Oceanic biocube 29 gallon

[Skurvey Dog]

Hello Rockstarnsc83 and to TR! I think the floss should be fine as it will help polish the water, BUT as CJo said, make sure you stay on top of keeping it clean. I like to use floss and the blue matting as part of my filtration and when I tried it without, I could tell a big difference.

[rockstarnsc83]

Thanks guys. Next question I have is about lighting..One day I will probably upgrade the whole lighting system..but that will be a while away im sure. My question is , on the stock biocube the lights are ( 1 )36 watt true actinic 03 blue straight pin light and ( 1 )36 watt 10,000 K day light straight pin. What if I had ( 2) 36 Watt 50/50 Actinic/Daylight Power Compact Coralife Lamps would it just be the same pretty much? is it a good idea ?

[rockstarnsc83]

Ok thanks to CarmieJo's advice, I decided to order up a new 36 watt 10,000 K and a 36 watt 50/50 actinic/daylight compact lamp

[rockstarnsc83]

OK, so on to the skimmer.. I am thinking of getting the CPR SR3 Skimmer which fits in the 2nd chamber of the biocube. Is there still room for live rock rubble in the 2nd chamber as well?

[CarmieJo]

I have not used one but CPR's site says it is 8-5'8" long and I think that would take up a whole compartment in the back of my NanoCube24.

[rockstarnsc83]

What is this growing on my rock now? is it some kind of brown algae or something?? It just recently came up.

[lReef lKeeper]

that looks like Diatoms. they are pretty much the last stage of the cycle. nothing to worry about, they will go away on their own in a week or so.

[rockstarnsc83]

everythings only been cycling about 2 weeks...I guess the 8 year old established rock has played a great role in this process. thanks

[lReef lKeeper]

yeah, i would say that the cured rock had a lot to do with it.

[Skurvey Dog]

Hello life in the fast lane rockstar83.... Yes that is a diatom bloom which is a common occurance in a newly established set up. That will pass as well as any amonia and nitrite levels. Once your cycle is complete you should be able to do a water change and then slowly add your clean up crew and move on to bigger and better things....slowly.

[rockstarnsc83]

I have another lighting question. Ive been looking at the lighting upgrades on nanotuners and I am between two kits. So I want opinions The oceanic biocube standard has 1 36 watt true actinic 03 blue straight pin and 1 36 wat t 10,000K daylight straight pin. The upgrade is for an extra 2 bulbs......144watt pc lighting. the other upgrade is to a 70W HQI. and the bulb choices are 14,000 K , 10,000 K and 20,000 K Hqi. I just want to know whats better the 144 watt pc lighting or the 70 w HQI...and IF 70W HQI is better which bulb would be best? Thanks

[CarmieJo]

Here is what I think but I have not had either so it is not based on anything but what I have read. The 144 watts of PC may produce more heat than the 70 watt MH and heat is often an issue in an all in one. All light is not created equal so even thought the PC's are double the watts of the MH without a PAR meter it would be hard to say which provides more intense light. I personally might choose the MH in the 14K bulb.

[Phurst]

Well, what are you going to be keeping in the tank? that will help us decide between the PC upgrade or the MH upgrade. I currently have a nano with upgraded PC lights, and I just sold a nano with a MH light. My (strong) preference was for the MH. I have 133w of PC light on a 29 gal and still wouldn't try anything beyond mushrooms, xenia, zoas, and other low light corals.

[rockstarnsc83]

Ok so I dont know exactly what im going to keep in the tank...But there would be no need to upgrade the canopy again for lighting...so should I just upgrad to the MH? But anything basic like mushrooms and the low light corals would work really well off of the 70 watt HQI , right?

[Phurst]

Yes, you could keep a wide variety of things under the 70w. Mushrooms, softies, zoas, leathers, LPS, etc. might even be able to get away with some lower light SPS like montipora higher up in the tank.

[rockstarnsc83]

So If i went with the 70 w HQI..what would be a good bulb, 10,000k, 14,000k, or 20,000 k