Want some advice.

So i have kind of been looking at a salt water tank and wanted to get a small cheap tank before I try to make a huge shark tank.


So my question is does anyone use or know much about the Oceanic Bio Cubes or the Nano Cubes.
I am thinking of 1-2 small fish and some soft corals but just not really sure when of those are a better option I'm looking at the 29 gallon version of each.

I would ask pop or Cwhip.

really... huge shark (only) tank is probably cheaper than a nano reef. That said...

There are a ton of mods for the biocube line of tanks. They're extremely customizable and can be really impressive as far as an all in one solution goes. What it really boils down to is what you're wanting to do with the tank. Setups vary based on species, and there's no shortage of information or varying opinion on the "best" way to do something. I'd highly suggest taking some time and going through build logs at nano-reef.com.

If you start with a biocube, or a nano at all for that matter, one day you'll upgrade to a larger system and be amazed at how much easier maintenance is. But hey, I started with a standard 29 thinking it'd be easier to start small. I'm here to testify it's easier to just start big, and stay big.

No matter what you do... for a fully thriving reef making use of lights and additives and really "locking in"... expect to wait 6 months. In the mean time ... Go slow, don't freak out when you see something you *think* is a problem (GHA, CYANO, BUBBLE ALGAE) and read read read!

-side note ... GHA, diatom blooms, and cyano are all growing pains of a healthy system. Eventually your nutrients stabilize and you don't SEE this stuff anymore (you still have it)

A huge shark tank would be SOOOOOOOOOOO awesome!!! hehehe!

Pope and Cwhip are the best when it comes to helping you get your tank going and answering all your questions. They've been a Godsend for me and my new set up. I've driven them crazy with questions and trouble shooting, and....and...and...

I hope to see lots of pictures when you get your reef tank up and running, and, especially when you get that shark tank going! ;)

Well the shark tank I was thinking of doing would be like a 250+ gallon acrylic so its going to cost a pretty penny. And for the sharks I wanted to throw some chained catshark and some bamboo. I think there freaking sweat and well don't grow to be extremely huge.




Something like those ^^

As for the nano tank I know that all the saltwater people say dilution is the solution and it makes it so much easier but I am really not looking to getting into a huge tank right now and I just want a clown or a goby maybe even a small angel then put 2-3 soft corals really nothing super fancy just simple and small just so I can get some experience on it.

I might take that back I like a lot of hard lps coral ... love bubble coral

Which is the easiest form of corals to take care of ?

From what I've learned so far, the soft corals like Xenia, and such are the easiest and best bet for beginners (like me), and others like the mushrooms, leather corals, button polyps, etc.

Cwhip is the master in that area and can give you a complete list of what would be easy and suitable for what you're looking for. She loves corals! :)

I need someone around me that wants to go to the local pet stores that knows a ton about salt water tanks haha.

I like this angelfish and it says you can put them in 30g tanks but idk I may feel bad about putting them in a small tank.


Coral Beauty Angel

Dwarf angels like your coral beauty ^^^and flame angels are really pretty fish and do well in smaller tanks however they also like to nip at coral,when purchasing fish for a reef you will see statements like "reef safe" or "not reef safe" then there's the good OL "Reef safe with caution" that means they will likely start to nip and eat coral. I avoid any fish that isn't reef safe but in reality any fish can eat coral I just choose the fish,inverts ect.. less likely too. I had my angels for 2 years before they began to eat my coral then I had to re home them.
it really all depends on what you're after a reef or a saltwater fish tank with a few easy corals. my main goal are the corals my fish are there to add color,movement and waste for the corals to eat. Bubble coral are easy to care for they require moderate light low to medium flow but are aggressive, SPS "hard coral"they require high flow,high light and pristine water conditions and a stable environment+ trace elements. I would suggest keeping things like green star polyps,Daisey polyps,zoa's,Ricordia,leathers,mushrooms,candy canes and even frog spawn, care level for them is moderate but they are aggressive same as torch, hammer and bubble corals, you will find a lot of the LPS are aggressive just give them their own space and you'll be fine, remember they have sweeper tentacles that come out at night and can reach out and sting near by corals so place them several inches from other corals, LPS, or Large Polyp stony corals, are beautiful corals they include the open brains, the euphyllids including the Torch, Hammer, Frogspawn and Bubble corals the closed brains, the mussiidae including acanthastrea, blastomussa and micromussa and many others. Hmm Blasto one of my fav's:)
LPS corals are often the next step a hobbyist takes after successfully keeping some of the hardier soft corals. The largest difference in husbandry comes with lighting requirements that generally being higher, and having to pay closer attention to the calcium and alkalinity of the tank water, and supplement accordingly, either with 2-part Ca/Alk additives, Kalkwasser or a Calcium Reactor.
"SPS"Small Polyp Stony corals require appropriate levels of calcium and alkalinity in the water, and they also remove these elements from the water in order to grow and build their calcareous skeletons. Magnesium has an effect on these levels in the water and may need to be monitored and slowly adjusted accordingly. I have no idea what lighting you plan to use but you can always move corals that need more light up and lower light corals down. if you are already liking Fuzzy sticks "SPS" LOOK OUT! these are the crack of the coral world and HIGHLY addictive:) whats really helpful is to make a list of all your favorite fish and corals that you want to have in your system then research them for compatibility,difficulty and what best fits your lighting conditions etc...then you can go to the LFS well armed and know what you should buy and what you should avoid in the beginning, unfortunately LFS employee's rarely know what the animals they are selling require as long as they make the sale.
good luck with your new adventure!
my former Angels


a lil eye candy

oooh is it show and tell?

pretty sticks










LPS

Frogspawn


Hammer


Acan

stop making me which my saltwater tank was ready....

