The Biocube Resource Guide

[Monochrome5]

Hello everyone. I just got an 8g BioCube for Christmas and I'm wanting to start a nano-reef in it. I've been doing reef tanks for 11 years now, so I know a bit about them... However, my smallest tank is a 115g reef. Diving into the world of nano-reefs is all new to me, and I have a few questions after reading everything in this awesome guide (yes, I spent the last hour reading all 34 pages). Unfortunately I haven't seen much about using the 8g, but hopefully someone can toss me a few helpful hints.

 

I'm on a limited budget (read: masters student), so I can't go throwing as much into this as I want (at least not right now). What should I upgrade first? The powerhead/water flow or the lighting? I plan on fragging corals from my large reef tanks for the 8g (I have an obsession with soft corals). It should be entirely soft corals and polyps, and perhaps a rogue mushroom that sneaks in. Which would be more important? The lights seem OK for squishies, but I'm not really convinced...

 

I've noticed there are two main suggestions for 8g powerheads/pumps. Either leave the stock and add a Koralia Nano, or upgrade the stock to a 606 and throw a Hydor FLO on there. Which would be better for soft corals in such a small tank? Would the 606/FLO kick up a lot of sand?

 

As far as lighting goes, I'm pretty much a noob here. Is there any way I could buy better bulbs and throw them in the stock hood? To me, 32 watts in an 8g tank seems like a lot, but after reading this I'm convinced they can't handle much. I've seen retro PC kits suggested, but they all seem to be for 14g and larger tanks. Do they make kits for the 8g?

 

I love the chaeto conversions suggested here. Again, I'm used to large tanks, so I haven't really had to worry much with conversions. They look simple enough... are they? I don't want to go converting and break my new toy, haha. Please don't crucify me for this, but would it be too terribly bad to leave the bioballs back there and just clean 1/3 of them every now and then? A few years ago everyone was dying to get bioballs... now they seem silly.

 

And finally (sorry for the short novel I'm writing here), I noticed that the moonlight LEDS are really bright. This probably sounds a bit dumb, but are they even safe for a nano-reef? They seem so bright I feel like it would screw something up...

 

Thanks in advance for all of the help. After reading this thread I'm both terrified and more excited for this project than any tank I've ever set up. I'll be sure to throw some pictures in a thread once I get things up and cycling!

[asstastic]

^first and best suggestion for ya. start a build thread. the page you found this topic on, on the right side it says "NEW TOPIC" click that and start a new thread for your tank. list everything you got and all questions and you will get a ton of help

[msujeff]

As far I know from this thread it does. Its one I am considering, the other being the RIO hf6.

Some have problems with the rio being too loud. I am one of them so I went with the 1200.

[uwwmatt]

What should I upgrade first? The powerhead/water flow or the lighting?

Upgrade: With the plan you have laid out I say your first purchase should be a koralia nano or similar small powerhead.

 

Lighting: Since your goal is to keep only soft corals you don't really need to invest in a better light. The stock lighting should keep things alive just fine. You will get very minimal growth, but the nice thing is you have another tank. You can frag as big of piece as you want from your other tank and put it in your biocube.

 

Moonlights: They are fine, don't worry about them.

 

Cheato and Bioballs:

If you keep your bioload low (no fish) you could get along fine without either of them. Remove the bioballs from the beginning and keep up with your weekly water changes. Then when you get the DIY bug you can make yourself a fuge in the back chamber.

Edited January 6, 2011 by uwwmatt

[brandonenox]

Does anyone know where I can buy a 29hqi hood without the light

[Tyrrell109]

Do the Sunpods and other legs fit right on the HQI top? I have this tank and want to upgrade lighting when i set it up, let me know what you guys think or mods to make it work

Stephen Tyrrell

[Packer Backer]

UWWMATT, here is my link to add to the list. Nice thread and very informative.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...c=259788&hl

[uwwmatt]

UWWMATT, here is my link to add to the list. Nice thread and very informative.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...c=259788&hl

 

Glad you found it helpful. Make sure you post your updates and mods in here so others can learn from you too

 

Also you've been added to the member's list.

