Will's Oceanic BioCube 29g build!

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I'm writing this a few months into this adventure. Start is in early July 2018

A recent trip to Bonaire for a week at a dive resort really peaked my interest in starting a saltwater tank. I had a 10g betta tank and a 65g Cichlid tank before this currently in my house.

I found a BioCube, stand, light/hood, and return pump all for a great deal on Facebook Marketplace for $75. Talked with the owner, found out they live not even 5min from my house. Checked it out in-person, they assured it had no problems (leaks, broken lights, cracks in the glass, things like that) I did this at their house and I thus know where they live so I trusted them a fair bit. Once I saw it and everything looked good I took it home. Was a tight fit in my Honda civic, just barely fit in the back seat. I set it up in the living room in a central spot. I immediately start doing research and learning as much as I can about starting a saltwater tank. Seemed hard at first but I liked the challenge.

Once I thought I was ready to start setting up the tank by getting live rock, sand, and reef salts. Looked online for a LFS I could go to. Found one an hour from my house that specialized in saltwater and reef tanks. (Ocean Image Aquatics) Went there expecting to get everything I need to get started and set up, wound up leaving with nothing. The store is fairly small and run (entirely as far as i am aware) by the owner. He is really into the hobby and started teaching me everything I would need to know and what I should do from here. Super nice guy, can easily tell that he is very passionate about reefing and knows a fair bit. (In the off chance that you are reading this: Hi, Thanks for everything, hope you enjoy this). He suggested I first fill the tank to check for any leaks. Then add a few drops of bleach to kill any lingering bacteria or anything. Also, to run the pump with this for about an hour and then re-check for leaks and then empty the tank, rinse it out with water, and bring it to his store in a day or so so he can have a look at it.

I followed his instructions exactly because I trusted him. I brought the tank to his store a few days later, he had a good look at it, and started me off with live sand.

(Just realized I first ordered a test kit, some reef salt, the Biocube 29 protein skimmer (That he suggested I return because of the wood that clogs up,(i did)), the scope thing to check the salt levels in the water (Cant remember the name right now), a fishtank heater, thermometer, and 2 timers for the lights, nothing was used or opened before i first went to him)

He taught me how to mix the salt to the right salinity and set me off to start. I got home, filled the tank with water and the reef salt. Eventually got it to the right salinity, used the return pump to mix it all. Then added the live sand:
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I filled up the internal sump with filter floss and let this run for a while to clean the small particles from the water (to make it clear). This took a few hours, i agitated the sand with my hand, washed out the filter floss, and put it back in to sit for a few more hours over the course of about 2 days. Eventually got the water to be fairly clear:
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I then added the heater and the thermostat after cleaning it our a few more times:
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Water looked clear enough and I had finished the nitrogen cycle (after adding a small dose of ammonia he gave me to start it off) so I returned to my LFS following his instructions. He started me off with 3 pieces of live rock that he had (thing it was 30lbs worth, can't remember).
I then added that and had it sit like so for a few days, still monitoring the nitrogen cycle.
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After a few days I noticed this creepy crawly one night-

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I knew it was a bristle worm from earlier research on pests. Knew it was safe but still thought it was creepy and wanted it gone (later got it out with another one of his friends a little later with tweeters one night)

After a week long trip to Florida with some friends I was confident that the cycle was completed and everything was good. So I returned to my LFS to pick up some young clowns he had ordered in-

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They were paired and I named them Kevin (bottom, little darker, more black, bigger) and Clyde (top, little lighter, less black, smaller) They are adorable and I fell in love immediately.
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I also picked up 3 snails (didn't name them) to deal with the detritus what was starting as I expected.-

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I later got a wave maker, a fan to blow a cross the topwater to fix an issue I will soon explain, a replacement return pump i had to overnight after the one i had running failed, and an ATO to fix the issue i will explain.

Before I ordered all these things I noticed that during the day the water temp would rise to nearly 90^F. I opened the little hoods for a day but the tank would still get too hot during the day. I Figured this was due to the florescence bulbs in the stock hood after I unplugged the heater for a day and the temps still got too high. I then purchased the fan, this helped to bring the temps back down but then caused the water to evaporate to the point to where I was filling the tank with fresh water almost daily. It also looked bad on the top of the tank.

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So I knew this was only a temporary fix. Due to the water evaporating so quickly I had to get an ATO to keep up, this filled the tank from a Home Depot bucket next to the tank stand.

I then had to return for college for my 2nd year. Couldn't get to see my tank for a while. Had to have my mother feed them, fill the bucket with water, and send me pics every now and then.

Because the fast evaporation was annoying me, and now my mother, I had to get a new light asap. After I returned from college for winter break between semesters I did some research I learned that this light would fit under a gutted hood on my tank so I got it. I gutted the hood, removing everything but the plastic and used the light for several days.

