Brando457 - 14g Biocube - New to Hobby

[Brando457]

i wouldnt remove them all at once. i would do maybe 15% to 25% per week. they do their job with holding the good bacteria. if you remove it all at once, you may get a small spike causing a small cycle. to me it isnt worth the risk.

If you can afford it, the intank media rack is the best investment i made on the tank. (or you could build one if your handy)
http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-14-Media-Basket-BC14MR.htm

I bought this and replaced the cheapo media it came with. In my media basket i have filter floss, carbon, chemipure elite, and purigen. What i have is overkill with the different media, but my tank water is always crystal clear. I change the filter floss out 1 time per week, but i could probably wait 2 weeks.

It is a slightly large investment in buying the rack and some of the media, but it is cheaper then repacing the stock media a lot(although realistically you probably just need filter floss, chemipure or purigen, and some people put in chaeto in the middle with a light)

What spike and cycle? He only has ONE fish in there. The rocks alone would take care of that fish. Plus the sand and the skimmer. He could do it before he does his next water change.

At the moment I have 1 clown, about 8 snails and 2 hermits (although i'm not sure where the hell they are in the tank )

Today I'm going to my LFS and picking up a bag of carbon and going to remove enough of the bioballs initially to place the carbon in there, then when i do my next water change ill remove the rest of the balls.

The media rack is tempting but not sure how I would set that up

 

[youpey]

the media rack goes right into compartment 2. once you remove the bioballs, it slides right in. you would have to add more water if you go that way, but i definitely noticed a big increase in water quality. i didnt bother trying to make one, since i dont have the right tools to make it. Its definitely not a necessity like say, live rock, but i definitely like having it.

Honestly with the amount of money i spent upgrading my biocube with the add ons like the media tray or the lights, i probably could have gotten a nice 40 gallon breader. i made the mistake of researching the tank, and not the cost of the upgrades, so i made a mistake there. dont get me wrong, i really love the tank, but between the cost of everything i bought, i could have gotten something much bigger or got one of the all in ones that have the MH already on there.

 

[Brando457]

the media rack goes right into compartment 2. once you remove the bioballs, it slides right in. you would have to add more water if you go that way, but i definitely noticed a big increase in water quality. i didnt bother trying to make one, since i dont have the right tools to make it. Its definitely not a necessity like say, live rock, but i definitely like having it.

Honestly with the amount of money i spent upgrading my biocube with the add ons like the media tray or the lights, i probably could have gotten a nice 40 gallon breader. i made the mistake of researching the tank, and not the cost of the upgrades, so i made a mistake there. dont get me wrong, i really love the tank, but between the cost of everything i bought, i could have gotten something much bigger or got one of the all in ones that have the MH already on there.

Which is why I think I'm done investing money in it at the moment and going to let it do its thing and keep taking care of it. My hopes or idea is for spring to do a 40 gal breeder or maybe larger :x. This is kind of my baby setup to learn everything. Between now and say May I will continue reading and learning and researching.

So I removed 4 bioballs today, added a bag of carbon (do i need to let it "hang" or can i simply place the bag inside the chamber?

The way it is right now it goes

6 new bioballs on bottom, then false floor, then bag of carbon filter I used about 1/2 cup as per instructions in a filter bag, then old bioballs on top.

I really appreciate everyone's patient and lending a hand of guidance during this. It is definitely a fun hobby and something I think I will continue doing for years to come.

 

[youpey]

you will want the water to run through it. i am not sure how effective it will be if it is submersed

 

[Brando457]

you will want the water to run through it. i am not sure how effective it will be if it is submersed

Its not really subermersed the water is still flowing through it i would think since the water flows from top to bottom of the chamber.

I was wondering also should I add a Koralia Nano or 1 to increase waterflow?

 

[youpey]

i have the koralia 1. it is a nice pump and it really kicked up some stuff. it is really large though in the 14g tank. i wish i got something smaller, but it is nice. i also have it angled so it causes flow though out the tank. i havent used the Kor nano, so i am not sure if it is smaller

 

[mnat]

I have the Korlia Nano in my 12g, like the flow.

 

[Brando457]

I have the Korlia Nano in my 12g, like the flow.

So today I went to buy the koralia nano, while there all my water levels were at great levels!

