klimfish's BioCube 14 - Lots of mods/upgrades!

[klimfish]

Hello all, this will be a tank journal for my Coralife BioCube 14. This is my first aquarium in over 8 years, and also my first attempt at saltwater. I did A LOT of research on this forum, youtube, and some LFS's in my area, and I finally have had the tank set up with pretty much every extra add on I thought would be necessary for about five days now. The modifications and equipment are listed below, as well as the most recent water test results. If anyone has any questions about where I got my equipment, or why I chose a specific piece please don't hesitate to ask or PM me oh yeah, there are pictures too.

 

 

Mechanical Equipment:

 

AI Prime LED lighting system w/ 12" flex-mount (set at 1300K w/ 3 hour ramp time, 12 hour cycle, 50% overall power)

Cobalt Aquatics MJ900 (replaced stock pump in chamber 3)

Hydor-Flo rotating attachment (for MJ900)

Koralia Nano 425 (seems like a maybe too much flow?)

Jager 50w heater (in chamber 1)

inTank Media basket w/ filter floss, purigen, chemi-pure elite (chamber 2)

Digital thermometer

BioCube Algae Scraper (are there better ones?)

Saltwater test kit/Reef master test kit

Refractometer

 

Biological equipment:

 

11lbs live rock (will probably add about 1-3 more pounds. I am waiting for the perfect piece to catch my eye for my particular aquascape)

~13-14lbs Carib-Sea live Bimini pink sand

10 gallons of pre-mixed LFS saltwater

 

Modifications:

 

Replaced stock pump with MJ900, and replaced stock outflow with Hydor-flo

Made small cut between chamber 1 and 2 to allow the inTank media basket to fit properly (it was easy, there areplenty of youtube videos on this!)

Removed hood completely

 

My goals for the tank include a variety of coral, 3-4 small fish, and some fun and functional invertebrates.

Softies, LPS, SPS and Acros when I'm ready and the tank is established.

 

 

Most recent test parameters as of 24 hours ago:

 

Salinity: 1.024

pH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0.25ppm

Nitrite: 0.25ppm

Nitrate: 0.0ppm

Temperate: Fluctuating from 77.5-78.7 degrees Fahrenheit

 

Problems so far:

 

Temperature: When I first filled the tank and was using the stock hood, the temperature would stay constant around 84 degrees . I removed the hood and upgraded to the AI prime. Problem fixed . Temp now stays at a solid 78 with a slight variance depending on the time of day. Never goes below 77 or above 78.7

 

Salinity has been varying from 1.023-1.025 due to evaporation on this now open-top tank. I am working on dialing this in with top offs of either RO or saltwater depending on how my refractometer reads.

 

Diatom bloom: Not really an issue, but it does look ugly!

 

Most recent updates:

 

05.30.2016

 

I am currently waiting on the tank to finish cycling so I can buy my CUC. I'm thinking the 15 gallon package from reefcleaners, unless my LFS can offer me a comparable deal. I am leaning towards snails only for now, or maybe 1-3 red-legged hermits if I can find them. There is definitely a diatom bloom happening right now, which is OK with me as the CUC will have plenty of food when they arrive!

 

Now some questions:

 

I feel like I have A LOT of flow for this small tank. Will this allow me to keep softies, LPS, and SPS with my current pump set-up? My Koralia 425 is pointed towards the front glass/surface. I understand that I may have to place coral in certain places of the tank depending on their needs, but I would hate to limit myself from some of the very beautiful and colorful soft and LPS coral.

 

My pH is also always on the low side: 8.0. Is there a simple way to raise this to 8.2 or will 8.0 be just fine?

 

I feel like a need a couple more pieces of live rock. Right now I have 11lbs in there, but I think 13 could be better. Thoughts?

 

As for the AI prime, I really like the 13K color. Will this provide adequate growth/color for my coral or should I go to the 14k?

 

Finally, I notice how far down in chamber 3 my MJ900 is. Would it be smart to cut and shorten the tube connecting it to the Hydor-flo and moving it slightly higher in the chamber?

 

 

Thanks for following along! PLEASE comment with questions, suggestions, and advice!

 

More pictures incoming once this image uploader stops giving me trouble. Here we go!

 

 

 

Diatoms below?

 

 

Diatoms?

[tiggs]

Welcome to the forum! You're definitely off to a good start. Your equipment list is very good and it shows that you did your share of homework.

 

You definitely don't have too much flow. For comparison, I also have a Biocube 14 and have a Jebao PP4 in mine. I used to use a Koralia 425, but upgraded it this time around. With that being said, your current flow situation is more than adequate and you'll be able to keep anything you want with it.

