Tricks, Hints and Cheats, for Bio cubes and Nano

[Basile]

Since i start this thread for those who have Tricks, Hints, and cheats i guess i should give one, and this is the place for writing it, not a chat line , give us your trick and move on thank you . When i say cheats i mean ways of bypassing the normal course of actions.

 

Here goes: Some of you had trouble with air bubble coming from your pump:

 

Not enough water in the third chamber.

 

When your tank is full up to the water line, start it; if the water in the pump chamber is below the minimum, add some until its equalise between the main tank and the chamber. No worries it wont over flow on the carpet scout's honor. Why, when your pump is stoped, the chamber fill up from the main tank, but when its operating the pump empty's the chamber into your main tank and not enough water stay in it. So fill it to equalise the chamber and the tank. Thats all.

 

There ; first tip, NEXT ONE PLEASE, bye for now and happy reefing.

[Basile]

My protein skimmer don't fit in the Bio-cube....OH YES IT DOES.

 

Here's how; On your skimmer you have 2 suction cup , forget about them,( but keep just in case) use the plastic clip in front of it . You can fit your skimmer in the first chamber, by placing it facing the water intake from the tank, it wont obstruc the water flow promise . I know you tried and can't fit the bio-cover after that; but there's a way. After you set it facing the intakes, you have to put your collecting cup on it , right. Ok instead of placing it according to the 2 little groves that prevent the cup from swaying ( look on the skimmer, 2 little ridges and under the cup a place to fit them) You reverse your cup , place it 180 o , it wont fit on the grove but your cup wont block the bio-cover from closing. And your cup wont sway; its tight in that little chamber so no worries. look at the picture. Myne fit and work great. Happy reefing.

[TIBURON]

My protein skimmer don't fit in the Bio-cube....OH YES IT DOES.

 

Here's how; On your skimmer you have 2 suction cup , forget about them,( but keep just in case) use the plastic clip in front of it . You can fit your skimmer in the first chamber, by placing it facing the water intake from the tank, it wont obstruc the water flow promise . I know you tried and can't fit the bio-cover after that; but there's a way. After you set it facing the intakes, you have to put your collecting cup on it , right. Ok instead of placing it according to the 2 little groves that prevent the cup from swaying ( look on the skimmer, 2 little ridges and under the cup a place to fit them) You reverse your cup , place it 180 o , it wont fit on the grove but your cup wont block the bio-cover from closing. And your cup wont sway; its tight in that little chamber so no worries. look at the picture. Myne fit and work great. Happy reefing.

 

I was going to do this same exact thing with my skimmer. I am glad to see that someone else is on the same wavelength! Cool man!

[Basile]

Thanks , keep intouch with your cube, let me know of your progress and tips.

[biocubist]

see all that stuff floating on the surface of your water ?

get rid of that stock filter and you've got a built in

surface skimmer. crystal clear surface = better light too.

just toss some poly-fil in you're second chamber and a bag

o' carbon of your choice in chamber 1 and your good to go.

[biocubist]

want more gallons per hour on the cheap ?

get rid of that elbow on your return line biocube owners.

just run your tubing (you'll need a longer piece)

strait to the bulkhead. elbows slow down flow

tremendously.

[Sexy Shrimp]

want more gallons per hour on the cheap ?

get rid of that elbow on your return line biocube owners.

just run your tubing (you'll need a longer piece)

strait to the bulkhead. elbows slow down flow

tremendously.

 

+1 - best tip ever!!!!

[Dooderino]

Get some "Caulerpa racemosa of the paltata variety," commonly known as Grape Caulerpa. It is SUPER easy to prune and helps tremendously!

[Basile]

Thanksyou for your input will do; Greatfully yours Basile

[Basile]

quote name='Basile' date='Feb 25 2008, 11:27 AM' post='1514870']

Thanksyou for your input will do; Greatfully yours Basile

Hi guys back after 2 months . What happened to my tank; NOTHING, heyha. My buddy feeded my fishes, only every 2 days once a day they are fine, so are my corals.

