First Saltwater Aquarium: 29 Gallon Biocube

[Braden8558]

Hello everyone! So I am a kid who has been keeping fresh water fish for over 5 years now and has decided to take the jump into saltwater! I didn't really want just a fowlr tank as it didn't seem that pretty and full as life as a reef would be, so I wound off starting with the reef . Anyways I have had this thing going for almost two months now, as it was purchased and started on October 19th.

I got the tank off of a guy on craigslist and it came with a small amount of live rock, some clean up crew members (snails, emerald crabs, hermit crabs, and a skunk cleaner shrimp), a pair of maroon clownfish (don't flame just yet they're small ), and then an RBTA and a pink tipped condy anemone. I also got the tank with a lot of extra stuff as well.

Here is when I first got it...


There is a full shot of the tank. I know not much to look at haha.


This is the RBTA and the small Maroon clownfish named...you guessed it, Nemo!.


Here are the brown palys or brown button polyps which came with the tank on the rock. I also had 1 green button polyp as well.


After that I slowly added some more rock to the tank and built it up...




Here is the bigger maroon named Marlin (What original naming right?) , the pink condy, which was still looking a bit weird, and the tuxedo sea urchin.


Here is a little better photo and algae has started growing on the rocks.


So time passed and went by, I got a six line wrasse and some hermits and some new rock, and met up with Dong, a member on here who was very kind knowledgeable and interesting and sold me some corals and a new seio 530 GPH circulation pump for more flow. I also got a piece of GSP for $15 at Krystal Clear Aquatics in Auburn. I wound up with the tank looking like this...

Actinic shot with the stock biocube lighting



Shot with both 10,000k and actinic lights on. It isn't near done, but still a lot better than what it was.


So that leaves us where we are now. If you haven't noticed from the shots, the tank is fairly scratched up and therefore I am thinking about taking it down and either getting a new one or changing out the tank for something different. I was thinking about getting something similar in size in cube shape and we will see what I find. I have something I am looking into right now, but it may not pan out depending on what my dad thinks of it.

Current Setup:

Lights: Stock Oceanic Biocube Lights (Bulbs changed approximately 1-2 months ago)
Fish: 2 Maroon Clownfish, 1 Six line Wrasse
Inverts: Emerald Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Sand Sifting starfish, britte starfish, skunk cleaner shrimp, etc.
Corals!: Hammer, Frogspawn, Montipora cap, Birdsnest, Zoanthids, Duncan, Zenia, Pulsing Zenia, GSP, Leather, Green Button polyps, and of course, the brown palys.

I have a 120 watt Taotronics LED light with 55, 2 watt leds and I plan to either do a retrofit setup with this and the regular hood, or if I get a new tank, I may make a canopy to conceal it as the light bleeds into the room and it is not ideal.

Thanks for looking and I will be sure to keep this thing updated!

Braden, The Newbie Reefer

 

[Braden8558]

Just went to the meeting today! Unfortunately I was a little late as I had work and the boss was being a pain with keeping people late...but I still managed to get some coral and win a prize in the raffle! It was nice meeting all of you and thank you Frank and Greg for the coral. Should have more pictures of the new additions up tomorrow.

Thanks, Braden

 

[Flame Angel]

Good to meet you yesterday. Glad you had a positive experience at your first meeting.

Looking forward to seeing your slow and steady progress on the addiction.

 

[ReefKeeper1699]

You got your hands on a nice seasoned tank. Good luck with your new hobby. Impressive first setup and looks like your doing the proper research

 

[Braden8558]

Thanks guys! Well I have found someone with a really good deal on a biocube and some upgraded Rapid Led lights and I am going for it. This one is pretty scratched up and this is such a good deal I couldn't pass it up, the leds should work very well on the tank, plus the one I am planning on getting has hinges on the cover. The oceanic biocube doesn't and it has been a pain in the a** seeing as the area I have it in is cramped and the drivers are rather heavy and add weight to the hood.

Pictures of some new corals coming soon!

Thanks, Braden

 

[Braden8558]

UPDATE: New tank, Layout and Coral!

Well guys big update! A couple weeks ago, I purchased a Coralife Biocube from a member on here with the tank (virtually no scratches!), stand (in good condition), and a rapid led kit ($215) plus a led controller (around $60 I believe) as well as an Intank media basket ($50) for a total of $150! I think I got a steal on this deal!