 

As for your lighting, you're fine using the 13k setting if that's your preference. Old school reference guide was basically "The lower the Kelvin, the better the growth. The higher the Kelvin, the better the color.". With LEDs, this isn't necessarily the way it works. To make a long story short, they are a narrow spectrum light and only operate in the wavelength they were designed for. So the net result is the growth difference between 10k/14k/20k is negligible and you should chose the coloration that suits your preference. I think most of us with LEDs operate at or near 20k to get the most coloration from our corals, but like I said, it's totally personal preference.

[krusing93]

DO NOT TOP OFF WITH SALTWATER

 

Everything else seems pretty well researched however and I know you said depending on Salinity but if you have auto top off running the evaporation problem and fluctuating salinity will not be a problem. I have a 5 Gallon tank that is rimless and top off the water manually once a day and my salinity stays constant at 35ppm or 1.025. I run my tank pretty warm at 79.5-80 and the fish will not have a problem with warmer tanks as long as you acclimate them properly. However, certain corals are sensitive to higher temperatures so just be careful when it comes to selection especially SPS because they get tricky. In my opinion start with some soft corals and work your way up through the ranks soft to lps, lps to sps. Thats just my opinion because SPS like I mentioned before get tricky. ALSO when it comes to flow there is no such thing as too much until you have a small Tsunami in your tank.. The reason I say this is due to oxygen levels, the better the flow the more oxygen is circulating around your tank... The biggest problem when a power outage occurs is the lack of oxygen in a tank due to lack of flow... I am no expert but I love fish and like yourself are very well read and "youtubed" feel free to ask any questions and I will try my best to help you out! GOOD LUCK and welcome to the community!!!!!

Oh and as far as diatoms go if they are in your sand bed just use a turkey baster to blast the sand and they will disappear

[Newstead]

Sounds like a great setup. Our first saltwater tank was a biocube14 and we really enjoyed it. I would suggest a top - mesh, acrylic, etc. Even fish that aren't specifically jumpers will jump.

[klimfish]

Thanks for the input everyone!

@tiggs: Great to hear that I have a good amount of flow, I think it will keep my inhabitants happy.

Also interesting about the Kelvin ratings for LED lights. I guess I will play around with how high of a Kelvin rating I like as far as aesthetics, and stick to that. So far 1300K is a great balance of white and blue, but once I add coral a higher Kelvin rating may be in order. 20K seems so blue to me!

@krusing93: Thanks for the info for topping off. It was my understanding that topping off with saltwater will raise the salinity. Is this true? Why is it not recommended to top off with saltwater if the salinity in the tank is somewhere low, say 1.021?

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice

I plan on grabbing one of those “AccliMate” fish acclimating tanks to help me with acclimation.

I will definitely be starting out with softies/LPS, and slowly working my way up to SPS/Acros. I know they need pristine water conditions and a lot of attention. Just a goal for the future of this tank now that I have the appropriate lighting.

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice

@newstead: are there premade tops for the biocube that fit well and are as you described? Or is this a trip to Lowe’s…?

Again, thanks for the input everyone, and any advice/comments/suggestions are welcome!

PS: Does anyone have any input on a good image host to use for this site? I have a nice DSLR camera but this 1mb file size upload limit here is killing me.

[krusing93]

Thanks for the input everyone!

@tiggs: Great to hear that I have a good amount of flow, I think it will keep my inhabitants happy.

Also interesting about the Kelvin ratings for LED lights. I guess I will play around with how high of a Kelvin rating I like as far as aesthetics, and stick to that. So far 1300K is a great balance of white and blue, but once I add coral a higher Kelvin rating may be in order. 20K seems so blue to me!

@krusing93: Thanks for the info for topping off. It was my understanding that topping off with saltwater will raise the salinity. Is this true? Why is it not recommended to top off with saltwater if the salinity in the tank is somewhere low, say 1.021?

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice

I plan on grabbing one of those “AccliMate” fish acclimating tanks to help me with acclimation.

I will definitely be starting out with softies/LPS, and slowly working my way up to SPS/Acros. I know they need pristine water conditions and a lot of attention. Just a goal for the future of this tank now that I have the appropriate lighting.

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice

@newstead: are there premade tops for the biocube that fit well and are as you described? Or is this a trip to Lowe’s…?

Again, thanks for the input everyone, and any advice/comments/suggestions are welcome!

PS: Does anyone have any input on a good image host to use for this site? I have a nice DSLR camera but this 1mb file size upload limit here is killing me.

