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LaRock
03-29-2012, 12:59 PM
So I've finally caved after watching my boyfriend enthuse over his tank and have decided to start my own :big_grin: We decided that we have too much fun with reefing not to add another tank, it was going to happen sooner or later. I will be making the decisions for the most part on this one, with his guidance of course. ;)

Here's the equipment I'm working with so far:

29 gallon Rimless Biocube - I love the cube design, and originally thought I would go with a Fluval tank, but I actually really like the look of the Biocubes without their canopy, which was originally why I did not like the Biocubes, so when we found a good deal on a rimless one, I had to jump on it! Glad I did =) It needed a little work before I was completely satisfied however, more on that to follow.

Finnex Digital 100w titanium Heater

JBJ ATO - spoiling myself here a little =P

Mp10 - and here... hehe

Reeftechpro LED - Very cool lights picked up from a local DIY reefer, great buy!
- 6 cool white cree xp-g3 / 6 blue 3-up cree xp-g / 6 royal blue 3-up cree xp-g - totaling in 18 3 watt leds
- 3 1000mA buckblock dimmable drivers

Assorted Dry Rock from BRS ( reefsaver / Pukani / Fiji ) - I want to try to keep the tank as sterile as possible, even if that means waiting longer for it to cycle.

Cleaning off the Silicone from the Biocube Rim- The tank still had a lot of Silicone along the edges that I wanted to clear away so that I get the nice clean look of the rimless.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0191.jpg

Water Test- After scraping the glass of excess silicone, salt, and coraline had to make sure it would hold water, thankfully it does =D
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0233.jpg

Getting in the Dry Rock- We may have ordered a little too much....
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0194.jpg

Used Zip Ties to hold a few Chunks of the base together, let me know what you think of the aquascape!-
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0234.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0235.jpg

Tank is now filled with water + salt, ammonia is at 3, so the cycle has started! We supplemented with SuperBac and a few tetra flakes to help kick start the cycle. The canopy is only temporarily on while I work on making a fixture for the LEDs, and the Mp10 is MIA in my boyfriends tank... he knows this is only temporary until my tank cycles however.. lol
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0252.jpg

So far in the hobby I've been really drawn to zoas and palys as my favorite types of coral, so naturally I am going to make them the primary types in the tank. I also am thinking of throwing a few acans and chalices in there as it gets going. I plan on stocking very minimally with fish given it's size, but so far I have my pair of clowns ready and in QT, (female= extreme misbarred B&W ocellaris, male: Sustainable Aquatic Fancy Snow ocellaris. I love them :love3: I am debating about the other fish to add, something peaceful and small, like gobys or fire fish.

I would love to hear any of your thoughts or suggestions, thanks for looking!! More to come once the cycle keeps trucking on. :big_grin:
4652

Sir Patrick
03-29-2012, 05:40 PM
Great start!!

larryandlaura
03-29-2012, 06:33 PM
Looking good.

MizTanks
03-29-2012, 06:43 PM
This really makes me wish I hadn't of given away my 8g cube :(

Love your rock scape. You chose well by going with the dry Pukani from BRS. I did the same and couldn't be happier :) look ma no algae!!!

Happy reefing and welcome to CR!

jimsflies
03-29-2012, 08:25 PM
Awesome! Reminds me of mine...just needs some corals. :)

Did you get the tank from hopkins?

WillBattle
04-01-2012, 11:36 AM
Yes, the tank came from hopkins

I will miss that mp10 when your tank cycles :)

I do have a question, larock is trying to keep this tank as clean of pests as possible. To cycle this tank we used a few pieces of flake food, and added super bacteria in. This tank has been cycling for 1 week now, the ammonia is spiking right now, and after the cycle we plan on adding copepods to the tank, before any fish enter it. Now my question is, we used 100% dry rock/sand. Is there anything else we need to do other than what i have just explained? Or is cycling this tank without any lr/ls just a bad idea in general, ( other than it just will take longer), maybe due to biodiversity issues or something of that sort. Thanks for your advise in advance!

