Bio Cube Owner's Thread

[jb61264]

Originally posted by jonnybravo22
how do you block the bottom intake in chamber 1 so that teh top intake is more of a surface skimmer / pulls harder?

I haven't done this but I think I read where you pretty much have to have the chamber empty below that point and then you would use a square piece of acrylic slightly bigger than that opening and silicone the edges of it to the inside of the chamber...of course you'd have to let it cure for at least 24-48 hours before you use it again tho...not sure if there are any other ways to block this intake.

[redwarrior77]

I just put a piece of clear acrylic, cut just bigger than the intake, over the holes, with the bottom edge an inch or two beneath the sand. The suction caused by my pump keeps it in place pretty well and I get better surface skimming. The only downside to this is that I can't seem to use a pump much stronger than the stock one and I do have to keep a higher water level so that I don't have bubbles coming out of my pump.

[ERAU Eagle]

I have a BC 14 with mostly LPS and some softies.

I'd like to start keeping SPS and maybe a clam or two.
I was wondering what suggestions everyone had regarding lighting upgrades for the BC 14.

I would to keep everything as clean looking as possible; and pendants are not really an option since I'm in a dorm and have no where to hang it.

Thanks in advance,

Erik

[jb61264]

Originally posted by ERAU Eagle
I have a BC 14 with mostly LPS and some softies.

I'd like to start keeping SPS and maybe a clam or two.
I was wondering what suggestions everyone had regarding lighting upgrades for the BC 14.

I would to keep everything as clean looking as possible; and pendants are not really an option since I'm in a dorm and have no where to hang it.

Thanks in advance,

Erik

Here's one option: http://www.nanocustoms.com/product_i...products_id=59

[ERAU Eagle]

would there be any heat issues with having that 70W mh in the hood? I'd really prefer not to run a chiller...

[jb61264]

Originally posted by ERAU Eagle
would there be any heat issues with having that 70W mh in the hood? I'd really prefer not to run a chiller...

If you read their upgrade information you'll see that they've taken special precautions to add fans to keep things cooled and also allow you to keep the fans running before and after the lights come on...I don't have the upgrade (yet) but from what I've heard others aren't really having issues with heat from the 70W upgrade (or the 150W for that matter)

[Megg0602]

hey everyone! just wanted to share some new pics of my tank all nice and just cleaned. i just put a LED retro fit in my biocube 14 today. i had a 150w metal halide on it. im intrested in seing how it affects my coral growth. not the best pics but here they are!

[jmadison]

Looks great megg, i like the color of ur MH. I will forwarn you that a lot of those softies might take the halide lighting a little poorly. They could do just fine, but some of them (ie the ones in the center and near the top) might actually get a bit too much light. I liek your rockwork TOO!

[RANGER69]

Megg. Nice

[jkrentz2515]

Megg any pics of your led? And why the switch away from MH?

[jmadison]

MEGG- Im sorry, iread that wrong. Disregard everything i said basicaly, except that I like your rockwork . I really like the colors the led is giving you there! Def would like to see what sorta growth youre going to get! I too would like to see your led setup.

[jmadison]

btw interesting misbar on your clown!

[Rob_Reef_Keeper]

RANGER - Is the 144 kit easy to do?

[BcAquatics]

Heres a video of my biocube 14. pardon the blue tang, im currently moving fishes and corals down from my NY tank to my new FLA house, so when i came back from spring break, i took him with me. He will be moved to a 55 gallon and then into a 125-150 gallon FOWLR during the summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFi4S...e=channel_page

[Ender Montiel]

i need to know if want to make a sump tank ; and i dont want that all my water going out of the sump tank how big does it have to be ??? how much water does the biocube will send to my sumptank before it goes out of it ??
please help me

[jb61264]

Originally posted by Ender Montiel
i need to know if want to make a sump tank ; and i dont want that all my water going out of the sump tank how big does it have to be ??? how much water does the biocube will send to my sumptank before it goes out of it ??
please help me

What size BioCube do you have? Do you have it sitting on the standard BioCube cabinet? If so, are you wanting to have the sump sit within the BioCube cabinet?

