The Biocube Resource Guide

[EvoKnvl]

I have a BC14. Replaced the stock pump with the maxijet 900 soon after I got the tank. Replaced that pump with the Hydor Pico Evolution 1200 last week because it has more flow at less power consumption. My tank temps are averaging about 2 degrees higher. I don't understand how but it is what it is. Haven't changed any other variables that would contribute to increased temps. Before the pump swap I was running 77 at night 78.7 daytime. After the swap; 79 night, 82 daytime. I am going to swap back to confirm that it is directly related to the pump.

 

Interested to see the results. Have the Pico as well, and it's been working out great for me...

[Gromit1710]

Most people use the Maxijet 1200 because it fits perfectly with no mods. Yes it is a powerhead.

In a BC29, yeah. I don't think it fits a 14 or an 8.

[floridian reefer]

They are all computer fans. Some spin faster than others and some are made better than others. The fans that come with the BC are the cheaply made ones. Up grading them to another manufacture would be a step up. As for the live rubble, I'd pull them now. It doesn't take long (3 days maybe) before they trap detritus and convert them into nitrates. Remember how quickly it happened when you cycled your tank? If you have 1-1 1/2 lbs of live rock per gallon in the tank you won't need rubble in chamber 2. I'm not familiar with shaving brushes or halimedia. Are they macro algaes? Water changes are your best friend when it comes to reducing nitrates unless you have a fuge with macro algae. The % of nitrate reduction is directly proportional to the % of water change. 50% water change equals 50% reduction in nitrates. Oh, Skimmers will also help reduce nitrates. They don't pull nitrates out of the water but they do pull some of the stuff out that will turn into nitrates if left in the tank. I haven't upgraded my lights yet but all the postings I have read from folks who have used the nanotuner light up grades (up graded fans included) have actually seen their temps drop by about 2 deg. I'm sure some of them with jump in and let you know what their experiences have been. HTH

 

 

so what would you put instead of the LR, what do you have in yours? any idea where i can find the rpm on the stock fans or do you know? yea the halimedia and shaving brushes are macro algea, macro algae which light upgrade lowered the temp? and id appreciate people sharing any experience with upgrades or mods....

[floridian reefer]

has anyone added maxijet 1200 to replace the stock pump? did it raise the temp any?

[bhskicker18]

So my Bio Cube 29 came in today and the led moonlights wouldn't work. I called and Oceanic is sending me everything that deals with LEDs for the tank (cord, ballast, led's, ect.) but I won't get it for 7-10 business days.

[EvoKnvl]

You can still set up the tank now. The moonlight is there for viewing more than anything. When the parts come in, you can swap out the necessary ones at tht time.

[evokid511]

+1 the moonlights have no real effect on fish or corals purely for your viewing pleasue, i prefer to not have mine on actually

[bhskicker18]

You can still set up the tank now. The moonlight is there for viewing more than anything. When the parts come in, you can swap out the necessary ones at tht time.

 

I know I can go ahead and use the tank. But I have to wait though, my dad is building me a stand for it and my Eclipse 12. I won't be using the tank untill next weekend at the earliest But the bright side is that I can read about what everybody did right and wrong so I can try to have a "Tank of the Month" tank lol

[AJ_Tsin]

Sometimes I miss my Biocube...

[benoitcdc]

so what would you put instead of the LR, what do you have in yours? any idea where i can find the rpm on the stock fans or do you know? yea the halimedia and shaving brushes are macro algea, macro algae which light upgrade lowered the temp? and id appreciate people sharing any experience with upgrades or mods....

