# Looking into 14 gallon biocube!



## garrickyuen (Sep 14, 2012)

I've been keeping freshwater tanks for about a year now and have always wanted to move onto saltwater. I know it won't be cheap but I want to get an estimate on how cheap I could get all the necessities for. Was hoping someone can educate me more on how I could start with a 14 gallon and maybe what I need to learn before I invest in a saltwater tank. Thanks!


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon. You can use Fully Cured Live Rock, and have the tank cycled in just a few days also. Other way is to use just a couple of pounds of Live Rock and the rest Macro or Dry Rock.

#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.

#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.

#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.

#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.

#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.

#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one

#8-Rubber kitchen gloves

#9-Fish net

#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets

#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.

#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.

#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.

#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.

#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank

#16-Heater rated for your size tank.

#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.

#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.

#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)

#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.

Volusion Demo Store

Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle and Cycling. Methods for Ammonia, Nitrite Removal.

aquarium heater in Aquarium & Fish | eBay

power heads in Pumps | eBay

NEW | eBay

MarcoRocks Aquarium Products

Bulk Dry Live Rock & Live Sand - Bulk Reef Supply

Live Rock and Live Sand: Live Saltwater Aquarium Rock and Sand

Fish & Aquarium Supplies: Marine Substrates, Sand, Crushed Coral, Live Sand

Aquarium Lighting, Light Information; Reef & Planted, PAR, Watt, Kelvin.

http://live-plants.com/

What Your Coral Needs | Successful Reef Keeping

t-5 lighting in Lighting | eBay

cree led aquarium in Pet Supplies | eBay

Aquarium Salt Mix: Salt for Saltwater and Freshwater Fish Aquariums

Aquarium Water Testing: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Reef Master Liquid Test Kit

Reef Aquarium Care: Kent Marine Liquid Calcium Supplement

Saltwater Aquarium Buffer: Kent Marine Superbuffer-dKH pH Buffer and Alkalinity Builder


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## Nanoclown (Jan 17, 2013)

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 14 gallon myself. Let me tell you the prices for everything I personally bought:

Live, Fully Cured Rock (Approx. 20 lbs total) of Fiji rock and Totoka rock- roughly $90

Coralife 14 gallon biocube (bought online from Petco)- $200.00

Refractometer - $26.99 from Amazon

API Reef Master Test Kit (recommend buying online, it's cheaper) - $19.32 (Note: You will need to buy a Saltwater Master Test Kit, which tests for other things that you need as well that the Reef Master Kit does not include)

30 Lb Aragonite sand- $45.00 (I went a bit overboard with this dry sand--I have A LOT left over that i'm trying to sell or get rid of)

I also paid about $30.00 for a (I think 10 pound or less) bag of live sand, I can't remember which brand it was specifically.

TopFin brand gravel vacuum, medium sized (I use this for water changes; it also comes in a small size which is 10.00), for about $14.00. Bought at PetSmart.

This totals to approximately $420. I hope this gives you a better idea!


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## garrickyuen (Sep 14, 2012)

Wow, great information from both of you guys. I feel like I already have a good grasp on how I should start(sorta). That's way more money than my FW tanks. Like $300 more at least... So you bought live and dry sand for the same tank? Do I have to get both or can I just stick with live sand?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Thats your pick, you can use all dry sand, but watch which sand you use, most have to many silicates for our tanks and cause cyano issues. You can use all dry rock. Doesn't matter.


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## Nanoclown (Jan 17, 2013)

Yep, what Madness said! Doesn't really matter. I chose the live sand / dry sand mix route because i was originally planning on trying a deep sand bed, but then realized that was more for experts and I didn't want to bother. However, I felt it'd be a good touch to the tank to have some added organisms already, so I stuck with what I had and just made it about 1.5 inches deep. Generally I think you want close to 2 inches deep of sand all around. Just keep doin' your research!


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