Sent from my PH44100 using Tapatalk


Sent from my PH44100 using Tapatalk

Sir Patrick
04-01-2012, 07:02 PM
I am pretty sure the cycle will happen normally (in aprox. a month) doing it the way you are doing.

LaRock
04-02-2012, 11:57 PM
Thanks for all the compliments and support everyone =) Eagerly awaiting when I get to start stocking. In the meantime, thinking about what kind of screen I want to put on it, if any.

Here's a few shots of it now with the LED fixture over-top
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0255.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0256.jpg

Captain
04-03-2012, 03:17 AM
LOOKS GOOD. Needs more rock.

Sun357
04-03-2012, 05:39 AM
Looks nice! If I didn't have retrofit-LED on mine i'd go rimless.

~Fred

WillBattle
10-12-2012, 01:02 AM
So Just noticed that this thread hasn't been updated in 6 months! Well here is a pic of her tank currently at the very least! I'll let her get on here and do the official update :fish2:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0302.jpg

Sir Patrick
10-12-2012, 10:10 PM
Looks like LPS mania in there! I like it.

jstan
10-13-2012, 06:51 AM
Looks great, so no problems with phosphates/HairAlgae leaching from the BRS pukani dry rock?
I only ask, cause I'm still battling phosphates leaching from the dry rock I purchased over 6 months ago, and "cooked" for 3 months before adding to the tank( i have since read multiple cases of this happening with others using the pukani dry rock as well)

So what are you using for filtration/nutrient export ? Would love to know cause this tank and that rock look GREAT!!! Keep up the good work.

larryandlaura
10-13-2012, 08:57 AM
Hot tank you got there.

MizTanks
10-13-2012, 11:41 AM
Looks great, so no problems with phosphates/HairAlgae leaching from the BRS pukani dry rock?
I only ask, cause I'm still battling phosphates leaching from the dry rock I purchased over 6 months ago, and "cooked" for 3 months before adding to the tank( i have since read multiple cases of this happening with others using the pukani dry rock as well)

So what are you using for filtration/nutrient export ? Would love to know cause this tank and that rock look GREAT!!! Keep up the good work.

Sorry to here about your experience with the dry Pukani. However I personally experienced NONE of the issues you mentioned. I only cooked it for 2 weeks. No po4, no algae, nada! Even a year + later :)

WillBattle
10-13-2012, 11:50 AM
No leaching phos for this tank, sorry to hear about your rock, but the batch we got has treated us awesome so far

Sent from my PH44100 using Tapatalk

WillBattle
11-17-2012, 11:08 PM
So Laura and I have moved to Adrian, and have compressed most of all our coral into the biocube ( except most the SPS, Thanks Sir P for holding them!)

The Potters Angel and leopard wrasses will stay in my tank now untill we can upgrade the biocube, we are thinking of getting a drilled 60 cube for our mixed reef and putting our current equipment from the 46 gal bowfront on there, and then keeping the biocube for a FOWLR with the Potters as a centerpiece :)

Anyways the biocube is packed with coral, heres some pics :) Weekly water changes of 5 gallons, most of the SPS started browning quite quickly, so I got them into another tank as quick as I could, a few are still doing well, I jsut can't keep the everything as low as they would like without a skimmer it seems

Broke our finnex heater in the move >.< already have another one ordered, but for now, the only one I have only fits in the display lol

Above FTS
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0497.jpg


Sir Patricks Deepwater Acro
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0516-1.jpg http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0517.jpg



http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0498-1.jpg



http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0499-1.jpg



http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0500-1.jpg



http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0503-1.jpg



Manojs Rainbow monti
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0507-1.jpg



http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0509-1.jpg



Acan Alley!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/Wbattle88/IMAG0511-1.jpg

Sir Patrick
11-17-2012, 11:51 PM
Lookin good Will!

Your SPS are very happy, and lookin better every day.

MizTanks
11-18-2012, 12:06 AM
Wow them some beautiful colors!! Excellent pictures! I love that Rainbow Monti! thats what i want most in my tank someday :) Oh and you have a MM just like mine :) It may be a little crowded but nothing seems to mind, looking all happy :)