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The Biocube Resource Guide


uwwmatt

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I put a MJ900 as my return pump and i have no regrets. The extra flow helped my algae problem and the corals love it.

Cool beans. :) Thats good to know. What do yo have for corals?

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Hey everyone,

 

Sorry this is my first post. Ive been following the forums but have yet to post anything. I got my BC14 the other day, got her up and running, everything was working just fine.

 

Now, 2 days later. I went to plug in my LEDs just to do an equipment check and no luck! Everything else is working as it should.

 

I have:

Checked to make sure its plugged in/ tried both wall and power strip

Made sure plugs were pushed together all the way

Made sure LEDs were seated in mounting brackets all the way

 

The AC/DC adapter is warm to the touch so I know electricity is getting to the adapter at least.

I called Oceanic Tech support but have been given the run around all day, each time Ive called the operator tells me their ONE tech rep is busy and on the phone.

 

Ive been reading the Resource Guide and figured if there is anyone on the net that can solve this it would be you guys.

 

Thanks and I look forward to sharing my BC with you all in the near future.

Hi UoH_Chibi and welcome to NR

 

Sorry to hear about your leds and about your calls to Oceanic. Keep trying to get the tech. Once you get him, you should be ok. I think they are understaffed in that area unfortunatly.

 

If you have a VOM/multimeter, try to get a reading at the end of the transformer wire. You should get 12v DC. If not, the transformer or wire is bad. If you have another 12v DC transformer around, try connecting it to the leds if the conections are the same. Either way, you will be able to rule in/out the transformer as the problem and that with help the tech guy figure out whats happening. If the transformer is good, then you got something going on in the hood in which case will probably need to be replace. Sorry. HTH

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Hi guys, i am having major problems with the fan noises i think they are broken. I dont have any fancy mods, just a standard hood with 2x 24watt PC bulb for the biocube 14. The tank was bought brand new only 2 months ago. The fan would make terrible loud noises, then when i look through the vent on the hood it seems to be spinning for a few sec, then stop, then spinning again etc. It's driving me nuts.

 

My question is can i just get rid of the hood fans altogether, will it really get that much hotter. My current temp is stable at 80F. Also if i can swap out the stock fan with some nicer/quieter computer case fans. I looked at the hood but there doesnt seem to be an easy way to take it apart. I am not very handy, is there a guide somewhere that can show you how to get rid of the fans.

 

thanks!

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Hi guys, i am having major problems with the fan noises i think they are broken. I dont have any fancy mods, just a standard hood with 2x 24watt PC bulb for the biocube 14. The tank was bought brand new only 2 months ago. The fan would make terrible loud noises, then when i look through the vent on the hood it seems to be spinning for a few sec, then stop, then spinning again etc. It's driving me nuts.

 

My question is can i just get rid of the hood fans altogether, will it really get that much hotter. My current temp is stable at 80F. Also if i can swap out the stock fan with some nicer/quieter computer case fans. I looked at the hood but there doesnt seem to be an easy way to take it apart. I am not very handy, is there a guide somewhere that can show you how to get rid of the fans.

 

thanks!

 

Keep the fans, on my Biocube29 they really move the air and you can tell there's quite a bit of heat. Also, you probably want to be sitting more at 72-78.

 

There is the chance that your fans are clogged (yes, already). I don't know about smaller models of the Biocube. But you can dismantle the entire thing with just a screwdriver. For me I remove the plastic light guard, then there are 2 screws holding a shiny plate in place, remove them and you can see the wiring of the hood.

 

When I got my Biocube (used) it was loud as hell... but I cleaned the motors off and reset them. Sometimes the screws can be cranked down hard enough to warp the plastic around the fan blades. So unscrew them, inspect them for dust/debris, and *carefully* screw it back in until it is snug, screw it back in like you would a tire- furthest screw from the one you start with. It'll ensure a more even tension on the plastic housing.

 

That all is just from my experience. If your fans continue to give you grief, I would either call Oceanic or upgrade to some nice PC ones- just be mindful of your temp range.

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ok i should clarified, i am using the biocube as a freshwater planted tank, so 80F is the ideal temp i want for my fish.

 

I took the biocube hood apart this evening just cant stand the noise anymore, the fans etc are all very clean and unclogged. After some research online, i think it's just a case of crappy inferior quality product.

