My BioCube Adventure! ~~~ <>< ~~~~

First topic message reminder :

I bought a 29 gallon BioCube the other day and have 30 lbs of live sand, about 15-20 lbs of live rock (will add more shortly). My question to ya'll is: what all should I put in here? I know I want a pair of False-Perculas and a long-tentacled anemone. I was also thinking of maybe a flame angelfish, some sort of blenny, perhaps a firefish, I would like to do a little bit of reefing as well...

****UPDATE**** The current stock list is:
2 False Perculas
1 Flame Hawkfish
1 Bangaii Cardinalfish
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Mandarin Dragonet

1 Halloween Hermit Crab
5 Blueleg Hermit Crabs
4 Astrea Snails
3 Nassarius Snails

1 Sand Sifting Starfish

1 Branching Hammer
1 Pulsing Xenia




Also, my water pH is currently at about 7.6, but I need it to be between 8.2- 8.6 ish, what is the safest way to do that for this type of setup (saltwater, future reef?). Would the API pH up be ok? Or no...?

**** UPDATE**** I added Kent Marine Buffer and my pH is 8.3

Here's a pic of the setup as of this instant:


Now this is what I have going on in there! Yay!!!!!



Here is the tank as of 2/16/2010, after the anemone died...


As of 2/23/10:

See I thought he didnt give up

Here is my updated stocking wish list for the 29 gallon Bio-Cube....

2 False Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)— Reef Compatible
1 Fire fish (Nemateleotris magnifica)— Reef Compatible
1 or 2 Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni)— Reef Compatible
1 Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus)— Reef Compatible**** Can’t add for about 6 months****

I'm wanting to do a reef and a really want an anemone for the clowns (either lta or bta).

Now that's an awesome fish list. If your coming to the auction here in Houston I can get you:
2 false perc's @ $25
2 banggai cardinals @ $25
1 firefish @ $10
1 medium size gbta @ $25 (he has 3 left and are first come first served)

I would need to now by this weekend to get them ordered for you though.

if you really wanted to get the mandarin in six months, i would buy a bottle of tigerpods from reefnutrition and squirt them into the rocks a few days before you put any other fish in there. by doing this you would give those little critters a jump start to breed. thats what im gonna do here shortly

OKAY!!!! Yay! I got some fish today!!! I now have 2 small False Percula clowns and 1 bubble tip anemone, 5 blue leg hermit crabs, 4 astrea snails and 1 Halloween Hermit Crab (Ciliopagurus strigatus). My clowns ate like crazy when I fed them about 10 minutes ago, so all is well...

I used Kent Marine Buffer to up my pH to 8.2 and my Specific Gravity is 1.023. I am looking forward to adding some branching hammers to start off my reef cause I love the way they look! I dosed my tank with the Seachem Stability today and will continue to do so for a week just to be sure! It's so awesome to see my new little friends!

Here are some pics:

The anemone is hiding at first....


A close up of the anemone:


here's the clown twins... I've got one that's misbarred and the other has complete markings.


And while not a picture of my exact hermit crab (he is hiding at the moment) here is what mine looks like:

By the look of the brown algea on the sand, glass and rocks, I'd say your tank has just finished cycling. Keep an eye on your water levels. Love that anemone.
Fish eating i a new tank is always a good sign.

Oh man SW is so cool!!! How much was everything as of today. And could u please break it down

29 gallon BioCube tank w/built in filtration: $242.00 (I found it on a wicked good sale, they're usually around $400.00 for the 29 gallon)
Kent Reef Starter Kit Additives- $16.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Live Rock from Petco- 20 lbs- $50.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Live Rock from Craigslist- 13 lbs- $39.00
Live Sand- 20 lbs- $32.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Aragonite Sand- $7.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Home made ghetto stand made from cinder blocks & a piece of weather-coated plywood- $32.00
Kent Marine Buffer- $8.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
SeaChem Stability- $17.00
Marineland 100 watt Heater- $32.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Koralia Nano- $39.00
Thermometer- $2.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Protein Skimmer- $50.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
Bucket of Instant Ocean Sea Salt mix- $50.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)

Livestock thus far:
2 Ocellaris Clownfish- $38.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
1 Bubble Tip Anemone- $26.00 (I got an employee discount off this, so it was cheaper for me)
5 Blue Legged Hermit Crabs- $10.00
4 Astrea Snails- $8.00
1 Halloween Hermit Crab- $13.00

I think that's it for now... a lot of this I already had, but I guess the purpose of this is to see how much you would spend on this type of set-up... so the total is: $711.00 + whatever tax would be on those... I guess I've spent more than I've thought! But if I had bought the tank at full price the total would have been over $850.00. Honestly using a Bio-Cube and stocking it lightly is one of the cheapest ways to do saltwater when buying a *new* setup. Of course you can go cheaper if you buy used equipment, but do so with extreme caution. If you are careful, you can save a lot of money, but if you are not, you will lose a lot more!!!

oh man that is a heck of a list!!! i better save up little by little

I wouldve bought a complete setup from cl for like $500 for 55g+ They have good deals on those.

princess11 wrote:

wow. that is some total. it looks good tho. i would love to see some pics when the water clears up. congratz!!!!

LOL you wanna see a total?, price everything brand new from a lfs better yet price a 55 or larger setup (the lights are alone are gonna getcha).


however with that said it is worth every penny

lordraptor1 wrote:

princess11 wrote:

wow. that is some total. it looks good tho. i would love to see some pics when the water clears up. congratz!!!!

LOL you wanna see a total?, price everything brand new from a lfs better yet price a 55 or larger setup (the lights are alone are gonna getcha).


however with that said it is worth every penny

Raptor is right this is actually a very inexpensively done saltwater tank

lol i cant wait for mine!!! im saving up lil by lil!!!
im gonna do a 40G hex!!! and imma try n get me some (i call em) "Anti Nemos"
lol black clown fish!!!

DO U HAVE ANY PICS OF A ANIT NEMO?

Yes, I want to see update pics! How is the tank doing Miranda?

thats wat i calle em but theyre called Black Ocellaris Clownfish

Dru just got some of those! A mated pair!

MAN I LOVE THE WAY THEY LOOK!!!! haha i want some bad!! but i gotta wait till i have the cash:(

Dru got his for a pretty good price.....when they breed I am sure he will sell some.....

Aww man i hope he does! how long do they take to breed? any 1 know?

Not sure but I have dibbs on two of them lol

man i hope they dance;) lol
do u have a SW set up?

Nope, starting to set one up in a week or so....I cant wait.

me too! but get to wait longer than a week! my wife got my car towed away! soo..... yeah 30 day hold on the car:( their go my taxes n mySW tank for now!!!

After pairing up. I've had false perc's that layed eggs after 3 months.
They grow real slow though.