Hawks Noob Biocube Thread

[hawks66]

I've been interested in saltwater for a while and after much reading I think i'm ready to take the plunge. I'll photo document much of the process and try to make it accessible to first timers, since the threads i've learned the most from are packed with pictures and real world application tips.

 

 

I picked up a used biocube, its encrusted with bleached out coraline. I read that filling it with water and vinegar will make it easier to take it off. I filled it tonight with tapwater and a pint of vinegar, and ill let the pump circulate for a day, tomorrow we begin scrubbing, with pictures to follow.

[JR!]

how much you spend and what size is it?

[hawks66]

how much you spend and what size is it?

 

14g. 50$ on Craigslist, with a stand, not the oceanic stand, but a stand nonetheless.

[JR!]

if its in good shape that sounds like a decent deal

[hawks66]

ok, so the tap water and pint of white distilled viegar have been running all night and day, a little under 24 hours, here's what we started with.

 

it already looked better than it did, using a mr clean magic eraser that bleached coraline started coming off pretty easy, some spots were still tough, it came off the glass with no problem, i figure with the top layer off the second layer should get some time to soak and I'll hit it again later tonight.

 

I ordered some lights from ecoxotics but looking at the lid, the splash guard has a yellowish tint to it that i hope wont mess with the light spectrum coming through from the pricey LED's, does anybody know of a way to clean this discoloration, it doesn't really come through in pictures unfortunately.

 

Next is to scrape of the paint on the back and build a media rack.

[hawks66]

the bleached coraline is 95% gone, another 12 hours and the back will be spotless like day 1.

 

today i picked up some eggcrate from home depot, found it in the florescent light area. it was $4.50 for a big 4x2 sheet of it, i used some plyers with wire cutters to snip the peices out and then clip the edges off , i had to sand down the rough left over bits because it was such a tight fit in the 2nd chamber of the cube.

 

 

use some zipties to keep it together, and viola, easy. Also upon opening up chamber 2, i found a bunch of old live rock rubble, which by now probably only counts as dry rock. but i can use it when aquascaping as some supports.

[cuber14]

Replace your bulbs you never know how old they are and they only last about 9 Mths. Nice DIYS media basket what will you put in it,I use floss,purigen,and chemi-pure elite.keep us posted.

[hawks66]

another day, another update and a few questions.

 

. Nice DIYS media basket what will you put in it,I use floss,purigen,and chemi-pure elite.keep us posted.

 

Floss then purigen, then cheato is the plan. sound reasonable?

 

 

1. the vinegar has done its work and the dead coraline is gone

 

I ordered some lights from ecoxotics and the first package came, the pano's are slightly delayed, so i decided to remove the stock lighting.

The question is, can i get rid of this cable bundle here?

 

it only seems to have been powering the old atintic light, but i cant get the cable bundle out unless i cut the old connector pins. Should I?

 

next question is, im planning on getting the live rock and sand and water soon, but talking to the LFS they recommend some seed bacteria which will cycle quicker and say i can add fish in like 2 days. i know they just want to sell me more, whats the consensus on seed bacteria?

[JR!]

looking good man. good diy stuff

[hawks66]

So today was a busy day. Started scraping the paint off the back of the cube. It was tough going for a while, so i tried some goo-gone, and that really helped. First I made some scrapes all over, then just wiped goo-gone over the whole backside, let it get in and under those initial scrapes, then the paint started coming off in much bigger hunks and slices.

 

 

Next up I kept working on the wiring, i decided i wouldn't need the Actintic power cable anymore and in order to get it out i had to cut the clip from the wire, if you wanna make an omelet you gotta break some eggs.

 

 

Then another obstacle, in trying to fit the Ecoxotic 3 way splitter through the cube's pre-existing cable holes, they wouldnt fit, i used a small drill bit and ground down a little opening at the edge of each hole, where the wires from the first few cables could sit while i pushed the next connectors through. The 2 pano LED's should be delivered today.

 

 

Still a few questions though, Whats the verdict on seed bacteria? possible to add fish and CUC sooner with it?

also, i had so much eggcrate left over after making the media holder, i saw some people putting it in the bottom to make aquascaping easier, some also say it makes a home for anaerobic bacteria? Should i keep it or lose it?

[Builder Anthony]

i have a 4 inch sandbed that looks like in time will go bad

 

i have another sandbed 1 inch which i never cleaned once it is perfectly clean and has no eggcrate.its kept clean by critters

its probalyy a year old.

 

i would develop your own bacteria to avoid disease

[hawks66]

ok, so the eggcrate bottom is out. thanks for the advice.

