You don't really need bioballs with all the live rock you have.Hey, I am new the saltwater/reefing hobby and i set up my first tank yesterday. I have a Coralife Biocube 16g and im running the filtration as it came out of the box but I plan to add some bioballs, a filter pad and chemipure blue soon. I have an Oase 100w heater set to about 80°F. I have live rock, CaribSea live sand and I added Microbacter7 to help the cycling process. What would be a good, starter, reef-safe clean-up crew I can add once the tank is cycled?
Thank you, i added a small pinch of fish flakes today and I think im going to start using the frozen brine shrimp since i have some to feed my turtle anyways. With fish i wanted to add a firefish but i wasnt too sure on their temperament and behavior with other fish and i only wanted a clean up crew to keep things clean before it gets bad but a month or two doesn't seem like too long to wait. Again thank you!Welcome to the Dark Side...
Everything you have done sounds good. I personally would turn the heater down to about 77*, 80 seems a tad high to me.
For CUC, I would wait a month or 2... You literally just bought a brand new house. What is there to clean? For ammonia source, I would suggest ghost feeding with brine shrimp for a while.. I defrost a cube of frozen brine shrimp in a small amount of tank water, like 4 or 5 tablespoons worth, and then add a teaspoon to the tank like I would if I was feeding fish. With all of your live rock, live sand, and bottled bac, you should be ready to add your first fish in a day or so. With a 16g cube you wont have a lot of room for a large population. I don't know how you feel about "designer" clowns, but a pair of mocha storms or Wyoming whites would be awesome in that tank.
