Since I can't see the Ocean from my office I brought it to my office ;)

[ParaBellum]

Hello everyone it feels great to finally be apart of this community :D

Short and sweet background.

Born & raised in Miami Florida and grew up on and in the ocean. Spent my weekends and summers fishing, lobstering, and scuba diving with friends and family the ocean is heaven on earth.

Everyone I knew had saltwater tanks and I could watch the life in those tanks for hours and hours.

This journey called life has brought me to the Midwest for the moment and since I can't see the ocean from my office I have decided to bring the ocean to my office.

I have been doing a lot of research about small tanks that would work well in my office and decided that a 8-10 gallon cube style tank would work best. I started researching prices and features and was still unsure of what tank to go with. Yesterday while at lunch we eat next to a small pet store. I walked in and they had a 8 Gallon Biocube on sale for 139.00 so I snagged it up. After work I went back to the store and they hooked me up with 10 gallons of salt water out of one of their tanks. I bought about 10lbs of live rock that is very light with some great texture that fills the tank nicely. I was also able to pick up some live sand for my tank.

So currently I have the live rock, sand in the tank and its settling now. My ultimate goal if possible is to have some coral and two clown fish. I am in no rush and want to take my time and do this right. I am learning a lot.

The looks of my coworkers when I carried two five gallon buckets of saltwater into my office was priceless. I hear my boss down the hall say "Chris, what are you up to now?" me, remember when I asked if I could bring the ocean to my office and you laughed and said sure? Well it's here :^::Cheers:

I will snap some pics tomorrow and post them up :^:

Chris

 

[Jmck]

HAhaha i love that! :P the boss finally understood what he was saying!

Welcome to the site, and cant wait for pics.

Do you know much about cycling the tank? if not, in the 'new to reefing' section i wrote two articles which might be useful to you :) they are stickies at the top

 

[zippyjr123]

can't wait to see it :)

 

[ParaBellum]

HAhaha i love that! :P the boss finally understood what he was saying!

Welcome to the site, and cant wait for pics.

Do you know much about cycling the tank? if not, in the 'new to reefing' section i wrote two articles which might be useful to you :) they are stickies at the top

Oh ya one of the first posts I read on this forum and love Rule number 1: NOTHING GOOD EVER HAPPENS QUICKLY IN A REEF TANK. Awesome post and it puts everything in clear order. As soon as the water clears up (pretty cloudy from the live sand) I plan to organize the live rock how I want it and then monitor the tank for its cycle. Since the Live rock, water, and sand was all live and from a established tank how long should I wait to test the water? Don't have a test kit but LFS will test the water for free. However I do plan on getting a test kit.

Next step will be some inverts after the cycle.

can't wait to see it :)

Will post soon :)

 

[Jmck]

Well, seems your on the right track, I would wait 4 days initially before testing the water and then test every 4 days consecutively so you can correctly monitor your cycle, when you have no nitrites or ammonia your cycle is finished, this can take a long time, anywhere up to 2 months :) but normally under a month.

Sounds like a good plan so far, I suggest buying a test kit now, its the best way to learn how to use them while you have definite readings.

 

[ParaBellum]

will do Jmck guess ill head out and get a test kit.

 

[Leslee]

Welcome Chris! Glad to have you around! The ocean to your office is a great idea!!

 

[marcah]

howdy and welcome.. if you get stuck anywhere along the way ask away someone on here will have an answer that will help out.. :D

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

I would actually recommend testing every day until you know the cycle has started or you dont see any levels change for a week or so. Dont forget to put your pieces of dead table shrimp in your tank!

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard.
What part of the midwest are you located?

 

[ParaBellum]

about eight hrs to the south of you in Columbia, Mo

 

[ErinCahir]

Hello and welcome, Chris!

 

[Bifferwine]

Hi and welcome!

 

[ParaBellum]

Hello and Welcome!

I would actually recommend testing every day until you know the cycle has started or you dont see any levels change for a week or so. Dont forget to put your pieces of dead table shrimp in your tank!

Well I took your advice today and went to the LFS and picked up a testing kit :bounce: @ lunch I tested the water in the tank and here are the results:

PH: 8.2
Ammonia: .50
Nitrite: 1.0
Nitrate: 160 looks a little lighter than 160 but darker than 80

The tank cleared up and all of the sediment has settled and it looks amazing, I am so excited. I forgot to bring my camera with me to the office :frustrat: but I put my keys on top of my camera so I will not forget it tomorrow.

I have a few questions about the tank. I keep reading how important flow is and the pump that is in the tank flows 106 gph, seems to be plenty for filtration but there is not a lot of movement in the tank. I was thinking of getting a Aqueon Circulation Pump (500gph) Would this be to much for the little tank?

Also should I use some flake fish food or brine shrimp to help start the tanks cycle?

I thinks thats about all for now.

Chris

 

[little_fish]

Actually, if you have an ammonia reading your cycle has started! Congratulations!

And you are right, flow is super important and i think that powerhead will do just fine in your tank. Make sure at least one of your powerheads is pointed towards the surface of the water so you get good oxygenation

 

[sandman]

welcome, I am new to the site also..... i am just north of miami where we can still see the ocean... I'm glad you were able to bring the ocean to you!

 

[ParaBellum]

Actually, if you have an ammonia reading your cycle has started! Congratulations!

And you are right, flow is super important and i think that powerhead will do just fine in your tank. Make sure at least one of your powerheads is pointed towards the surface of the water so you get good oxygenation

Awesome well that is good news, today I added just a bit of flake fish food to help the process along. I also took some pics of the tank and my office they are uploading now.

welcome, I am new to the site also..... i am just north of miami where we can still see the ocean... I'm glad you were able to bring the ocean to you!

Thanks and yes I am very glad also, now I just want to sit in my office and watch the tank and there is nothing but rock in it now :mrgreen:

Chris

 

[Mr.Diggler]

 

[ParaBellum]

OK like I promised here are some pics :^: please tell me what you think good or bad I am here to learn.. You can't really tell from the pictures but there are all kinds of little caves in and under the rocks.

Front tank shot

And some pics of it in my office :mrgreen:

I must say its kinda hard to go home from work now because I dont have a tank at home, I might have to fix that after I get this one up and running.

My ultimate goal for this tank is to try and have everything very small for this tank and to perspective (think Bonsai Tree), small coral, small fish, small shirmp, and star fish maybe depending on how much I can fit comfortably into this tank.

Well tell me what ya think, how do you guys/gals like the rock placement?

Chris

 

[little_fish]

Looks good! A nice small fish would be a clown goby, and there are lots of cool shrimp for that sized tank. Your tank might be a little small for any starfish though