 

the LED's came, lets see how this goes.

 

first, getting the 2 ecoxotic pano LED's into the space of a biocube 14 is a tight fit, i had to bend the reflector down a bit, one of the screw posts was blocking it, so i had to snip off a tiny corner.

 

 

Next I fed the wires through the old moonlight holes and connected to the 3 way splitter, under the reflector

 

 

Then secured the LED's to the old screw mounts under where the florescents used to sit, and on the other side I had to screw it directly into the reflector, not an easy task.

 

 

Finally that stage is complete.

 

 

the stand it came with needed some work, i built a door today, its still getting varnished and i secured a power strip inside it, also mounted the led dimmer, and some other cables so that its pretty clean inside. Ill post pictures once the door is mounted. Now just waiting for the koralia nano 450 and purigen to arrive from amazon.and the next stage can begin.

[JR!]

coming along nice man. good work.

[hawks66]

Finally got the stand cleaned up and built a door for it. Got the lights all wired up and cables run. Moved the cube to its final resting place today

 

 

I attached a powerstrip inside the cabinet and mounted some of the transformers for more useable space. still need to do some cable management.

 

 

 

The rocks and sand will be picked up thursday. in the meantime, i bought this epoxy for aquascaping. does anyone know if it will be reef safe. Most of the threads said they picked it up at home depot. so i went in and asked, this is what i came up with

 

 

 

so safe to use? or return?

[hawks66]

Got Water, Live rock, and Live sand.

 

 

No time for aquascaping tonight. but the pieces are pretty big, its gonna be a challenge. Have the koralia 425 in the upper right and only filter floss running, ill rinse it tomorrow.

[Thornchase]

Looking nice!

[hooligan_78]

Looks great man! As far as the JB Weld is considered; I couldn't say. I know that it is safe to drink from pipes it is used on, but if in doubt...don't do it! Maybe someone with more experience can chime in on it.

[hawks66]

Looks great man! As far as the JB Weld is considered; I couldn't say. I know that it is safe to drink from pipes it is used on, but if in doubt...don't do it! Maybe someone with more experience can chime in on it.

Searched the web, found lots of success stories with no ill effects, gonna try to scape tonight without it if at all possible.

[hawks66]

Finally got the rocks scaped the way i want them, i was able to do it without the epoxy, and there are some nice hiding spots and tunnels to swim through.

 

 

Did some tests,

 

Ammonia .25

Nitrite 2.0

Nitrate 20

Ph 7.8

SG 1.026

Temp 78.5

 

this is after 1 day of cured live rock, and live sand, the rock was delivered locally, so ive heard it should be a fast cycle, gonna have some chaeto in there soon to hopefully suck up some of those nitrates. my test kits are old 1-2 years possibly. ive heard they could go bad? ill change the filter floss as well. no lights yet.

[asting]

Very cool setup. The Eggcrate on the bottom just helps with stability and protects against falls a bit.

[hawks66]

ammonia at 0, nitrite at 1, will be adding chaeto and cuc within the week. temp holding steady. changing filter floss every 2 days. can i just rinse and reuse?

[hooligan_78]

Yes, you can rinse and reuse it a few times. Let your nitrites rise more then start falling, your cycle is not done yet. You should see a decline in nitrites and an increase in nitrate.

[hawks66]

Let your nitrites rise more then start falling, your cycle is not done yet.

 

They've already been falling, started at 2-3 a few days ago, then 2, last night 1. im hoping that in 3 more days they'll be at 0.

[hawks66]

Ammonia 0 nitrites .25 nitrates 5-10

added chaeto to the bottom of chamber 2. and carbon in the middle, once i add a CUC ill add purigen as well. been changing the filter floss every 1 to 2 nights. my LFS has a pair of ocellaris clowns in a tank together waiting for me.

 

Now im looking for a good deal on some easy zoa's or ric's in the bay area?

I'd also like something for the clowns, ive seen people have them host in a hammer, or bubble tip, or frogspawn. Which would be most successful, which would be the easiest, best fit in a BC14? Which would be best for the clowns?

any ideas, or reefers looking to frag?

[hawks66]

Here's my Fuge light for the chaeto.

 

Its this

 

from ikea. "JANSO "LED with a clamp for 15$. Will this provide enough light?

 

since adding chaeto and CUC params are ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0. Boo ya. Clowns to be added soon.

 

got no response on what would be best for a host for them. searching didnt really yield the info i was looking for. Ive been checking the livestock forum every day for bay area corals, no dice yet. But, "aqualifeaquarium" which is a pretty popular ebay choice for coral is located only about 1 hour away in rocklin. so a drive may be in order.