours. All of these signs are pointing to a bacterial bloom to me. This is *not* widespread yet and does not appear too severe in pictures, but this coupled with the bottoming nitrates I think has stressed the zoas, and the GSP does not appear as happy. I am not sure if it is a coincidence, but I did spray some air freshener in here (away from the tank down low) and have had a candle lit, so I am not sure if the bacteria is a result of this or just a new tank bloom. I've ordered a UV sterilizer which will be here Tuesday to hopefully take care of this. I am on the fence about doing too many water changes since my nitrates are already bottomed. Phosphates are around .25 on the API test (I know I need better kits, but I wasnt planning on anything other than hardy softies til I pass the uglies stage).

Any comments are gladly welcomed!! I am hoping this little bacterial bloom can stay under control so I can continue with my first additions on Dec 29, but I am a bit concerned by it. Attached are some pics of the full tank, and some of the diatoms and growth I have.

Otherwise, this is where I will document the tank status! Thanks for reading

 

[SPR1968]

Great start George and keep the pictures coming!

 

[george9]

Thanks guys. Here are some of the corals today. Zoas look slightly less peeved than yesterday but still clearly droopy, and not fully open. Also I woke up to a “snowy” tank again with a layer of white “fuzz” or bacteria on the poor GSP!!

Thinking back I would say the cause of this bloom is probably be disturbing the sand bed too much during my last water change last week rather then an air freshener. I just wanted to remove the diatoms but I’ve exchanged diatoms for another ugly phase lol

Im on the fence about doing a water change because I don’t want to do anything to keep my nitrates staying low, and I’ve read that water changes can exacerbate a bacterial bloom so I plan on sitting tight and waiting til the UV gets here on Dec 28th and keeping the buildup off the corals as much as I can.

Oh the joys of a new tank!!!

 

[george9]

cheapie amazon UV sterilizer arrived a day early! Just installed it in the back compartment hopefully will help clear this bacterial bloom up over the next couple days. The water smells like trash, and check out this floss from just 20 hours of use: GROSS!

 

[CrimsonTide]

You can give the corals some reef roids like the zoas and stuff and that will give you a little nitrates in the water. I would also look into some snails to do a little diatom and uglies battle for you.

 

[george9]

You can give the corals some reef roids like the zoas and stuff and that will give you a little nitrates in the water. I would also look into some snails to do a little diatom and uglies battle for you.

I wanted to order a small CUC from reef cleaners but they are not shipping til after the new year so I’ve been holding out a little bit.The uglies now are mainly the bacterial bloom as a lot of the diatoms appear to be dying out. I am guessing the next ugly will be hair algae or something similar, so it will be good to build my clean up army soon haha

I will look into the reef roids but am worried with 2 clownfish being added this later week + potential waterborne bacteria dying off from UV will cause a little nitrate spike on its own in the short term. Long term I think it’ll be good for coral health. Corals appear a significantly happier today than the past two days so we shall see.

 

[CrimsonTide]

I wanted to order a small CUC from reef cleaners but they are not shipping til after the new year so I’ve been holding out a little bit.The uglies now are mainly the bacterial bloom as a lot of the diatoms appear to be dying out. I am guessing the next ugly will be hair algae or something similar, so it will be good to build my clean up army soon haha

I will look into the reef roids but am worried with 2 clownfish being added this later week + potential waterborne bacteria dying off from UV will cause a little nitrate spike on its own in the short term. Long term I think it’ll be good for coral health. Corals appear a significantly happier today than the past two days so we shall see.

Reef cleaners doesn't sell a pack smaller than 25gallons. I would go to a local store if you have one and buy some snails from them.

 

[CrimsonTide]

You can build a pack but will then have to pay shipping. Or i guess you could give away what you don't need to ppl in your area. But I like to get clean up crew as I need them to fulfill their purpose but to each their own.

 

[george9]

So the UV cleared up the bacterial bloom really nicely. No more white crap floating in the water. Corals have bounced back slowly as the bacterial cloud has cleared as well so that is nice to see. Except now that the bacterial bloom has been mitigated, the diatoms are out in FULL FORCE. I am going to need a clean up crew in the next week or so, but I am not too worried about it yet. I have some cerith/nerite snails arriving soon. In the meantime, I’ve reduced my peak photoperiod by a few hours to mitigate the growth.

I finally have my first couple additions - two small clowns! 1 Davinci and 1 orange storm, both really small but the orange storm is slightly bigger and clearly going to be the female and she has been bossing the davinci around a bit. His pectoral fins have a couple tears from the bossiness but she is letting him eat just fine and I’m sure this will subside. I’ve seen him do the submissive wiggle next to her, so it’s clear the pairing process is in the works.

As expected with the new additions, I have nitrates again! It’s evident in the corals as they are extra “happy” looking with some nutrients back in the water. We’ll see how I can balance the nutrients by playing with fuge lighting/water change schedules over the next couple weeks. The new nutrients also explain the explosion of diatoms recently too. I am hoping this phase ends soon because it is so unsightly looking at brown crap on everything but I know it’s an integral part of an early tank’s life.

so next steps are: clean up crew and continued observation as I learn how to best balance nutrients in this system. I ordered the Steve’s LED retrofit kit yesterday for the future but I am in no rush to install these yet until I get more stable.

 

[george9]

Came home from work and it appears the orange storm did a little bit more damage to the davinci’s tail :/

They’re both eating like pigs and the Davinci (male I assume) isn’t showing any signs of distress yet so I will save the worry for now. Just feel bad! Hopefully they pair quick

 

[lubeck]

following Along. Just got the same tank for Christmas.

 

[george9]

Congrats!!! I love it so far.

 

[george9]

Diatoms are subsiding! But I am noticing my giant blue mushroom looking a little lackluster the past few days. It seems to be dropping a baby mushroom as well, so i’m not sure if it is due to the stress of reproducing or if something is off with my parameters. I have Salicert mag, calcium and Alk tests coming this week and a Hanna phosphate kit so I can get serious about corals, since these “indestructible” soft corals I have now were more of a introductory test, it’s time to really get down and dirty with more comprehensive tests.
I don’t have params to share besides nitrates (5PPM) but this is how the mushroom is looking lately vs. last week where it was bright blue. The only difference is that I notice it is shooting off a new mushroom that has yet to disconnect from the mama.

First pic is last week. Next two pics are the last 2 days. You can see the new baby mushroom being dropped if you look closely.
Could it be too much light? Im not convinced this is the cause since it’s sitting on the sandbed with stock Biocube LED lights so it shouldn’t be bleaching based on light at all