 

So for those who travel alot, listen; test result after 2 months abscence;

 

Amonia 0

Nitrites 0

Phosphate 0

Calcium ; whent down to 280, normal to loose.

KH ; 8.0 ( 160)

Nitrates 35 a bit high but 50% water change did the trick

So the nitrate was the only concerne at this point, so you can leave your tank alone for a while with no great repercautions. The water was a bit yellowish, because buddy forgot to rince the floss once a week, but other than that everything came back to normal after water change.

By the way thats my tank at the begining and now after 6 months

At the beginning 6months later, let me know what you think.

 

 

Other angles

[Basile]

Hey guys me again, got another trick for ya. Regarding a cooler system for your aquariums. I found my cheap solution to be the best. My aquariums are in my computer room, guest room also. I've put an air conditioner in . Makes my room great to work in the heat wave, the PC loves it too and it takes care of both my tanks, and for a lesser price, $ 399,99 for 45 000 BTU's. No extra tubing ,pumps ,etc ,and it starts on its own if the temp reaches 78o ( room tempof course) Keep everybody happy. YEAH! Anyway it work for me.

[dahliaheartsyou]

Thanks Basile and L34NN3-

I just replaced the elbow with tubing and I can def. tell there is much more gph!!!

[JerseyChick]

Ph in my tank was low so I added a pinch of pure lime ( CaCo3 ) that pinch has been keeping it up for the past two weeks now

[jazthree3]

want more gallons per hour on the cheap ?

get rid of that elbow on your return line biocube owners.

just run your tubing (you'll need a longer piece)

strait to the bulkhead. elbows slow down flow

tremendously.

 

This sounds like a great trick.. Let me say hello to everyone! (I've only been lurking for about a week now... so don't anyone get offended! ) I'm curious though, the tube that I replace will still have a little bit of a bend in it because there's not much room back there.. but you're saying even with the little bend and the elimination of the hard elbow piece, I will see great improvement in flow? (I have a standard oceanic biocube 14).

[Basile]

quote name='jazthree3' post='1738826' date='Jul 28 2008, 11:13 PM']This sounds like a great trick.. Let me say hello to everyone! (I've only been lurking for about a week now... so don't anyone get offended! ) I'm curious though, the tube that I replace will still have a little bit of a bend in it because there's not much room back there.. but you're saying even with the little bend and the elimination of the hard elbow piece, I will see great improvement in flow? (I have a standard oceanic biocube 14).

Yes you will, that bent is nothing to be concern about. You see the elbow makes the water stop and recirect to another direction, that slows the flow. Your bent is continious, so there's no redirection of the water, so the speed stays the same.

[qbical]

good input

i think the micro bubbles are from the water splashing into chamber 2 from chamber 1 though. I also mounted my skimmer in chamber 1 where it shows above and it has backed up my flow quite a bit actually. Between that and the filter pad the flow is reduced quite a bit i have noticed unfortunately.

[Fishhead Junkie]

Turn your middle chamber into a fuge. Ditch the top plastic skimmer and remove the false bottom grate as well. Throw a few pieces of live rock into the bottom, throw a handful of chaeto in there. Cut out the extra plastic piece on the top of the dividing wall between chambers 1 and 2 that restricts water flow. Then take a razor, scrap off the black paint on the back of the tank that covers the middle chamber, get a black disposable paint try from home depot, get 1 or 2 undercabinet flourescnet lights, zip strap them to the tray, get some velcro and attach the tray to the back of the tank and BAM...you got yourself a $20 fuge.

 

Mine is just filled with pods scurrying around back there, plus if your fish tend to jump into the rear(use gutter guard from home depot to stop that), if they do jump back there and make the mistake of choosing door # 2(middle chamber.. ), they won't die from lack of water. My purple firefish jumped back there and survived for a month before I finally yanked him out...he had it made back there hiding amongst the chaeto and live rock.

 

I have pics if anyone is interested in making the mods.

