New 14Gal bio build!!!

[Paramecium]

So I am starting a new thread here about my new 14gal nano. The RO-DI is running atm and this afternoon I plan on hitting my LFS to get sand, LR, some salt mix and some test kits. Anything that I need to do to the tank before putting things in it? Wipe it all down I imagine with some RO? It seems most people like the idea of trashing the bio balls and filter and upgrading the return pump etc... I'll start doing all that this week. As I said I just want to get rock and sand in to start cycling then I'll work on getting it upgraded for the future inhabitants.

This is my first time mixing water, any preferences on salt? I've heard that most any will work, kent etc... And that on average it takes about half a cup of salt for every gallon of water. Refractometer the way to go? I was planning on getting just Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrate test kits to start and a refractometer for mixing. As the tank cycles I'll get more test kits to get everything in line.

~Danny

[Paramecium]

Water is in and checking for leaks!

[Timberwerks]

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. I'll be going with the same tank soon for the office.

[aquawolf]

Did you remove the bio-balls? It will probably easier, and a little cleaner, to go ahead and remove them before you get too far into it.

A refractometer is a very good idea and you will want to set your salinity at 1.025 or 1.026.

Everyone has their own favorite salt mix lists. I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef, which is probably the most expensive I get around here. I read on another thread, HMA's 115 gallon, where Heinz switches salt mixes every month. He says that is good for counteracting the fact that some mixes are lower in certain chemical amounts, such as calcium, than others are. I am seriously considering doing something like this as well. The good news for you is that a bucket of salt mix should last a very long time with less than 14 gallons of water to deal with.

I think your plan for test kits is good as well. Test for the things that are the main factor during the cycling process. You can worry about the PH, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, and so on after the cycle is finished.

Best of luck with the build.

[Loverotties]

Looks good.love to see the progress!

[Paramecium]

So the water, LR and sand are in and everything is running. The bio balls are in as well as the filter for the moment but I am open to suggestions on what to do about that situation. I figured a couple days won't hurt anything while it gets rolling. I have some pics of it going together, so far we've seen a few tiny snails and a few of the rocks had quite a few greenish looking mushrooms that I got one decent picture of. Any recommendations on a lighting schedule? I also got the refractometer, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits and went with Red Sea salt mix.

Anyone have eny experience with RO-DI water having a serious static charge? As of right now I have a 32 gallon plastic trashcan that I got specifically for keeping fresh RO-DI water in and was mixing salt in a 5 gallon bucket that I bought for use only with the tanks. I imagine with the 70 gal It will be easier to mix larger quantaties but until then the 5 gal works just fine. With rock and all it took less than 10 gals.

Tomorrow I'll test the levels in the tank and retest the salinity. The stuff I made today was about 1.024 on the refrac. So as of now everything is great, it is running and the girly and I have spent most of the day staring and spotting new snails and such. Oh there also are quite a few tiny feather duster looking things and a pink almost clear looking creature about the size of a 50 cent piece.

~Danny

I'll work on taking better pics as well LOL.

[dobejazz]

Congrats on your new set up

The rocks stacked really well for you I like it

[Paramecium]

Thanks, not sure if that's exactly how the aquascape will end up but for now I like the way it looks. Been looking around and seeing a ton of tiny little snails. Any suggestions on a lighting schedule?

[dobejazz]

I have my lights on about 10 hours a day for my tanks - What kind of lights does the biocube have? do you have 2 cords and switches ?

[Paramecium]

2 on switches, and 2 LED's on a plug with no switch. One of the lights is a 10K 24 watt compact flourescent and ther other is a 24 watt actinic. The LED's are 2 3/4 watt. I was figuring on putting all 3 on timers but was just curious as to how long and at what times each light should be on.

~Danny

[YLChik]

My son has a 29 biocube and we run his actnic lights 10 hrs a day - 9am -7 pm and run his white lights for 8 10am-6pm - I just leave the little led lights plugged in all the time.

Anywhere between 10 and 12 hours should be a good light cycle for you, most folks have the lights on when they are home most - so if you were gone most of the day, but were home in the evening I would make more of your light cycle for when you are home to enjoy the tank.

hth
Amy

[Paramecium]

So what are some ideas for improving the flow and filtration of the tank? I was thinking about replacing the stock pump with a MJ900 and a hydor flo and then adding a Hydor Koralia Nano PH on the other side of the tank to get things moving.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...or~~tab~2.html

The filter, sponge and bio balls should come out I imagine and I think tonight they will. I thought it may be good to keep them in at first to get some of the junk out of the water when it first started. The filter looked pretty brown already last night so I think it is doing a good job of grabbing the big stuff for now. Should I just leave it all empty or is ther ea good cheap nano skimmer that fits into the back somehow? I have heard of people turning the center bio ball section into a fuge as well, is it worth it?

~Danny

[YLChik]

your plans for flow sound great. I love the koralias myself.



Most things in this hobby all depends on your point of view a little i think.

I don't run a fugue, but many do so if you like the idea you may wanna go for it... you may also want to wait until you have more "yuck" for the macro to "eat"

On a 14 gallon most run that size skimmer less in these parts, BUT that doesn't mean you have to.

I think staying on top of water changes is the best way to keep water quality up, but a skimmer never hurts.

Oceanic makes one that is air stone driven, you just have to replace the air stone like once a month to keep it fresh.

there is another called the Sapphire skimmer. Both these options fit into the cubes.

a good place to look for things like that is nanotuners.com


If you wanna get super fancy you can make a sump and throw in whatever kind of skimmer you like.

[Paramecium]

So would you recommend taking out the filter, sponge and bio balls and running nothing for filtration other than the LR and sand that is in the tank? Should I run the filters and such for another day or two to get large particulates out? I understand that the reason for removing them is to prevent them putting pollutants back into the system but I would think it would take a little bit of time for that to happen.

The Oceanic skimmer looks like it could be mounted in the back where the filter is currently located but I can't be sure without looking at one in hand.

~Danny

[YLChik]

Danny,
Yeah I would take all that stuff out of the middle chamber so you can build up your bacteria within the tank. I am definitely part of the no bio-ball crowd.

It is true that the reason people say take them out is the harboring of nasties, but in your case you are just starting your tank and we want all the bacteria to live on things that are staying in the tank, that is why I suggest taking them out now.

i think that oceanic fits in that middle compartment I have seen them at our lfs - they are really tiny- about the size of your hand