Please comment on my new 14G BioCube!

[Yedgy]

Originally posted by pmjfuture
nice tank, good luck!!!

Thanks!

[Yedgy]

A Refugium Is Born!

I've decided to convert the 2nd chamber into a refugium. It already has LR rubble in the bottom, and all I needed was some light. Bloke created a really neat refugium lamp for his BC14, so I pretty much followed his example. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a 13-Watt 6500K PC bulb, so I went with a 10-Watt version. If I ever come across a 13 though, I think I'll pick it up because I've been on a bit of a lighting kick lately.

Anyhoo, here's the nearly completed light:



I finished it up by sealing the socket in place with silicone and by applying bits of Velcro to the corners to minimize light leakage.

Now this is yet another point where I'll give my warning: if you plan on doing this, do this with an empty tank! Luckily, I had enough room to measure and place the lamp properly, but I had to scrape the paint blind, using a flashlight for guidance. Doing this with an empty tank would have been much easier!

The end result doesn't look half bad:



Sorry about the lousy photo. Not too bad, though. At first I thought it was a bit dark in there, but I stuck my hand in the chamber and it was very brightly lit. I ran the light for about an hour to see how hot the box would get, but it stayed pretty cool. Best of all, there's nearly zero light leakage, apart from the faint green glow of the scouring pad.

I'll probably run the fuge light on a reverse-daylight basis to help stabilize pH, but I'm tempted to run it several hours longer in order to maximize nutrient export.

[Yedgy]

Water parameters are still pretty good, and the snails are busily munching on all the hairy stuff. One of them cleaned off the whole Koralia unit in a day and a half. I added 2 Tonga nassarius snails to work the sand.

I added 1 unit of Chemi-Pure to the small sub-chamber in chamber 3 and a bag of Purigen to chamber 1. I ordered a LaMotte alkalinity test kit so I can safely bring alkalinity up to target levels.

[mksalt]

What are your target levels for PH & ALK?

[Yedgy]

Target for pH is 8.1ish at "dawn" and 8.3ish at "dusk." Target for alkalinity is about 9 dKH or 3.3 meq/L.

[Yedgy]

It's been a little while since I posted pics of the aquarium, so here's an FTS:



Here's what's new since the last update:

The snails have been happily munching away at all the GHA, and the only major spot that's left is on one side near the sand:



The rest of the rocks are considerably cleaner now, with tiny flecks of new coralline growth here and there:



The 2 Tonga Nassarius snails have been busily burrowing under the sand, tilling it well:



One of the Nerite snails has laid eggs on the back wall! They look like little white sesame seeds:



I'm going to assume that an egg-laying snail is a happy snail!

The tank's first inhabitant is a small blue mushroom, which opened up nicely in its first full day in its new home:



The chaeto has been growing very nicely in the QT and there's been no sign of unwanted hitchhikers, so I decided to put it in the fuge. I'm lighting the fuge 24/7 for the time being, just until the rest of the pest algae die off from starvation. In the QT now resides a way-cool red branching macroalga I picked up at the LFS. A fellow RCer identified it as Scinaia complanata, which seems all but unheard of, given the very little information I've been able to find on it. I have to work it over and get rid of lots of detritus and remove some hitchhikers (a baby serpent star, a couple bristleworms, some GHA, an aiptasia or two, etc. Assuming it grows well in QT, it'll make a swell addition to the display tank in a few weeks.



If you have any experience with S. complanata in your aquarium, PLEASE share your experiences! How fast does it grow? Is it hardy? What kind of light/flow/nutrients does it like? Is it invasive? Do any of your fish or crabs pick at it?

I've been dosing 2.5 mL of the alkalinity part of B-Ionic to bring up the pH and alkalinity, and I finally got my hands on a LaMotte alk test kit, so as of later tonight I'll have a handle on alkalinity. End-of-day pH is now running just over 8.3, right about where I want it. Once I switch the fuge to a reverse-daylight schedule, I expect to be able to dial in the pH level and keep it fairly steady.