 

Steve

[Sexy Shrimp]

Why would you want to ditch your surface skimmer? It regulates the levels in the back chambers and keeps the surface of the water "dust" free.

[redwarrior]

For biocubes, you can very easily swap out a maxi-jet 900 or 1200 for the stock pump. Save that stock pump for mixing WC saltwater and you're set!

 

Also, to increase surface skimming, you can take a small, cheap piece of plexiglass and block off the bottom intake vent. The suction plus your sand and/or rock will hold it tight against the vent and you'll get more flow through the top vent as a result.

[Fishhead Junkie]

Why would you want to ditch your surface skimmer? It regulates the levels in the back chambers and keeps the surface of the water "dust" free.

 

I didn't need it anymore since I ditched the nitrate factory bio balls and turned the middle chamber into a fuge, plus like I mentioned in my post, after all the fish that committed suicide in that skimmer..it just had to go. The floss I keep in chamber 1 traps most of the debris flowing in there, keeps the water pretty clear.

 

Steve

[TUDIZZLE]

I didn't need it anymore since I ditched the nitrate factory bio balls and turned the middle chamber into a fuge, plus like I mentioned in my post, after all the fish that committed suicide in that skimmer..it just had to go. The floss I keep in chamber 1 traps most of the debris flowing in there, keeps the water pretty clear.

 

Steve

 

 

by "surface skimmer" I think you are referring to the noise reduction grate on the top of chamber 2. The surface skimmer is actually the top slots in chamber 1

[Basile]

Turn your middle chamber into a fuge. Ditch the top plastic skimmer and remove the false bottom grate as well. Throw a few pieces of live rock into the bottom, throw a handful of chaeto in there. Cut out the extra plastic piece on the top of the dividing wall between chambers 1 and 2 that restricts water flow. Then take a razor, scrap off the black paint on the back of the tank that covers the middle chamber, get a black disposable paint tray from home depot, get 1 or 2 undercabinet flourescnet lights, zip strap them to the tray, get some velcro and attach the tray to the back of the tank and BAM...you got yourself a $20 fuge.

 

Mine is just filled with pods scurrying around back there, plus if your fish tend to jump into the rear(use gutter guard from home depot to stop that), if they do jump back there and make the mistake of choosing door # 2(middle chamber.. ), they won't die from lack of water. My purple firefish jumped back there and survived for a month before I finally yanked him out...he had it made back there hiding amongst the chaeto and live rock.

 

I have pics if anyone is interested in making the mods.

 

Great tip Steve , was thinking of a fuge too; but doesn't you light flood the main tank as well ? If you got pics, that woud be helpful thank again for the trick. Let see those lights .

 

Steve

[Fishhead Junkie]

The lights are attached to the back of the tank and shine only into the middle chamber just below the waters surface, by the time it travels into the chaeto and thru the water it's pretty much diffused. The pictures aren't the greatest, but you'll get the general idea.

 

Here I scraped the black paint off the back

 

Here are the 2 lights from Home Depot, they are like 9watts a piece, cost about $10 each..I used zip straps to hold them inside the paint tray and then put velcro around it.

 

Here is the finished product attached to the back of the tank, I have it on the timer to turn on at night when the 10,000K light goes off.

 

It's kind of hard to see the light shining thru in the pic, I've tweaked it since then.

 

Steve

[Fishhead Junkie]

by "surface skimmer" I think you are referring to the noise reduction grate on the top of chamber 2. The surface skimmer is actually the top slots in chamber 1

 

Is that what you call it....noise reduction grate...I thought it was for the wet/dry filtration, water trickling over bio balls, I didn't think it is for noise but I could be wrong.

 

Steve

[Basile]

Is that what you call it....noise reduction grate...I thought it was for the wet/dry filtration, water trickling over bio balls, I didn't think it is for noise but I could be wrong.

 

Steve

Hey thanks man , great set up. Will do your style, like it. For the forth mentioned; it does both, part of filtration system , slows down water to send it evenly throughout the chamber, reducing noise. I'm not a genius i red it some place LOL