So the leds did need some work, but my dad is handy with this kind of stuff and did a good job taking apart the kit, correcting problems, and assembling it the right way. The guy who assembled it before us did not do a very good job putting the kit together. The leds are now on a timer and come on at 2 in the afternoon, and turn off at 10 in the evening.

I also picked up some corals from Moe K who was very generous and gave me some free stuff to try out! Thanks Moe

Here are some pictures of the new setup, and corals...



More updated pictures will be coming soon as I figure out the coral placement. Next plans are to get a goby, get some more corals from Dong, do some maintenance, get my media basket set up correctly, and eventually switch out my condy anemone for a RBTA as mine is doing terrible. Any opinions why? I need to check my parameters soon but I know that the lights are good and I believe that the water is fine as the SPS and other anemone is doing fine. Maybe he just needs an adaptation period? He hasn't really been doing well and never really was sticky compared to the condy. Also he doesn't really seem to close up when he is feeding. Here is a photo of it...



Thanks for looking,
Braden

 

[jason401]

Nice lookin setup. I started off with a biocube as well. I put chemi pure elite, Purigen, filter foss in the media basket and the tank was always crystal clear.

Your Rbta is prob in shock from the LEDs, if the controller has an intensity adjuster (dimmable) maybe try acclimating it over a period of time.

 

[Braden8558]

Nice lookin setup. I started off with a biocube as well. I put chemi pure elite, Purigen, filter foss in the media basket and the tank was always crystal clear.

Your Rbta is prob in shock from the LEDs, if the controller has an intensity adjuster (dimmable) maybe try acclimating it over a period of time.

Thanks for the comment. I do have the ability to dim the leds, but most of the other corals seem to be doing fine except maybe my tyree toadtool and the RBTA. Is there any other way I could help him out? I don't want to change the lighting again because most of the other corals are doing well with it. It wasn't that healthy before as you can see from the earlier photos posted, most likely due to bad lighting or possibly not enough food. I have been feeding mysis, maybe not enough though. If he doesn't close up and eat it though, what is the point. He was also in a bucket seperate from the tank for maybe a week and the heater might not have been working well, not really sure so it could be in shock from that. It has been moved around a lot lately. Hopefully it makes it, I would just like some tips as to what else I should do for it. My tank temp is set to 77 and I try to keep my salinity at about 1.025.

Thanks!
Braden

 

[Moe_K]

More pics!

I think your anemone will adapt. It's likely the toadstool will as well. Like Jason said, they could just be in shock.
Good luck with it. You're off to a good start.

 

[jason401]

By the looks of the corals you have in your tank, acclimating your LEDs to the Rbta will have little to no effect on them and will most likely be fine.

I would try that first, but sitting in a bucket in the dead of winter with no heat could have ticked him off too

 

[Braden8558]

Alright guys so I got some new corals from Dong and Moe K. The tank is definetly coming around and is starting to really look like a reef tank. I also got a $25 yellow watchman goby and a $10 acan frag at Unique Aquaria! I really like that place and recommend it. The staff is really good and they stock some good stuff with reasonable prices.

So here is some photos long due...



This is an updated shot of today!



Here is another one with a little more blue.



The SPS portion of my tank. My green monti cap from Moe fell over so it's colors are still recovering



My New Yellow Watchman Goby!



A nice looking green SPS purchased from Dong. I forget the name is it a digitata?



My piece of bright neon green star polyps (GSP) that I got from Greg Hiller from a trade.



This is a nice piece of a hand leather that I got from Dong.



Here is a picture of the entire thing.


I have some more pictures of some of the color but most of it is nothing special, green pallies, xenia, hammer, frogspawn, blue cloves, mushrooms, etc. that I may upload in the future if people want to see more.

I'm happy with the way this tank is coming along. The next tasks are to get a new anenome and switch the pink condy with a rose bubble tip, then set up my media basket, get a pistol shrimp, add to my coral selection, let the coral grow out, and possibly purchase another fish.

