Cassian's 32 gallon biocube build- Diving back in

[Cassian]

Hello and thanks for checking out my build thread! I'm super excited to be getting back into reefing! About two years ago i had to sell out my 180 build to go off to college, but now i think i'm at a point where i can start getting my feet wet again.... literally. I had been thinking about reefing for a while now, but when i visited my LFS with a friend yesterday i made a spontaneous purchase that seal my decision to get back into the hobby. I noticed a really dirty tank covered in cob webs tucked under the counter at the LFS, but i recognized it to be a coralife 32gal biocube. Long story short, i snagged this beauty of a tank for only $35 (i'm quite proud of that haha). After about an hour of cleaning, i had this tank looking brand new. I got it plumbed up with an extra pump i still had laying around and filled it with water. and so begins my journey back into the reefing hobby!

everything for aqua scaping and setting it up should be coming in this week, so stay tuned for updates. my plan for this tank is LPS and SPS dominat reef.
My current stocking list ideas:
clownfish pair (mocha storms? gladiators?)
blue dot jawfish
scarlet cleaner shrimp
firefish or chromis group
mandarins later on?



if anyone has any cool stocking ideas id love to hear!

 

[CasperOe]

That's a nice little tank! Thanks for bringing us along on your journey- I do love a good nano tank. Happy reefing!

 

[Cassian]

Progress has been made!! I got my BRS order in yesterday with everything I needed to start this bad boy up. Sand and salt is in, filtration is set up and I got the light in yesterday so I went ahead and mounted that. It’s not programmed yet cause the cord I had apparently doesn’t wanna connect my computer to my radion . I’ve got some trouble shooting to do there, but at least I’ve got the ball rolling and things are progressing steadily! Over the weekend I’m working on my aquascape and next week protein skimmer and cycling additives are coming

For filtration I did an initial prefilter, bioballs, two densities of aqua mesh, and then biological media in the very last stage. Maybe a tad bit much but I always like a lot of different kinds of filtration and I am a big fan of bio media. Now to figure out where the protein skimmer will hang…..

 

[lubeck]

Welcome back. And welcome to the Biocube club.

 

[Cassian]

Got the finished aquascape in! I’m really happy with how it turned out.

 

[larryl]

Looking good!

 

[7of9]

I've got a biocube 32g, too! They're great AIO's. Looking forward to following your build!

 

[Cassian]

Protein skimmer is and water cleared up! I went with the aquamaxx bullet for my skimmer. Had to saw off one of the hinges for the original lid to get it to fit, but I think I got it.

I also added a gyre Xf 330 that I had, but I’m not sure if this may be too powerful for this tank haha! Gonna try it at like 10-20% power and see how it goes.

Started my cycle with algae barn nitrogen fixation bacteria and Fritz turbo start. Gonna let it sit for a bit then think about doing CUC and maybe a fish to get the process rolling.

 

[7of9]

I like your rockscape!

 

[Cassian]

I like your rockscape!

Thank you! I’m super happy with how it turned out! Can’t wait to stack coral on it haha

 

[larryl]

Great looking biocube.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Protein skimmer is and water cleared up! I went with the aquamaxx bullet for my skimmer. Had to saw off one of the hinges for the original lid to get it to fit, but I think I got it.

I also added a gyre Xf 330 that I had, but I’m not sure if this may be too powerful for this tank haha! Gonna try it at like 10-20% power and see how it goes.

Started my cycle with algae barn nitrogen fixation bacteria and Fritz turbo start. Gonna let it sit for a bit then think about doing CUC and maybe a fish to get the process rolling.

Love the aquascape!

 

[Cassian]

Another update! I’ve added some snails and a few hermit crabs who I’ve been feeding some algae wafers for now until algae kicks in. I think I’m going to add a fish soon since things seem to be going well. Also got my light programmed, I used the WWC mixed reef tank template for now

 

[TinyReefObsession]

Another update! I’ve added some snails and a few hermit crabs who I’ve been feeding some algae wafers for now until algae kicks in. I think I’m going to add a fish soon since things seem to be going well. Also got my light programmed, I used the WWC mixed reef tank template for now

looking great!! Hey how did you build up the scape? I’m about to go from a BC14 to a 32, and will definitely need to learn to build upwards… TIA

 

[Haggisman14]

Got a special place in my heart for those biocubes! I like what you have going on with the skimmer and rockwork. I"d just be worried about the rockwork in the rear right side being so close to the top of the water line. Other than that awesome! looking forward to seeing it take shape!

 

[Cassian]

looking great!! Hey how did you build up the scape? I’m about to go from a BC14 to a 32, and will definitely need to learn to build upwards… TIA

Thanks! It was a lot of strings and tying things up while it dried haha! I used a combination of BRS super glue gel and Marco rocks cement. The glue doesn’t really hold much but it helps with the overall stability. Start with your base then use string and boxes to hold up your tall and shelf parts while the cement dries. The biggest thing is do it in pieces over a few days and don’t get in a hurry. I cemented several of the log arch/arm pieces separate then attached them to the big piece later. Hope that helps and good luck!!

 

[Cassian]

Got a special place in my heart for those biocubes! I like what you have going on with the skimmer and rockwork. I"d just be worried about the rockwork in the rear right side being so close to the top of the water line. Other than that awesome! looking forward to seeing it take shape!

Thank you! Yeah I was also concerned about the really tall part at the water line, I got a little carried away with the height lol. So far it hasn’t gotten above the water, but I likely won’t put any coral there

 

[Cassian]

first additions are in! Got some cool clowns that are doing really well. I opted not to qt at this point because I don’t really have a proper qt setup yet and i won’t be able to have a 100% parasite free tank anyway due to some of the fish I want in the future. I may pull these guys out later and do a proper round of de wormers and stuff, but for now they are going to just hang in the display. Algae has also taken off like a weed after the clowns. My CUC is really happy now haha!

 

[banasophia]

What a cool looking scape!! Great job! I’m looking forward to following along.

 

[Cassian]

Update!! Today is the big day! First corals went in. So far so good. Parameters are holding steady as well. I also got a cool pair of blood red fire shrimp