Edited January 21, 2011 by uwwmatt

[Packer Backer]

Make sure you post your updates and mods in here so others can learn from you too

 

Well, my mods are quite simple. To start I use a Seachem Pinnacle RO unit for making water. It's a no brainer! Not saying you should use this brand, but RO or RO/DI is the best way to insure you start your tank off on the right foot. In this hobby, it all about the water. I Use Instant ocean sea salt because I have had good results from it in the past. When I go through this 200 lbs, I am considering switching to Reef crystals. I know this sound weird, but, when I smelt Reef Crystals It smelt like vitamins ! Thats got to be good!

 

I knocked out the false bottoms of chambers one and two. I put a 200 watt heater in chamber one.

 

Opened up the overflow from chamber one to chamber two to increase the water flow when using filter floss.

 

Built a fuge light copying the Nanoreef11's version found on the DIY Fuge light thread. I used a 10 watt (40 watt equivalent) 6500k compact florescent. The whole thing cost less than $15.

 

Built a rack for chamber two to keep chaeto up near the window of fuge.

 

Never put the bio-balls in chamber two.

 

Koralia Nano 425

 

One 20 lb bag of Caribsea Reef Arg-Alive sand.

 

30 lbs of cured live rock. Bought from someone who was tearing down his 65 gallon reef that was 4-5 years old.

 

5-10 lbs of base rock.

 

CUC:

-30 Dwarf Ceriths ( more like 75-100)

-12 Nassarius 

-11 Florida Ceriths 

-6 Large & 7 Small to Medium Nerites 

-4 blue leg hermits

 

Test kits:

-Api Saltwater Master Test Kit

-Api Reef Master Test Kit

 

Water perameters:

Temp - 77 deg

Salinity is either 1.023 or 1.025 I have two swing arms and they do not jive. A refractometer is inevitable.

PH - 8.2

Ammonia - 0 ppm

Nitrite - 0 ppm

Nitrate - 5-10 ppm

Phosphates - 0 ppm

KH - 12

Calcium - 440 ppm

 

Thats all I can think of for now.

 

Oh Yeah, GO PACK GO!!!

Edited January 21, 2011 by Packer Backer

[devonpayne24]

Just got a new 29G BioCube, I want to set up a fish/reef tank. I have 20 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs of live sand. Everything is stock right now, any pointers on a skimmer, heater, or mods!?! Any imformation would be great !

[NTexas]

Hey guys,

 

I just set up a Biocube 29 HQI a few months ago. On the wall between chamber 2 and 3 there are two holes, one at the bottom and one about half way up, are most people blocking the middle hole? I feel like it is allowing water to bypass my filtration media. Also, I noticed most people are removing the stock sponge in chamber 3, why is this?

 

Thanks

[jojoe972]

Hey guys,

 

I just set up a Biocube 29 HQI a few months ago. On the wall between chamber 2 and 3 there are two holes, one at the bottom and one about half way up, are most people blocking the middle hole? I feel like it is allowing water to bypass my filtration media. Also, I noticed most people are removing the stock sponge in chamber 3, why is this?

 

Thanks

 

Some are blocking the middle one so that it does not seep over into the 3rd chamber.

 

Sponge can cause issues with nitrates in the tank I believe so people are removing them.

[uwwmatt]

Looks like our 14G biocube members are representing!

 

Edited January 29, 2011 by uwwmatt

[spanko]

Just put the Aquaillumination 12" SOL Super Blue Led system on my 29 gallon.

 

 

 

 

[devonpayne24]

Ive had my tank cycling for over a week now, and I added some new live rock last night, only about 3 or 4 lbs. But it didnt look right in my tank, so I decided to smash it and use some of it in the 2nd chamber along with my bioballs.

Question 1 : Is that alright, to mix the bioball and live rock

Question 2: There was a pretty cool peice that came from the rock smashing, will I be able to go ahead and put that peice in the tank and it still do well after the it was smashed???

