# biocube look alike



## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

i bought this tank and not sure about the light specs are these okay to grow corals? http://airpump.itrademarket.com/785876/dms-400pl.htm


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Probably ok for some less demanding corals like zoanthids, mushrooms, star polyps, etc.


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

where would i be able to find a sord of guide for less demanding corals?


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Use something like liveaquaria (website) and look for corals that require low light... even then, i would verify if you can handle it...


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

what lights should i upgrade it to if i decide to do that in the future?


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Nano-tuners is a site that sells upgraded parts for nano-cubes, including light.
I dont know if they would have your make/model though.

What some people do is remove the top lid and add a different lighting system

T5 HO, Metal Halide, or LED (most expensive) will allow you to have almost anything.


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

i might just wait to upgrade to a larger tank before putting so much into lights this is all new to me so i wana make sure i can take care of the basics first. Also would replacing just the bulb with something stronger have any benefit ?


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## Naoko (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,

I met a guy some time ago keeping a M. digital and a S. hystrix in his nano, placed high under the PC, good color and moderate growth.
I don't think his had any LED though.

Enjoy.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Im not too sure about PC lighting options... I just know its at the bottom of the list when it comes to growing some of the more demanding corals.

You can still have a nice tank, there are alot of colourful mushrooms/ricordeas and zoa's that will survive in that type of tank.

I would suggest getting some type of "blue" light.. maybe some blue LEDs (actinic or something, forgot name) to help the corals POP with colour.
PC without the blue spectrum doesnt give the corals much colour


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## ///PY_M3 (Dec 15, 2010)

Kweli said:


> Nano-tuners is a site that sells upgraded parts for nano-cubes, including light.
> I dont know if they would have your make/model though.
> 
> What some people do is remove the top lid and add a different lighting system
> ...


Wait... Your telling me LEDs are the way to go? I thought LEDs are supposed to be such low consumption. How could they produce enough intensity to keep corals?


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

my tank has 3 settings 1 is bright light the other one is a little more blue then if i turn those off i have another setting that turns the tank all blue.


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

setting 1 









setting 2 









setting 3 









??????


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Is it possible to have setting 3 (blue) on with the other lights?

LED lights vary... the ones that can support growth of corals are hundreds of dollars... we are talking 400+ minimum. 

Theres also LED's that are used for moonlights and actinics (sp?) that give off blue notes, these are more for human eyes to see the corals... these dont help the corals grow.

If your tank doesnt have the 'blue' lighting that make the coral colourrs pop then I suggested spending some money on blue LED's to accomplish this.... this is for a beautiful looking tank more then for the corals themselves


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

very nice rockwork by the way... Is it firm/secure?

dont want that falling and killing livestock/corals


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

yea its realy secured moved the tank around couple of times and stayed in place im just concentrating a little bit on the lighting still dont mind waisting a bit on this tank but i want to upgrade eventually if things work out thats why i might just grow easier corals in this one and once i upgrade spend what i need to spend on proper lights. what do you think would be the cheapest best option for this little tank? or leave it the way it is. and yea its possible to have 2 lights on first one and then the blue one wich is the secound one but for me to turn the 3rd one on i have to turn the other 2 off


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

One thing i learned, even from people with massive tanks... is that your current tank is never big enough...

It is a good idea to practice on easier corals...... The hardest part of this hobby is keeping everything stable, and even that is manageable once you get some experience under your belt.

Ie, Making sure the water is always topped off (with freshwater, not saltwater)... 
Making sure your water change water is the exact same salinity

Theres alot of nice easy corals that you will be able to house while you get experience...

You should be fine with zoa's, mushrooms, and some LPS corals that dont need much light (like bubble coral, frogspawn, etc...)...


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

Alright thanks alot ive had freswater for about 15 years but never saltwater so this is all new to me thats why i got such a small tank to start off i was woundering if theres anything else i should do to start off i have live sand in the tank and rock also got a wavemaker and gona put in oceanic biocube protein skimmer have some bio balls etc. Also added some live nitrifying bacteria from superbac to start off the tank.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

While this site is a great community, I would suggest you sign up for nano-reef and reefcentral and do searches on their forums for some questions.