So since my levels seem good I asked what kind of corals I could do or would be good for a tank such as mine.

I bought a purple hammer and a blue mushroom. I will post pictures soon of them.

I have one concern my clown seems to be having difficulty swimming in the increased circulation. As it stands I have the stock head poiting towards teh front glass, then then nano kind of going across the tank since it is difficult to aim the jet on a right angle as I want it.

Anyone with a cube and can post a picture of how they have theirs or any advice I'd appreciate it.

 

[Brando457]

New additions to the tank:

 

[Hawkeye]

how's the clownfish holding up?

 

[Brando457]

He is doing really well, seems healthy and exploring the tank. He is a bit odd in the fact that at night he likes to sleep kind of on an angle part on his side, part upright against the rear corner of the glass.

Tomorrow if my water levels checkout and are in good standing after my water change I am adding a black clown to be his buddy.

Right now I have my 5 gallon mixing sand and going to do the change in the AM.

Wondering if I should add a cleaner shrimp aswell tomorrow? <not sure which one is good to get> I know I definitely don't want a pistol shrimp though.

 

[Sandee]

<< He is a bit odd in the fact that at night he likes to sleep kind of on an angle part on his side, part upright against the rear corner of the glass. >>

Hey Brando, welcome to the forum - a late hello, but a hello non-the-less!  Thanks for the PM.  BTW, my 12g nano clown sleeps exactly the same way.

 

[Brando457]

Today I added a black clownfish to my tank with my orange false perc who has been there for about a week and half. The black one is larger than the orange.

They've only been in the tank together for about 12 hours and I've observed te black nipping or biting at the orange. It is not repeatedly, but worries me. (don't want to lose either fish). I read that it is sometimes normal behavior to determine role of dominance, but how long is too long to let it continue?

Any other tips are appreciated?

 

[Sandee]

I always heard it was risky to add different flavor Clowns to the same tank - unless the tank is SO big, that they can establish their own turf, etc. In my case, I made the mistake ... and wound up setting up another tank just for that one little $6, mail-order Ocellaris - my slightly larger Maroon just wouldn't leave him alone! But what's another tank among friends and fish!

Sorry Brandon ... maybe some other folks have good advice on how to keep them happy!

 

[mnat]

The clown behavior is normal as far a a bit of nipping and chasing goes. What you want to watch out for it damage to the other fish (fins missing bits and the like) and making sure they both eat. If the dominant clown keep the other from eating that can be a problem. Generally when we add new fish we try and overfeed a bit to show the more aggressive fish that food is not scarce. The theory behind this is fish become more aggressive when there is less food around so we try to avoid that (just make sure your water quality stays up with the new feeding regimen). The submissive clown will change sex but that can take some time (few weeks). The other thing is just luck, we have had some clowns pair off in less than a day and we have had others we just had to remove completly. People have bred black and orange clowns so it can be done.

 

[Brando457]

Hoping they pair off soon. I'm going to try the overfeeding yrick thanks!

They're both tank raised false oscelaris amd from various readings shoul be capable of being in the same tank.

To the other poster about his maroon they are very nice fish, but very agressive. I saw a bonded pair at AF going after a shark!

 

[Hawkeye]

I always heard it was risky to add different flavor Clowns to the same tank - unless the tank is SO big, that they can establish their own turf, etc.

Generally this is sound advice. However, keep in mind that a black clown is just a false perc that has been bred to be black-colored. So two false percs (regardless of color) should be fine.

 

[Brando457]

So day 2 of Beauty (aka Black Beauty) of being in the tank and it seems it has stopped nipping and chasing coco (orange).

Right now they kind of stay near one another where Coco follows along and sometimes wanders away for a second. I fed them some brine shrimp today and they both ate plenty, which seems like they aren't stressed and are healthy. I will post pictures in a few once I setup my camera again.

P.S. It is really tricky to take pictures of moving fish.

 

[Brando457]

Wondering if I have the powerhead in a good position?

Growing nicely

What other corals or if possible other fish can I/should I look at adding?

 

[JRWOHLER]

If that is your overflow behind the PH then I would put the PH on the other side.

Take your time with corals, you have some already and until you get experience it is better to take it slow. Eventually things like zoas and palys will be nice. Would personally stick with what you have fish wise...but if you really want to add one more fish I would say a goby or other low dwelling type fish.