NOOB CUBE

[MEhart]

Hello all! I am on day 4 of a new biocube 32. Been doing hours of research and trying to sift through the tons of info out there online. I am new to reef aquariums/ saltwater tanks and started mine with CaribSea Life Rock and live water from a local store. Any advice on cycling or stocking (corals too) would be greatly appreciated! I am open to all the help I can get!

 

[4FordFamily]

Welcome home, you will love it here!

Best advice — take it slow, nothing good happens quickly in this hobby!

Let’s see some tank pics! :)

 

[NY_Caveman]

Welcome to R2R!

Check this out:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/

EDIT
This is good too:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/

 

[Fudsey]

Welcome to R2R ! ! !

One thing I can say, patience. :)


#welcometor2r

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R! The best way to cycle a tank that I know of is to get a bottle of Dr. Tim's and some raw shrimp. The dr Tim's adds the beneficial bacteria and the raw shrimp is for the bacteria to consume and multiply :)

#WelcometoR2R
And the best piece of advice I can offer for this hobby is also advice that was given to me. Take it slow, nothing good happens overnight in this hobby, only bad things, if you think you're going slow, slow down even more ;)

 

[sfin52]

Welcome to reef2reef. Read learn help that’s what we do.

Live rock, live sand and seasoned water means your tank will have almost zero cycle. That’s why loads of people go that route. With a little add bacteria from a bottle ie dr tims one and only or seachem stability you may be able to add fish quick. That’s what I did and had a very small cycle.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R! 32 cubes are nice, I think you will really like it!

 

[infinite0180]

Hey,

Caribsea "life rock" is not live rock. Its dry manmade rock with purple paint, i used it in my tank too. Unfortunitely water is not "live", its just water. I went to petco and bought a product called "bio spira" by instant ocean, apparently its the same thing as Dr. Tims. Poured it in the tank once i had the water up to temp and the rock and sand in place. Then i added Dr. Tims ammonia to give the bacteria some food. Then i waited and began testing. You will see the cycle start in a day or two...

Let me know if you have anymore questions...

 

[mike werner]

welcome to the good life

 

[MEhart]

Welcome to reef2reef. Read learn help that’s what we do.

Live rock, live sand and seasoned water means your tank will have almost zero cycle. That’s why loads of people go that route. With a little add bacteria from a bottle ie dr tims one and only or seachem stability you may be able to add fish quick. That’s what I did and had a very small cycle.

What do you suggest to begin stocking? Crabs? Fish?

 

[brett98xj]

I love cubes! My first salt was a cube tank. I can't wait to see where you take this. Like above, BioSpira and the Dr. Tims are both great stuff to jump start the cycle! Just remember, and you'll hear this all the time, be patient and research every move before you make it.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

I would recommend before you start stocking fish to read up on quaratining and setting up a small quaritine tank. With your Biocube a small 10 gallon would work because you won't be buying anything big for the tank. This will save you money and headaches in the future.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beginners-guide-to-acclimation-and-quarantine.304980/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-properly-quarantine-fish.170878/

We lost all our fish to velvet in our 32, wasn't a good experience.

 

[sfin52]

It’s up to you. I started with two clowns and a few dwarf hermit crabs in a 75g. I waited a couple of weeks before adding anything else. I went real slow. It took me about 5 months before adding a finger leather to the tank.

 

[MEhart]

Day 3

• MEhart
• May 29, 2018

 

[sfin52]

That’s great looking scape with loads of coraline. That’s a great find on rock.

 

[sfin52]

What’s your stocking list going to look like?

 

[Dsnakes]

Welcome to R2R :) I just ordered 40lbs of the caribsea life rock to add to my new scape. Yours is looking good so far!

 

[jsker]

Hello and welcome to R2R:)

 

[MEhart]

What’s your stocking list going to look like?

Open to anything! I want to eventually have both fish and corals...

 

[Reefer Deez]

Hello and welcome to R2R :) I know a couple people have said this already but seriously patience patience and more patience will go a long way in this Hobby. Do your research read forums ask questions there's a lot of really kind people here that are willing to share their wealth of knowledge with you and you can learn from their successes and their mistakes. Make a stock list of fish you would like to keep and make sure that they are compatible with each other it's always good to start off with the least aggressive fish first then moved on to them more aggressive ones last so that the peaceful fish can get their spots to figure it out in the tank first. Also you have to decide what kind of corals you want to keep if you want LPS and softies or do you want SPS or a mixed Reef. So another bit of advice I would offer to you I sit down write down everything you want fish and Coral start doing research and you can go from there :) and also please don't forget we're all here in this community willing to help you through anything!