The Biocube Resource Guide

[uwwmatt]

I use the acrylic magfloat just to be safe.

[Bigben7]

For people running sunpods w/ either the stock 14K bulb, or Phoenix:

 

Do you feel that you see enough of the phosphorescence from the halide and/or the LED's, or do you feel that you would benefit from actinic supplementation?

 

What has anyone done for said supplementation?

 

Thanks, this thread is great BTW!

[egloskerry]

Is the stock filter cartidge bad? Or is it ok for a noob?

[uwwmatt]

For people running sunpods w/ either the stock 14K bulb, or Phoenix:

 

Do you feel that you see enough of the phosphorescence from the halide and/or the LED's, or do you feel that you would benefit from actinic supplementation?

 

What has anyone done for said supplementation?

 

Thanks, this thread is great BTW!

 

I have a 150W sunpod over my 25G and I am happy with the colors my stock 14k bulb gets me.

 

One option for actinic supplementation would be to use a fixture like this (of course this is not helpful if you already own a sunpod):

 

Now I have never heard of anyone using this particular fixture on a biocube, but it appears to have adjustable legs, so I would imagine it would work. 24" is the smallest fixture so it would work best on a 29G Biocube and there would be some overhang.

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=15486

 

Is the stock filter cartidge bad? Or is it ok for a noob?

 

No the stock filter cartridge is not really "bad," but it does have some issues. First off it is not very cost effective. They are like $4+ a piece and that begins to add up over the lifetime of your biocube. A bag of carbon, and filter floss would do the trick much better for a lot less.

 

If you change your cartridge once a month that is going to cost you around $50 a year. A big jar of carbon, bag of filter floss, and a media bag would probably run you $25 and would last longer then a year.

 

Secondly the cartridge slows down the flow in you biocube. If you remove it you will notice that the surface skimming works better.

 

And finally, because they are only changed once a month, detritus builds up in the cartridges (causing a rise in nitrates which in turn stresses your livestock) and even with rinsing it is difficult to remove. If you use filter floss you can change it every few days. (I bought a bag of filter floss 2 years ago for less then $5 and I am only 3/4 of the way through it.)

Edited January 28, 2009 by uwwmatt

[uwwmatt]

Would anybody be interested in doing something like a Biocube of the Month contest? I haven't really thought out any of the details, but it could be fun.

[egloskerry]

How exactly do you set the floss and carbon up? Put it in a bag? I didn't see it in this thread.

 

I'll probably do the fuge eventually. I'm pretty good with electical engineering and so is my dad, and I have two 40W 6000K CFLs lying around.

[lqdKaos]

How exactly do you set the floss and carbon up? Put it in a bag? I didn't see it in this thread.

 

I'll probably do the fuge eventually. I'm pretty good with electical engineering and so is my dad, and I have two 40W 6000K CFLs lying around.

 

 

Take the filter cartridge out.

 

Remove the drip tray in the second chamber, throw your bag of carbon, phosban, or chemipure into chamber 2, then replace the drip tray. Put your filter floss on top of the drip tray.

 

That is what I do in my 14 and it seems to work well

[inTank]

Would anybody be interested in doing something like a Biocube of the Month contest? I haven't really thought out any of the details, but it could be fun.

 

 

If you arrange one, I can throw in a free media basket as a prize. Maybe a fish saver but a media basket would be more fun to receive and holds more value.

 

Let me know.

[Mercuryne]

ohhh we talking new biocube? or already set up?

 

interesting idea...

[cmador]

UWWMatt - Nice job on this thread!!

 

My 29BC is here - http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=165102&hl=

 

I copied most of my mods from divecj5's threads - http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=125328 and here http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=132162&hl=

[uwwmatt]

If you arrange one, I can throw in a free media basket as a prize. Maybe a fish saver but a media basket would be more fun to receive and holds more value.

 

Let me know.

 

Well that would certainly make things a lot more interesting. Although I am not sure how we would make it fair. I guess we would have to do newly set up biocubes.

 

How exactly do you set the floss and carbon up? Put it in a bag? I didn't see it in this thread.

 

I'll probably do the fuge eventually. I'm pretty good with electical engineering and so is my dad, and I have two 40W 6000K CFLs lying around.

 

I removed the sponge by the return pump, and set the bag of carbon in that little slot. I put filter floss over the drip tray.

 

Sometime in the near future I plan on doing a write up on filtration like I did on lighting.

Edited January 28, 2009 by uwwmatt

[egloskerry]

It seems like over the drip tray it would do very little filtering because the water only drops down on the right.

 

And does the carbon come in bags? I was thinking loose carbon. That's why I was confused. Could I just buy loose and put it in a cheesecloth bag? I cn get it dirt cheap through my chemistry suppliers.

[uwwmatt]

It seems like over the drip tray it would do very little filtering because the water only drops down on the right.

 

And does the carbon come in bags? I was thinking loose carbon. That's why I was confused. Could I just buy loose and put it in a cheesecloth bag? I cn get it dirt cheap through my chemistry suppliers.

 

All the water in your biocube passes over the drip tray making it the best location. You just put a clump of it along that right corner. You don't need to cover the whole drip tray. It will turn brown in a couple days, and then you replace it.

 

I use loose carbon and put it in a media bag. Never put loose media directly in the tank. That would be a nightmare.

