naughty's bc 14!!

[naughty]

okay okay, so it's not here yet.... but the stand and the cube have now been ordered it's not even funny how excited i am about this thing, so i thought i'd start the journal thread about it anyway.

if you guys want to help, i would love some input on what other things i absolutely must get, such as:

~type of heater (thinking about investing in a nice digital one, is that worth it?)
~test kits
~saltwater (i still don't know if i'll be buying or mixing it...)
~type of live rock (saw this crazy type at one lfs it was covered in red stuff and little plants and stuff growing on it, is that good?)
~sand (i'm thinking half an inch of black sand would look pretty sweet, what do you think?)

anything else i need for the first stage? i believe i just stick that all in there with some dead shrimp or something? my lfs said there's some product you can put in there that will allow you to add the rock and fish after 48 hours, any thoughts on that?

anyway, i'll be around reading more and probably answering my own questions, but if anyone's bored i always have tons of questions!

for now, pictures of fishes i want! not sure on the dottyback yet, still taking suggestions!

[twelvejewelz]

If you get the live rock you wont even need to put in a shrimp the live rock alone will be enough to cycle the tank. One thing to remember in this hobby is that patients is key and only bad things happen fast. Take your time with everything so if something goes wrong ever you know exactly what changes caused it. The sand is all about what you prefer i personally like small grain white sand but my friend has mixed black and white which looks nice to. The grain size will also depend on what you want to keep in the tank so keep that in mind if you decide to keep sand sifting gobies or something. I would just go with a stealth or titanium heater there pretty much standard. In the long run youll save yourself alot of money if you mix the saltwater yourself plus you can get the water just how you like it , parameters wise. It would help to buy it the first time though just to get things going( thats what i would do cause im so lazy ) . Good luck and post pics when you get it going!

EDIT: Those dottybacks can get very nasty and mean in a small space so be careful. The clowns or a pair of clowns are always nice though.

[naughty]

hey! thanks for the input!! and i'm definitely taking my time, i've spent a little over a month researching everything nano reef wise, so i think now i just gotta research more as i go even bought a little journal to draw/write things down about it in

as for the dottybacks, i've heard that, but i just don't really like the way the gobys look too much, so i was hoping to have something other than that. also clowns add a lot to the bioload right? so i was thinking of just putting one in there, and however many more fish would be comfortable, i'd probably be happy with 3 but 2 would be fine as well, just haven't decided which ones yet... it seems like i don't have too many options if i don't want the goby asked about a yellowtail blue damsel that i really liked, but people said that one would be too agressive too, so now i really don't know! i would like as much color as possible, so something that would complement the clown well...

pictures will be up as soon as i get the cube, promise!

[KeysKid]

How about a purple firefish?

[evb9]

You want color and a peaceful reef . . . Royal Gramma and whatever Goby peeks your interest. Otherwise I would do a pair of Clowns(platinums!!!!) and that's it. I've been eyeing one of these tanks myself so good luck and I'll be tagging along. And patience is a virtue!!!!

[naughty]

royal grammas and firefish are definitely high on the list, i was thinking about those... maybe one of those and a clown? but i'd love a blue fish with the clown (not to be cliche, but just for the color combo ) so if you know any....

[evb9]

I don't know because of tank size but you could look into a Macneilli Assesor (blue). I have the yellow and he gets kinda ****y in a 30, so I don't know how they do in a 14 gallon. I've seen it done before though.

[dogstar74]

With over 100K members you're going to get all kinds of advise. I would suggest you research everything pretty well, but not go crazy. 10 people most likely will have 10 similar but different ideas on what is best. So take everything I say with a grain of salt but....

I have heard terrible stories about the stealth heaters not just malfunctioning, but starting fires! So I'd go with an ebo Jager. Check Drs. Foster and Smith or Marine Depot or some of the other sponsers on this site for prices.

I agree with the blue assessor. Nice fish. With a clown and the assesor, you may be done with swimming livestock in a 10 gallon.

Good luck!
Aaron

[dogstar74]

Some light reading:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=stealth
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=stealth
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=stealth
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=stealth
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=stealth
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=stealth

[naughty]

wow, thanks for the awesome advice i love this forum already, you're so helpful!

read those threads, looks like i will definitely not be getting a stealth heater, the ebo jagers looked good, but it seems like people like the hydor theos as well, which caught my eye a bit more since they're smaller and fully submersible, are there any problems with those ones? i would ideally like to stick it in one of the back chambers

as for the fish, yes, love it! the blue assessor is way sweet, but it seems like it's also one of the dottyback style fishes right? out of those, these are the ones that i'm thinking of picking from:

sunrise dottyback:


indigo dottyback:


and the blue assessor:


i also still think the purple one looks way sweet, but out of these i think i'm leaning more toward the sunrise one if it wouldn't be too aggressive to put with a clown :P

[dogstar74]

fish are like people, sometimes the only way to know is to try it and see. And even within breeds some fish are docile, and some spunky. So just try and see.