Old, original light:
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New Light:
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I loved the color, made the coraline algae pop really nice. I also really enjoyed playing with the settings: adjusting the color, playing with the light cycle... However, this enjoyment didn't last long.

I returned to my LFS to start on corals, I explained my tank after being gone for months to the owner and he easily remembered me. That day he taught me that the light I got really isn't something he would suggest. (Silly me, buying something expensive, at least for a college student, before consulting my expert). He said, if I can, i should return that one and get this one because this one was roughly the same price, one he had used and has success with, and is stronger so I will be able to grow a higher range of corals) I agreed with his suggestion. Although it meant I would have to make a stand for the light and a cover for the tank.

(Don't think he is forcing any of this on me, he has no reason too, he doesn't make any profit off me going on amazon and getting the new light...)

That day he suggested if I want to start with corals (I did, a lot) I could get one of the zoa frags he had for sale. So i got this one-

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I was also interested in getting a shrimp (I think they look cool and are really interesting) so he wrangled a cleaner shrimp up for me from his frag tank (This took like 20min, cheeky little shrimp kept hiding) and thus I got Henry here-

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The same day I ordered the light he suggested earlier.

After a few days it arrived and I quickly took measurements and went to home depot before they closed for the day. I picked up a long 2x4 for the stand and some polycarbonate for a cover (don't want anyone jumping out)

I cut all the wood to length and set up a basic stand. The LFS owner suggested I make it a certain way but I misheard him and made this monstrosity-

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I knew it looked janky and had started making some plans to change it and make it look better. (Spray paint it black, make it shorter...) The cover came out pretty good though, if I do say so myself-

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I later went back to my LFS to chat with the owner and maybe get another coral frag. I showed him the picture of the light stand i made and he explained how he originally envisioned it and laughed a little at my masterpiec... monstrosity. I noted his suggestion carefully this time. That day he showed me some hammer frags he had, I picked out one I liked and he cut a piece off for me. He explained to me how I should glue it to the rock with "Gorilla Super Glue Gel" specifically. I took the Hammer frag home and quickly picked up that glue on the way. Following his instructions I attached it without any issue.
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I later fixed the stand and made it much shorter and painted it black, and it looks quite nice now. I don't have a current picture of the stand as I left for my 2nd year of college soon after and didn't think to take one. (I also reached the picture limit for this post)

That is basically all you need to know to get caught up. I am a few weeks away from spring break so I will update when I get back home. Thanks for reading!
 
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Pic my mother sent a few days ago-

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Detritus all over the sand despite the 3 snails having lots of baby snails (ill let you count them). There are a bunch of tiny snail shells in the sand but I think they might just be empty ones that didn't make it. I also had to teach my mother to turn off the blue lights for this picture (I know some of you don't like extremely blue photos). Please feel free to critique or suggest anything! Love to hear what you think!
 

Seamore2001

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Hey Will, nice posts! I'll keep an eye on this as I'm currently setting up a 29g biocube as well, in order to take some pressure off of my overstocked 50.

I'll be curious to see what you choose for equipment, including a skimmer. I'm currently considering the Aquamaxx Ws-1 or the Aquatic Life 115 as I don't particularly want to modify the chambers.

Keep up the posts (and good luck in school). Kudos to you mom for looking after Kevin, Clyde and Henry.
 
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-Update as of March 25, 2019 (after spring break)-

After returning home I was eager to start working on my tank again. I immediately did a 5 gallon water change (I don't used RODI water, just from the sink, has worked fine so far). This made the coral look a lot happier, i suspect the calcium levels or something got low that was in the salt I used and a water change got it back up. I wanted to get a protein skimmer to lower the somewhat high nitrate levels and hopefully help the brown hair algae problem on the sand bed. I also wanted to get more live-rock to fill in the tank a bit more, also wanted to get started on getting more fish.

I did some research and eventually settled on the IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer. I was about to order it on amazon but first I went to a new LFS to see what they had. My mother had heard about it from a co-worker whose husband also has a reef tank. The store was about an hour and a half away but it looked like it was worth the trip, they were also having a st. Patrick's day sale on the day I went. I searched up the store on google and saw that they had a lot of equipment and livestock. Their website didn't say that they had the protein skimmer I wanted so I figured I'd go and see what they had before ordering anything. The store is called Something Fishy and is amazing. They have a lot more in stock than the other LFS but the experience was not as personal, still not bad though.

There I picked up another large live rock, the K1 protein skimmer (They had one left in stock so I snatched it up), a emerald crab (to hopefully help with the bubble algae problem), a Royal Gramma Basslet, and a Duncan coral. At checkout they had me pick a piece of paper out of a bucket for how much I would get off (part of the St.Patrick's day sale) and I got 20% off everything I got!