I would remove the bioballs.. apparently they arent good at part of the cycle and will leave you with problems in the future. You would have to research why, as I dont remember the reasons behind it.

Right now, during your cycle... the important things are water movement (all rocks should have movement around them) and heat.. light is something that isnt required during a cycle, but since you already have some corals on your rock you might want to use light to keep them alive


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

Have the main filter off so the bioballs arent really doing anything have the lights on about 10 hours a day and the night light on at night didnt have the heater on but im gona throw it in right now thanks alot realy appreciate all the help. is there anything i should put in the water to feed the live corals i found another one today on the same rock as the zoa .


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

You dont need to worry about feeding corals... they feed off the light

Everything looks good, just let it sit (you should have that koralia powerhead on aswell)


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

yea i do thats the only thing thats on


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

I would suggest you take out the bioballs from the main filter and replace it with filter floss, chemi pure or chaeto if you can put a light to grow them in the back.


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

i had the bio balls and also filter floss


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

rubensilva said:


> i had the bio balls and also filter floss


Take out the balls and put in chemi pure/purgien


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Do some bio-ball research on reef tanks..

apparently the balls help break down ammonia, but theres something it cannot do... Im not sure if it cannot break down nitrites or nitrates.. but either way, you dont want it in your tank


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

but would it be okay to take out the bio balls and just run filter floss?


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Yes... filterfloss is fine for now

In the future you can do more, but for the cycle its unneeded.

Bioballs need to go though


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

alright ill just save them for something else if i ever need them


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## BBOSS (Jan 30, 2010)

I have a BioCube 29 setup and running for just over a year, I think my experience may be of some relavance to you.

You have 36W of total PC lighting (daylight plus Actinic) for a 48L tank(12 Gal.), I believe it is sufficient enough for most LPS and softies. My 29Gal Biocube has stocked lighting totaling 36W PC, same as yours. My LPS and Softies are all happy and growing.

The 6 LED are moonlights so they will not contribute to any lighting power for coral photosynthsis. They are there for the good look when the lights are out. I turn on the Actinic (blue) lighting first, then the Daylight(white) about an hour later, and do the reverse 9 hours later to turn off the lights. No light is necessary while cycling.

I left the bioballs in the filtration chamber for about three months at beginning, they helped to cycle of the tank initially, eventally replaced them with Pureigen, Chemi-Pure Elite and cheato as Fish_Man had suggested, when my Nitrate level would not drop below 30ppm. 

I use filter floss to filter out larger particles and replace the floss once a week while doing WC. I purchased my filter floss at Walmart (I am cheap), the stock filter is just too expensive.

Keep up with your research on Internet and forums like this one and the ones suggested by Kweli, it can save you tons of money and aggravation.

You will also need some type of test kit in my opinion. API Reef Mater kit is the one I used and it has most of tests you will need for a reef tank.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

BBOSS said:


> No light is necessary while cycling.


I agree with everything BBOSS has said.. good to know the light is strong enough for LPS, as they will let you have alot of nice things in the tank.

Light isnt needed during cycle, but i noticed the rubin made another post with some coral life on the rock. If you want those to survive then you will want to keep your lights going (very smart to get a timer to do it all for you)

Since its only cycling you can do 4 hours a day for 1 week, then increase it 2 hours for the next 2 weeks, and then 2 more hours when your ready to add corals


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## rubensilva (Feb 1, 2011)

whent out today and bought a test kit and another live rock i been leaving the day time light with the artic blue light on and usually leave it on all day till 9 then turn them off around 9 and turn on the dark blue light. Gona keep doing research so i do as well with this as i can ill keep you guys updated on how the tank is doing and im gona do my first water test in about a week or so from now if things are good then ill be picking up my cleaning crew let me no what you guys think .


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Kweli said:


> Do some bio-ball research on reef tanks..
> 
> apparently the balls help break down ammonia, but theres something it cannot do... Im not sure if it cannot break down nitrites or nitrates.. but either way, you dont want it in your tank


The types of aerobic bacteria that the bioballs will host can break down ammonia and nitrites, but don't deal with nitrates. Since liverock will do that anyway, plus help convert some of your nitrates, they are redundant.


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