# stocking my 29 gallon bio cube



## jimmyhoye (Dec 7, 2008)

i am using everything stock from the bio cube to do a reef tank. this will be my first attempt at keeping a reef tank. can you guys help me out. i need help with the stocking list of fish and invertabrates and corals. all help is greatly appreciated


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## jimmyhoye (Dec 7, 2008)

wow i realized i just put socking instead of stocking


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## conger (Feb 2, 2008)

ha, i was going to say "man are you really going to punch your tank?" :squint:

all kidding aside, can you give us more information on the tank you are setting up? So it's 29 gallons, but what kind of lighting do you have for it? I'm guessing no sump for it, correct? What are your goals for the tank.. you said reef so you want corals, but what types (relates to the light question above)? SPS, or softies and easy LPS only?

I'd suggest first get the filtration set up... will you be skimming (using a protein skimmer), or relying on water changes? Either should work for a 29 gallon tank, but skimming wouldn't be a bad idea. Did your setup come with a skimmer? Definitely shoot for 45-60 lbs of liverock in the tank, the liverock will serve as the basis of the filtration for your tank (combined with proper flow via powerheads). Also consider your sandbed depth, either go bare-bottom, less than an inch of sand (less than 0.5 inch better), or 4" or more... don't go in between. 4"+ has nice denitrifying benefits (natural nitrate removal), but I don't know how tall the tank is and if you want to give up 4" of height for sand, your call.

Since you will be keeping a reef tank, it will be critical to monitor and manage the pH, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Nitrates and phosphates, for the health and good growth of your corals. You should plan to use RO/DI water for top-offs (replacing evaporated water) and water changes, using tap water is highly discouraged and almost certain to result in hideous algae problems. You can either get a RO/DI unit for your home and make your own, or you can likely buy it from a LFS very cheap (you just have to lug buckets to and from the store).

You should only put a couple/small few small fish in this tank, (a) its relatively small at 29 gallons, and (b) you want a reef tank, so the focus should be on the corals and inverts, as opposed to fish, plus you want to keep the nutrient levels low for the sake of the corals.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

fixed :wink:

heres a sweet fish if your looking to only have a single guy
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+19+63&pcatid=63

or i suggest a pair of clowns and a goby of some sort. a goby and pistol shrimp make a good pair. if you dont go with the pistol shrimp then a skunk cleaner shrimp.
your going to want a mixture of snails for your clean up crew. these get added before fish, shortly after a diatom bloom is a good time to start adding a few snails. 
since this is your first setup, have you read about water chemistry including alk, ca and mag? understanding this cannot be skipped, esp in a reef tank. 

these come with power compact lights, correct? if this is the case you will be limited to softies. i believe there is a metal halide upgrade but you said your keeping it stock. conger the bio cubes dont have sumps but come with either a skimmer or mechanical filter of some sort depending on brand/model. which does yours come with? you may want to change the chambers into a refugium. if its the one with the skimmer i have heard they are not very effective and you prob. will want to upgrade that too.


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