MarkyMark's Cube (Waterbox Cube 20)

[MarkyMark_]

Hey y'all, I'm a brand new reefer from Toronto Canada and I'm very excited to share my journey. From a young age I've been captivated by marine aquariums, now finally having set up my own I still feel that same youthful enthusiasm every time I look at my (mostly empty ) tank. Reef2reef is an amazing community and resource! I've spent dozens of hours reading and learning from everyone here.

In the short time I've been a reefer I've made many mistakes which I have learned from. A few days after initially setting up my tank, I heard a loud snap in the middle of the night. The next morning I realized the particle-board constructed piece of furniture it was on formed a large crack running along the underside directly under the tank. It was a mad scramble to empty the tank, find a suitable replacement stand capable of supporting the weight of the tank, and then setting everything back up again. A second mistake was that I bought a pistol/YWG pair and on the very first night the goby decided to fly and was found crusty on the floor the next morning. Lesson learned, a lid is on the way. These along with other smaller mistakes(I chipped the rim of my tank on the very day I received it) were certainly discouraging, but I'm sharing these mistakes I've made to encourage other new reefers not to give up!

Equipment:

• Lighting - AI Prime 16HD - Running a modified Saxby schedule (Shortened by 1 hour and max intensity down to 80%)
• Powerhead - AI Nero 3 - (Random mode 12% - 25% power, High variance)
• Heater - 100W EHEIM Jager ( ~ 77.5 degrees , I use a battery powered thermometer for a digital temp readout)
• Auto Top Off - XP Aqua Duetto ( I use a 5 gallon bucket for a reservoir, sensor and hose placed in the rear third chamber)
• Pump - Stock pump ( I plan to upgrade to a Sicce 1.0 as the stock pump produces an audible and annoying hum in my living room)
• Filtration - 5 sets of Waterbox 225 micron felt filter socks ( This is along with weekly 20% water changes are my planned long term filtration methods)
• Testing - I use the Red Sea line of testing products including a Red Sea refractometer that I calibrate before each use
• Rock - 21 pounds of live rock ( From a local reefers sump)
• Substrate - Approximately 20 pounds of aragonite (washed in a bucket for 30+ mins before going into tank)
• Salt - Instant Ocean Sea Salt (Low priced and widely available)
• MISC. - I have a bag of carbon (about 1/2 cup) in a mesh sack in the rear 2nd chamber that I change out every 2 weeks
• MISC. - Nano Flipper Float glass cleaner
• MISC. - Aquatic Life RO Buddie 50 GPD RO system ( plumbed into the cold water line under my kitchen sink, I strongly recommend this set up as opposed to connecting it to the faucet)
• MISC. - Jumpguard DIY Lid
• MISC. - A Turkey Baster ( For feeding )

Inhabitants:

• Invertebrates:
• 1 Trochus snail
• 1 Nassarius snail
• 1 Margarita snail
• 2 Cerith snails
• 1 Pistol shrimp
• 
  
• Fish:
• 2 Ocellarus Clownfish
• 
  
• Coral:
• Frogspawn
• 
  
• Other:
• Dragons Breath MacroAlgae

Images:

1/27/2021 (About 10 days in)

2/24/2021

I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions and advice!

 

[Mike from TN]

Very nice!
Sounds like you have a great plan. Looking forward to following along.

 

[MarkyMark_]

For others who have this tank I have a question. Do you keep 3 or 4 fish in this tank? If you keep 4, does the tank seem crowded at all? When I start adding inhabitants I want to make sure they all feel like they have their own space in their permanent home.

 

[Haacheew]

For others who have this tank I have a question. Do you keep 3 or 4 fish in this tank? If you keep 4, does the tank seem crowded at all? When I start aadding inhabitants I want to make sure they all feel like they have their own space in their permanent home.

I have Waterbox 20 with a pair of Frostbite clown, 1 fire fish, 1 diamond goby and tailspot goby. Not crowdy at all. The female clownfish is kinda territorial toward other fish, not too terrible though.

 

[zukihara]

 

[MarkyMark_]

I have Waterbox 20 with a pair of Frostbite clown, 1 fire fish, 1 diamond goby and tailspot goby. Not crowdy at all. The female clownfish is kinda territorial toward other fish, not too terrible though.

Great looking tank! Those are some snazzy clowns you have there I'll definitely explore some options for a fourth tankmate

 

[MarkyMark_]

Introduced my first coral frag last night! It's a frogspawn picked up from a local reefer here in Toronto.

It seems like it's adjusting to my tank really well but I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on it. Can anyone with frogspawn coral share some care advice? I positioned it near the middle of my tank so as not to blast it with light and with low-moderate flow.

Once the frag was in I realized my Nero 3 was way to powerful so I dialed the settings back ( 25% - 40% random mode, high variance) and also moved it from the rear wall to the left side facing the return nozzle. Next on the list is to assemble my Jumpguard lid that finally came in

 

[MarkyMark_]

My Nassarius snail has been MIA for 6 days now. I believe its in the big aquarium in the sky now. The only thing I can think of is that my pistol shrimp got to it. Are pistol shrimp known to do this?

