Waterbox Cube 20

[King Piscean]

Hi,
I got into the hobby years ago when buying a 10 gallon fish tank for my son for Christmas. He and the family didn’t care for it too much so I headed all the maintenance and setup and fell in love. I then got a 20 gallon and ran planted freshwater and then moved to salt water tanks. I’ve kept them for about 4 years now and am ready to really dive into corals fully. I’ve dabbled in it with moderate success with much of my demise coming from tinkering and doing too much. I’m stocking corals again in the next couple of months and not the 1-5 like the past which I feel has been the issue. I guess not stocking enough coral and turning up the power and photo period causes algae and other nasties to take hold easier. So here is my current setup.

Aquarium: Waterbox Cube 20
Lighting: AI Prime HD on a 5 hour low power photo period.
Waterhead: AI Nero 3
Filtration: Filter Sock and 1 Foam block in central chamber where Eshopps Nano Skimmer sits.
75 Watt InkBird Heater/Controller @ 78 and Xpaqua Duetto ATO in return in a 5 gallon Innovative Marine Reservoir

Stock: 2 Clownfish, 1 Purple Zoa
Carib Sea Rock and Sand

Maintenance: Water change every 3-4 weeks and filter sock change every 2 weeks. Water testing every blue moon but will definitely be more once more corals added.

 

[civics14]

Welcome to ARC and you're doing it right with posting pics and starting a thread right off the bat!

Though, I am a bit confused by what you mean about "I’m stocking corals again in the next couple of months and not the 1-5 like the past which I feel has been the issue. I guess not stocking enough coral and turning up the power and photo period causes algae and other nasties to take hold easier. "

When it comes to nuisance algae, its usually due to excess nutrient, then of course, light plays a role. However, it starts with the excess nutrients, usually created by over feeding, use of tap water, rodi water that exhausted the media, or just not enough exporting of nutrients, done by either water changes, skimming, media reactors, etc.

Personally, I run a 12 hour light schedule, 6 hours at peak, and I don't have a single strand of visible algae in my tank. Then again, I do have several tangs that are constantly grazing.

Remember, the tank is for your enjoyment, and 5 hour photoperiod, seems very limited and definitely won't be enough for some types of corals. However, I do see you have a zoa frag in there, which aren't very light demanding, but the AI prime isn't that strong either. What kind of clean up crew do you have at the moment?

 

[skrappy]

Looks good. I would recommend rinsing out your filter sock every 2 or 3 days.

 

[TiggerandRoo]

Looks to me like you are off to a great start!

There’s a lot that goes into a “clean aquarium” and an internet full of opinions. In my humble opinion - stability and balance over time is the name of the game (coupled with a lot of patience!).

I would second Skrappy above on more frequent sock cleaning though as it does no good to catch the gunk but then leave it in the water column. I keep a number of them on rotation - just a quick rinse and toss in a bucket- when i accumulate a handful and feel motivated I clean in the washer with a tiny bit of bleach NO detergent, extra rinse, and then dry in the sun.

 

[King Piscean]

Welcome to ARC and you're doing it right with posting pics and starting a thread right off the bat!

Though, I am a bit confused by what you mean about "I’m stocking corals again in the next couple of months and not the 1-5 like the past which I feel has been the issue. I guess not stocking enough coral and turning up the power and photo period causes algae and other nasties to take hold easier. "

When it comes to nuisance algae, its usually due to excess nutrient, then of course, light plays a role. However, it starts with the excess nutrients, usually created by over feeding, use of tap water, rodi water that exhausted the media, or just not enough exporting of nutrients, done by either water changes, skimming, media reactors, etc.

Personally, I run a 12 hour light schedule, 6 hours at peak, and I don't have a single strand of visible algae in my tank. Then again, I do have several tangs that are constantly grazing.

Remember, the tank is for your enjoyment, and 5 hour photoperiod, seems very limited and definitely won't be enough for some types of corals. However, I do see you have a zoa frag in there, which aren't very light demanding, but the AI prime isn't that strong either. What kind of clean up crew do you have at the moment?

