First Powerhead in 14g Biocube

[SideCar_Falcon619]

So today my Powerhead came in from Amazon!

 

I got the Hydor Koralia 425gph and I've installed it.

 

However I have a 14g Biocube with kind of an odd shaped LR as the center piece so I'm not quite sure about placement especially in tandem with the return pump on the other side.

 

I've attached a video of my tank where I really do my best to show the positioning and the flow of the water.

If you guys could take a look and give me any tips or advice going forward I would really appreciate it.

 

I do plan on having corals and fish at some point, so I want to have good flow. Right now I just have 3 red tip hermits.

 

If you can't quite tell:

-The return is pointed down and twords the middle of the display glass

-The power head is pointed slightly tword the top also facing the center of the display glass

 

 

[seabass]

When playing around with flow, I find that tying a piece of string to something like the end of a fish net handle, and moving it around the tank, lets me see the flow. You can spot dead spots so you know you should adjust the return, powerhead, or even your rock work.

[Clown79]

You will be playing with the flow for a while. It often needs adjusting once you start adding corals.

 

I had to change mine 5 times and now its perfect.

 

You can use fishing bobbers too to determine flow or flake food. It helps find dead zones.

 

You can also add the hydor rotator to your return and it will provide a different type of flow with the powerhead. I did that in my IM.

[xAyanex]

I had to mess with mine until it quit displacing giant mounds of sand, but until I get corals and such I really don't know if my flow is favorable or not.

[ReeferBrian]

I also have a14 gallon biocube and am looking to add more flow to My tank.I was looking at the koralia 240or the 425 I'd like to see how well you like the 425 ,kinda off topic so I appologize but would like to know what filtration your using for your tank?but I love the way your tank looks!

[SideCar_Falcon619]

I also have a14 gallon biocube and am looking to add more flow to My tank.I was looking at the koralia 240or the 425 I'd like to see how well you like the 425 ,kinda off topic so I appologize but would like to know what filtration your using for your tank?but I love the way your tank looks!

 

Thanks!

 

I bought the 425 cause most peoples opinion on here is that you can never have too much flow? Idk that's what I've gathered from all I've read. I'm still not 100% on its placement but it is def. a good little power head.

I also ordered the Hydor Flo Rotating water attachment off amazon because it was like $11 bucks?

People complain about their longevity but I like the idea of having the rotation in my return. Figure that will help with flow a lot in tandem with the 425.

 

Unfortunately I still have the stock biocube filtration but I am going to move to an InTank 3 shelf Media Basket this week.

It seems like a lot of experts on here like the mix of the filter floss, purigen and chemipure which will probably be my choice as well.

I added purigen today but also did some rescaping so the water is still too murky to tell if its working or not.

 

Bio filtration was 20lbs of live sand (oops) and 13ish lbs of live rock.

and the thing is cycling pretty fast... my LFS set me up with 3 red tip hermits to add just a few days in and they seem stoked... So I guess things are going well?

 

I love to hear from people with Biocube 14's! tell me about yours! pics?

[ReeferBrian]

Well mine sounds quite like yours,I use the stock filtration but thinking about switching to the basket but not sure about cutting the tab off,lol.I'm cycled but have this green algae on my rocks,sand and glass that I have to scrape off the glass a few times a day.I've done a lot of reading on the subject tonight and turns out it's normal for about the first three months at least that's what some are saying,I just added some chemipure elite tonight so I have my fingers crossed

[SideCar_Falcon619]

Well mine sounds quite like yours,I use the stock filtration but thinking about switching to the basket but not sure about cutting the tab off,lol.I'm cycled but have this green algae on my rocks,sand and glass that I have to scrape off the glass a few times a day.I've done a lot of reading on the subject tonight and turns out it's normal for about the first three months at least that's what some are saying,I just added some chemipure elite tonight so I have my fingers crossed

 

Nice! How long did it take you to cycle?

What kind of CUC are you using?