 

I wrapped the rock up into a towl prior to smashing it,

 

Looking for some input - thanks!

[Nor_Cal_Cuber]

Ive had my tank cycling for over a week now, and I added some new live rock last night, only about 3 or 4 lbs. But it didnt look right in my tank, so I decided to smash it and use some of it in the 2nd chamber along with my bioballs.

Question 1 : Is that alright, to mix the bioball and live rock

Question 2: There was a pretty cool peice that came from the rock smashing, will I be able to go ahead and put that peice in the tank and it still do well after the it was smashed???

 

I wrapped the rock up into a towl prior to smashing it,

 

Looking for some input - thanks!

 

I would really just ditch the bio balls, rubble is good however.

 

Go ahead with placing the nice shaped rock in the DT.

[Antti]

Ive had my tank cycling for over a week now, and I added some new live rock last night, only about 3 or 4 lbs. But it didnt look right in my tank, so I decided to smash it and use some of it in the 2nd chamber along with my bioballs.

Question 1 : Is that alright, to mix the bioball and live rock

Question 2: There was a pretty cool peice that came from the rock smashing, will I be able to go ahead and put that peice in the tank and it still do well after the it was smashed???

 

I wrapped the rock up into a towl prior to smashing it,

 

Looking for some input - thanks!

Question 1: No its not. Even you put some light inside the chamber, 90% forms of life will die and it will rise the nitrate level in the tank above your imagination.

Question 2: its ok to use that piece of rock.

[benoitcdc]

Ive had my tank cycling for over a week now, and I added some new live rock last night, only about 3 or 4 lbs. But it didnt look right in my tank, so I decided to smash it and use some of it in the 2nd chamber along with my bioballs.

Question 1 : Is that alright, to mix the bioball and live rock

Question 2: There was a pretty cool peice that came from the rock smashing, will I be able to go ahead and put that peice in the tank and it still do well after the it was smashed???

 

I wrapped the rock up into a towl prior to smashing it,

 

Looking for some input - thanks!

IMHO, I would not use live rock or bioballs in the back chambers. They both catch detritus and become nitrate factories. If you have 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon, you will be fine with ammonia and nitrite break down. If you want to reduce nitrates, you need to do regular water changes, run macro algae in a fug, or use some chemical means of removal like purigen.

 

Use the cool piece.

[devonpayne24]

I have a question about the filtering process.

I am looking into getting rid of the bioballs in the BC29, and getting a media basket, a fuge basket, and a fish saver from www.meadiabasket.com its around 82$, plus the chemi pure and the Purigen, my question is, is this really necessary to do or will my tank be alright with the bioballs and a water change every week or two. I plan on having reef and fish !

Also, if you think that I should ditch the bioballs and go the other way, what all do I need to get to make the media, fuge combo work right?!?!

Help help help!

[bravo1resq]

Great post to read through. I just got my daughter a 14g BC. We will be doing things slowly to get it up and running. She is a Finding Nemo fanatic and all she really cares about is having a clown fish in the tank LoL. I will start a thread and post pics of the tank once it's up and running. I just wanted to say thank you to the contributors of this post.

 

Kevin

[benoitcdc]

I have a question about the filtering process.

I am looking into getting rid of the bioballs in the BC29, and getting a media basket, a fuge basket, and a fish saver from www.meadiabasket.com its around 82$, plus the chemi pure and the Purigen, my question is, is this really necessary to do or will my tank be alright with the bioballs and a water change every week or two. I plan on having reef and fish !

Also, if you think that I should ditch the bioballs and go the other way, what all do I need to get to make the media, fuge combo work right?!?!

Help help help!