 

[MarkyMark_]

Assembled my Jumpguard DIY lid today! I'm very pleased with the final result. I found it odd that a hacksaw is needed to put this together, but other than that assembly went smooth. My cube is now ready for fish!

 

[MarkyMark_]

Picked up some beautiful (tiny!) captive-bred ocellaris clownfish for my tank today! These are my first fish and im very excited to have them. I chose these fish for their natural beauty and a natural looking reef is my long-term goal with my nano tank.

I hope to have these in my care for a long time to come.

 

[MarkyMark_]

A little update; I am having trouble getting these little guys to eat!

It's been 2 days now with no luck. I've tried vitalis marine pellets (1mm) and hikari enriched frozen baby brine shrimp twice a day since Saturday with no luck.

One of them will sometimes peck at the food only to immediately spit it back out. I've searched around and apparently this is common? Can anyone share and experiences with new clowns not eating? Any tips or advice? They seem healthy otherwise, although me being a new reefer I'm not familiar with signs of stress or illness.

 

[stylolvr]

Try some frozen mysis, and you can add a couple drops of garlic extract to help entice. Sometimes it just takes a few days to get fish to eat again after a scenery change. Keep us posted!

 

[MarkyMark_]

Try some frozen mysis, and you can add a couple drops of garlic extract to help entice. Sometimes it just takes a few days to get fish to eat again after a scenery change. Keep us posted!

Hey, Thanks for your reply!
Garlic extract? What is the logic behind this? Do clownfish eat garlic?

I really hope this hunger strike is acclimation to a new environment, but of course with them not eating I'm beginning to worry.

I will definitely update with any changes

 

[stylolvr]

It stinks good, so gets their attention, and has health benefits also. Usually, I can find it at an LFS, but you can order online as well. BRS has options, for example, and Brightwell has worked well for me in the past. Not an endorsement, but just anecdotal.

Garlic Power - Concentrated Garlic Supplement

Delivers the nutritional benefits of raw garlic to fishes primarily by being applied to their food. Consists solely of preserved extract of raw garlic with a small amount of vitamin-C as a preservative. Does not require refrigeration. Formulated by a marine scientist. Instructions and...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[jarviz]

+1 for some quality frozen food. my clown and firefish go crazy for LRS nanofood, and NLS thera. I wanted to mix it up and got some Hikari marine, which i think is actually really good quality pellets, but they surprisingly don't eat that.

 

[MarkyMark_]

Sadly, one of my two clownfish passed. It was the smaller of the two. He was being bullied and never did I see him eat once. RIP little guy.

As for the other, he still shows no interest in pellets, flakes or frozen baby brine. I even soaked all three in water with fresh garlic before feeding and nothing. The good news is that he's discovered that copepods/isopods = food. How concerned should I be about this behavior? Can I expect him to eventually eat prepared foods or is it reasonable to expect him to survive solely off pods?

 

[MarkyMark_]

It's been a few days since adding a new baby clown and hes doing amazing! He is eating and spending lots of time with his new partner.

Overall, things are progressing smoothly in the tank. My main issue at the moment is the noise generated from my return pump. The stock pump was rattling unbearably loudly so I replaced it with a Sicce "Silent" 1.5. I can not for the life of me get this thing to be silent and its driving me crazy. Ive tried setting it on a foam pad, surrounding it with foam, taking it apart and re-assembling and nothing. I really need some help with this because the frustration I'm feeling is drastically reducing my enjoyment of this hobby. The pump is not touching any sides of the return chamber and is currently set on the bottom of the chamber on the rubber feet it came with.

 

[Lemon]

how is the tank doing? is there anything I should know about the actual tank itself? I want to get the same tank

 

[Haacheew]

Waterbox Cube 20 is an excellent tank. If you plan to have a mixed LPS/SPS, I would get a stronger LED lighting just for more flexibility and expansion headroom in the future. I replaced the AI HD with Ecotech G5 xr15 Pro. Lately, I have been thinking to "upgdrade?" to Reefi Uno or ATI Straton (I know it's overkilled but I like no more shadowing).

Secondly, I replaced the stock return pump with Sicce Micra Plus 158 gph the flow rate of which is a bit low but its dead silent compared to the stock pump.

 

[MarkyMark_]

how is the tank doing? is there anything I should know about the actual tank itself? I want to get the same tank

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the tank.

I'm still fighting my sicce return pump but am at my witts end. Idk what to do anymore.

A second minor issue is that I notice many tiny particles in the water column. I was under the assumption that a filter sock would keep the water cleaner than it is, but this is a very minor issue in comparison with the noise emanating from the return pump.

I have plans to add more coral very slowly, and will definitely update with pictures when I do!