 

So here is the deal with topping off... Yes if you have low salinity add some saltwater or salt to raise the salinity but DO NOT use an auto top off that feeds your tank saltwater.. the reason behind this is simple if you forget or accidentally add to much then your salinity will sky rocket and you will end up taking water out... The best way is to add some salt then test your salinity and then just top off with fresh water. If you continually add saltwater the biggest problem is that salt does not evaporate with the water and stays in the tank causing increase salinity levels

[Newstead]

As to the lid, I think a lot of people use kits from BRS. A shame Smiz quit making acrylic/mesh lids, they were awesome.

[klimfish]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I will not be setting up an ATO for the time being, so no need to worry about ATO'ing with saltwater I do understand that in order to maintain salinity I need to top off with RO water.

 

I will also check out BRS for a lid, I didn't know they offered any!

 

As for updates, the tank seems to be almost done with the cycle. Brown diatom algae is expanding all over my rocks and onto my sand. I tested Ammonia at 0 or 0.25 (barely green, if at all), Nitrite was 0 and Nitrate was 5ppm. Previously I had Nitrite at 0.25 and 0 Nitrates. PH was sitting at 8.0, and salinity at 1.024. I think I will wait 1-3 more days and then add a snail only clean up crew! Should I do a water change before I do?

 

I'm thinking of getting the reef cleaners 10 gallon snail only package. Does anyone have any experience with them?

[klimfish]

After some more thought I think I am going to go with the 14gallon reef cleaners package. Why not? Has anyone else ever used reef cleaners? Their site is very informative and helpful about every aspect of the process, given that this will be my first time buying live animals and having them delivered...

 

I tested my salinity again today at 1.024. I've been gradually topping off with saltwater in hopes to gradually bring it up to 1.025. However, is 1.024 fine?

 

There is A TON of brown algae in the tank today, but I still think it looks great, HA! This clean up crew will have plenty of food.

 

I also think I'm going to take pictures with my SO's DSLR camera and see how the tank looks through that lens, should be pretty cool!

 

I'm also thinking of what coral to get for my first, once the CUC gets to work and the tank is up for 2 more weeks or so...maybe some zoas? hammer? frogspawn? ricordea? too many options! I have seen some reports of Ricordia taking over a tank, which I don't want since I do want some SPS too. Too many options!

 

If I want a cleaner shrimp, do I add him after or before other livestock?

[tiggs]

Reef Cleaners is a GREAT vendor for a CUC. Personally, I've been using John for my CUCs for years and I know many others that have as well. His packages that include free shipping are a great value and he almost always will give you more (sometimes A LOT more) than you order. I think you'd be fine with either the 10 or 14 gallon package.

 

Regarding your SG, 1.024 is fine. Personally, I keep mine at 1.026, as corals and inverts prefer it a bit higher, while fish will adapt to pretty much anything in an acceptable range. I think most reefers stay in the 1.025-1.026 range, but it's really what works best in your tank. My best tanks have always been at 1.026, so that's why I keep mine there. Also, I don't dose magnesium and the higher SG my water is mixed up at, the more magnesium I'm getting from just doing weekly water changes. That's just a preference though, so if you want to keep yours where it's at, that's definitely adequate. If you want to raise it, just remember to do it SLOWLY over a couple of weeks. Remember, the actual number you settle at isn't nearly as important as keeping it consistently there. For example, a tank that stays at 1.024 is much healthier than a tank that varies between 1.023 and 1.026 several times per week.

 

You can add a cleaner shrimp any time after your cycle is complete. Just make sure you drip acclimate it very slowly, since they're very sensitive to changes in SG and temperature. Much more so than fish or hardier inverts. For your first coral, I typically recommend soft corals that don't mind the water a little on nutrient-rich side. Zoas or rics would be a great first addition. Don't worry, if rics take over your tank, there's always plenty of people willing to buy them from you Soft corals tend to be more forgiving during slight parameter swings. LPS are pretty easy, but they're more finicky about parameter fluctuations and flow. For SPS, you want to have incredibly stable levels, pristine water, and lots of light and flow. My usual recommendation is to try your hand at softies, then progress to LPS, then eventually SPS.

[klimfish]

Great to hear about yet another great experience with ReefCleaners. I am going to order the 14 gallon CUC, it will hopefully ship out Monday and be here in exactly 1 week

 

I think I am going to get a little bit more live rock tomorrow (Thursday) from my LFS. While I like my minimalist design, I think I could have a better rock entirely for the top "bridge" and smash the current top "bridge" with a hammer and use it to bridge the lower level. More surface area on rocks is more space for coral in my eyes! 3-5 lbs should do it, I think. This will probably create a slight mini-cycle, but should be finished by the time my ReefCleaners crew shows up. If my parameters aren't in line by Sunday, I'll wait to order the crew.

