Deputy_Pooh Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I'm a happy new owner/member to the biocube family. So far, I love this tank. I had a Aquapod 12G and I hated that tank bc there wasn't many mods and upgrade features available. I tried to make it rimless and I managed to crack my tank. It turned out to be a blessing bc I saw that marineandreef.com sold topless BC14's for $70. I cudnt pass it up and I knew many others had established successful reefs out of BC14's. Once I received my tank, I started the cycling process right away as I already had equipment on standby. First mod was the overflow addition and media basket install. Media basket consist of Floss, Purigen, and Chemi-Pure Elite I added a koralia 425 powerhead to the display area and swapped out the stock pump for a maxijet-900 I used a dremel and removed the 1/4 inch lip around the back of the open top to allow for my metal halide fixture and heater to fit properly I installed a JBJ K-2 Viper 70watt metal halide fixture. Fixture has a brand new 2 week old 14k ushio bulb. I'm replacing this bulb bc it is too white and yellowish. My corals look brown under this bulb. I bought a 20k ushio bulb and that will be installed shortly. Also on the fixture I added a blue LED light for a 24hr moonlight feature. I let the tank cycle for about a week and then I added my livestock. So far everything seems to be going well. I'll be posting more updates periodically with coral growth or mods. More pics.. 1 Link to comment
colormyheart Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Gorgeous! Super clean, I love this tank. Nice job! Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Gorgeous! Super clean, I love this tank. Nice job! Thanks Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Newly added yellow watchman goby. His name is Stewie... I have my JBJ ATO unit arriving shortly so I decided to reroute my electrical work underneath my stand to make the ATO pump and reservoir more safer under my stand. Full nano setup Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 I did a water test today. My saltwater test kit is about 5yrs old and I know there are probably better ones on the market but at least its better than nothing. Ph is between 7.8 and 8.4 Nitrite is 0 Nitrate is 0 - 5 Ammonia is 0 My water levels are perfect I keep my salinity at 1.024 Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Mailman dropped off my 20k bulb, aqua lifter pump, JBJ ATO and my filter media to hopefully last me until late spring.. I love my new bulb .. Tank looks awesome with the blueish tint. This phone pic does no justice. Even my dog loves the new look. 1 Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Installed my JBJ ATO. I played around with it for about an hr before I installed it on my tank. I only used one senor and placed it in Chamber 3 with my return pump. I mounted the control box inside my second shelf with my other electrical outlets. The aqua lifter pump is placed behind my tank. This $11 pump is very powerful and efficient enough for a 14 gallon tank. It pulls water up from my bottom shelf which is about 2-3 ft, then it pushes the water up to my chamber which is about another foot and a half. The flow is low but it gets the job done. Overall, I'm happy with the install.. Link to comment
edpaek Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Wow, nice tank and setup. I like the lighting, it looks great. Badass dog too. Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Wow, nice tank and setup. I like the lighting, it looks great. Badass dog too. Thanks.. Link to comment
444rich Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 awesome work and tank looks great-done right , love the scape my set up is similar Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 awesome work and tank looks great-done right , love the scape my set up is similar Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 I added a firefish and a tiger pistol shrimp to my livestock. Shrimp will be nearly impossible to photo. maybe after months of him living in my tank i will see him more.. My tank is one month old. More updates to come. I think I'm going up buy a decent camera this year for better pics.. Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Since my tank is now housing a: perc clownish firefish yellow watchman goby peppermint shrimp tiger pistol shrimp 4 turbo snails 6-7 hermit crabs several mini corals : hard and soft I'm going to change my filter floss and do a 1 gallon water change every Monday and Thursday. I think my bio-load is pretty high, so I will try to keep my water parameters stable by taking this approach. Link to comment
Rrudo74901 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Really nice set up. And thanks for the pics as I didn't know where to put my 425. Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Really nice set up. And thanks for the pics as I didn't know where to put my 425. I have the stock nozzle and the 425 pointed somewhat upwards bc its a strong flow in there. Also I like to keep the surface water constantly moving to keep down on the slimy film from stationary water. With the flow pointed upwards, I still have my kenya tree, star polyps, and xenia moving pretty actively at the sand bed of my tank.. Link to comment
16bio Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Here's a video of my tank at 1 month old. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEbSCRiwMmk Nice tank man keep up the good work! Link to comment
slumpysix Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thats a great looking tank. Just watch that shell collector you have in there.. a.k.a. mr. sneaky pistol shrimp! When I moved my tank I had to remove most everything and under his house rock was all my missing hermit and snail shells, empty of course! Link to comment
bokaholic Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Your tank is amazing. I haven't looked too much into mods. But the more and more I look at other's tanks I get more interested! Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thats a great looking tank. Just watch that shell collector you have in there.. a.k.a. mr. sneaky pistol shrimp! When I moved my tank I had to remove most everything and under his house rock was all my missing hermit and snail shells, empty of course! wow, thats funny. Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 I want to buy somebodies stock hood if interested. I want to try a cheap DIY led retro fit kit. Link to comment
colormyheart Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I want to buy somebodies stock hood if interested. I want to try a cheap DIY led retro fit kit. I have one, the ballast is broken. I assume that doesn't matter if you want to do a DIY led. Link to comment
Deputy_Pooh Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 I have one, the ballast is broken. I assume that doesn't matter if you want to do a DIY led. That wud be great Pm sent.. Also I've never had a hood on this tank. Wut was the temp your tank stayed at with the hood attached. I really dont want my tank to go above 79. It stays at a consistent 78 with the open top and a mh. My house stays around 76-77. Link to comment
smai-tai Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 That wud be great Pm sent.. Also I've never had a hood on this tank. Wut was the temp your tank stayed at with the hood attached. I really dont want my tank to go above 79. It stays at a consistent 78 with the open top and a mh. My house stays around 76-77. I did this before making the switch. The LED's are actually a bit cooler than the CFL's on my BC29. Where my tank is currently though there is no airflow, it's in like a dead zone, so the heat just kind of sits there, so I leave my lid cracked open. Keeps me around 79-81 in my tank. I just ordered my JBJ ATO, I now need to go get a pump. What would you recommend? Similar set up to yours, the resi will be on the bottom pumping up to the tank. Link to comment
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