Dakotanut's new/used 32 gallon Bio cube

[dakotanut]

Just started this build. It has Haitian live rock in it. Went with live sand instead of dry. Rock was dry. Put in bacteria to start cycle. Also some powder I can't remember the name of atm. I got this tank from my brother-in-law. It's nice and the LED light can be programmed when and when not to be on. Different LEDS also.

 

[Broadfield]

Nice! Is this your first reef tank? If it is, it's hard to beat the trusty BioCube.

 

[dakotanut]

I have an 8 gallon nano already. See my build in members section. Also in my profile pic. Thanks. I think it needs more live rock. 2 weeks can't come fast enough.

 

[dakotanut]

Week 1 down. Did a water test yesterday Sunday February 4th, 2018. Ammonia was .5 ppm. Nitrates were very low. Nitrites way off the chart. Well over 5 ppm on my test kit. Hopefully, 1 more week to go then I can add stuff.

 

[dakotanut]

March 11, 2018
Water check good. Salinity was low. Did a 2 gallon water change. Added clean up crew. 6 hermit crabs and 5 snails. They have managed to just about clean the rock and sand of algea.
Also got some more Haitian rock for it. Cleaned it real well in the 2 gallons of water I removed from the tank. So hopefully next week we can add a Gobi and a clown fish. Also have a peppermint shrimp too.

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[dakotanut]

3-18-2018
Clean up crew did a pretty good job. Got rock and sand pretty clean.
Found a new creature.

And got some clowns and 3 frags. 2 Zoas and 1 grass. I'll post pictures in a bit of those. Water was good. No problems there. Now I'll get more rock next week and add more frags as it comes along.

 

[dakotanut]

Here are my clowns.


My new frags.

I'm excited this is starting to look good. More rock and some anemones next for clowns. Both are male. Learned all clowns are born male and if 2 are in your tank, they fight for dominance. The one that wins will make female organs and become bigger and more aggressive. WOW!

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[dakotanut]

Ok. Since my last post I've lost my clowns and had another cycle. So just let it do its thing for awhile. Water changes and added some nitrate killer. Nitrates were through the roof. Don't add rock ever to a tank.
Sunday, water parameters were perfect. Got 2 new clowns. And three more frags. Hammer coral, bubble coral, and green clove. Earlier got a Duncan. Keep an eye on water parameters. The water I filled it up with was low salinity. Battled that for a while. Finally got it. Trying to get rid of the peppermint shrimp atm. Going to get a diamond go by and skunk shrimp.

 

[dakotanut]

Oh. I glued the grass to the back wall. And moved all the corals to better spots.

 

[dakotanut]

Got a candy cane coral today also. That's it for awhile. Moved others around.

 

[dakotanut]

Lost one of those clowns. So got another one. Both seem to be doing fine. Pics soon. We bought an anemone and it split and one moved up top and one stayed down low. Clowns won't host to anything. It looks good. My favorite new fish is my blenny. It is near the way it moves around all over the place.

 

[dakotanut]

Anemone number 1.
Number 2.

 

[ScubaSteeve]

I just picked up the same tank off Craigslist yesterday for 100 bucks. One day into cycle so I got a bit before I'll be adding anything

 

[dakotanut]

It's awesome. We just got a used 90 gallon also. So I'll be adding it soon. Got a diamond goby, mushroom, and frog spawn.

 

[ScubaSteeve]

I was going to do a 75 or 90 but the 32 was to good of a deal to pass up

 

[dakotanut]

I love my 32 gallon bio cube. It is awesome. As soon as my 90 is up and running I'm going to take my 8 gallon down and use it for QT.

 

[ScubaSteeve]

How is the 8g? I found one for 50 and thought it be nice on the night stand. Just wasn' sure I'd be able to put much in it.

 

[Mikedawg]

Good start. And remember, the slower you go at first during cycling, the fewer long term problems you'll have.

 

[dakotanut]

The 8 gallon is a pain if you dont take your time and let it do its thing. I struggled with it for about a month. It does its own thing now. All I do is change the water in it. I have a builder thread here about it.

 

[dakotanut]

Got a Diamond Goby. It eats all the crap off the sand. I named him Wade Dyson Wilson. Post pics later when he is out when my phone is out.