new to saltwater coral

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 09:54 AM

i am looking into getting my first coral tank,i have been into freshwater for about 4 years and have 2 set up tanks running very good, also have a tiny 5 gal tank with saltwater and stuff i found at the beach and could net.... i am thinking about the 14 gal biocube http://www.aquabuys.com/page/aqb/PROD/oc_biocube_14
and i was woundering if u experanced people approve of this tank, and also would i be able to put a good amount of corals in it and a pair of clowns? and somthing the clowns can host (all help would be AMAZING i am new to the coral world and wanna do it right)

(forgive spelling please)

spleify · 11/26/2009, 10:02 AM

To Reef Central

Glad to hear you are making the switch.

The 14 gallon biocube are probably pretty good. But the bigger you can go the better off you will be. It is really difficult to maintain steady levels in a small tank. So my recommendation is to go as big as you can and you will enjoy this hobby much more.

HTH

Good luck

wis_fishing_guy · 11/26/2009, 10:08 AM

Yes bigger is always better but that is a good cube if you want to stay on the small side.I jumped in to saltwater about a year ago.But got lucky and did a whole lot of reading right away.Here is a good starting point.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1696795

ChadTheSpike · 11/26/2009, 10:10 AM

Plus, if you are like the rest of us, youll start there and just want bigger!!!

Seriously though, while smaller tanks are very pretty when set up and maintained well, things change faster because of the small water volume, the bigger you can get now the better off you will be. There are several systems in the 30ish gallon range that are similar to the system you are looking at that would serve you well.

Take it slow, learn as much as you can, and welcome to this wonderful hobby!!!!!

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 10:17 AM

thanks guys keeep the help coming, if i did go with that is it ok for 2 clowns?

spleify · 11/26/2009, 10:55 AM

To Reef Central

wis fishing guy

spleify · 11/26/2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pennfisherman

thanks guys keeep the help coming, if i did go with that is it ok for 2 clowns?

Yes you should be fine with two clowns when they are smaller, but I am not sure about an anemone. Plus a system needs to be pretty mature(around a year or so) to be able to support an anemone.

I have had luck with clowns hosting in frogspawns and hammers.

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 10:57 AM

yes i am a fishing guy lol

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 11:00 AM

ok thanks ill think about that i just reallly like the way the clowns get teratorial i find it coool. and i love the fact i can set up the tank and have hichikers that i have never seeen just apear... both could be positive and negitive but its alot more like a whole ecosystem then the freshwater tanks.

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 12:02 PM

i am pretty close with my lfs owner, and he says he can order me that tank and i can get live rock and live sand and already cycled water from him for 300$s is that a good deal he said he will also throw in some invertabrits, its it smart to get the already cycled water and what not? or no, and the main reason i am asking this is i wanna know what i should have my cuc made up of.

evilspaz · 11/26/2009, 12:26 PM

I would get the 24G biocube you will enjoy it much better. 300$ is an ok price, but not the best... Good luck.

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 12:58 PM

thanks for the info, and would it be worth buying all the already cycled water to get ride of the annoying cycaling stage?

Neogenocide · 11/26/2009, 01:18 PM

I would say if you getting the cube, rock, and inverts all ready to go.....sounds pretty good to me. Another plus is you have the lhs for support if needed that way.

Scott

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 02:14 PM

what should my clean up crew consist of?

getfooled · 11/26/2009, 03:31 PM

even if you get everything that has been cycled and cured i would get it a month or so be adding live stuff. When you start adding sand and a live rock stiring things up you might create a short cycle due to it being disturbed. Not saying it will but it could. CUC for a 14 gallon get some blue or red legged hermit crabs, few turbos and some nass. snails (they are good cleaning the sand bed).

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 03:41 PM

ok thanks for the help, and i understand what u r saying about the short cycle, sorry i am very new... my cuzin has a tank that has been up for about 6 months, and hes got all sorts of copopods and what not, do almost all live rock carry copopods and other good things for the tank? does it just take time for them to multiply and form a visable population?

getfooled · 11/26/2009, 03:50 PM

well yes once your tank is cycled and established you can add more live rock, and they could have all that good stuff in it. When i added my liverock i bought a rock from several different people/LFS to get a mixture of good things. It will just take time and things will start showing up and multiply.

