Stocking a Biocube 29

[rmorse]

Hey all,

Just picked up my very first tank to do salt in!!!! I am so excited. I bought this for my mother for her birthday, but it is kind of like a present to me as well.

Trying to work through stocking right now. I don't have any livestock or live rock in the tank yet, trying to figure out what to put in first.

I have bought 2 20lb bags of live sand and 1 15lb bag of crushed coral. This will make the substrate. How deep should it be?


I know she wants a false percula clown. After that, she just wants color. Would a flame angel work? I also plan on having live rock and coral.


Last question: Doing partial water changes, do I gravel vac?


So, in recap: New tank. Need stocking suggestions.


Definite:
1 Percula clown
bunch of turbo snails
little hermit crabs

Possible?
Flame angel
mini horseshoe crab
any starfish


Suggestions?
I need other livestock suggestions


Thanks so much!

 

[rmorse]

Oh yea, I also want to add a black and white damsel to cycle it a bit.

When do I add live rock?

 

[PEVINE11]

add live rock and live sand asap.
after that wait a day or so add some hermit crabs. tank should be cycled ( the live sand and rock do the cyecleing rathe then freshwater its competly diffrent ) make sure you have about a pound of rock per 1-2 gallons of water. for example in my 29 gallon bio cube i have about 34 lbs of rock.


as for fish:
clowns are fine
flame angel is good
blennys are cool i love mine
purple dotty back will add collor
corral banded shimp or cleaner shrimp are a great toutch

 

[moto110]

Don't add a damsel to cycle it's a pain to get out and they beat down any other fish to put in there. You can add some mushroom corals thats always cool. You can add bicolor pseudochromis or some clown gobies or firefish.

 

[BIGgourami]

Hey all,

Just picked up my very first tank to do salt in!!!! I am so excited. I bought this for my mother for her birthday, but it is kind of like a present to me as well.

cool i got mine for christmas as my first SW

Trying to work through stocking right now. I don't have any livestock or live rock in the tank yet, trying to figure out what to put in first.

I have bought 2 20lb bags of live sand and 1 15lb bag of crushed coral. This will make the substrate. How deep should it be?

at least 1 inch.. more if you want burrowing fish, gobies, jawfish, dartfish etc

I know she wants a false percula clown. After that, she just wants color. Would a flame angel work? I also plan on having live rock and coral.

i would say the biocube isn't the best choice for dwarf angels and fairy wrasses.. a 30 gallon regular would be a much better choice.. it's almost 16 inches longer than the biocube, for added swimming space, a cherub angel may work though.


Last question: Doing partial water changes, do I gravel vac?

i dont and never needed to. enough flow in the tank, hermits crabs, and maybe something to stir up the sand is all that's needed

So, in recap: New tank. Need stocking suggestions.


Definite:
1 Percula clown
bunch of turbo snails
little hermit crabs

Possible?
Flame angel- i say no
mini horseshoe crab - no such thing
any starfish- fromia (genus) starfish stay small enough


Suggestions?
I need other livestock suggestions
other fish include:
firefish
grammas
chromis
smaller damsels
MAYbe a pseduo/dotty.. one of the red sea species, aldabraensis, sankeyi, springeri, fridmani, etc
countless types of gobies
jawfish
cardinalfish
and others

Thanks so much!

added in red

 

[alcohologist]

i'd make the perc a pair, the flame angel will do well in the tank if you have a good quantity of live rock. i'd add a pseudochromis/gamma and a goby/blenny to round the fish stock off. but keep in mind having your flame angel might make it impossible for your tank to be a reef. cleaner shrimp are some of the best beginner inverts. i agree with moto, don't use a damsel to cycle. add a piece of shrimp or other seafood, that works just as well, in conjunction with your live rock.
you shouldnt need to gravel vac in this tank, leave a fish to turn over the sandbed.
also what kind of equipment do you have on the tank? canister/sump/skimmer/refugium?

 

[alcohologist]

hmm. what are the dimensions on a biocube 29?

 

[BIGgourami]

20x21x21 it has a 3 stage wet dry that i would reccomend replacing with live rock rubble and 2 36 watt PC lights and 1 LED lunar light
comes with a smallish return pump that i would upgrade to like 3-400 GPH pump

also look into a small skimmer for the tank.. BIOcube makes one but it's total crap

 

[rmorse]

20x21x21 it has a 3 stage wet dry that i would reccomend replacing with live rock rubble and 2 36 watt PC lights and 1 LED lunar light
comes with a smallish return pump that i would upgrade to like 3-400 GPH pump

also look into a small skimmer for the tank.. BIOcube makes one but it's total crap

Sounds good. Is this an immediate thing, or do I have time to wait to upgrade?

Thanks for all your help Big Gourami, and everyone else!!!!

Here is an update:

I have the tank up and running, I am adding salt to it, trying to get my Salinity at the proper level. I have one 15 lb bag of crushed coral in it.

I have 2 20lb bags of live sand waiting to go in, once I have my Salinity level proper.

Later today, I will go pick up live rock.


Hey BG, what do you mean by replacing it with live rock rubble? I put the rubble where the bioballs are?

 

[PEVINE11]

20x21x21 it has a 3 stage wet dry that i would reccomend replacing with live rock rubble and 2 36 watt PC lights and 1 LED lunar light
comes with a smallish return pump that i would upgrade to like 3-400 GPH pump

also look into a small skimmer for the tank.. BIOcube makes one but it's total crap

as for the skimmer i run the biocube one and the one i got off the net.
mine is a BC29R got it off some saphire aquatics place or someting for like $180.00 i love it and the extra biocube one is just alil sometin extra