Bio Cube Owner's Thread

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...3#post14810063

[Yankees2519]

Originally posted by sweetrav18
quick question. how do you guys get the MJ900 to fit in the third chamber? im trying to swap out the stock pump but its extremely tight and i dont think itll be able to suck in water. i must be an idiot, but any suggestions

i cut the hose and have the pump sitting up higher on my 14g... wouldnt fit in the hole

[chrismunn]

i didnt know that a DSB needed a large surface area to preform adequatly? i thought it would be a good idea. i heard this analogy used one time and it sounded good to me...

" it may seem like the water passing so quikly over a small surface area would have no real affect as a DSB, but now imagine putting a small amount of gasoline at the bottom of the DSB... eventually that gasoline is going to make it into the system the same way the beneficial affects of a DSB will make it into the system. "

i dont think thats exactly how it was said but that was the jist of the point being made. although i do agree that a larger DSB would have a much better affect overall.

you guys were trying to hard to remove that false door! i took a wire coat hanger, cut it at one of the bends and then bent a small hook on the end of that. then i stuck that little hook through the grate of the false door and truned the hanger 90 degrees and pulled up. it came out with almost no effort at all and i did it with water fish and coral inthe tank. that left me to bust my knuckles on bigger and better things like the over head crane at work!

[forddna]

You know, I wondered about the DSB post, too. I know that a 5g bucket of sand is sufficient for large systems. I have contemplated adding one to my 220g. That's one gallon of DSB per 44g of tank, using my tank size as an example.

So a 29g Biocube could do just fine with about 2/3 gallon DSB, in theory. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

[jmadison]

Yeah, split!!!

I'll ask again, does anyone notice a real change when they block the bottom slots of chamber one? Better surface skimming?

[jcmelski]

How much has everyone's electric bill gone up since getting a BC? I have a 29 g BC and I'm trying to figure out how much it's going to go up. I've used the converter on the home page but can't figure out if it will cost $100+ a month kwh or just $20 a month.

[chrismunn]

jb61264 makes a good point that the DSB would be rather small at 2.5"x3"x12" on a bc 14 which is just over 3/8 gallons of DSB for an 11g tank, but when you consider that the tank is only 11 gallons then what could it hurt?

i too had problems with detritus building up in the bottom of chamber 1 before, and now that i removed the false door it still builds up there, its just easier to get to now. now ive also had problems with detritus building up in the top layres of my sand bed before, and thats why i go BB now, but if the DBS is actually working the way it should, then it would kind of counter act the affects of detritus build up. that is unless the affects of detritus build up out weighed the affects of the DSB, or if they reach an equalibrium which would render the whole thing neutral... ?

i still think it would be worth a go to see what happens.

[Luna81]

I had a gash in my hand TRYING to remove the false floor. I gave up and it's still in there. Glad I'm not the only one.

[hotrod797]

Luna, I found it easier to push the floor down rather than pulling up, then once it breaks free you can just pull it out.... hope that helps and yall need to be careful!!!

[RANGER69]

just changed main pump to a Quiet 1 1200. wow!! what a difference.

[forddna]

Originally posted by hotrod797
Luna, I found it easier to push the floor down rather than pulling up, then once it breaks free you can just pull it out.... hope that helps and yall need to be careful!!!

Yep, same here. I pushed it out. I'm small, so if I can do it, anybody can do it!! You have to push pretty hard!

[jb61264]

Thought I would post a picture of the modification I did to chamber 1. With my modification, I pulled out the false bottom and dremeled the "grating" portion of it out, but kept the basic frame in tact and then replaced it. This modification allows me to put my heater in chamber 1 AND also keep using the filter that slides in the grooves of chamber 1. I also modified that filter piece by removing all the floss and carbon that it comes with originally and cleaned it up really good...now I run HBH AquaPure Cut-To-Fit Carbon Filter Pad in the little squares from time to time. I usually run the carbon filter pad for a 4-5 day period when I am using my turkey baster to suspend detritus...the filter pad captures the detritus nicely and has the added benefit of carbon (they also have a phosphate removal filter pad). I should also note that I modified the width of the opening between chamber 1 and chamber 2 as well since it is in the picture.



Fuuny story behind why I even have a picture of this because when I removed my false bottom and siphoned all the crap that had collected in there, I noticed what looked like a "CRACK" in the glass on the bottom....in a panic, I called Oceanic and they said they hear this all the time but that it is actually black silicone that dripped when they were making tank. I confirmed using my finger to touch it and could feel it indeed was silicone...I have to admit I was in a panic for a few days though

Here's a current picture of my tank which will probably be gone in the next 4-6 months. I have purchased a 75 gallon AGA tank and am starting to build a stand and do plumbing, etc for that system. When it is done and ready, I will be moving everything to the 75.

