Wannabe Guru
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Williamsburg, VA
Posts: 1,425
29-Gallon Biocube Journal
Okay, here we go. My first post in my new tank journal. Let's start with a little background, and I know this will sound absolutely crazy.
My story begins with a single red Betta fish. On Christmas 2008, my 18 year old son was given a 1-gallon fish tank. A few months after receiving it, he decided he wanted a Betta fish. Like most kids, the first few months were fine. As time went on he lost interest. The bi-weekly water changes became bi-monthly. There were times when the betta wouldn't be fed for several days. Occasionally, my wife and I would clean the tank and feed the fish, but things were getting progressively worse.
We decided to teach Anthony a lesson by forcing him to own up to his responsibilities. That didn't work. It seemed he had time for everything else, except this small fish. When it became clear to us that Anthony wasn't going to take responsibility, we seized control of the Betta and moved him from a dimly lit bedroom to a much brighter kitchen. Within a few days, the Betta became much more active and slowly regained his brilliant red color.
In the weeks that followed, my wife and I talked about what it must be like to live in such a small space with no furniture or companionship. In human terms a 1-gallon tank was probably like a 8' x 8' room. We finally decided to get the Betta a new home, and a few friends. We began looking at a 3-gallon Eclipse. When we learned the 1" of fish to 1-gallon of water rule we decided to get a larger tank, partly because of all the beautiful fish we saw at our LFS.
In a span of about a week we went from looking at a 3-gallon, to a 6-gallon, to a 12-gallon tank, and finally settled on a 29-gallon model. But after we saw the price, especially for a setup that would allow us to grow plants, it was clear that wasn't going to happen. After realizing we would probably have to buy a 6 or 12-gallon tank with no stand, I decided to check craigslist. Miraculously, I found and ad for a 29-Gallon Bio-Cube with stand, the same one that was going for $450 new at Foster & Smith. The ad was only about 2 hours old and was placed early Sunday morning.
The asking price was $100. I quickly emailed the seller to see if it was available. Later that day, my wife and I drove to the seller's home to inspect the Biocube. When we arrived we discovered that it had been used as a marine tank and had dried coral and salt all over it. The filtration system was covered in thick coral and the tank was filled with muck. The fans weren't working either, but structurally the tank seemed to be in pretty good shape. It was going to need a lot of work though.
My wife and I purchased the tank and spent the last week cleaning it. We removed nearly all of the coral thanks to member recommendations. We repaired the fans and ordered (1) 10,000K and (1) 6,700 K bulb to replace the actinic bulbs, again thanks to help from forum members. Today, we began receiving some of the stuff we needed to setup the tank, including Eco-complete, a Theo heater, a piece of Mopani driftwood, a digital thermometer, a gardening tool, fish food, a test strip kit, and a few other items.
So that's the background and here's where we are. I'd like to thank all the members who have helped educate, entertain, and advise me, and I look forward to sharing some of my aquatic adventures with you, so fasten your seat belts folks. Here we go...
Kelly
Last edited by kcrossley; 09-11-2010 at 03:15 AM.