I still have a bit of GHA around the tank, most noticeably near the mushroom, but I'm going to hold off on buying any more snails until I've given the chaeto, Chemi-Pure, and Purigen a chance to remove nutrients from the water column.

The tank has now had 2 2-gallon water changes, a week apart. I intend to continue that schedule. I've also switched from using vending-machine RO to bottled distilled water. According to my TDS meter, TDS have gone from mid-40s to zero. That oughta teach those pesky algae who's boss!

[Yedgy]

...and oh yeah, I forgot: the cyano is gone, gone, gone!

It started disappearing once I added the Chemi-Pure and Purigen, and disappeared completely within 4 days.

[Yedgy]

Latest tank params are lookin' good:

• Temp: 78.6 F
• SG: 1.024
• pH: 8.32
• Ammonia: 0 PPM
• Nitrite: 0 PPM
• Nitrate: 0 PPM
• Calcium: 420 PPM
• Alkalinity: 3.1 meq/L

I'll cut the dose of B-Ionic to 2 mL and dose both parts in the morning to avoid a high pH swing.

The LaMotte alkalinity titration test gives results in PPM of calcium carbonate. I used this handy calculator to convert to meq/L.

The LaMotte test kit is really nice, BTW...it comes in a hard plastic case, has a real glass testing vial, and the dye comes in handy pellets, so no need to deal with a messy eyedropper or measuring crystals with a tiny spoon. The titrating pipette is a "direct read" type, which means that it's calibrated specifically for this test kit to read PPM instead of volume. The reagent solution and the testing vial both have a plastic cover with a hole for the titrator, which makes it very easy to both fill and dispense the reagent. Finally, the kit comes with a handy (and waterproof) reference card showing starting point and ending point colors, as well as a "beyond end point" color, making it really easy to determine the right point in the titration to take the reading. About the only negative I can find is that there's no pipette to fill the glass vial.

In general, I really like the Salifert test kits, but this LaMotte kit made me feel like I stepped out of a Chevy and into a BMW!

[InsaneClownFish]

Lookin good!

[Yedgy]

FRAGS!!!

After much research and consideration, I decided to go with all soft corals. I found several species that I thought would look good together and coexist in a tiny aquarium without bothering each other too much. I also decided to go with aquacultured/captive bred specimens whenever possible. They're hardier than wild-caught specimens, and they obviously don't impact the living reef as much.

I got four small (1" to 2") aquacultured frags from LiveAquaria, which are sitting on the sand until I decide the best placement for them. I couldn't put them in the QT because of the mystery macro.

Heliopora coerulea (blue ridge coral):



It's a stony coral, and it looks a lot like SPS corals, but it's actually an octocoral (soft coral). I think colonies of Heliopora look simply amazing and I'm looking forward to seeing this frag grow into one. Unlike SPS, it draws iron from the water, which it deposits in its skeleton as iron salts, giving the skeleton itself a blue-gray color.

Neospongodes sp. (purple passion tree coral):



This little beauty reminds me a lot of Dendronephthya, except that it's photosynthetic and therefore MUCH easier to keep in a home aquarium. I'll have to try to get a clear macro shot of the sclerites in the stalk, as they're beautiful. The tiny polyps are also gorgeous:



Neospongodes sp. (lemon tree coral):



Try as i might, I just couldn't get a clear shot of this little frag. I'll try again soon. It's going to look a lot like the purple passion tree but with a bright yellow "trunk."

Xenia sp. (pom pom):



These have opened up nicely, but I haven't noticed any pulsing activity yet. Hopefully soon!

[mksalt]

Hey Yedgy, How's it going with the lighting upgrade? Still happy?

Let's see the tank.

[smartang22]

Yes! I am super curious on your tank. I never did modify my lighting. I am too scared to try. I opened it and looked at it for a few minutes and gave up. I really want to do it this weekend though.
I got something called an umbrella mushroom that you might like for your tank. It is beautiful and neon colored.

[Kanthus]

Thanks for this thread. I just started my BC14 and this has been a lot of help.