Adopt-A-Tank Program | Sponsored by Texas Sea Grant
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How to Set Up and Maintain a BioCube Saltwater Aquarium
Where to Place the Aquarium
The BioCube is approximately 2 feet square. Find counter space for the aquarium, or if you are
getting an aquarium stand, clear the same amount of floor space.
1. The space will need to be away from windows and direct sunlight.
2. An outlet, preferably a GFI outlet, needs to be within 3 feet of the aquarium. Using an
extension cord for an aquarium is not recommended.
3. Make sure the location has enough space to let you open the hood.
Setting Up the Aquarium
Materials Needed:
• Salt water
• BioCube
• Live sand
• Live rock
• Multi-outlet
• Hydrometer/thermometer
• Saltwater animals
1. Make salt water by mixing a synthetic salt like Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals with R/O
(reverse osmosis) water or RO/DI (reverse osmosis and deionized) water. Mix up about
30 gallons of salt water. A clean plastic trash can with a lid works well for mixing
saltwater. Add salt to get a salinity of 30-35 ppt or a specific gravity of 1.022-1.026. Use
the hydrometer to measure the salinity. It is recommended that you, make the salt water
at least 24 hours before you need it. Aerating the salt water will help with the mixing.
Once the aquarium is filled, you will need to keep about 3 gallons of salt water readily
available for a water change.
2. Clean the BioCube by rinsing or wiping out the inside glass with R/O water. Also
remove and rinse the bio balls, pump and filter before filling the aquarium.
3. Add live sand to the bottom of the rinsed aquarium.
4. Add salt water to the aquarium until it is about half-full.
5. Let the aquarium sit overnight for the sand to settle.
6. The next day, add live rock.
7. Add denitrifying bacteria to help boost the biological filtration, if desired.
8. Add salt water until the water level is at the bottom edge of the water inlet.
9. Plug in the pump.
10. Add more salt water if needed to get the water level between the maximum and
minimum water level guide on the left side of the aquarium.
11. Add some hardy invertebrate animals like snails and hermit crabs.
12. Fish can be added immediately if using denitrifying bacteria during the aquarium set up.
Otherwise, use the Adding Fish instructions. Monitor water quality daily the first week.
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Adding Fish
1. After adding the invertebrate animals, begin measuring water quality daily for one week.
There are two test strips, ammonia and 6-in-1. All levels need to be in the safe range.
Ideally, ammonia will be 0.00, nitrites will be 0.00 and nitrates will 0.00. During this
weeklong period, you may see levels higher than ideal/safe. The pH should be between 7.58.5. A measurement of any of these parameters that are in the danger range will be an
indication that an emergency water change is needed.
2. After a week, if the water quality is in the ideal/safe range, fish can be added. Please see the
fish selection and acclimation sections of this guide before adding fish.
Aquarium Maintenance
Daily Care (record on page one of the monthly chart)
1. Check the health of the animals. Are the fish swimming around? If a fish is not swimming
this could be a sign that it is unhealthy. Checking health is best done at feeding time. When
a fish or invertebrate animal is not eating this could be another sign that it is unhealthy.
Look for other abnormal animal behavior such as floating upside down.
2. Feed the animals. Feed a few pellets by holding them between your fingers under the water
and releasing them slowly, making sure they sink when released. Uneaten food will create
problems with the water quality. Do not overfeed. Depending on the animals, other food
choices besides pellets include marine flakes, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp and
seaweed.
3. Check the water level. The water level should not be lower than the minimum level on the
left side of the aquarium. Add R/O or RO/DI water to top up the water level. A clogged
filter could make the water level appear low, so check the filter before topping up the water.
4. Check the filters. Open the hood to check the filter. Water will not pass through a clogged
filter. If the filter is clogged, remove it from the aquarium and rinse it with R/O water.
Replace the filter if it is still clogged after rinsing.
5. Check salinity and temperature. Record these measurements and make sure they are
within the appropriate ranges at all times. The water temperature should be between 7282ºF. The salinity should be between 1.022-1.026 specific gravity or 30-35 ppt.
6. Clean the glass. Clean the glass above the sand level with the magnetic cleaner each day.
More detailed cleaning should be done during the weekly water changes.
7. Keep the outside clean. Dust off the top of the hood, clean up salt creep (accumulation of
salt residue from evaporated salt water) and spilled or dripped salt water. Wipe the outside
glass with a wet paper towel and dry it with a clean paper towel to keep the outside glass
clean. Everything that gets salt water on it needs to be rinsed after you use it.
8. Write down comments. Writing down observations about abnormal animal behavior or just
some interesting things you notice is important for the health of the aquarium. Certain
observations could help identify issues with the aquarium before they get out of control.
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Weekly Care (record on page two of the monthly chart)
1. Test the water quality. Use ammonia and 6-in-1test strips to measure the water quality.
Record the levels for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH.
2. Clean the glass, including at and below the sand level, with a toothbrush. This is best
done right before a water change. If you are changing the water, unplug the pump during
this cleaning. If you are not going to do a water change, then do not disturb the sand or turn
off the pump when cleaning the glass. Make sure your hands are clean, well-rinsed (not
soapy) and dry before putting them in the aquarium water. Do not use hand sanitizer before
cleaning the aquarium. After cleaning, wash your hands.