 

Thank you for the information on the salinity. I think I am going to gradually top off with saltwater for the next couple of days to see if I can bring it to 1.025. I would like my coral and inverts to be as comfortable as possible in this tiny tank, and with nothing currently in there I want it to be at the correct level ASAP so I can fine tune my topping off with RO water before I have live animals.

 

While I love the idea of buying premixed water from my LFS, I think mixing my own using Reef Crystals salt is in order. A local grocery store sells RO water from the pump for 69 cents per gallon. I plan on mixing that with my own salt and making sure my water is the salinity I want before adding. I also suppose I could buy the saltwater premixed from my LFS and then add salt to bring the salinity to my liking once home. Ah, the options...

 

This fancy "AccliMate" box is definitely in order for me, seems to make the acclimation process a breeze. Which with inverts, as I'm reading, is very, very important. (Except ReefCleaners, LOL check their acclimation page on their site, very different than I am used to!)

 

I also have changed my AI Prime to a solid 16K at 50 percent power. It is very blue, and once I add livestock I have a feeling I will continue changing it to the 20K end of things. This light is incredible! So adjustable and I LOVE the app and website interface to control it. Great deal for the price if anyone is thinking of getting one.

 

Here's a FTS at 16K and about 50 percent power using my SO's nice DSLR:

 

 

And a shot of the side:

 

 

See how more rock could be used here? I do.

 

[klimfish]

Well I finally got around to getting some more live and dry rock from my LFS. I really wanted to re-do the aquascape to allow more room for coral, as well as just have more rock in the tank. I think I got around 6 more pounds, and I already had 11. I completely re-did the aquascape, smashed some pieces, removed some others, and basically opened up a lot of room for coral, but also decreased swimming space. There is still a large cave in the back for hiding. The overall design is a lot taller as well. After adding the rock, the water became very cloudy, but it is slowly clearing up. I also have changed out the filter floss a couple times now. It can get this gnarly brown color!

 

Adding the rock created another cycle in the tank. I tested about 48 hours after adding it, and:

 

Ammonia: 0.5-0.25

Nitrite: 0.25

Nitrate: 5ppm

PH: 8.0

 

I was at all 0's previously, but this is OK as it is adding to my overall biological filter and making it more robust for the future. My initial cycle was suspiciously quick, anyway...I am nearing my two week mark. Should I do a water change in the middle of this mini-cycle or wait it out?

 

I have noticed a new type of algae growing, pictured below. I am going to keep my AI Prime off for a few days to see if it goes away, as it does not look particularly friendly. Does anyone have an ID on this? Can't tell if it's a type of green hair algae or Bryopsis?

 

 

At this rate I expect to wait about a week to order my CUC from reef cleaners. This hobby certainly tests patience! I just want some life in this thing already!

 

Here are some shots of the tank! I shot all of these with my AI Prime at 1200K and 100 percent power.

 

Before the re-do:

 

 

And after!

 

 

Side view 1:

 

 

Side view 2:

 

 

Close up of the algae on my Koralia nano. Should I clean this off? What is this?

 

 

Top view:

 

 

View of back chambers (Chamber 1: heater, chamber 2: inTank w/ filter floss, purigen and chemi-pure elite, chamber 3: MJ-900)

 

 

What do you think of the rock work?

[Ibuyen]

You can clean that off of your powerhead, I would try to pull most of that hair aglae off rock too. Placement of powerhead I would change too going more pushing the flow into the rock.

[klimfish]

Alright folks, another update! I cleaned off the powerheads, bought some "reef putty", and whipped out the hammer. After some thorough aqua-scaping, I completed my first water change. Here are some pictures of the new rock work.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, there is A LOT of green algae..

 

 

 

However, this should all change after an order that was just received. More on that later, but here are some teaser shots...

 

 

[klimfish]

The reefcleaners crew did a great job while I was on vacation for a week. More tank updates coming soon, it's almost time for my first coral!

[Fish28]

Hello

 

I just bough the ai prime led for my biocube 14. I have the intank media basket in chamber two. Do i have to takenoff the light if i want to access the basket every single tome? Or is there a better way to mount the light?

 

Thanks

[Astinus]

I Have An AI Prime and it is mounted on my BC 28. It is mounted just like urs.

When I need to remove my Basket, I slide the Arm/bracket over. It Gives me room to pull out the basket.

[Fish28]

Ok i will try that. Any ideas to make the mount more sturdy? I dont like the way the mount sits on the tank

[Astinus]

I'm Sorry, I don't

[Fish28]

Ok thanks anyway