zXShadow
New Member
Hey guys how are yall doing, my name is Chris, I just joined the forum. I have a 32 Biocube, and in the past i've had numerous freshwater tanks, most notably a 90 gal fancy goldfish aquarium, but was too afraid/anxious to try saltwater until recently. I picked up a 32 biocube off of facebook marketplace at the end of last year that came with a TON of dead rock, syphon, filter replacements, etc, for $200 which was a steal, so I jumped on it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I fell head over heels into the saltwater hobby and I've been absolutely obsessed with my tank since setting it up. I constantly comb through the forums here looks at various threads and other folks with similar tanks to my own, so I thought I'd go ahead and sign up and join the party, and get some of my questions answered while I'm at it. Here is my current tank stock as it sits today-
Tank has been up since Dec 24, cycled and set to go, I use the standard biocube pump but plan on upgrading to an aftermarket 350 gph one soon. No skimmer, heater set to 80, and a UV sterilizer for water clarity. Parameters are perfect, water is crystal clear, the perfect little ocean!
Clean up crew/Inverts:
5 Medium/large turbo snails and mex turbo snails
1 Emerald Crab
1 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Long Tentacle Anenomes
1 Maxi Mini Carpet Anenome
2 Tiger Conch's (tank VIPS, these little guys keep my sandbed looking like I have a new tank!)
Fish:
2 Ocellaris Clowns
1 Six-Line Wrasse
1 Flame Angel (smaller, only 2-3 inches at the moment)
Corals:
NONE, and I don't intending on adding any, as I'm more of a nem fan myself, and corals are way too EXPENSIVE!!
Big cleanup crew some would say, which is true, part of that is intentional, I LOOOVE invers. Some will question the LTAs, which is understandable, but with no corals I should be good for a while before they come near outgrowing the tank. As you can see in the pics, one is bleached, I got it that way from my local Petco as I felt bad and wanted to see if I could save it, I've had him for about 2 weeks and he's gotten much much better, although I hope he regains his color soon, but he's on the road to recovery! I do plan on adding more sand soon to help both bury their feet more, but they seem content half under rocks for now. I feed them frozen Mysis shrimp once a week and they love it.
Although the main purpose of this thread is to introduce myself, I do have a couple questions for anyone that's made it this far!
First question is, in the future I am highly considering adding a Ruby Red dragonet to the tank. I currently have a huuuuge copepod population, and I am well aware a mandarin goby would probably eat its food source clean, but do you guys think I would have the same issue with the ruby? I figure since it is smaller and eats less, I might have some good success, although I may need to dose pods or get an external pod-centered tank they can reproduce in. What do you guys think? Is that a dumb idea or would I be fine as long as I am meticulous about it?
Secondly, how much more realistically can I add to my tank before I am fully stocked? I am rather unfamiliar with saltwater stock levels although I've done heavy research. It is still difficult to gauge. After the ruby if I add that, I only plan on maybe adding a bubble tip, kenya trees (only coral id want) , another maxi mini or two, and maybe a royal gamma, but I worry that may be pushing it. I was used to fancy goldfish which to those that know, are so incredibly messy, so I'm not too unfamiliar with being a little overstocked, but would want it to be reasonable and a good environment for the fish of course.
Third, a small question, is my sand bed area big enough for a sand-sifting star?
Anyways that is all for now. I look forward to interacting y'all from here on out!
Tank has been up since Dec 24, cycled and set to go, I use the standard biocube pump but plan on upgrading to an aftermarket 350 gph one soon. No skimmer, heater set to 80, and a UV sterilizer for water clarity. Parameters are perfect, water is crystal clear, the perfect little ocean!
Clean up crew/Inverts:
5 Medium/large turbo snails and mex turbo snails
1 Emerald Crab
1 Cleaner Shrimp
2 Long Tentacle Anenomes
1 Maxi Mini Carpet Anenome
2 Tiger Conch's (tank VIPS, these little guys keep my sandbed looking like I have a new tank!)
Fish:
2 Ocellaris Clowns
1 Six-Line Wrasse
1 Flame Angel (smaller, only 2-3 inches at the moment)
Corals:
NONE, and I don't intending on adding any, as I'm more of a nem fan myself, and corals are way too EXPENSIVE!!
Big cleanup crew some would say, which is true, part of that is intentional, I LOOOVE invers. Some will question the LTAs, which is understandable, but with no corals I should be good for a while before they come near outgrowing the tank. As you can see in the pics, one is bleached, I got it that way from my local Petco as I felt bad and wanted to see if I could save it, I've had him for about 2 weeks and he's gotten much much better, although I hope he regains his color soon, but he's on the road to recovery! I do plan on adding more sand soon to help both bury their feet more, but they seem content half under rocks for now. I feed them frozen Mysis shrimp once a week and they love it.
Although the main purpose of this thread is to introduce myself, I do have a couple questions for anyone that's made it this far!
First question is, in the future I am highly considering adding a Ruby Red dragonet to the tank. I currently have a huuuuge copepod population, and I am well aware a mandarin goby would probably eat its food source clean, but do you guys think I would have the same issue with the ruby? I figure since it is smaller and eats less, I might have some good success, although I may need to dose pods or get an external pod-centered tank they can reproduce in. What do you guys think? Is that a dumb idea or would I be fine as long as I am meticulous about it?
Secondly, how much more realistically can I add to my tank before I am fully stocked? I am rather unfamiliar with saltwater stock levels although I've done heavy research. It is still difficult to gauge. After the ruby if I add that, I only plan on maybe adding a bubble tip, kenya trees (only coral id want) , another maxi mini or two, and maybe a royal gamma, but I worry that may be pushing it. I was used to fancy goldfish which to those that know, are so incredibly messy, so I'm not too unfamiliar with being a little overstocked, but would want it to be reasonable and a good environment for the fish of course.
Third, a small question, is my sand bed area big enough for a sand-sifting star?
Anyways that is all for now. I look forward to interacting y'all from here on out!
