cwinson85 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 ok, thanks guys, and, a couple gallons a week sounds like enough on the water changes? im noticing a along of brown algae on my live rock in the fuge. is that ok? the cheato is nice and green. thanks again for all the advise. +1 with what uwwmatt said. Regular water changes will provide your corals what they need. Because of the frogspawn, I would keep an eye on your calcium levels/alk levels and adjust accordingly . Again, regular water changes with usually take care of that as well. Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 ok, thanks guys, and, a couple gallons a week sounds like enough on the water changes? im noticing a along of brown algae on my live rock in the fuge. is that ok? the cheato is nice and green. thanks again for all the advise. A couple of gallons a week should be fine. My tank has been up and running for just over a year and I am doing about 5 gallon change very 2 weeks or so at this point. If the brown algae looks like a brown film/coating, then it is probably a diatom blume. That usually happens around the beginning of the second month. It is part of the tank cycling and it will pass. Teh best thing to do is just syphon it off the rocks when you do your water changes. Your clean up crew should help as well. Quote Link to comment
RainingDown Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Quick question... I bought a used biocube off craigslist. Its in great condition, new lights, no leaks. But in the back chamber next to the return pump, there is no sponge. Does it matter what type of sponge or material I replace it with? Thanks. Quote Link to comment
uwwmatt Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Quick question... I bought a used biocube off craigslist. Its in great condition, new lights, no leaks. But in the back chamber next to the return pump, there is no sponge. Does it matter what type of sponge or material I replace it with? Thanks. You can buy filter sponges at your local pet store, or you can do what many people do, and leave them out. It won't hurt your tank if they are not there. Just put a piece of filter floss over the middle chamber and replace it every few days. Filter floss is much easier to maintain then the sponges IMO. Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 You can buy filter sponges at your local pet store, or you can do what many people do, and leave them out. It won't hurt your tank if they are not there. Just put a piece of filter floss over the middle chamber and replace it every few days. Filter floss is much easier to maintain then the sponges IMO. Ditto. You will also want to pull the bioballs from the second chamber as well as it collects detritus and becomes a nitrate factory. Quote Link to comment
gnubbs Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hey Everyone, I have a biocube 8, and have been reading up on all the mods that people make to these tanks. Lots of good ideas... Quick question on removing the grate at the bottom of chamber 1. How do you guys actually do that? Tank is already full, so I need to make sure not to break anything in the process... Thanks, gnubbs Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Hey Everyone, I have a biocube 8, and have been reading up on all the mods that people make to these tanks. Lots of good ideas... Quick question on removing the grate at the bottom of chamber 1. How do you guys actually do that? Tank is already full, so I need to make sure not to break anything in the process... Thanks, gnubbs I haven't done it yet but from what I have read, folks have been using a screwdriver and a hammer. They tap the grate around the sides until it falls down/in. Been meaning to do it but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Quote Link to comment
nor_cal_nano Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) Hey Everyone, I have a biocube 8, and have been reading up on all the mods that people make to these tanks. Lots of good ideas... Quick question on removing the grate at the bottom of chamber 1. How do you guys actually do that? Tank is already full, so I need to make sure not to break anything in the process... Thanks, gnubbs Just grab a screwdriver or something and push straight down on one of the corners. Once one corner gets pushed down, the other corner should come up. Just grab and yank at that point. edit: :/ sounds inappropriate.... Edited October 23, 2009 by nor_cal_nano Quote Link to comment
RainingDown Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Just grab a screwdriver or something and push straight down on one of the corners. Once one corner gets pushed down, the other corner should come up. Just grab and yank at that point. edit: :/ sounds inappropriate.... I've been reading on taking out the false floor in chamber 1, but why? Does it increase flow or something? I currently am cycling, but i don't have anything in chamber 1, except a heater. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
nor_cal_nano Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I've been reading on taking out the false floor in chamber 1, but why? Does it increase flow or something? I currently am cycling, but i don't have anything in chamber 1, except a heater. Thanks. Just extra room for things... a heater for example Quote Link to comment
Hawaii_Bio_Cube Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 This thread has been invaluable in getting ready to start my BC14 next week. I hope I can do all these mods and get a healthy tank going. P.S. Does the company know that everyone hates there bio balls or are they good for other types of tanks just not reefs? Quote Link to comment