Right now I have 2 maroon clownfish, 1 sixline wrasse, and 1 Watchman goby. Do you think I could add a royal gramma or dottyback or maybe another goby? I like to try to do water changes every other week but I think it is nice to have some leeway for every 2 weeks between water changes. I was also thinking about possibly switching out my six line and getting a McCoskers wrasse. Would he be to big or to gentle to the maroons? How expensive do they typically run?

Thanks for looking at my tank setup, all comments and criticisms are welcome!

Braden

 

[Moe_K]

Woo hoo! MetroWest in the house!

Your tank looks like it's coming along, Braden.
Did the mushrooms get established?

 

[Braden8558]

haha thanks! Yes they did and are doing well. Thank you again for them and the other corals, I really appreciate it! I especially like the neon green one a lot, that one is gorgeous and is starting to grow onto the rock now. What do you think about on my stocking question?

Thanks for looking, Braden

 

[Flame Angel]

Braden, things look great!

Sounds like you are thinking thing through before making changes. That is a good thing.

You are asking the right question and have things under control.

Looks Great! And I an envious.

 

[Braden8558]

Thank you very much Flame Angel! I appreciate it greatly . I have been told on another forum that I am going to fast, my tank is overstocked ect. I was just wondering your opinion on this? I mean my water parameters are very good, corals seem to be going good, tank is still young but it also maturing each day, and the livestock seems healthy and happy.

I was also wondering if you could answer this question for me...Right now I have 2 maroon clownfish, 1 sixline wrasse, and 1 Watchman goby. Do you think I could add a royal gramma or dottyback or maybe another goby? I like to try to do water changes every other week but I think it is nice to have some leeway for every 2 weeks between water changes. I was also thinking about possibly switching out my six line and getting a McCoskers wrasse. Would he be to big or to gentle to the maroons? How expensive do they typically run?

Thank you!
Braden

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Your tank looks good. The GSP is a really nice color.

If you've seen a maroon clown near full size, I think you'd agree that you are pretty well fully stocked at this point. Though it'd be fine to add the pistol shrimp and other corals, etc.

 

[Moe_K]

Thank you very much Flame Angel! I appreciate it greatly . I have been told on another forum that I am going to fast, my tank is overstocked ect. I was just wondering your opinion on this? I mean my water parameters are very good, corals seem to be going good, tank is still young but it also maturing each day, and the livestock seems healthy and happy.

Going slow is prudent.

I was also wondering if you could answer this question for me...Right now I have 2 maroon clownfish, 1 sixline wrasse, and 1 Watchman goby. Do you think I could add a royal gramma or dottyback or maybe another goby? I like to try to do water changes every other week but I think it is nice to have some leeway for every 2 weeks between water changes. I was also thinking about possibly switching out my six line and getting a McCoskers wrasse. Would he be to big or to gentle to the maroons? How expensive do they typically run?

Switching out? Should be fine. McCoskers are generally a cool customer. Six lines may get pesty. Then again, maroons can become major bullies.
Room for more fish? Maybe a small goby. Given you have a 29, you've got a bunch of fish in there.

 

[Braden8558]

Yup I agree that I already have a bunch of fish in there. Once I switch to regular clowns do you think I could put some additional stuff in? I know since maroons get bigger, they have an additional bioload as well. I hope that the watchman is interesting. He has been pretty neat, but I noticed that he moved from the front of the tank to a cave in the back which makes it really hard to see him! I hope once I get a pistol shrimp it will convince him to move around some more. I like the twin spot goby but heard they can be picky eaters and sand sifters, and someone told me that they have a low survival rate in nano tanks . Do they need a special diet? Would they be a good choice?

Thanks for the help, Braden

 

[Braden8558]

Your tank looks good. The GSP is a really nice color.

If you've seen a maroon clown near full size, I think you'd agree that you are pretty well fully stocked at this point. Though it'd be fine to add the pistol shrimp and other corals, etc.

Thanks and yes they can get huge!! I plan to sell them to someone or my LFS once I feel they are getting too big or mean for the tank.

Thanks for the reply, Braden

 

[Flame Angel]

Yes, definitely make your changes slowly.

If I remember correctly the rule of thumb is 1 fish per 5 Gallons, but keep in mind your rock, corals etc take away from the 29 gallons.

Fish wise I feel you are all set.

Some people have sumps attached to their smaller tanks increasing the water volume.