 

For now i took out the fan with the noise, i ordered 2 of the below fans, once they arrive i will replace the biocube fans with those. Note: the biocube fan has 2 pins (red/black) while the normal pc case fans has 3 pins, all you need to do is take the wires out of the plug, then plug the red/black back into the biocube hood fan's 2pin plug(in the same order), and leave the third wire unused (wrap it with electric tape).

 

this is the fan i bought: https://www.quietpcusa.com/Rasurbo-Ultra-Qu...tor-P82C64.aspx

 

this is the crappy biocube default fan: http://www.ecvv.com/product/801539.html

Edited by gagaliya
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ok i should clarified, i am using the biocube as a freshwater planted tank, so 80F is the ideal temp i want for my fish.

 

I took the biocube hood apart this evening just cant stand the noise anymore, the fans etc are all very clean and unclogged. After some research online, i think it's just a case of crappy inferior quality product.

 

For now i took out the fan with the noise, i ordered 2 of the below fans, once they arrive i will replace the biocube fans with those. Note: the biocube fan has 2 pins (red/black) while the normal pc case fans has 3 pins, all you need to do is take the wires out of the plug, then plug the red/black back into the biocube hood fan's 2pin plug(in the same order), and leave the third wire unused (wrap it with electric tape).

 

this is the fan i bought: https://www.quietpcusa.com/Rasurbo-Ultra-Qu...tor-P82C64.aspx

 

this is the crappy biocube default fan: http://www.ecvv.com/product/801539.html

 

Sounds like you have it handled. The stock fans are not very good. You can get free replacements from Oceanic but they are still stock fans. Your computer fans should work a lot better. I would not run the lights with out the fan though. They help keep the temp down in the hood and extend the life of the bulbs.

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Not to stir up trouble (I am still pretty new here, after all), but I see a lot of people referring to a "14G" Biocube. The BC14 is not a 14 gallon tank. It's much closer to 10.

 

Granted, I don't own a BC8 or a BC29, but I'm guessing they're not 8 gallons or 29 gallons either. If anyone happens to have any empty, it might benefit the community to fill it up, gallon by gallon, and measure.

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ok everyone i am joining too ;)

 

i have a biocube 14, and have ordered the media rack for it from InTank...

 

i am looking into getting a skimmer to help keep my water clean and lower my nitrates.. hopefully B)

 

i was wondering how i would run it in the rear chambers along with a media rack...and which one is better value-sapphire or tunze with intank cup?

 

i thought i caught on here to put the skimmer in chamber one? and media rack in chamber 2? and heater in 3?

 

 

thanks a bunch!

belle

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Not to stir up trouble (I am still pretty new here, after all), but I see a lot of people referring to a "14G" Biocube. The BC14 is not a 14 gallon tank. It's much closer to 10.

 

Yeah, we know. Its a little misleading. Still a good system though.

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Hello everyone...

 

I have had reef aquariums before but none i have been as excited about as my BC29. It reminds me of an old square 55 gal AGA i had way back when.

 

I stumbled onto this forum in search of MOD guides and found the holy grail for modding.

 

I started my cube 2 days ago with 35# of live sand and a few LR Fragments from the LFS i bought the tank from. I currently have in shipping at the moment 35# of LR from an online seller (www.justliverock.com)

, I will post about the rock quality once i get it in the tank.

 

I would like to start making some mods already. The first thing I feel i need to do is block the lower water intake in chamber 1. I would like to do this without draining the tank as i really dont wish to stir up all the sand again. I read every post once i found this thread and did not see a solution to blocking this while the tank is in use. Is there a way to do this, has anyone done it, water safe epoxy possibly?

 

I would appreciate any help on that. I am currently planning my other changes but they will be in time. I also will attempt to chronicle my progress with the tank.. if you cant tell I am a little excited :)

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The first thing I feel i need to do is block the lower water intake in chamber 1. I would like to do this without draining the tank as i really dont wish to stir up all the sand again. I read every post once i found this thread and did not see a solution to blocking this while the tank is in use. Is there a way to do this, has anyone done it, water safe epoxy possibly?

 

I don't have much experience with epoxy, but most that I have seen need to be applied outside of water, and then can cure in water almost immediately. You could use a piece of Plexiglas and glue some strong magnets on it. Then place the side without magnets against the intake, and on the other side of the false wall put more magnets to hold the Plexiglas in place. I am probably over thinking this, but it seems like it would work pretty well. If you did decide to go this route you could epoxy some eggcrate, or more Plexiglass to make a little frag rack on it. That way you are killing two birds with one stone.

 

If you do try something like what I described make sure you use reefsafe magnets. You can find some good DIY threads on how to make your own.