uwwmatt Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) This thread has been invaluable in getting ready to start my BC14 next week. I hope I can do all these mods and get a healthy tank going. P.S. Does the company know that everyone hates there bio balls or are they good for other types of tanks just not reefs? I am glad you have found it useful. Make sure you post lots of pictures while you are setting up your biocube. If you haven't noticed yet, we really love our pictures here. Bioballs act as a place for bacteria to grow. They are useful for freshwater tanks and I suppose if you had a fish only tank or small amount of liverock. I think a lot of Biocube owners believe that space can be better utilized as a fuge. Edited October 26, 2009 by uwwmatt Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I am glad you have found it useful. Make sure you post lots of pictures while you are setting up your biocube. If you haven't noticed yet, we really love our pictures here. Bioballs act as a place for bacteria to grow. They are useful for freshwater tanks and I suppose if you had a fish only tank or small amount of liverock. I think a lot of Biocube owners believe that space can be better utilized as a fuge. +1 Bioballs work better for freshwater systems. They add space for bacteria to grow because usually, there is less rock in them. In our saltwater tanks we typiclly have 1.5 lbs per gallon of water. When I was running my BC 14 as a freshwater, I used the bioballs and they worked well. When I switched to saltwater reef, I pulled them because I was using live rock in the tank. I think Oceanic knows this because they advertise that their tanks can be used for fresh and salt water. Ditto on the pictures!! Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Just grab a screwdriver or something and push straight down on one of the corners. Once one corner gets pushed down, the other corner should come up. Just grab and yank at that point. edit: :/ sounds inappropriate.... Well, I did it. I was messing around with my BC 14 and decided to remove the false floor in the first chamber. I'm at the office and didn't have a screw driver so I used my practice chanter (bagpipes). 2 nice solid taps and its loose and fell down. Now, I'll have to bring in some grabers from home to get the plastic floor out because I can't get my hand into chamber 1 !!! LOL Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Wow, the lights just came on and boy does it look different with the heater not there. I forgot to mention that after I knocked out the false floor, I moved the heater into it. Also, I just replaced my actinic that burned out with 50/50 and I have to admit, I like the look. The tank is whiter, brighter and the corals still have some flourescents. Nice Quote Link to comment
autopro Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Wow, the lights just came on and boy does it look different with the heater not there. I forgot to mention that after I knocked out the false floor, I moved the heater into it. Also, I just replaced my actinic that burned out with 50/50 and I have to admit, I like the look. The tank is whiter, brighter and the corals still have some flourescents. Nice Good job! do you have any pics or a build thread? I'd like to see it. Quote Link to comment
Hawaii_Bio_Cube Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Can I have my new BC14 added to the user tank list please. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...213851&st=0 Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Good job! do you have any pics or a build thread? I'd like to see it. Hi Autopro, Thanks. I'll bring in my camera with me tomorrow and post some pics. Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Hi Autopro, Thanks. I'll bring in my camera with me tomorrow and post some pics. Autopro, Here are the pictures. Sorry it took so long. I forgot the camera the first day, the second day the batteries were dead. Before After Its hard to tell in the pictues but the tank is considerabley brighter with the 50/50 bulb in place of the actinic. I like it. Quote Link to comment
autopro Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 benoitcdc: Nice, hope mine looks as good some day soon. Quote Link to comment
benoitcdc Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Thanks Autopro, I appreciatae it. I made an algae turf scrubber for my BC 14 and brought it in today to hook it up and realized I need to move some office equipment around. Once I figure out where to move things I'll set it up and get it going. Quote Link to comment
kanagias Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 hey there guys. does anyone know if the BC 14 botom glass is tempered or not? i am thinking of drilling it and i want to make sure its not tempered. thanks Quote Link to comment
Jordan_o Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Okay so I'm new to the whole saltwater deal and i have had my biocube 14 up and running since sept.1st. Now that i have a little more knowledge about the biocubes and i see that people are pulling out the bio balls, would it safer for me to pull them out slowly and put in LR rubble in? or am i better off just using the bio balls? btw this forum is a lifesaver for BC owners! Quote Link to comment
uwwmatt Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 (edited) Okay so I'm new to the whole saltwater deal and i have had my biocube 14 up and running since sept.1st. Now that i have a little more knowledge about the biocubes and i see that people are pulling out the bio balls, would it safer for me to pull them out slowly and put in LR rubble in? or am i better off just using the bio balls? btw this forum is a lifesaver for BC owners! First off, to Nano-Reef. Personally I wouldn't recommend putting rubble in the back chamber. IMO you would get more benefits from a ball of cheato (assuming you had a light source). Rubble will collect a lot of detritus in the back chamber. and make it difficult to clean. The thought with bioballs is that over time they become a nitrate factory, which is why many people remove them. Since you have inverts in your tank I would probably remove them slowly. Your tank isn't very old so at this point they are not causing any issue so its no rush anyway. Take a handful or two out every week and you will be fine. You might even get away with doing it all at once, but it is always better to err on the side of caution. By the way, what fish do you have in your tank right now, I am having trouble identifying them from the picture? Edited November 23, 2009 by uwwmatt Quote Link to comment
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