After the long trip home I immediately started acclimating everything and added the live rock. My mother named the Royal Gramma "Prince" and I named the emerald crab "Emmet"
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Everyone got along nicely! Prince was very skittish at first, he would hide whenever someone came up to the tank, but that eventually went away after a day. Emmet immediately started eating off the live rock, however, I have yet to see him eat the bubble algae, he just picks at the live rock, not sure what he is eating. I also put in the duncan in a spot I liked, I did not glue it in because it sat nicely in a little spot on the rock. (probably need to glue it in but didn't get around to it.)

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Kevin and Clyde seem to be doing great too! They got quite a bit bigger since I last saw them. Kevin is growing a bit bigger than Clyde.

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Henry seems to like the new rock work as he found a new spot he likes to hang out, in the back of the tank by the Duncan, don't see him much now. I did however, learn how to feed him. I take a pinch of the food that I feed to the fish in a pair of long tweeters and hold it still near him, he climbs on and eats the food out from in between the tweeters. This is really fun to watch and gets him some good food easily.

Love the look of the Duncan I got. Started feeding the corals Reef Roids whenever I get a chance. They seem to love it.

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I also installed the skimmer I picked up. I also ordered the InTank Media Basket that fit my tank because it seemed like the water was just flowing around the filter floss I use, this forces the water through it. I installed the skimmer and the media basket in the middle chamber. The skimmer was a bit of a tight fit but if I used the magnet holder on the wall between chamber 2 and 3 it fits. (just barely did not fit when i used it on the wall inside/outside the tank). The skimmer did not come with any instructions so I looked up how to use it. After about a day or 2 it began producing a yellow (looks like pee) liquid in the collection cup. Seems to be working pretty well, i don't have anything to compare it too but it seems to be working fine to me.

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I only had a week for spring break so this is all I did for now. Here is a pic of the whole tank and the fixed light stand I made (didn't have a pic in the last post so here it is)

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That is all for now, I return home for summer in early May so expect more updates around then. Unless I get any updates if anything happens (lets hope nothing bad does happen).
 
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Update as of May 7, 2019

Home for the summer now, got back and did another 5g water change. There was a lot of green hair algae on the sand bed that I had to vacuum up. There was also a ton of big bubble algae on some of the rocks (Thanks Emmet...). I took one of the rocks that was really bad out and scraped off all that I could. That seemed to help but it will likely return. It seems that the skimmer did not solve the algae problem even though nitrates are at 0. Oh well, not too big of an issue at the moment.

Kevin is now a lot bigger than Clyde, Prince is still very skittish and always hides whenever someone moves near the tank, still hoping he will grow out of this. Emmet managed to shed his shell once while I was gone which is good, haven't seen him since I've been home tho. Henry still hides but pokes his head out every now and then.

I splurged a bit and got some new stuff for the tank. I got the Current USA eFlux Wave Pump Kit after noticing that the flow on the wave-maker I had before was probably too much for the tank, and I liked the pulse option on the new wave-maker. I also picked up another bag of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals since the last water change killed my last bag, some Seachem Reef Complete after suspecting that calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity were low (they were), and the Red Sea Reef Foundation Test Kit to test for calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity.

I tested my water and downloaded the Aquarium Note app to start keeping track of parameters. Here is my latest test I did an hour ago:
Screenshot_20190507-202845_Aquarium Note.jpg


Not bad, I dosed a cap-full and a half of the Seachem Reef Complete after doing this, going to try to do that 2x per week per the instructions and continue testing.

As for the corals, the Duncan looks just as how I left it, quite happy. The hammer grew quite a bit. The Zoa frag is slowly growing and is still quite unhappy and partly closed a lot of the time, not too sure what is up with it, think it might have been the flow, going to continue to monitor after adding the new wave-maker.

That's about it for now, the lights just shut off for the night so I'll try and get a full tank pic tomorrow if I remember.

Thanks for reading!
 
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More pictures as promised:
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Kevin-top
Clyde-Bottom

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The Crew :)
Clyde - top
Kevin - middle
Prince - bottom

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Also, little update. After adding the reef complete everything looked so much happier. The zoa is finally opening up completely!!!

Think the next step might be to get rid of some of these snails and start getting more corals (really want a torch).

Till next time...
"I am rock, you no see me..."
 
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Update: May 21, 2019

The Seachem Complete seems to be working really well, noticed the corals look much happier lately. My Calcium and Magnesium are slowly going up too.

I went to Ocean Image Aquatics recently and picked up:

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A lovely torch that I am in love with. Love the way it flows in the water!

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Also got a cute little mushroom.

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And I got 2 little Hermit Crabs to hopefully help a bit with the hair algae on the sandbed.

Other than that, I have been having trouble over how to scape my tank with the rocks I have. Here is what I have now, still not 100% happy with it but it is what it is.
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Btw, i know my glass is dirty, I'm working on getting a new algae scraper soon.
 

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