The Biocube Resource Guide

[Krazy_Karl]

whats a good replace pump for the 29 that will use less wattage, and has any done this and seen a drop in temp?

 

Seems like a lot of people use the Rio 6hf. I myself went with the hydor pick 1200, havnt seen any heat change.

[Obsessed Reefer]

Does Oceanic or any other company sell glass tops, to prevent fish from jumping when using a pendant or external light?

[skeeters]

Thanks so much, I have been talking a lot to the InTank guy too, who has given me a lot of great advice, I know it will take time and I am excited to get it started but I will be patient with it all. I am going to do most mods before I even get water in teh tank cause I don't want to risk messing up the water and having to start over. Thinking about using media basket, filter floss, chem pure and purigen.

 

Do what StevieT (InTank) says and you will be good. I used a mediabasket and skimmer for my bc 29 and all is well.

 

And when you go to get a clean up crew make sure you go to reefcleaners.org....you want regret that choice.

[benoitcdc]

Does Oceanic or any other company sell glass tops, to prevent fish from jumping when using a pendant or external light?

I don't believe they do but I do recall seeing some one's thread where he made a nice screen cover for the top of his tank when he switched to MH. If I can ever find it I'll post a link to it.

 

This is an idea of what it looks like but his looked a lot better. The metal frame you can get from the window screening area from Lowes or Home Depot and the 1/2" screen I got from the garden center. HTH

 

[spanko]

Here was my post on the subject of pond netting tops.

 

 

There is also a corner connector made from vinyl that I cannot find a picture of but look like these metal ones.

And of course the 3/8" pond netting.

I used 3/8 inch and double layered it. I had it single layered but my first yellow Head Jawfish jumped right through it. So now instead of one layer of a 3/8 inch square opening in the net i have the two layers crossed so that the square is a box with a X in it. You can see what I mean in the picture.

You can order 1/4" pond netting on line, however I did not only because I did not know if the fish would still be able to launch itself through the square hole. I was really surprised one day when my wife had my 2 year old granddaughter call me at work and tell me that the new jawfish was all dried up on the carpet!

 

all the supplies were from Lowe's except the pond net. They may even have that.

 

Don't have a full pic of mine but here is one another reefer made from the plans I gave him.

If you have a square tank it will be much easier because we had to trim for the bow front of the 29 biocube.

[bilbo111]

The 19" CPR aquafuge fit perfectly on the BC29. The pump fit in the 1st chamber and I had to extend the return with some pvc but the return fit right into the 3rd chamber. I also ran the CPR SR3 skimmer in the 2nd chamber and it worked great.

 

I'm considering this option for my BC29. Do you have any pictures of how it all fits together? How does the aquafuge fit on the BC29 with the hood in place? Do you have to mod the hood? Which light do you run on the aquafuge? Finally did you remove the tab between chamber 1 and 2 to increase the water flow for the skimmer? I would really appreciate any help you can offer.

 

Thanks,

Bill

[NYSea]

Hey all,

 

Thanks to everyone so far that has contributed to this guide, it has led me thus far with most of my decisions/upgrades to my BC14.

 

I'm now looking to do two more upgrades to my tank. I'm interested in installing both the JBJ Auto-Top Off and the JBJ Mini-Arctica Chiller w/ Digital Controller 1/15HP to my system. I need to leave the hood on and am willing to cut some holes in the back if need be for installing the chiller.

 

My question is how I should go about implementing these two things to fit with my current setup. Right now I have a heater in chamber 1, inTank basket chamber 2, and a MJ-900 in chamber 3. Will I need another pump for the chiller in addition to the MJ-900 to send water to the chiller? Will I need additional pumps to get water to and from the ATO reservoir?

 

Thank you very very much in advance for any help any1 can offer!!

[ImperfectSense]

I just wanted to post a quick note of appreciation to Oceanic for their absolutely amazing customer service and support. I just set up my BioCube 14 (older version tank but recently purchased) and immediately ran into some problems with it. First a slow leak in the back, then the pump died. I was getting concerned that maybe I had made a mistake in choosing their tank. However, Oceanic's customer service is amazing, they're sending me everything I need to get back up and running and then some! Despite the problems I've had with the tank, their support has more than made up for it, so I highly recommend to anyone who's on the fence about what nano-tank to buy to get an Oceanic tank. Peace of mind is a precious thing when you're talking about gallons of water and hundreds of dollars in equipment and wildlife in your home.

[sweintrub]

Thanks to all for the amazing amount of info in the forum. I have been running a 24 gallon Aqua Pod for 3.5 years. I have only a cleaning crew and 3 fish. Have had much success with it. The only problem I have encountered is excess algae buildup from time to time. I have never adequately solved this problem. I do water changes about every 3 weeks. I am considering a Bio Qube 29 as a second tank.