You don't have to put anything in chamber 2, its not necessary. The only thing I did was mod the top of the wall between chamber 1 and chamber 2 to allow more surface flow, cut out a piece of egg crate to fit on th ledges of chamber 2 and placed some filter floss on it to catch debris. I replace the floss every 2-3 days with new floss. If you want, you can get a media rack from StevieT and place it into the 2nd chamber and use it as a fuge or media holder. Most manufactures have the rpms and cfm data on the packaging or on a slip of paper. When I first looked into up grading I called Oceanic and got the data from them. I wrote it down somewhere. If I can find it I'll post the info. Here is the lighting up grade with fan that folks have been reporting lower temperates. http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=346 If you go back through this thread you will find several folks talking about it and the mods they have done. If you have an older BC 14 the mods that have been typically done have been removing the tab on top of the wall between chamber 1/2, removing the false floor in chamber 1, removing the filter in chamber 1, adding an egg crate with floss over chamber 2, some have removed the sponge between chamber 2 and 3, replace the stock pump with a higher flowing pump, and up grading the lighting system. HTH

[nanew reefer]

I have a BC14. Replaced the stock pump with the maxijet 900 soon after I got the tank. Replaced that pump with the Hydor Pico Evolution 1200 last week because it has more flow at less power consumption. My tank temps are averaging about 2 degrees higher. I don't understand how but it is what it is. Haven't changed any other variables that would contribute to increased temps. Before the pump swap I was running 77 at night 78.7 daytime. After the swap; 79 night, 82 daytime. I am going to swap back to confirm that it is directly related to the pump.

 

 

 

can we get an update to this? I bought a Pico Evolution 1200 thinking it would lower my temps.. does it raise them?

Edited June 17, 2010 by nanew reefer

[chrssprngs]

can we get an update to this? I bought a Pico Evolution 1200 thinking it would lower my temps.. does it raise them?

I will. Haven't had time. I will swap them back tomorrow and update Saturday.

[nanew reefer]

thanks!

[EvoKnvl]

can we get an update to this? I bought a Pico Evolution 1200 thinking it would lower my temps.. does it raise them?

 

Check out this thread for further discussion regarding the Hydor Pico

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=240069

[Krazy_Karl]

Finally finished reading the 29 pages of this guide. I feel very lucky to have come across it prior to setting up my BC29. I have already cut the tab out between chamber 1 and 2, removed all of the bio balls, ordered the pico, and knocked out the false bottom in chamber 1 to fit my heater. I have 30 lbs of live sand ready and am going to lfs to pick up 30lbs of cured live rock as well as the filter fiber and carbon tomorrow. I feel like I am finally ready to get wet! Now for the newbie questions:

 

1. I have a Stealth heater, but I think its 200W. Is this overkill? Should I downgrade?

 

2. I plan on running the fuge in chamber 2 with cheto. Do I still leave the drip tray on top to put the filter fiber directly over it or should I get egg crate and cut that to size? I plan on having three levels in chamber 2, most likely a DIY, the InTank racks look great but pricey (carbon on bottom, cheto in the middle with a submersible LED, perhaps another recommended supplement on top, and all covered with the drip tray with filter fiber). Does that make sense or am I way off target?

 

3. How long should the lights stay on? Both the white and actinic at the same time for 12 hours?

 

4. Any other suggestions while cycling? How long should the tank cycle for before introducing a fish or invert? Should I pick up a CUC immediately or wait?

 

Thanks so much in advance.

[EvoKnvl]

Finally finished reading the 29 pages of this guide. I feel very lucky to have come across it prior to setting up my BC29. I have already cut the tab out between chamber 1 and 2, removed all of the bio balls, ordered the pico, and knocked out the false bottom in chamber 1 to fit my heater. I have 30 lbs of live sand ready and am going to lfs to pick up 30lbs of cured live rock as well as the filter fiber and carbon tomorrow. I feel like I am finally ready to get wet! Now for the newbie questions:

 

1. I have a Stealth heater, but I think its 200W. Is this overkill? Should I downgrade?

 

2. I plan on running the fuge in chamber 2 with cheto. Do I still leave the drip tray on top to put the filter fiber directly over it or should I get egg crate and cut that to size? I plan on having three levels in chamber 2, most likely a DIY, the InTank racks look great but pricey (carbon on bottom, cheto in the middle with a submersible LED, perhaps another recommended supplement on top, and all covered with the drip tray with filter fiber). Does that make sense or am I way off target?

 

3. How long should the lights stay on? Both the white and actinic at the same time for 12 hours?

 

4. Any other suggestions while cycling? How long should the tank cycle for before introducing a fish or invert? Should I pick up a CUC immediately or wait?

 

Thanks so much in advance.