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 04:14 PM

so u recomend buying my lf from a few differnt places to add diversity?

kingfisher62 · 11/26/2009, 04:19 PM

I have had a 14g biocube for three years and have been very happy with it. The stock lighting is enough for a lot of differant corals with the exception of the most light demanding ones such as sps's and such. Right now I have 2 clowns and a yellow watchman goby and plenty of coral.
Instead of listing all the corals that did well in my tank I posted a pic.

kingfisher62 · 11/26/2009, 04:22 PM

BTW, I like the idea of getting LR from multiple places for more biodiversity but only if it is fairly fresh LR.

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 04:26 PM

can u name a few of those corals so i can look them up, just a few cause i really no not to much about the corals... and did any of those start as just frags, or did u buy big peices?

spleify · 11/26/2009, 04:38 PM

Nice looking tank kingfisher.

A few of those corals are zoanthids, various mushrooms, brown button polyps, green star polyps, etc

gophilau · 11/26/2009, 04:42 PM

Nice tank !!
soon you are need to got bigger tank

kingfisher62 · 11/26/2009, 05:00 PM

Thanks spleify, I also have a
Pagoda cup- fuzzy green disc upper right.
Open Brain- red donut looking one lower left
tree coral - next to goby it usually opens a lot more
yellow polyps - top
candy canes- below and to the right of pagoda

I would recommend Mushrooms or green star polyps for your first corals. They are very hardy and excellent choice for beginner .

Most of my specimens were larger pieces which I paid between 20 and 40 dollars.
I Have turned my 55g FOWLR into a reef tank with the frags from my14g cube over the last year.

pennfisherman · 11/26/2009, 05:18 PM

your tank is amazing and thanks for the begginer descriptions lol i honesly needed them. corals seem so exspencie in ny i dont no if its just the store i was at but almost ever peice was over 100$s thats why i was asking about the frags. i am only 18 and dont have too much money to spend lol

11/26/2009, 09:54 AM	#1
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	new to saltwater coral i am looking into getting my first coral tank,i have been into freshwater for about 4 years and have 2 set up tanks running very good, also have a tiny 5 gal tank with saltwater and stuff i found at the beach and could net.... i am thinking about the 14 gal biocube http://www.aquabuys.com/page/aqb/PROD/oc_biocube_14 and i was woundering if u experanced people approve of this tank, and also would i be able to put a good amount of corals in it and a pair of clowns? and somthing the clowns can host (all help would be AMAZING i am new to the coral world and wanna do it right) (forgive spelling please)

11/26/2009, 10:02 AM	#2
spleify Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 9,579	*To Reef Central* Glad to hear you are making the switch. The 14 gallon biocube are probably pretty good. But the bigger you can go the better off you will be. It is really difficult to maintain steady levels in a small tank. So my recommendation is to go as big as you can and you will enjoy this hobby much more. HTH Good luck __________________ Make it a Great Day!!!! Current Tank Info: 60 gal SPS cube, with 25 gal refugium, 400W MH, DIY Lumenarc III, DIY skimmer, DIY stand and canopy. 40 breeder LPS with 40 gallon sump, DIY stand, 250W MH

11/26/2009, 10:10 AM	#4
ChadTheSpike Reef Engineer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,526 Blog Entries: 1	Plus, if you are like the rest of us, youll start there and just want bigger!!! Seriously though, while smaller tanks are very pretty when set up and maintained well, things change faster because of the small water volume, the bigger you can get now the better off you will be. There are several systems in the 30ish gallon range that are similar to the system you are looking at that would serve you well. Take it slow, learn as much as you can, and welcome to this wonderful hobby!!!!! __________________ ~Chad "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Current Tank Info: 195 gallons of fun

11/26/2009, 10:55 AM	#6
spleify Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 9,579	*To Reef Central* wis fishing guy __________________ Make it a Great Day!!!! Current Tank Info: 60 gal SPS cube, with 25 gal refugium, 400W MH, DIY Lumenarc III, DIY skimmer, DIY stand and canopy. 40 breeder LPS with 40 gallon sump, DIY stand, 250W MH

11/26/2009, 12:26 PM	#11
evilspaz Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 478	I would get the 24G biocube you will enjoy it much better. 300$ is an ok price, but not the best... Good luck. __________________ -Zach

11/26/2009, 10:08 AM	#3
wis_fishing_guy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 95	Yes bigger is always better but that is a good cube if you want to stay on the small side.I jumped in to saltwater about a year ago.But got lucky and did a whole lot of reading right away.Here is a good starting point. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1696795

11/26/2009, 10:17 AM	#5
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	thanks guys keeep the help coming, if i did go with that is it ok for 2 clowns?