 

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Edited by uwwmatt
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Nice Idea I will look into something along those lines. A person couls use Nylong screws and nuts to do the same thing using the precut drain grill as the holes for the screws. I will toy with an idea like this. My wife is very concerned tha we keep the extremely clean look of the tank so convincing her that modifications are beneficial is hard. Thanks for the ideal spark.. gears are turning now.

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I would question why one would want to block the lower intake. It would increase flow through the upper and possibly better surface skimming. However the lower intake does serve a purpose here IMO. If you have good flow, are stirring up the lighter detritus in the tank, the lower grates is pulling out some of the heavier of the lighter (phew that was a mouthful) detritus that doesn't make it to the top grate. If you have ever looked at of siphoned out the bottom of chamber #1 where the grates are you will see an accumulation of detritus on the floor of that chamber. My belief is this is coming in from the bottom grate and is too heavy to float through the stock filter, or over the wall to chamber #2 if that is where you have some floss or other filtering material.

 

Just something to think on.

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I did think about the heavier particles that would be tossed into the lower grate. The clean up crew I think would care for the largest majority of this waste. If the deterius is just sitting in the bottom of chamber 1 until i sipphon it out why would i want to remove this when I will have animals to clean it up for me. My main goal in this is the surface skimming potential. I feel the exchange of surface water over the small amount of deterius removed from the tank would be more beneficial. It should be an easy non damaging mod so reversing it would be like it never happened.

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Hey everyone,

 

Sorry this is my first post. Ive been following the forums but have yet to post anything. I got my BC14 the other day, got her up and running, everything was working just fine.

 

Now, 2 days later. I went to plug in my LEDs just to do an equipment check and no luck! Everything else is working as it should.

 

I have:

Checked to make sure its plugged in/ tried both wall and power strip

Made sure plugs were pushed together all the way

Made sure LEDs were seated in mounting brackets all the way

 

The AC/DC adapter is warm to the touch so I know electricity is getting to the adapter at least.

I called Oceanic Tech support but have been given the run around all day, each time Ive called the operator tells me their ONE tech rep is busy and on the phone.

 

Ive been reading the Resource Guide and figured if there is anyone on the net that can solve this it would be you guys.

 

Thanks and I look forward to sharing my BC with you all in the near future.

 

Any luck with your LEDs? Mine started acting up on my BioCube 14 a couple weeks ago. One doesn't come on at all and the other blinks on and off :(

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I have what I believe is the Current SunPod 70w HQI lighting system and I was curious what type of life this will support within my tank. At the time, I bought this from a friend who was selling it for $50 and he said it will be a lot better than the lighting system that my BC29 originally came with. After researching the light afterwards, I noticed many people prefer the 150w and 250w SunPods. Now, my question is whether or not this is a good upgrade and what type of life (i.e. corals, anemones, zoanthids, etc) this lighting system will be able to support. Keep in mind that I already purchased the SunPod and it is currently installed on my cube. I currently have live rock, a percula, angel firefish, and a bi-color blenny in my tank... nothing more. Any help, suggestions, recommendations are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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I have what I believe is the Current SunPod 70w HQI lighting system and I was curious what type of life this will support ...

 

You are right that people often go with the 150W for a tank your size, but I think you will still be happy with your purchase, and at $50 if you decide to change back you haven't lost a big investment. Overall you will be able to keep about the same livestock as your original stock hood with a few exceptions. The light intensity will be much stronger near the top 1/3 of the tank, and you should be able to get away with SPS corals there if you wanted (something that won't work with the stock lighting.) You also will get the nice shimmer effect that MH lighting has on the water. Something you may not have noticed right away, but you will certainly miss if you ever change back.

 

With a 150W you basically can place any coral in any location in the tank and not have to worry about light requirements. You can also place clams and anemones on the sand, which is why they are more popular. But don't feel bad because having a smaller light has its benefits too. Not only will the cost to run it per month be cheaper, but heating will be less of an issue; which can be a huge problem depending on what part of the country you live in.

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Uwwmatt,

 

Thanks for the quick response. Another question I suppose would be whether or not I can upgrade my current 70w light to a 150w ballast and bulb. Would it even be worth it or would it be cheaper just to find a used 150w?

 

And as for decor, I'm not really into anything exotic but i do like zoanthids, maybe an anemone for my clown, and maybe some frogspawn and/or toothcoral. Do you think this light would support those items depending on where I place them in the tank?

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