 

1. Depends on your climate. I actually run a 50w since it's pretty much always 77 degrees in my house.

 

2. You can do either or. My dad uses the drip tray in his BC14, and I use eggcrate myself. If you use the quilted poly stuff, then I would do the eggcrate. The drip tray isn't quite flat and the poly tends to sag in different areas.

 

3. My light schedule is 12pm actinic on, 2pm main lights on. 10pm main goes off, 12am actinics go off. I think I may cut one hr off each end for the actinic so it's a 10 hr light schedule...

 

4. Wait until your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates = 0.

[Krazy_Karl]

1. Depends on your climate. I actually run a 50w since it's pretty much always 77 degrees in my house.

 

2. You can do either or. My dad uses the drip tray in his BC14, and I use eggcrate myself. If you use the quilted poly stuff, then I would do the eggcrate. The drip tray isn't quite flat and the poly tends to sag in different areas.

 

3. My light schedule is 12pm actinic on, 2pm main lights on. 10pm main goes off, 12am actinics go off. I think I may cut one hr off each end for the actinic so it's a 10 hr light schedule...

 

4. Wait until your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates = 0.

 

Whats the best place to look for the eggcrate material? I would assume like Lowes or HD?

[spanko]

Yup, where the sell the suspended ceiling tiles and such.

[Krazy_Karl]

Yup, where the sell the suspended ceiling tiles and such.

 

Excellent. Also, I know I have seen this question asked before, however, I might as well clarify. I plan on building my "media rack" from the eggrate. What is a safe glue to use?

[Yamato]

In terms of the moonlight, I dont know if others have experienced this, but the LEDs burn out after a year. I think its the heat under the hood, like you guys have mentioned, the fans are junk and do little to remove the heat, if they stay functional. Mine started to make all kind of noise so I had to replace them with some computer fans.

I have since put together an LED DIY light. Junked the hood completely and have open top for the tank, my temp has lowered by 2-3 degrees and things are very stable.

 

I have really enjoyed the bc8...wish I could get a bigger one.

[Gromit1710]

In terms of the moonlight, I dont know if others have experienced this, but the LEDs burn out after a year. I think its the heat under the hood, like you guys have mentioned, the fans are junk and do little to remove the heat, if they stay functional. Mine started to make all kind of noise so I had to replace them with some computer fans.

I have since put together an LED DIY light. Junked the hood completely and have open top for the tank, my temp has lowered by 2-3 degrees and things are very stable.

 

I have really enjoyed the bc8...wish I could get a bigger one.

+1 to that.

 

My led moonlights are about 1/4 as bright as they used to be a couple years ago. I'm waiting for my LED kit to show up in the mail. I don't think I'll go open top tho.

[Krazy_Karl]

Purchased the egg crate today, will begin the media rack build within the next few days. I plan on holding off on the live rock until all of my mods are done. I bought LocTite plastic bonding glue, anyone think this will be harmful to use?

 

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_plstc/...ding-System.htm

[benoitcdc]

Purchased the egg crate today, will begin the media rack build within the next few days. I plan on holding off on the live rock until all of my mods are done. I bought LocTite plastic bonding glue, anyone think this will be harmful to use?

 

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_plstc/...ding-System.htm

How is the build going? Any pictures?

[jojoe972]

Anyone seperated the lockline nozzle that allows water to come out to the display? Im wanting to create an elbow so on one side I can put a hydor wave and extend the other side to go to the middle of the tank and have the flow point towards the front of the tank. Has anyone done this and if you have what did you think about it? Im looking to see what parts I would need to do this. Thanks in advance for the suggestions. All responses welcome!!!

[benoitcdc]

Anyone seperated the lockline nozzle that allows water to come out to the display? Im wanting to create an elbow so on one side I can put a hydor wave and extend the other side to go to the middle of the tank and have the flow point towards the front of the tank. Has anyone done this and if you have what did you think about it? Im looking to see what parts I would need to do this. Thanks in advance for the suggestions. All responses welcome!!!

I've never done it but I recall seeing a post by some one who did just that. I really don't recall where I saw it but it was most likely in this thread. I hate to say it but start at the begining of this thread and go page by page. From what I recall, they were happy with the outcome. HTH