New 30g cube started

[Hyolee]

Hi I just started a 30g Oceanic cube tank. Just wanted to post my setup to share. Currently my plans are to go all sps with 4 fish. Right now my tank is just starting to cycle with some live rock. Oh yeah, and I will put black backing on my tank. Here are the items I have so far:

15 lbs Caribsea Aragamax
30 lbs Buna Branch Fiji live rock
Seio 620

On order:
250w XM 10k
Lumenarc III
Deltec AP600

Later:
Aquacontroller Jr.
CA reactor (Geo or Deltec)
Tunze Osmolater

I was not impressed nor let down by the live rock. I ordered it from oceanpro and while it looked nothing like the pictures it does seem to have decent color yet not much in terms of life. The Seio 620 is going to be returned. It makes a buzzing sound that doesn't seem to go away. I think I may move up to a Seio 1500 anyways since the 620 seems a bit weak. I will post reviews of the skimmer and lighting once that is setup.

For fish, I am thinking:

Pseudocheilinus ocellatus
Nemateleotris helfrichi
Centropyge loriculus
Neocirrhitus armatus

For corals, I live pretty close to Atlantis so I'm sure I'll be able to find some good frags. I'll probably be able to bum off lots of frags from this one guy I know too.

One thing I'd like to know from the peanut gallery is if I should get more rock. I wasn't able to get too creative with the aquascaping because 75% of the rock in my tank is one massive rock. Not sure if I am going to chisel it or not.

 

[Anonymous]

Looks great so far, and it seems like you've got it all planned out nicely. The 30 cube is a great tank. Here's mine when I had it running :

Best of luck!

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

More rock would be a personal preference. I would probably add a little more but not fill the tank.

 

[Len]

Yo Hyolee, I hear you're getting good advice from your friend

Ya, I'd get more rock too but it's looking great thus far. I'd also personally cover up the back or paint it. You're right about that Seio looking fine.

 

[Len]

BTW, that rock is actually quite colorful for recently shipped rock. You just need to give it a month and all the colors will start to pop back. Most of the advertising photos for rocks is terribly misleading.

 

[fungia]

i like how bumpy that rock is!

 

[Anonymous]

Awesome rock!. I would add one more piece to the left side and I would get a pump to aggitate the surface.

 

[Mike612]

Good luck finding Pseudocheilinus ocellatus and Nemateleotris helfrichi. They are both extremely rare and pricey fish. I've seen the Helfrich's Dartfish online going for $200 and the Mystery Wrasse online going for $220. Unless you are very determined to raise these fish, I suggest you look for something else.

 

[Hyolee]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will be getting another 30 pounds of rock since it seems like double the amount of rock currently in the tank would still not be too much. I've also decided to go with a Coralvue Reeflux 10K because of the good reviews instead of a XM 10K. While I may lose a bit of par I think coloration will be better.

I definitely need more flow though and an unnamed retailer refused to take my seio 620 back. Would a Seio 1500 be too much for the 30 cube? Does anyone have experience with a Tunze 6060 in a small tank?

As for fish, I am really set on the ocellatus. I've always wanted that fish and I don't think it's 'that' hard to find. You just gotta be prepared to fork over the 2 benjamins when they become available. Once in a blue moon, you can find them for low 100's. Helfrichi's tend to go as low as 150 but not much lower. Anyone know the price range of interruptus? It's either that or loriculus.

 

[NKT]

Hyolee, nice tank! I think the rock looks great! Keep in mind that for p. ocellatus, you won't be able to keep any shrimp of any kind at all. As for the Interruptus, RCTHawaii has them captive raised for $650. That would make a killer combination

 

[fungia]

the tunze 6060 is pretty chunky. also it might be too much flow and you can't change the flow setting on it. i would add another seio since they are cheap to experiment.

 

[Hyolee]

Update: As soon as everything was cycled, I got a tiny bodianus bimaculatus. So tiny in fact (about an inch) that it disappeared after 1 week. After that, I nurtured a tank full of live rock for a couple months before I had to tear it down and move.

Now that I know I will stay in my current place for a long time, I've bit the bullet and ordered a new tank from Aquarium Obsessed.

Here are the stats:

200 gallons
62" x 31" x 24"H
3 side starphire
external overflow
euro-braced

This is going to be fun...

 

[mr_X]

awwe..i was looking forward to the cube build
good luck with the 200! :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Congrat's on the new tank!

But any other pics of the cube?

 

[Anonymous]

Some shots of the cube would be nice.

 

[bleedingthought]

Update: As soon as everything was cycled, I got a tiny bodianus bimaculatus. So tiny in fact (about an inch) that it disappeared after 1 week. After that, I nurtured a tank full of live rock for a couple months before I had to tear it down and move.

Now that I know I will stay in my current place for a long time, I've bit the bullet and ordered a new tank from Aquarium Obsessed.

Here are the stats:

200 gallons
62" x 31" x 24"H
3 side starphire
external overflow
euro-braced

This is going to be fun...

I don't care to see pictures of the cube let's just see pictures of the new tank when it's there!

Sounds like a very nice looking tank and I look forward to more updates! 8)

 

[Len]

You got a new tank?! :wink:

About time! 8)