[Ender Montiel]

thanks for the reply :
it is a 29" g yes and i will put in the bio-cube standard cabinet ... do you think that it could be dangerous to put it in there ?? and do you know how big does the spum tank will have to be ? so if anything goes wrong it does overflow, i dont know how to say it but like for te water doesnt goes out of it ...

[jb61264]

I'm just assuming you're going to build your own sump (as I am)...the maximum size that you can get in the cabinet and comfortably clearing the hinges on the doors is a 16" by 16" cube. I have a thread here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1596863) where I asked for some opinions on a cube sump design and ended up with some very good suggestions that I will be taking into consideration when (if) I design mine.

The biggest consideration to make is whether or not you want to take that step to drill your tank...some on the forum here have done it sucessfully and have great setups (check out ReefMaidens thread here: ( http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1599870) and there is also a GREAT youtube video of a guy who has drilled his BioCube and built a sump for it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfQ3-...eature=channel).

I mentioned a few times on this thread that I'm also considering (instead of drilling and using a sump) the CPR Aquatics AquaFuge 2 (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...s~vendor~.html) The smallest one has dimensions that should fit the BioCube 29...but I haven't really found anyone else who has used this setup on a BioCube yet so I guess I would be the first if I do decide to do this

I'm still deciding on which way I want to go...drilling my tank and building a custom sump/fuge would cost more and may be more of a headache to get done but would probably add more stability in the long run (maybe?) versus running the AquaFuge (probably less expensive and fewer headaches..so I could invest more money into that nanocustoms HQI light upgrade I want so badly ) which would still give me the benefit of running a fuge where I could grow macroalgae for nutrient removal...decisions, decisions.

I calculated the dimensions of the sump in my thread above...I think I figured if you have about four inches between the top of the middle divider (8") and the top of the sump (12") that it would give you about 4.4 gallons of water to "play with"...that should be enough if you were to use the stock return...I don't think it would drain more that 4 gallons past that return...hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong here.

[RANGER69]

Rob, yes if you are good with tools. I went step by step with my Comp. in front of me and paused it to do the work.

[jkrentz2515]

Originally posted by RANGER69
Rob, yes if you are good with tools. I went step by step with my Comp. in front of me and paused it to do the work.

+1

[Rob_Reef_Keeper]

Thanks. I will look into it. last night I noticed that the tank looked weird and the sand had some color on it and the algae on glass came back allot faster than the past. When cleaning the tank the tank felt very warm. The tank got warmer than I had it. It was 80 degrees when I had it set for 76. Looks like the heater stayed on (I hate heaters - why they can not make them with a reliable thermostat is beyond me). So I hooked up my old Ranco dual stage controller to control the heater now. When I get the new hood/fans I will have the fans connect to the cooling side of the Ranco if possible.

For a small 29G tank there are way too many wires.
return pump
korilla
heater
skimmer pump1
skimmer pump 2
light 1
light 2
LED's
auto top off hose (not hooked up yet)

Adding
another light
fans

[Ender Montiel]

thanks a lot for your help ; i gues i will have to see what to do in my tank but i will keep in mind all you told me

thanks

[Megg0602]

thanks guys! its only been a couple days but i am going to watch my growth. my bf made me the LED fixture so he can tell ya all about it. im not good with elec. things hes Yankees2519 on here.

[RANGER69]

Rob. what do you have now for lights? Stock hood? what is the room temp.? the fans with controler should help with temp. about 2degrees down. If you need help with the light MOD install let me know.

[Rob_Reef_Keeper]

Right now the stock lights and hood. I am planning on the 4 x 36W light upgrade soon. Hopefully the new fans will help as well. The room is ~67-70 degrees.

The tank is back to a steady 77 degrees now now that I am using the Ranco for the heater control even when the lights are on. I hate those heaters.