[ReeferBrian]

Thanks!it took my tank about 2 weeks to finish the cycle.I used a raw shrimp to get the ammonia up and going.as far as my cuc I have 4 cerith snails and two scarlet hermit crabs.I'm not sure if this is enough for my cuc but the bigger hermit walks in a circle on the sand on the outer edge of my tank and mowes down the green algae on the sand,pretty cool

[SideCar_Falcon619]

Thanks!it took my tank about 2 weeks to finish the cycle.I used a raw shrimp to get the ammonia up and going.as far as my cuc I have 4 cerith snails and two scarlet hermit crabs.I'm not sure if this is enough for my cuc but the bigger hermit walks in a circle on the sand on the outer edge of my tank and mowes down the green algae on the sand,pretty cool

 

Did you add the snails and the hermits at the same time?

 

I'm thinking I might go get some snails soon...

[ReeferBrian]

Yeah,I bought them all at the same time and added them all at once,they are doing a great job with the algae.I read through your post really quick how long has your tank been up?has it cycled?I put my cuc in right after my cycle completed,so quick in fact that that's what I thought kicked off the green algae,but seabass and other stuff I've read says I was ok to add them when I did.

[SideCar_Falcon619]

Yeah,I bought them all at the same time and added them all at once,they are doing a great job with the algae.I read through your post really quick how long has your tank been up?has it cycled?I put my cuc in right after my cycle completed,so quick in fact that that's what I thought kicked off the green algae,but seabass and other stuff I've read says I was ok to add them when I did.

 

It's been up a week

I don't think it's cycled yet? I haven't seen a Diatom Bloom or anything. Not a lot of visible algae growth.

But my LFS tested the water and said it looked good and he suggested I take home the red tips.

I did some self testing the other day and the params look good but not perfect yet.

[ReeferBrian]

Ok .my cycle in the 14 gallon biocube was very subtle I had very little donations I thought it was strange but I've heard the same thing from others

[seabass]

Ok .my cycle in the 14 gallon biocube was very subtle I had very little donations I thought it was strange but I've heard the same thing from others

Yeah, nobody donated anything to me either.

 

Haha, autocorrect strikes again. It's common, but not everybody gets diatoms.

[ReeferBrian]

Stupid auto correct,lol you would think by now that I'd actually proof read what I send,I guess it's just easier for me to blame auto correct,lmbo

[NanoReefer27]

Make sure when you complete your cycle you make sure your nitrates are stable for a few days to a week, You don't want to lose a fish after a month to some kind of problem that was caused due to extended exposure to high nitrates.

[SideCar_Falcon619]

Make sure when you complete your cycle you make sure your nitrates are stable for a few days to a week, You don't want to lose a fish after a month to some kind of problem that was caused due to extended exposure to high nitrates.

 

OK. What is an example of a stable nitrate number so I know?

I'm testing myself now

My first test came out around 5.0?

[ReeferBrian]

I like to keep my nitrates as close to zero as possible usually I keep mine at 10 or below if I hit 10 I get grumpy,lol

[Clown79]

You can add hermits once the cycle is complete.

 

Nitrates should stay 10 or less. Having a bit of nitrates isn't a negative.

 

If you have algae then you can add a couple of snails. You can add to the cuc as the tank matures and there is need.

 

Not all tanks go through all the various algae stages, it really depends on the tank.

 

There is a misconception that algae represents a finished cycle. The nitrigen cycle determines the end. I always advise testing for a week or more after the first water change to ensure the cycle is complete.

 

I didn't get diatoms until 1 mnth after cycle was done in my 15g, my 10g diatoms started near the end of cycle. My old 55g never had diatoms.

[ReeferBrian]

You can add hermits once the cycle is complete.

Nitrates should stay 10 or less. Having a bit of nitrates isn't a negative.

If you have algae then you can add a couple of snails. You can add to the cuc as the tank matures and there is need.

Not all tanks go through all the various algae stages, it really depends on the tank. I'm wondering if my tank is doing what yours did.it finished cycling after about two weeks and now a col weeks later I'm getting brown algae in the sand and rocks.looks like brown diatoms to me but I guess I followed the misconception that you are going to get diatoms as soon as your cycle is complete.but now after 4 weeks I'm getting them.very interesting

There is a misconception that algae represents a finished cycle. The nitrigen cycle determines the end. I always advise testing for a week or more after the first water change to ensure the cycle is complete.

I didn't get diatoms until 1 mnth after cycle was done in my 15g, my 10g diatoms started near the end of cycle. My old 55g never had diatoms.