New Here....Biocube 8

[Teeb]

I just bought a Biocube 8 for my first saltwater tank. I basically have a clean up crew in there now as the 2 damsels I had there mysteriously died last week. I'm holding off on adding new fish for the moment. So far, I've done the following mods:

- Removed all of the stock filtration
- Running 25w stealth heater and stock pump in first chamber
- Put LR rubble, chemipure, and filter floss in second chamber
- Replaced stock pump with a 606 attached to a hydor flo
- Opened up the 1st and 2nd chambers to keep up with the new pump

The only livestock that's in there right now is:
2 Emerald Crabs
2 Red Legged Hermit Crabs
6 Blue Legged Hermit Crabs
3 Nassirus? Snails

I would like to add coral soon, but have no idea where to start. Anyone selling frags cheap? I just started getting a bunch of white bugs (for lack of a better term). They're all over the glass and I occaisonally see them on the LR. They look like grains of salt with a tail. Any idea what they'd be and are they dangerous?

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/davisfamily2009/DSC00096.jpg

[BIGBIRD123]

How long has the tank been running? What are your parameters? But first of all, Welcome to MAAST. You will find a lot of information here...

[Teeb]

The tank has been up for about 6 weeks. I probably need to order a test kit, I have no idea where I'm at.

[BIGBIRD123]

without knowing the params, it would be hard to give advice on corals...

[tony]

you need to figure out why your fish died before adding anything else and wasting money

[Big_Pun]

i love the way a fresh biocube looks before coraline grows on the back wall, great start with the mods, did you use ro/di water, also if you want you can swing by and grab a cup of my sand to help seed, and i might have some frags

[Teeb]

I initially used tap, but after some severe algae blooms I switched to RO and the water has been much clearer. With the 2 turbo's in there, they keep that back wall clean. Also, that's where the majority of my "bugs" are. I'm going to let it sit a little more with the just the cleaners in there and I'll add a chromis and go from there. I eventually want to take this tank to work and I'll take any advice for a super low maintenance tank.

[Big_Pun]

do softies, zoas, mushrooms, stuff like that should be easy and hardy

[JimD]

You really need to add some algae for that snail to eat, I suggest something like an algae clip and some Nori. Your tank is too sterile at this point and without supplimental food, its chances of survival are slim and could result in serious water perameter issues.

[nick021892]

Great new setup, I love my biocube 8!

I would offer some advice, but you pretty much have already done all the mods I did. You should be in good shape, although your CUC is a bit too large. In my BC8 I only have 2 hermit crabs and three snails, and it seems to be working out.

I can't wait to see some coral in this tank!

[Teeb]

Yeah, I went a little overboard with the CUC. I forgot to mention the 2 turbo snails in there as well. They do keep everything cleaned up nicely though. I'll test the water when I get back from SPI and start thinking about corals. Does anyone have any what my "bugs" might be. They seem to be eating algae off the back wall which is good, but I can't help but feel like my tank has fleas.

[jpond83]

there pods they are good

[nick021892]

there pods they are good

Yeah, those fleas you are talking about are called copepods/amphipods. They are really good for your tank, and fish love to snack on them. You could try to setup a small chaeto fuge in chamber 2 of your tank for them to grow in if you want even more.