Necessary, no. Good idea, yes. I would ditch the bioballls and go with the media basket. I don't have a media basket for my BC 14 yet but I will at some point. You don't need one but it does go a long way to help keep the water cleaner. You can run media in it and have a fuge in it as well. I have a low bioload so all I need to do is regular water changes. If I need to run carbon or purigen, I just put it in a bag and drop it down to the botton of chanber 2 for the best flow (a media basket would be easier to use). The same goes for protein skimmers as well. With a small bioload, you really don't need one if you do regualr water changes but they do help keep the water cleaner. Check the website again. I believe you can run both fuge and media basket. SteveT has a video on there on how to install the baskets. I would also check and see if your BC29 needs a fish guard. The newer BCs have the back wall going up to the hood so there is no space for the fish to jump over. If you have one of the older models that don't go up to the top then a fish guard is a good idea. HTH

[benoitcdc]

Great post to read through. I just got my daughter a 14g BC. We will be doing things slowly to get it up and running. She is a Finding Nemo fanatic and all she really cares about is having a clown fish in the tank LoL. I will start a thread and post pics of the tank once it's up and running. I just wanted to say thank you to the contributors of this post.

 

Kevin

Congrats on your BC14. You and your daughter will enjoy it. Don't rush and make sure our tank has cycled before you add any fish. Also keep in mind that you won't be able to put to many fish in there. The rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 5 gallons. With the rock and sand you can go from 14 g to 10 g. I have a Ocellaris (Nemo) and a yellow watchman goby in my BC14 (on my desk at work) with some softies and snails. Both fish have great personalities.

[bravo1resq]

Congrats on your BC14. You and your daughter will enjoy it. Don't rush and make sure our tank has cycled before you add any fish. Also keep in mind that you won't be able to put to many fish in there. The rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 5 gallons. With the rock and sand you can go from 14 g to 10 g. I have a Ocellaris (Nemo) and a yellow watchman goby in my BC14 (on my desk at work) with some softies and snails. Both fish have great personalities.

 

 

Thank you, yes I've been in this hobby for a little bit. Some things have changed here and there but the basics are still there.

So for fish I was going to do two clowns, a yellow tang, a powder blue tang, a porcupine puffer, royal gramma, black/white damsel, starfish and a cleaner shrimp. If I buy all of them real small I should be good. And because they are in a small tank they will stay small. I don't understand why everyone keeps insisting on changing their water and whats this skimmer thing everyone talks about????

Sorry, I couldn't resist... I do appreciate you making sure I know the tank is cycled before adding fish and the general rule of fish.

Right now my daughter really only cares about having a clownfish (or nemo fish as she calls it) in the tank. She actually wants two. I'm working on negotiating with her on just having clown fish in there. I was thinking a clown, purple pseudo, and Yellow Watchman Goby with several inverts. I'm still researching the purple pseudo as I don't know much about them. I'm also researching green brittle stars. It seems people have good luck with them in reef tanks but I have concerns about them when they get larger and grabbing fish or shrimp. So we'll see what I decide on that. We are only planning on a few corals, mostly shrooms and zoas. I'm looking into GSP, frogspawn and maybe a torch coral over the span of 6months to a year. From what I've read the stock lights can sustain these corals but there won't be much growth which is exactly what I want for her tank. I may do the nanotuners upgrade anyway just to be safe but I'll see how things work first. I will be buying a 28/29g nanocube or biocube for the living room soon with either MH or LED lighting so if need be I'll take any corals that start looking bad from her tank and put them in mine. I will be starting a thread soon enough, until then I'm ordering different things and starting to mod this tank for performance improvement.

 

Respectfully,

Kevin

[benoitcdc]

Hi Kevin,

 

Sounds like you have everything in hand. I don't know to much about the green brittle stars but brittle stars I think might go after inverts if they get hungry, don't hold me to that though. Shrooms, zoas, GSP, frogspawn should do fine in the BC. I don't have a torch yet but I think they would do ok. Acans are supposed to do with with the standard PC lighting too. I would love to upgrade to an LED but I'll have to wait until the economy gets better. Let us know when you start your threads, I would love to see how you do.

 

Chris

[uwwmatt]

I'm still researching the purple pseudo as I don't know much about them. I'm also researching green brittle stars. It seems people have good luck with them in reef tanks but I have concerns about them when they get larger and grabbing fish or shrimp.

 

I think almost all of the green brittle stars are predatory so be careful.