 

If you get carbon through your chemistry supplier you are going to need to take in to consideration the grain size. It is going to need to be large enough to allow water to flow through it.

[plainrt]

Im gonna be sad to take down my biocube.But the new 30 breeder will make things little better i hope.I like the contest idea.

 

 

Oh maybe to contest for two.One being 1+year old and one other for under one year.But the prize if any will go to the under 1 year cause more then likely could use the prize more then some of the older tanks.Just a thought.

[egloskerry]

Yeah I thought just dumping carbon in seemed like a bad idea.

 

I just put a cartridge in the tank, and I have another new one. After that I'll throw in the floss and carbon.

[Clownshoes]

Has anyone done a DIY 70w MH in their 14g hood or attempted one? I saw the NC12g ones but was curious if anyone tried it with the bio cube. Or if there are pics of the nanotuners one installed.

Edited January 29, 2009 by Clownshoes

[jejenkins]

Has anyone done a DIY 70w MH in their 14g hood or attempted one? I saw the NC12g ones but was curious if anyone tried it with the bio cube. Or if there are pics of the nanotuners one installed.

 

+1 I am going to be doing this in the near future. The best I can find is a writeup on a BC29 hood mod. Figured it would be similar, just dealing with less space. If you search the DIY forum for "+retro +biocube" in titles only it will come up. If I am the first to go, I'll try to document well.

[Clownshoes]

Ya I will most likely try it also at some point as well. I would really like to try to incorporate the actintics and moon lights as well.

[badbread]

Don't know if its been said but.

 

A Tunze 9002 Nano Doc skimmer will fit in chamber 2 with a few things to note:

 

1. No hood, not sure if it would fit with a hood but its fine without the stock biocube hood.

2. The Tunze cannot have the magnet attachment on it, I believe you have to special order it without the magnet

3. You have to cut out a little bit of the tank rim around chamber 2, just the over hanging lip and not the actual bracing

 

Unfortunately my 9002 came with a magnet and when trying to remove it I removed a nice chunk of the skimmer body. I was able to repair it with a piece of acrylic and some glue but be warned, that sucker is glued on heavily.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...61268&st=20

 

If you purchase the stock skimmer for the biocube here is a mod to make it work a little better.

Edited January 29, 2009 by badbread

[colgan10]

yea biocube of the month sounds like a cool idea!

[firefish CR]

hi

 

Awesome guide!!!!!

 

I'm still a beginner but i wanna be part of this excelent guide

 

14 BC from Costa Rica

[Clownshoes]

+1 I am going to be doing this in the near future. The best I can find is a writeup on a BC29 hood mod. Figured it would be similar, just dealing with less space. If you search the DIY forum for "+retro +biocube" in titles only it will come up. If I am the first to go, I'll try to document well.

 

 

I actually took apart the hood tonight to see what exactly could be done as far as installing the 70w MH fixture and keeping the stock actintic bulb in the 14g nano cube.

 

I think a way to go about it would be to remove both bulbs and LEDs and mount the MH fixture in the center. Then I think you can take one of the stock bulbs and if you do it right make it fit in the position that the nanotuners 3.24 mod extra bulb fits.Which I believe from the picture I can see on their web page is directly on top of the heat shield with the vents in it that covers the fans.

 

I think that setup will work with the lights and the next part would be how to figure out the best way to cool it. Which I'm still brainstorming. But if you scrape the parts together right I think it could be done for around $100-120.

Edited January 30, 2009 by Clownshoes

[uwwmatt]

I actually took apart the hood tonight to see what exactly could be done as far as installing the 70w MH fixture and keeping the stock actintic bulb in the 14g nano cube.

 

I think a way to go about it would be to remove both bulbs and LEDs and mount the MH fixture in the center. Then I think you can take one of the stock bulbs and if you do it right make it fit in the position that the nanotuners 3.24 mod extra bulb fits.Which I believe from the picture I can see on their web page is directly on top of the heat shield with the vents in it that covers the fans.

 

I think that setup will work with the lights and the next part would be how to figure out the best way to cool it. Which I'm still brainstorming. But if you scrape the parts together right I think it could be done for around $100-120.

 

Your also going to need a new splash guard for the lights. With a metal halide bulb it would quickly melt the plastic stock guard.

 

Keep up posted and take lots of pictures of your process and research so others can see what you are doing!

Edited January 30, 2009 by uwwmatt

[Clownshoes]

Your also going to need a new splash guard for the lights. With a metal halide bulb it would quickly melt the plastic stock guard.

 

Keep up posted and take lots of pictures of your process and research so others can see what you are doing!

 

My plan is to just Glue the UV glass that comes with one of the Brinks light fixtures onto the stock spash guard with a section cut out of it in the shape of the glass. This seems to work for most people and eliminates the melting.

 

I'm confident that this lighting arrangement will work its just a matter of figuring out exactly what I need to cool it without going to a chiller. Does anyone have a picture of the nanotuners MH one on the 14g? Or know how they cool it exactly?

[uwwmatt]

Or know how they cool it exactly?

 

They just use fans on an independent power supply. 50mm x 10mm, basically this http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=365

 

They also use a temperature cutoff switch so that if the light gets to hot it automatically shuts off.