 

I would very much appreciate it if Stevie T or one of the other mods could walk me through the specifics of removing the bio balls and replacing them with Stevie T's media basket. Perhaps I am a bit slow (lol) but some of the info seems a bit confusing to me. My initial thought would be to use only the media basket and no fuge basket although I am not sure of the advantages and disadvantages of the fuge. I have read a bit on Cheato and think I would prefer not to use this media. What options are, in your opinion, available. If you only use the media basket what do you fill the rest of the chamber with?

 

I would make the modification in the first chamber to allow more water flow.

 

Is the stock pump enough or is an upgrade necessary? If so which pump would be the best option.

 

If you would be so kind as to walk me through the step by step procedure I would be very grateful.

 

My intentions for the new tank are fish and cleaners only with live rock, no corals although I may consider them later.

 

I am going to look at the Bio Qube soon so as to familiarize myself with the exact set up of the filtration system.

 

Also does Stevie's kit come with easy instructions for the slightly slow!!

 

Thanks so much in advance for your time and help!!!

[Campbell001]

Hi I am new to saltwater and I purchased a biocube 14 gallon on craigslsit. It was new but the forgot to give me the manual. I had no idea how to set it up!!!! This forum guided me all the way!!! I wanted to say thanks for all of your posts!!! I now have my LR cycling!!

[StevieT]

You didn't miss much with not having the manual, yet not that a manual really should be a book on fish keeping

 

[Primeval]

They come with manuals?

[StevieT]

Includes stuff like this:

 

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/prod...fm?pCatId=18538

 

http://www.oceanicsystems.com/assets/008/27055.pdf

[Primeval]

I can't read or write

[StevieT]

Thus the reason I create instructional videos

[Primeval]

And use my pictures =)

[Ecthaelion]

Another Biocube 29 HQI born today. I bought it lightly used and unmodded. Currently it's just filled with water and one lonely piece of liverock. (That will change on payday.) Running bare bottom and all filtration out-of-the-box at the moment, but I'm planning to fill chamber 2 with chaeto and make it a fuge. I've kept marine fish before, but this will be my first reef.

 

This resource guide has been very helpful already. Thanks for the great exchange of expertise.

 

Quick question:[/b] What is the optimal fill depth for the BC29? The minimum depth is marked, and I suppose overfilling would result in water flowing across the top of chamber 2, rather than down through the media. But is there an optimal place in between? Right now I have about 9" of water in chamber 3 -- just above the level of the fill window on the left side. I can hear my bioballs knocking about a little in chamber 2 (annoying). How deep should I be running these chambers? (Remember this is an unmodded tank.)

Edited August 29, 2010 by Ecthaelion

[mtnsky]

Another Biocube 29 HQI born today. I bought it lightly used and unmodded. Currently it's just filled with water and one lonely piece of liverock. (That will change on payday.) Running bare bottom and all filtration out-of-the-box at the moment, but I'm planning to fill chamber 2 with chaeto and make it a fuge. I've kept marine fish before, but this will be my first reef.

 

This resource guide has been very helpful already. Thanks for the great exchange of expertise.

 

Quick question:[/b] What is the optimal fill depth for the BC29? The minimum depth is marked, and I suppose overfilling would result in water flowing across the top of chamber 2, rather than down through the media. But is there an optimal place in between? Right now I have about 9" of water in chamber 3 -- just above the level of the fill window on the left side. I can hear my bioballs knocking about a little in chamber 2 (annoying). How deep should I be running these chambers? (Remember this is an unmodded tank.)

 

 

Haha, get those bioballs out now! I fill mine until the sound from the waterfall from chamber 1 to 2 goes away. It's usually right below the screws for the light fixture.

[blajoie]

here is a link to my BC14 build.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=242744

 

Biocube 14

MP10es

Sunpod 70w

MJ900

RKL

[mtnsky]

My Biocube 29 HQI is leaking water from the rim. Water splashes up to the rim from wave motion, and it looks like the caulking is bad, so it slowly drips down the side of the glass. I've tried having my water level lower, but it didn't help. Does anyone have an idea on how I should reseal the rim in that spot?

[Krazy_Karl]

Havn't posted in a while so I figured I'd post a quick picture of the tank.

[RainingDown]

Quick question, I need to replace my Biocube 14 moonlights but the only website that I've found who sells them are out of stock. Does anyone know some website that sells the replacement moon light? Thank you in advance.

[Spencerx]

Quick question, I need to replace my Biocube 14 moonlights but the only website that I've found who sells them are out of stock. Does anyone know some website that sells the replacement moon light? Thank you in advance.

 

Did you try contacting oceanic to see if they will replace them?

[ImperfectSense]

Alright, now that I've got some critters in my tank I guess it's about time to have it added to the list, this is my BC14, also my first aquarium of any kind. It's been fun so far, I've posted pics and a few videos of my current residents (snails are funny in time-lapse!) http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=245417

[RainingDown]

Did you try contacting oceanic to see if they will replace them?

 

I bought the tank off of a friend. Do you think they still might replace them? I'll call on monday anyway. Thanks