YOUR saltwater tank will never be ready. YOU don't have the patience.

Guy's, they are pretty sticks however I was giving him examples of easy corals lol you notice I didn't post any pic's of SPS:)

popebosephus wrote:

YOUR saltwater tank will never be ready. YOU don't have the patience.

so buy it then :P , I got live rock out of a 3 year old tank, and live sand out a tank set up for a year a sump rated up to a 75g on it, and a skimmer rated for up to a 75g on it. just need a skimmer pump, and a return pump.

so what are you saying james, to give up saltwater and just stay with planted tanks...

rock out of a 3 year old tank, live sand, sump, skimmer... 6 months to healthy setup. Stick to planted tanks joey.

are we on a 1st name basis now?
Ok my name is Cindy and I'm a Reefaholic...
you know you're a Reefaholic if:
1.your driving down the road and you swear the spot on the windshield is coralline algae.
2. after going to the can, you wanna do a water change instead of just flushing the toilet.
3.You might be a reefaholic if you spend you lunch HR at the LFS store instead of eating lunch.
4.You might be a reefaholic when you get your paycheck and you think of the tank first.
5.You might be a reefaholic is you'll drive for 2 hrs for reef supplies but you wont drive 10 minutes to vist a relative.
6.You know that you're a reefaholic when buying a new home, you make sure it has enough room for your new BIGGER tank! :)
7.you might be a newbie reefaholic if you ask the young man at the LFS if he has had any problems with dripping kalk then wonder why is he looking at you funny?

LOL you guys are making my head spin with all these choices , I went to the local pet store and check out some cool stuff they had the two type of angels I wanted , I like the flame better than the coral beauty but from what I've read the flame is a lot more violent.

Cwhip , what is the name of the coral in your first ,firth and seventh picture I really really like the first one but god all of them are nice.

Popebosephus what is the name of your coral in the last 2 pictures ?

I saw a lot of Anemones are they easy to take care of most of them were cheap and I really liked them.

Here is a short horribly shot video from my iPhone of my local pet store to show you what the saltwater selection is like.

looks like you picked the Ricordia's they are easy to keep. the flame Angel is no more aggressive then the Coral beauty matter of fact they are very similar in temperment but both will likely enjoy eating your corals. Anemone require an established tank high lighting and excellent water quality they are definatley not something for a new Reefer. I couldn't tell much from the video.

haha you can't tell anything from the random looking at tanks that was out of focus and zoomed threw at hyper speed gosh guess you not much of a reef junkie hhahah

Well at the moment i might get 2-3 piece of coral and a flame angle + snails, crabs to clean

Does that sound reasonable for a idiot ?

I would KILL to have a monstrously huge tank with a couple sharks in there... HEEEERRRRREEEEE Brucie, Brucie, Bruce! Heh!

Hahaha yea I think the big tank will be SOOOOOO much easier but I still want to get a bit of experience in and I don't plan on getting my tank until after I move in a few months , possibly to japan so I am fairly sure no fish or even the tank will survive that move haha.

Really just kinda trying to figure out what I want but for sure want one of these

I like me some achillies tang

plan to spend about 6 grand on the whole setup as it stands today I have atleast that put into my 180 and by the time I get the ponies for this RSM 250 it will also be in the 3,000 range.

Jd. wrote:

Hahaha yea I think the big tank will be SOOOOOO much easier but I still want to get a bit of experience in and I don't plan on getting my tank until after I move in a few months , possibly to japan so I am fairly sure no fish or even the tank will survive that move haha.

Really just kinda trying to figure out what I want but for sure want one of these

I like me some achillies tang

achillies in a shark tank that one fish by itself is 300.00

Why would i be worried about that fish in a catshark tank ? The sharks are used for petting zoo area in aquariums I'm confused ?

These guy's can grow up 12 inches a year and reach 41 inches long, as with any fish in a large sized aquarium you need to learn what fish are compatible with the cat shark. Since they are sharks and they do eat live prey, you may not want to add smaller fish especially expensive ones. I have never had the desire to keep sharks of any kind but I can say that I would never risk it with such an expensive fish as the Achilles .they also will eat inverts and clams etc. Reef safe "no" I don't think you can really compare petting zoo aquariums to a home aquarium type enviroment.
I always look at it this way most all the fish we keep in our home aquariums don't live together in nature they come from all parts of the Ocean and almost every fish in my box wants to be the only fish. people often think all their fish get along great with each other the truth is they tollerate each other, same go's for coral since they are animals and come from all over the world they will and do compete for space "chemical warfare" I am in no way tring to tell you or anyone else what to do I'm just giving you something to keep in mind and it's JMHO.
Good Luck:)