I don't know anything about those heaters... which is probably a good thing If I had heard a lot about those then it would probably be bad.

Aaron

[austinpetemo]

i bought a hydor theo for mine, i havnt quite put it in the back yet, i still have to learn how to mess with the real compartments. one thing you need to look into is replacing the stock pump and getting a hydor flow. the pump i use is a hydor pico evolution 1200. some people prefer the maxi jet 900 or something like this but the pico is more powerful and less expensive, plus it puts off less heat.

[naughty]

yeah, i was thinking of waiting to upgrade that, the way i understand it is that the corals are the most sensitive to flow and it will be a while before i put those in there, so i was thinking of upgrading the pumps in a bit. am i right?

[RobbReef]

Where did you pick up the sunrise dotty back ive been looking for one? thanks

[naughty]

i haven't gotten any yet but this is the website that sells them i believe

http://www.aquacon.com/basslets_saltwaterfish.html

[naughty]

lol. found a picture of our humongous pleco in the freshwater tank at the parents' . he has gotten even bigger, we might have to trade him in...

[dogstar74]

Naughty,

I hate to do this to you again, but it's for your own good.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=aquacon
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=aquacon
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=aquacon
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=aquacon
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hlight=aquacon

I could go on, but I didn't want to go to page 2 of my search.

Hope I'm helping, and not just spreading bad karma. Keep posting what you're doing, and it seems I'll keep punching good holes in your plan.

HTH
Aaron

[evb9]

ONLY live aquaria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did it and will NEVER go anywhere else. In that small of quarters I wouldn't attempt a dotty with anything that lives in the sea (including sharks ) They're horrible creatures. With a tank that size you should make it species only, imo

[naughty]

wow guys, you are a tremendous help. i will definitely never order from them! live aquaria is a great website i'll remember to stick to that one...

ahhh but dottys are soooo damn cute! i'll definitely be taking a while before i get one though so we will see... maybe i'll just have to try it.. if not, i'll find something else, but they really are gorgeous...

[kingfisher62]

I know you said you did not like gobies but this little guy is pefect for your size tank

[pennfisherman]

agree with kingfisher
i have an antena goby and love him. the first 4 months didnt see him much, but now hes out infrount 80% of the time

[naughty]

aww, well when you put it that way...............

shucks.

[MPevine11]

Originally Posted by naughty

okay okay, so it's not here yet.... but the stand and the cube have now been ordered it's not even funny how excited i am about this thing, so i thought i'd start the journal thread about it anyway.

I was very excited when i got my biocube HQI i know the feeling
you guys want to help, i would love some input on what other things i absolutely must get, such as:

~type of heater (thinking about investing in a nice digital one, is that worth it?)
I have a Fluval E heater and Love it!
~test kits
Elos Test kits are a bit pricey but seem to be very accurate and easy to read
~saltwater (i still don't know if i'll be buying or mixing it...)
i recomend mixing it. i use tropic marin pro reef and make my own RODI water
~type of live rock (saw this crazy type at one lfs it was covered in red stuff and little plants and stuff growing on it, is that good?)
i wouldnt buy all that style rock only because its probaly pretty expsnive. but maybe a couple pieces of that, just make sure you dont see any bristle worms (Can cause problems) or alage on the rocks (other then coraline)
~sand (i'm thinking half an inch of black sand would look pretty sweet, what do you think?)
im not the biggest black sand fan. i had it in my display of my biocube 29 Hqi and took it out and put it in my refugium, i now have white sand

anything else i need for the first stage? i believe i just stick that all in there with some dead shrimp or something? my lfs said there's some product you can put in there that will allow you to add the rock and fish after 48 hours, any thoughts on that?
'bio-spria' its has live bactera you just add to your tank. i use it when starting a
new tank. with sand, live rock, and bio-spria you would be all set
anyway, i'll be around reading more and probably answering my own questions, but if anyone's bored i always have tons of questions!

not sure on the dottyback yet, still taking suggestions![/IMG]
Purple firefish. picasso clown.

all in RED

[naughty]

thanks M! your comments are super helpful

the firefish may very well be the way to go! what about a royal gramma?

annd not sure if i could afford the picasso clown lol! but we shall see

do you guys know a website that it's best to buy all the equipment from?

also i'm trying to come up with the list of bare essentials to have to start the cube off, so far i have:

~heater (probably gonna go with the eheim jager)
~live rock
~sand
~some test kit (phosphates, nitrates, calcium, carbonate hardness, nitrites, anything else i need/don't need? )
~saltwater
~thermometer
~timer power strip

thought it'd be good to ask what you guys think on modding the filters. i understand that it needs to be modded, i'm leaning towards getting steviet's media rack and going from there. do you think chaeto is absolutely necessary for a healthy tank or can i get away with using nonliving methods? what do you guys put back in there and where do you buy it? i noticed he doesn't sell the led lights anymore...

is there anything else i absolutely must add to the list of first purchases?

[KeysKid]

Ammonia test strips are also good.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/
and
http://www.marinedepot.com
are both good websites that I use frequently.