Hello from another newbie getting into Salt water

Hello all,

My name is Dave and I am new to the world of salt water. I will turn 60 on June 11 and this morning my wife and I purchased a Biocube HQI, kind of an early birthday present. I have always been fascinated with salt water and I am excited to get started and will be looking for a lot of advice.

Is there a section on here dedicated to Biocubes?

Thanks,
Dave

 

welcome to 3reef dave, i beleive you can join clubs dedicated to biocubes but i dont know the specifics as do not have one lol, pics are always a good thing here and everyone would love to see some of your tank, a biocube is a great first tank to work with so you have chosen wisely.

 

Welcome to 3reef.

Have fun with the Bio-cube, great first tank. The HQI allows you a lot of diversity in the corals you will choose.

 

Hello and welcome to you and your lovely bride! O.k. as far as setting up a Biocube, it is the same as getting any salt water aquarium going. Why don't you tell us what you think you are going to do i.e. buy sand (substrate), salt, use RO/DI water to mix the salt etc. and if you don't know along the way exactly what steps come first or whatever, then ask more questions. If you are a total beginner, one of us will compose a step by step for you. I suggest getting "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner (The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, (1890087998), Robert M. Fenner, Textbooks - Barnes & Noble).

 

Hello and welcome to 3reef.... Dave

 

Welcome to the best form on the face of the earth. Just remember go slow let it grow........salty

 

Congrats and welcome. People do some great things with those tanks, I'm sure you'll be addicted in no time

 

Welcome to 3reef

 

Welcome to the 3reef family, Dave!

How big is the bio cube?
First advice is to use RO/DI water. You can buy the filter to install at home, or purchase the water from a reputable local fish store (LFS).
Since biocubes are generally smaller tanks, one thing that will be hard to do is dose supplements (i.e. calcium, magnesium and alkalinity) that are used by hard corals to build their skeletal structure, since in a smaller tank, small mistakes or errors on your calculations can bring big consequences, my second advice is to choose a very good marine salt mix, and do weekly 10% to 15% water changes (WC).
The new water replenishes the used up resources to guarantee a steady coral growth.

Start the tank with base rock (dead live rock) to avoid any pests or unwanted hitchhikers, and dead sand. You can seed the tank by adding half a pound of live sand from a friend with an established aquarium or purchased from your LFS.

The book that was recommended in the first posts by unclejed, is a very good book to get started.

Plan ahead and research the fish and coral you can have based on your tank size.

There is some more about salt water aquariums, but let's start from the beginning ;-)

-Magnus.

Sent from my phone using my two opposable digits

 

I am a total beginner and would like to have a reef aquarium. I would appreciate your offer for a step by step as to where to start. I do plan to make a trip to my LFS store this weekend to get more help getting my tank up and running. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I realize that getting a tank up is a slow process but the rewards in the end will be well worth the wait.
Thanks,
Dave