Front:


Left Side:



Right Side:

[sweetrav18]

nice rockwork! great post

[sweetrav18]

Whats the size of the BC 29g output? trying to order a flow accelerator and some ball joint tubing but have no idea what size (1/2,3/4,1)? thanks

[sweetrav18]

what kind of PC Bulbs is everyone using?? I need to find replacement bulbs for the hood of the BC 29 and DFS is sold out until june. thanks

[blackbeard 1]

Nice nano tank.

[hotrod797]

Originally posted by sweetrav18
what kind of PC Bulbs is everyone using?? I need to find replacement bulbs for the hood of the BC 29 and DFS is sold out until june. thanks

I just used regular old coralife bulbs from the LFS, they worked good enough for me.....

[hotrod797]

Most people would say get a bigger tank, Not Here!!! I got twins!! So now I have two biocubes, I probably would have gone for a bigger tank, but I currently rent where I am living and I am not sure the floors here would handle a huge tank, plus I figure it will be easier to move two small tanks rather than one large one. I plan to make the new tank primarily softies, while eventually converting my old tank back to what I originally set it up for, LPS and SPS. My old tank will stay the same, and the only mods I plan to do to the new tank right off the bat is nano tuners 4.36 and add a Euro reef skimmer, of course I'm sure eventually this one will end up modded as much as my other. with that said here are a few pics, Lights were already out for the night, but you get the idea.

Twins



Sand and lace rock in place



And so begins the cycle and the sand storm



Random hitch hicker serpent star that scared the crap out of me when I was getting a scoop of sand from my tank to start the cycle



That's pretty much it for now, I bought some lace rock, but I am still looking for some smaller pieces of live rock, then I will be set! But I am off to bed, quite a work out setting this new tank up, especially having to run back and forth to kroger to fill my jugs with RO water.... one of these days I will break down and buy a unit of my own...

[Walking_Target]

New owner here...

did the flow mod between chamber 1 & 2

probably replacing the stock pump with an MJ-900. Also been offered the stock pump from a BC29 for free, so i'm going to see if that fits first.

next stop is to add the LR, convert chamber 2 into a Chaeto 'fuge and get my LR in there.

[cjscott]

Quick question. What kind of replacement bulbs have people used for the BC29? Did you order online or pick up in the store? Thanks!

[jb61264]

Originally posted by Walking_Target
New owner here...

did the flow mod between chamber 1 & 2

probably replacing the stock pump with an MJ-900. Also been offered the stock pump from a BC29 for free, so i'm going to see if that fits first.

next stop is to add the LR, convert chamber 2 into a Chaeto 'fuge and get my LR in there.

Maybe I'm reading your post incorrectly, but if you're talking about adding live rock to chamber #2, I would recommend against it. Keep all your live rock in the display tank, putting it in chamber #2 doesn't give you any extra benefit (versus just having it all in the DT) and it can become a bit of a maintenance hassles if a bunch of deitritus builds up in that chamber.

I modified chamber #1 by pulling out the false bottom and dremmeling out the "grate" portioin but leaving the main "frame" and replacing it so I could add a heater AND still use the filter that slides in the grooves in chamber #1...when I did this, there was SO much deitritus buildup at the bottom of the chamber, I was a bit shocked...can you say high nitrates?

[Lyfey]

hotrod thats an awesome hitchhiker! Did you buy the rock from the store or from another reefer? What about the BC? I live in an upstairs apartment and My 125gallon has no problem up here! Been here for a year filled and being used with zero issues. The floor would be able to withstand the pressure because it is dispursed throughtout the whole stand. Just make sure you put the tank on a support beam area, I put mine right next to the stairway knowing that it would be a strong area because of the floor joists running accross for the structure of the flooring. I would advice against setting it up in the center of the room, but you should have no problems setting it up against a wall

[Bigben7]

Ok, so I need a little advice/direction on what to do w/ my ATO for my BC29. I bought the kit from aquahub.com, and I have two questions:

1) What chamber should I put the return back in the tank? My configuration is typical, heater in chamber one, media rack and tunze 9002 in champer 2, and Rio 6hf return in chamber 3. Obviously the float valves will go in chamber 3. Should the return go in here as well, or in chamber 1 with the heater.

2) My hose going from the reservoir to the tank is 1/2" inner diameter, 5/8" outer diameter to fit on a maxi jet 1200. I'm using black aquarium hose. How do I get the hose to spray downward into the tank, and how do I attach the hose snugly to the back of the tank? I tried to find a PVC or Pex elbow, and they had a perfect one, but only in brass (fail).

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[chrismunn]

i put the top off pipe in the chamber 3 on mine. i did that because the first chamber holds too much water and the end of the pipe would end up being under water. if the end of the pipe is under water then tank water will siphon back into the top off rresivior when the top off pump shuts off.

[chrismunn]

i put the top off pipe in the chamber 3 on mine. i did that because the first chamber holds too much water and the end of the pipe would end up being under water. if the end of the pipe is under water then tank water will siphon back into the top off rresivior when the top off pump shuts off.