Kookie_guy's BC29 journal

[kookie_guy]

so this is my thread, check it out.

[kookie_guy]

DAY 1

 

So I finally started the modifications today to the chambers to get my BC29 up and running. At least get some water in her today.

 

First thing I modified was the lip between chamber 1 and 2. I will be using the oceanic proten skimmer, that's why I had to leave that tab. So it has something to hook onto.

 

 

 

Next I went after the stock hole for the return. Opened the hole right up to take my new bigger bulkhead.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the fitting in chamber 3 to take the hose from the pump return, as well as the loc-line going into the tank.

 

 

 

 

Here is the 150 watt nanocustoms hood. Bought it used, ripped it apart, and re-did all the wiring, wrapping it in some blue high heat sleeving.

 

 

 

That's it for now for day 1. I will be doing this as I go along, so I'll have more day 1 later on today. My goal for the day is to get the sand and water in her. I still gotta go buy the live rock.

 

Day 1 Continued....

 

Ok, so everything is installed, it's in the final resting place, so time to start adding water and sand. Doing the water slowly and checking for leaks as I go. Added the sand as well, EWWWWWWWWWW. hehe, have a look.

 

 

[Gvtv44]

Looks good- Glad to see you are doing everything right the first time

[kookie_guy]

thanks GVTV. I owe everything to this site. I've probably spent more time reading on this site than through all of high school. hehe. Anyhoo, topped it up, fired up the pump, and added the stuff to help clear it that came with the sand. I'll be adding live rock in the new few days, at which point I'll obviously take out water. For now I've put back 1/2 the bioballs sice I have no live rock.

 

I'm running the stock cartridge fliter right now. During cycling I will not run the protein skimmer or add the chemipure. Basically just run the pump through the stock cartridge to help with the cycle.

 

here are some pics...

 

 

[twenty12]

Looks good so far. I got a new BioCube 29 (coming x-mas) and very excited to watch your thread as you will be a couple weeks ahead of me on progress. I love the picture of your modified chamber 1 and 2. Nicely done. I would love to hear how your flow is as I found lots of people indicating to cut it out, but never how much to cut.

 

One quick question I have is why you elected to put the sand first and then live rock? I hear some say put rock in first so that sand is not altered by fish/animals and thereby cause rocks to fall. Just curious.

 

Looks good... look forward to more posts!

[kookie_guy]

Looks good so far. I got a new BioCube 29 (coming x-mas) and very excited to watch your thread as you will be a couple weeks ahead of me on progress. I love the picture of your modified chamber 1 and 2. Nicely done. I would love to hear how your flow is as I found lots of people indicating to cut it out, but never how much to cut.

 

One quick question I have is why you elected to put the sand first and then live rock? I hear some say put rock in first so that sand is not altered by fish/animals and thereby cause rocks to fall. Just curious.

 

Looks good... look forward to more posts!

 

hey,

 

Ya I know about putting rock in first. Only reason I didn't is because I still don't have it. There's a local guy who sells fully cured fiji live rock for half the price of stores, so I'm waiting til he gets his next shipment in. That's the only reason.

 

 

 

Now, for an update.....

 

 

DAY 4

 

Looked like this the next morning (day 2) but I didn't get a chance to take pics. I know it's dirty, but I haven't been home. It's hard to take good pics with the strong ass light. That 150watt is super strong.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyhoo, as more happens, I will post pics.

 

cheers all. Gotta go feed my buddy's fish now. hehe.

[twenty12]

Yeah.. I figured it was something like that. It looks good. I got my RO/DI unit today so get to install that this weekend so I can have water on Christmas Day.

 

Two quick questions...

1. You using the UPS for the fish tank? If so was curious how much time you expect to get out of it?

2. How much sand did you use and what the depth you got for that amount? I like your level and wondered how much you bought (so I can do the same ).

[kookie_guy]

Yeah.. I figured it was something like that. It looks good. I got my RO/DI unit today so get to install that this weekend so I can have water on Christmas Day.

 

Two quick questions...

