First Tank Ever - BioCube 32 Newbie Build

[Katrina71]

I have been told don't bother with the cp 25, but I don't know about those.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Oh and I did get my live sand in! Here is a close up. Still deciding on the removal of some rock and which rock to remove.

 

[Weedy Sea Dragon]

Sweet setup!!

What kind of wood did you use for the stand. It looks awesome!

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

And yes I was not thinking and put in my Flipper before I dumped the sand in, lol. Still brainstorming on best way to safely get that sand off.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Sweet setup!!

What kind of wood did you use for the stand. It looks awesome!

Thanks! Got it at Home Depot. You get like 8 4ft boards in a box for $25. Took 3 boxes for me to do sides, back and door. I think I had two or three full boards leftover. Super easy to work with. I am not a pro woodworker by any means and I was able to handle without issue.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-2-in-...Poplar-Weathered-Board-8-Pack-27827/303693402

 

[zwschutz]

This was my weekend DIY stand project. Still working on the door.

Looks great! I just built mine 2 weeks ago and used the exact same reclaimed boards. Only part that didn’t turn out great was the door because it showed the ends and where they were cut.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Looks great! I just built mine 2 weeks ago and used the exact same reclaimed boards. Only part that didn’t turn out great was the door because it showed the ends and where they were cut.

To tackle this I cut a little piece off each new board so both ends were consistent with cut edges. Then just buy a small can of gray stain for them.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

No ammonia showing up yet. Ph is a little low so added some buffer. Salinity and water temp are 1.023 and 78.3F. I gave live sand 48 hours to register on tests and nothing. Going to start a dose of ammonium chloride and bio spira tonight to get things started.

 

[jabberwock]

I had very good success with Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride. It took my biocube 32 all of 9 days to cycle.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

I had very good success with Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride. It took my biocube 32 all of 9 days to cycle.

Did you also use one and only or some other bacteria supplement?

 

[Katrina71]

I used a piece of shrimp and Bio spira

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

I used a piece of shrimp and Bio spira

Bio spira work well for you?

 

[Katrina71]

Bio spira work well for you?

Yes. No issues.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Picked up a 10g tank from my lfs today to use for a quarantine. Do I need a light for this or just a heater and filter? Any suggestions on cheap filters for this? I already have a spare heater. Do I need anything else?

 

[jabberwock]

Picked up a 10g tank from my lfs today to use for a quarantine. Do I need a light for this or just a heater and filter? Any suggestions on cheap filters for this? I already have a spare heater. Do I need anything else?

A couple unused pieces of pvc that the fish can use for cover.

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Also when should I be introducing media into tank? Before, during after cycle? Any media type suggestions on what I should run?

 

[jabberwock]

Did you also use one and only or some other bacteria supplement?

No, I used, Aqua Vitro Seed, worked great. Test a lot during this period, reduce ammonia and bacteria supplements as things progress and stabilize. Be ready to put in one fish when you get cycled so you don't have to keep adding ammonia.

 

[Salty Lemon]

After playing around for a few hours this is what I ended up going with. Feedback is appreciated. Used about 36lbs of the dry rock.
Love the rock! It is going to look great!

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

I wanted to get started tonight on my quarantine/hospital tank. Ended up at Petsmart because my lfs is closed. Some other customer noticed me looking at tank stuff and came up to tell me they price match chewy.com and any online stores. Such a great tip! Then I think the manager didn’t quite know what she was doing. Pretty sure she found some used eBay listing or something because she gave me a Aqueon 500 powerhead for $17. Crazy deal!!

 

[Unskilled Reefer]

Got the basics going to at least get salt water mixing. Now just waiting until its time to test the water in the main tank. I will post the test results shortly.