11/26/2009, 10:57 AM	#8
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	yes i am a fishing guy lol

11/26/2009, 11:00 AM	#9
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	ok thanks ill think about that i just reallly like the way the clowns get teratorial i find it coool. and i love the fact i can set up the tank and have hichikers that i have never seeen just apear... both could be positive and negitive but its alot more like a whole ecosystem then the freshwater tanks.

11/26/2009, 12:02 PM	#10
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	i am pretty close with my lfs owner, and he says he can order me that tank and i can get live rock and live sand and already cycled water from him for 300$s is that a good deal he said he will also throw in some invertabrits, its it smart to get the already cycled water and what not? or no, and the main reason i am asking this is i wanna know what i should have my cuc made up of.

11/26/2009, 12:58 PM	#12
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	thanks for the info, and would it be worth buying all the already cycled water to get ride of the annoying cycaling stage?

11/26/2009, 01:18 PM	#13
Neogenocide Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Findlay, OH Posts: 851	I would say if you getting the cube, rock, and inverts all ready to go.....sounds pretty good to me. Another plus is you have the lhs for support if needed that way. Scott

11/26/2009, 02:14 PM	#14
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	what should my clean up crew consist of?

11/26/2009, 03:31 PM	#15
getfooled Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gulf Coast TX Posts: 46	even if you get everything that has been cycled and cured i would get it a month or so be adding live stuff. When you start adding sand and a live rock stiring things up you might create a short cycle due to it being disturbed. Not saying it will but it could. CUC for a 14 gallon get some blue or red legged hermit crabs, few turbos and some nass. snails (they are good cleaning the sand bed).

11/26/2009, 03:41 PM	#16
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	ok thanks for the help, and i understand what u r saying about the short cycle, sorry i am very new... my cuzin has a tank that has been up for about 6 months, and hes got all sorts of copopods and what not, do almost all live rock carry copopods and other good things for the tank? does it just take time for them to multiply and form a visable population?

11/26/2009, 03:50 PM	#17
getfooled Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gulf Coast TX Posts: 46	well yes once your tank is cycled and established you can add more live rock, and they could have all that good stuff in it. When i added my liverock i bought a rock from several different people/LFS to get a mixture of good things. It will just take time and things will start showing up and multiply.

11/26/2009, 04:14 PM	#18
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	so u recomend buying my lf from a few differnt places to add diversity?

11/26/2009, 04:19 PM	#19
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	I have had a 14g biocube for three years and have been very happy with it. The stock lighting is enough for a lot of differant corals with the exception of the most light demanding ones such as sps's and such. Right now I have 2 clowns and a yellow watchman goby and plenty of coral. Instead of listing all the corals that did well in my tank I posted a pic. __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

11/26/2009, 04:22 PM	#20
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	BTW, I like the idea of getting LR from multiple places for more biodiversity but only if it is fairly fresh LR. __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

11/26/2009, 04:26 PM	#21
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	can u name a few of those corals so i can look them up, just a few cause i really no not to much about the corals... and did any of those start as just frags, or did u buy big peices?

11/26/2009, 04:38 PM	#22
spleify Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 9,579	Nice looking tank kingfisher. A few of those corals are zoanthids, various mushrooms, brown button polyps, green star polyps, etc __________________ Make it a Great Day!!!! Current Tank Info: 60 gal SPS cube, with 25 gal refugium, 400W MH, DIY Lumenarc III, DIY skimmer, DIY stand and canopy. 40 breeder LPS with 40 gallon sump, DIY stand, 250W MH

11/26/2009, 04:42 PM	#23
gophilau Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Terrebonne, Qc Canada Posts: 63	Nice tank !! soon you are need to got bigger tank

11/26/2009, 05:00 PM	#24
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	Thanks spleify, I also have a Pagoda cup- fuzzy green disc upper right. Open Brain- red donut looking one lower left tree coral - next to goby it usually opens a lot more yellow polyps - top candy canes- below and to the right of pagoda I would recommend Mushrooms or green star polyps for your first corals. They are very hardy and excellent choice for beginner . Most of my specimens were larger pieces which I paid between 20 and 40 dollars. I Have turned my 55g FOWLR into a reef tank with the frags from my14g cube over the last year. __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

11/26/2009, 05:18 PM	#25
pennfisherman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 308	your tank is amazing and thanks for the begginer descriptions lol i honesly needed them. corals seem so exspencie in ny i dont no if its just the store i was at but almost ever peice was over 100$s thats why i was asking about the frags. i am only 18 and dont have too much money to spend lol