1. You using the UPS for the fish tank? If so was curious how much time you expect to get out of it?

2. How much sand did you use and what the depth you got for that amount? I like your level and wondered how much you bought (so I can do the same ).

 

 

hey,

1. No idea. It's a 420 watt supply. The pump will not run through a backup. Must be some sort of protection in it or something. As soon as I kill the power to the supply and the battery kicks in, the pump starts humming and does not run. The 150 watt light is not going into the backup since it's not a big deal if the power dies for an hour or so. The only things going in there are the protein skimmer, heater, PC lights, cooling fans, and koralia to keep water movement. The pump, MH lights, and LED's are going into regular power outlets. Between the stuff going into the backup, there's about 300-350 watts of power being drawn. Based on that, I SHOULD get a little over 1 hour of backup power.

 

2. I bought the 40 lb bag of live sand. Used about 30lbs of it. I will measure the depth of it today when I get home and let you know.

 

cheers.

[Deano]

hey,

1. No idea. It's a 420 watt supply. The pump will not run through a backup. Must be some sort of protection in it or something. As soon as I kill the power to the supply and the battery kicks in, the pump starts humming and does not run. The 150 watt light is not going into the backup since it's not a big deal if the power dies for an hour or so. The only things going in there are the protein skimmer, heater, PC lights, cooling fans, and koralia to keep water movement. The pump, MH lights, and LED's are going into regular power outlets. Between the stuff going into the backup, there's about 300-350 watts of power being drawn. Based on that, I SHOULD get a little over 1 hour of backup power.

 

2. I bought the 40 lb bag of live sand. Used about 30lbs of it. I will measure the depth of it today when I get home and let you know.

 

cheers.

 

Yea some pumps will not run with a battery back something to do with frequency. It wouldn't be necessary to run the skimmer with the back up because with out the pump to move water through the rear chambers you are not going to get much benefit from the skimmer. Heater and your koralia is all you would really need to have on the back up for obvious reasons.

 

Anyway looks good. I wish I had your 150w hood. I love mH but to much money and heat issues on BC29 using the stock hood.

 

Why did you replace the stock bulkhead? Different pump or just more convenient to attach the lock lines to

[kookie_guy]

Yea some pumps will not run with a battery back something to do with frequency. It wouldn't be necessary to run the skimmer with the back up because with out the pump to move water through the rear chambers you are not going to get much benefit from the skimmer. Heater and your koralia is all you would really need to have on the back up for obvious reasons.

 

Anyway looks good. I wish I had your 150w hood. I love mH but to much money and heat issues on BC29 using the stock hood.

 

Why did you replace the stock bulkhead? Different pump or just more convenient to attach the lock lines to

 

hey,

 

I've been running it all day so far, doesn't look like it get's as hot as I expected. It peaks out at a certain point and maintains. The fans do a good job keeping the air flowing, and if I have to, I'll modify the hood to incorporate 2 blower fans for crazy air movement.

 

Ok so it looks like the protein skimmer is going on regular power then. I'm doing a complete cycle test of my electrical. I picked up the coralife power center dual power bar. This thing is great. Keeps everyting nice and tidy without timers all over the place.

 

As far as the bulkhead, I upgraded to a RIO 6HF right off the bat. So the stock fitting was a little loose. Going to a bulkhead also gives me more options if I ever want to change anything. With the stock nipples, you really can't do much.

[kookie_guy]

ok, a lot has happened in the last few days...

 

First off, I screwed up by not rinsing my live sand. I know it says on the package that it's not required, but I should have done it. The dust would settle after a day or so, but as soon as you moved anything, it would kick it all back up, clouding the water. So I stirred the hell out of it, dumped all the water out, and put fresh water in. Not nearly as cloudy now when you stir it up.

 

Second, while doing a full test on everything, I've noticed the 150 watt MH creates bad heat issues. The temp of the water spiked 4 degrees. Needless to say, the hood was removed again for modifications. These include big blower fans for the intake and exhaust, as well as 4 little fans that will blow across the water to help with cooling. The blower fans are also quieter than the upgraded ones from the 150 watt kit.

 

Now for pics...