It was a combination of too much nutrient and light which caused my first algae/cyano/dino outbreak. I got excited and was trying to get the corals to grow faster by feeding too much. I used the red sea reef energy plus too much and all the nuisance stuff exploded so now I am scared and super careful now. It took months to get the tank back right. I have no clean up crew at the moment but when I did before I killed the last by trying to treat an algae break out with fluconozale they were awesome. I'm going to restock soon and will then increase the photo period. I wish I could get a tang but my 20 gallon is a too small for one. I heard they are great for algae control.

 

[King Piscean]

Looks to me like you are off to a great start!

There’s a lot that goes into a “clean aquarium” and an internet full of opinions. In my humble opinion - stability and balance over time is the name of the game (coupled with a lot of patience!).

I would second Skrappy above on more frequent sock cleaning though as it does no good to catch the gunk but then leave it in the water column. I keep a number of them on rotation - just a quick rinse and toss in a bucket- when i accumulate a handful and feel motivated I clean in the washer with a tiny bit of bleach NO detergent, extra rinse, and then dry in the sun.

Yeah I gotta do better! I was leaving them in way too long.

 

[civics14]

It was a combination of too much nutrient and light which caused my first algae/cyano/dino outbreak. I got excited and was trying to get the corals to grow faster by feeding too much. I used the red sea reef energy plus too much and all the nuisance stuff exploded so now I am scared and super careful now. It took months to get the tank back right. I have no clean up crew at the moment but when I did before I killed the last by trying to treat an algae break out with fluconozale they were awesome. I'm going to restock soon and will then increase the photo period. I wish I could get a tang but my 20 gallon is a too small for one. I heard they are great for algae control.

Yeah, at 20G, your best option for algae control will be inverts and they do a great job. Take a look at reefcleaners.org to see what kind of inverts control what and I suggest buying locally tho if you can. Also, if you choose to buy from them, be careful with their package, I feel like it is way too many, on top of that, they are super tiny.

Corals all get the best of us and everyone goes through it. Rushing to get so many and trying to push it to grow faster. This hobby is all about patience and taking it slow. Stability is the key. I had cyano outbreak once and I just vacuumed it out 2 times a week for a month until the issue was fixed, I try to avoid any chemicals to fix problems. I always find that it just creates more problems.

 

[jcook54]

Nice tank! How does the Eshopps skimmer work for you? I need to get a skimmer for my 25g anemone tank and I'm curious. I've been saying I need one for a year now and haven't actually done my research.

 

[King Piscean]

Nice tank! How does the Eshopps skimmer work for you? I need to get a skimmer for my 25g anemone tank and I'm curious. I've been saying I need one for a year now and haven't actually done my research.

It's awesome. Easy to install and produces a nice foam. Great addition to my tank and has helped tremendously.

 

[King Piscean]

Went to Premier Aquatics and Atlanta Aquarium Monday and bought a cleanup crew and a Wrasse (Calypso) and 2 corals (red montipora and birdsnest). They are settling in nicely and all my levels are looking great. I'm now changing out filter socks.

 

[King Piscean]

Clean up crew consists of some hermit crabs an assortment of snails and 2 emerald crabs.

 

[King Piscean]

I tested water today and everything holding steady. No need for a water change. I think I was changing water too much in the past and not feeding enough. My numbers now look a lot better rather than the 0 for everything I used to have. Having a bigger clean up crew does wonders.

 

[Cook]

Nice tank. Wrasses are notorious jumpers, so if you don't have a screened top, I would consider one in the near future.

 

[King Piscean]

Tank update! It’s running stable with some new additions.

 

[King Piscean]

I've seem to find my rhythm with my box here. 2 sock changes a week with 10-20% water change weekly. testing alkalinity twice a week and calcium nitrates phosphates once a week Sat or Sun. Clean glass every day and feed 2-3 times a day with frozen food and hikari marine pellets. Once every 2 weeks with polyp labs. Things are stable and I only have to add alkalinity once a week to keep it between 8-9.5 ppm. Auto top off handles that chore. I'm loving watching everything grow and fourish. What yall do?