3. Perform a water change.
a. After cleaning the glass with a toothbrush, rinse the filter with R/O water. You may
rinse with tap water and then do a final rinse with R/O water. Place the rinsed filter
back in the aquarium. Replace the disposable filter once a month or as needed. If
foam filters are being used, the top filter should be rinsed during the weekly water
change.
b. Remove 2 to 3 gallons of water from the aquarium using the siphon tubing.
Siphoning water relies on gravity to move the water. Fill the tubing with salt water in
the aquarium and plug up both ends with your thumbs. Take one end of the tubing,
put it into a bucket and remove your thumbs making sure to keep one end of the
tubing in the aquarium and the other end in the bucket. Once you have removed
about 2 to 3 gallons of water, remove the tubing from the aquarium to break the
siphon. Dispose of the salt water you removed down a sink or toilet.
c. Add new salt water equivalent to the amount you removed, or fill until the water
level is at the bottom edge of the water inlet.
d. Plug in the pump.
e. Add more salt water if needed to get the water level to the maximum line on the left
side of the aquarium.
f. Clean the outside of the glass, hood and stand with a wet paper towel and dry.
g. Rinse the toothbrush, tubing and buckets with R/O water.
h. Mix up salt water for the next water change.
i. Record on the chart that you did a water change.
Monthly Care (record on page two of the monthly chart)
1. Clean the light cover. During the water change, wipe any salt off the light cover with a wet
paper towel and dry.
2. Clean the pump and pump filter. During the water change, remove the pump and the
pump filter and rinse with R/O water. The pump will come apart, and all its internal parts
also need to be rinsed. Put the pump back together and put it and the filter back in the
aquarium.
3. Replace filters. Disposable filters should be replaced once a month. If a filter becomes
clogged and rinsing does not fix it, replace it as needed.
4. Clean foam filters. If foam filters are being used in the tower, rinse the lower foam filter
once a month. The top filter should be rinsed as part of the weekly water change.
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Fish Selection
For a new aquarium, you will want to choose fish that are hardy. Fish that are more sensitive should
be added only once the aquarium is well established. LiveAquaria.com is a good source of
information about the suitability of different fish species for your BioCube. The site provides Quick
Stats that include minimum tank size, care level, temperament, water conditions, diet, compatibility
and origin.
You will want to choose fish that are listed as “Easy” to care for instead of “Expert Only.” Most
damselfish, blennys and gobys are considered easy to care for. Clownfish are very desirable, but
keep in mind that the Ocellaria clownfish is on the easy list while the True Percula clownfish is on
the moderate list. After a couple of months of stable water conditions, you may want to experiment
with fish that are on the moderate list.
Adding fish too often or overcrowding can cause issues with your aquarium. Depending on their
size, the BioCube can house about 4 fish (9 inches total of fish). Start with 1 fish. After 2 to 3 weeks
of ideal water quality, add 1 to 2 more. Repeat this process for every additional fish until you reach
the maximum capacity of the aquarium.
Fish Acclimation
Before each fish arrives, make sure you have salt water made for the acclimation process. After the
fish arrives, float the fish in its plastic bag in the aquarium for 15 minutes to acclimate the fish to
the BioCube water temperature. Next, gently transfer the fish and the water in the bag into a bucket.
You may need to tilt the bucket if there is not enough water to cover the fish. Add ½ cup of
aquarium water to the bucket every 3 minutes. You may need to unplug the pump on the BioCube if
the water level gets too low. When the water level in the bucket is 3 times the starting amount,
remove and discard half of the water. Repeat the process. The acclimation process should take about
45 minutes. Catch the fish using a net and gently add it to the BioCube. Top up the BioCube with
new salt water to replace the salt water you removed, and plug in the pump if you had unplugged it.
Troubleshooting
1. Temperature is too low/too high: Add a heater if the temperature is too low. Add a zipper
plastic bag of ice and turn the lights off if the temperature is too high.
2. Power outage: Add a battery-powered aerator to the aquarium until the power is restored.
3. Animal is sick: Test the water quality. If the water quality levels are in the
stressed/harmful/unsafe/danger range, perform an emergency water change. Observe the
sick animal. The animal may need to be treated or removed. If necessary, contact the Texas
Sea Grant Outreach Specialist for advice concerning sick animals.
4. Pump failure: Check the multi-outlet and electrical outlet. Add an aerator to the aquarium.
Remove the pump and clean it. If the pump is still not working, call the Texas Sea Grant
Outreach Specialist.
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5. Pump is sucking air/there are lots of air bubbles in aquarium: Check the filter. If water
is standing above the filter, it is clogged. Clean or replace the filter. If the filter is fine, add
R/O water or saltwater to get the water level back to the maximum mark.
6. Lights are not working: Check the switches on the top of the hood. Check the multi-outlet,
electrical outlet and programming for the multi-outlet. Make sure you check the timer on the
multi-outlet. If all of these are fine but the lights are still not working, there may be a
problem with the wiring or bulbs.
Rhonda Patterson
Texas Sea Grant Outreach Specialist
Office: 979-845-3857, Cell: 979-574-3371
[email protected]
Web Resources
www.liveaquaria.com
www.drtimsaquatics.com
www.drsfostersmith.com
http://www.aquariumprofessionals.com/article_stocking.htm#.UvEku7S2zX8
Special thanks to the following:
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TAMU-SG-14-501
February 2014
This publication is supported in part by an Institutional Grant to the Texas Sea Grant College Program (NA10OAR4170099) from the National Sea
Grant Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
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