 

intake blower on hood. hehe, with 1 on either side it'll look like mickey mouse

 

 

 

close up

 

 

 

modified underside. I cut the grill out for max air movement, and siliconed the fan to the hood.

 

 

 

that's it for now. as more gets completed, I will add pics.

[kookie_guy]

ok, so I'm stuck using the blower as the intake only. I can't reverse it to use it as exhaust. So...on the exhaust side, I thinned out the ribs, and ordered a super beefy fan to move tonnes of air.

 

Also, today Big Al's had a huge sale on live rock for boxing day ($3.99/lb vs $8.99/lb) so I grabbed about 34 lbs of it. Set everything up today, cleaned up all the electrical, did my aquascape. All I can do now is wait patiently as the tank cycles.

 

Oh yeah, twenty12, like I said, I used about 30 lbs, and it got me about a 2" base.

 

Here are some pics.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now, the next few weeks will be dull and boring while the tank cycles, but if anything interesting happens I will post pics.

[JCBioCube29]

nice job looking good I like the blowers

[kookie_guy]

nice job looking good I like the blowers

 

 

Thank you. I might be taking out the loc line split, going down to a single, and throwing in another koralia 2. Still thinking about it, not sure if I'm gonna do it.

 

Anyhow, I want everyone to meet Benny and Walter. hehe, these guys are so funny to watch as they pick all the crap off my rocks.

 

 

 

 

Question about cycling. The rock I bought was super cured from my local big al's. Does this mean the cycle will be shorter? I haven't really seen the typical spike in anything yet to suggest the tank is cycling. Any help is appreciated.

[lgreen]

Looks great. Love the mods and how clean they are.

 

My only suggestion would be to ditch that instant ocean hydrometer. They are extremely low quality and I have not seen one to date that was accurate. We got some in at the fish store and I went through a whole box of ten and could not find an accurate one. I ended up throwing them all away.

 

As far as that blower fan, could you just reverse the wiring so the motor spins in the opposite direction? Not sure if it is possible or if it would even work, but just an idea.

[kookie_guy]

Looks great. Love the mods and how clean they are.

 

My only suggestion would be to ditch that instant ocean hydrometer. They are extremely low quality and I have not seen one to date that was accurate. We got some in at the fish store and I went through a whole box of ten and could not find an accurate one. I ended up throwing them all away.

 

As far as that blower fan, could you just reverse the wiring so the motor spins in the opposite direction? Not sure if it is possible or if it would even work, but just an idea.

 

hey,

 

Ya I hear ya about the hydrometer. From what I've read it's still one of the better ones of the bunch, but still not perfect. I'll be getting one of the pinpoint salinity monitors in the next week or so.

 

First thing I tried was to reverse the polarity but it would not spin. It has a small controller chip on it, so I'm guessing the circuitry prevents cross wiring. That's ok. I've already ordered a beefier fan for the exhaust. The one it came with moves about 14 cfm, the one I ordered moves 24 cfm. Also, the 2 fans that blow through the MH bulb, I am upgrading them from 9 cfm to 16 cfm.

 

For those concerned with temps....before doing any mods, temp would spike by about 4 degrees with the lights on. Adding the blower on the intake, and opening the exhaust fins, the temp stays within 1 degree. After I change the exhaust fan and bulb cooling fans, I should be able to keep it within 0.5 degree. No need for chillers or anything, just a more powerful way of moving air through the light system.

[twenty12]

I really like the rock. Some of the better rock I have seen as far as straight looks out of the box.

 

Thanks for the response on the substrate. I ordered two 20lb bags of sand based on what you got (because I could not find a 30lb bag).

 

Looking very good so far... enjoying the posts as I am about 1 week behind you in the process.

[kookie_guy]

I really like the rock. Some of the better rock I have seen as far as straight looks out of the box.

 

Thanks for the response on the substrate. I ordered two 20lb bags of sand based on what you got (because I could not find a 30lb bag).

 

Looking very good so far... enjoying the posts as I am about 1 week behind you in the process.

 

 

right on. I love doing this. It's so fun. Couldn't do it without the help on here tho, it's amazing how much info there is. I might have actually just scored a complete tank from my fiance's family friend. He has a tank that's been cycling for years, with live rock, and he wants to get rid of it. No charge, just get rid of it, hehe. So I might be turning that into a predator tank.

 

One thing I just finished converting back to stock was the pump. The 6HF was super loud, and the tank being in my bedroom I haven't slept in days. hehe. So I went back to stock pump (whisper quiet compared to 6HF) and will add a second Koralia 2 for the flow.

[dopamine]

hey kookie, got a question.

 

On the 2nd-5th pictures in your first post, where did you get those fittings? I am thinking about running the stock pump with a tube from the 3rd chamber over to the 1st chamber and drilling a whole between the two grills and adding an extra return withough having to add a bulky koralia.

 

I am going to want to snap on a piece of locline to the bulkhead

[pprwngs]

Hey hey, love the tank so far. The fans are sweet, gives it super charged high tech look... Any who are you going to be keeping the heater and thermometer? Or are you going to move them into the rear chambers to clean up the tank a bit...?

[kookie_guy]

hey kookie, got a question.

 

On the 2nd-5th pictures in your first post, where did you get those fittings? I am thinking about running the stock pump with a tube from the 3rd chamber over to the 1st chamber and drilling a whole between the two grills and adding an extra return withough having to add a bulky koralia.

 

I am going to want to snap on a piece of locline to the bulkhead

 

my bulkhead and everything for the plumbing was from here...

 

http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/plumbing_parts.html

 

Only reason for it was because they also had the RIO 6HF which I ordered.

 

 

Hey hey, love the tank so far. The fans are sweet, gives it super charged high tech look... Any who are you going to be keeping the heater and thermometer? Or are you going to move them into the rear chambers to clean up the tank a bit...?

 

they will go in the back. they are in the front for now because the tank is just cycling. Once I get going with livestock, the protein skimmer will go in and I can remove the stock mechanical filter (putting all that in chamber 2 down below). The heater will be going into chamber 2 as well. The thermometer is now in the back.

 

With the stock mechanical filter, the level of water in chamber 2 is a little on the low side to put in the heater. I don't want to damage it. Once the filter goes away, the level will be the same between 1 and 2, so plenty of water to submerge it.

[kookie_guy]

hehe, been a while. Anyhoo, been a month today since the tank started going with water. I was getting upset with the results of the Red Sea test kit (kept telling me I have high ammonia with everything else 0 ppm). So thanks to the advice of people on here I upgraded to the API test kit. All I can say is don't waste your money on the Red Sea kits. They are WAYYYYYY off.

 

Anyhoo, here are my parameters:

 

kH = 8dH

Nitrite = 0 ppm

Nitrate = 2.5 ppm (not quite 0, not quite 5)

pH = 8.4

Ammonia = 0 ppm

Calcium = 500 ppm

Salinity = 1.023 (I know, a bit low)

 

I think it's safe to say my tank is cycled. I will do my major water change today or tomorrow, plus vacuum the sand bed. Then I'll be off to buy my captive bred true percs.

[kookie_guy]

hehe, got some new tennants. Did my major water change, all water parameters stayed perfect. First off, look at the size of this turbo snail, geez!

 

 

Now the 2 new tennants. They are a pair of true percula clowns. They are still little guys (about 3/4"), as I wanted to watch them go through growing up. Out of the entire tank, they seemed to stick together the most. They are always swimming together in the tank. I love watching these guys go. hehe. I think my koralia 2 is a little too strong for them right now, so I gotta move it a bit. The second koralia 2 is coming out altogether. No names yet. FIancee is in charge of that department. Waiting til they do something unique to help with names. Anyhow, enough typing, here are the pics.

 

 

 

[kookie_guy]

Went to local big al's today after work. They were kind enough to sell me a piece of rock from one of their display tanks. Check out the coraline growth on this thing. it's pretty crazy. Made the fishies a swim through cavern. I also picked up 2 new friends for the clownies. They are getting the drip right now, so no pics yet. hehe. Check back in about 1 hour for the reveal.

 

In the mean time, here's the slightly changed aquascape.

 

 

[Toomin]

knock knock.its close to an hour already.