Biocube29 - first fish tank!

[Fluffeh]

hi everyone, i am so glad i found somewhere on the internet where people can help me along as i venture through my new (but wanted oh so long) hobby. i was scared at first but i am confident enough that ill be able to do this - and i needed a saltwater aquarium I have had the biocube 29 running for a bit more than 3 weeks now and I do enjoy it a lot. I have 18lbs of live rock in there with one bag of live sand (not sure how much was in it). i also have 2 clown fish, 1 starfish, 6 lil hermit cleaners (dunno what u exactly call them), and 1 anemone (uh-oh?). everything looks great right now... except for my water. It seems like it has accumulated 'dust like' particles floating around so i took the sponge filter out and cleaned it yesterday and im hoping that it will do some good. i also have a protein skimmer running in the first chamber. i just added a 'hydor flo' (the thing that connects to the pump outtake and spins) which is working nice but i want more water movement so i ordered the oceanic circulation pump to put somewhere when i get it (hopefully this week!).

 

im sorry if a lot of this information is in the biocube resource guide (which is extremely helpful) but i wanted to just put a post up and say hello to everyone in the meantime as a new member

 

just a couple questions from a beginner in this great hobby...

1.) its been 3 weeks with my new tank running... when should i replace the filter cartridge? when should i do a water change and how much water? is there anything else i should be doing at this point?

 

2.) WARNING: PROBABLY A STUPID QUESTION ==> the sponge filter (in the 3rd chamber), i cleaned it yesterday and when i put it back in im not quite sure how far down its supposed to go in the slot? ... it seemed like it was floating a bit so i turned it and its more snug but im still not sure what its supposed to look like when its in there (i was hoping to find internal pics of the biocube).

 

3.) was i supposed to put an anemone in this tank? the clowns LOVE it and it looks so healthy.

 

4.) what is going on with my water clarity? all these 'dust like' particles! (yes i used RO water)

 

5.) recently it seems like so much algae is accumulating on the glass and back wall. should i be concerned?

 

6.) is it okay to lean the live rocks against the back wall?

 

7.) AND FINALLY... i've seen some very awesome pictures of the biocube and i've noticed some people have a purple/pink 'splash effect' on the back wall that looks very cool... how did they get this? if no one knows what im talking about ill find a picture of it and post what im talking about...

 

I'd appreciate any feedback from you guys, i hope I came to the right place for help on this new hobby. any more tips along with these questions would be great!!

 

thank you so much!!

[rO.oster]

you have a LOT of reading to do.

 

generally, people wait until the tank has "cycled" before adding fish or coral.

 

the purple splash is coralline algae, which will grow slowly over time given the right conditions

 

good luck, the rest of the answers are out there

[augustus007]

Not enought cycling time. I have a biocub 14 and I waited 3 weeks with ls and lr before i even thought about introducing fish after I tested the water. And all I have is one hermit crab and a 3/4 inch blue damsel.You do not take the sponge out yet because it keeps all the nurtifing good bacteria which then in turn fights the bad. Shame on you. No wonder its all cloudy. It says it right in the manual when to clean it! When you cleaned out the sponge I hope the pump was turned off. As for the carbine. You change that once a month. I would have change it when you put in the fish. Never clean the bio balls either. I hope to god you tested everything before you put in the fish. I'm surprised that the pet people even sold you fish under those conditions! Dude , do your homework before you decide to perform a holocaust on your fish and other living creatures. Alge is caused buy too much light! Its a new light at10000k . Cut the light time down by half for now. Yes , the sponge goes all the way down to the base.

AS for another one of your questions No, you werent suppose to put an anemone in that tank. 30 to 55 would have been fine. Jesus, who sold you all this stuff? They just want to make money!

PS, You should have started out with guppies first before getting into salt!

 

God help us Noobzs.

[Fluffeh]

to augustus007 -- u said "You do not take the sponge out yet because it keeps all the nurtifing good bacteria which then in turn fights the bad. Shame on you. No wonder its all cloudy."

 

FROM THE BIOCUBE RESOURCE GUIDE IN THIS FORUM IS THE FOLLOWING....Do I need to remove the sponges?

Many biocube owners remove the sponges that come in a stock system because over time they build up and trap detritus that will cause your nitrates to rise. The benefit to keeping them is that they filter out large things that may otherwise get sucked up into your pump. If you do decide to keep them it is a good idea to rinse them out every week and replace them every 3-4 weeks.

 

to augustus007 -- u said "As for the carbine. You change that once a month."

 

FROM THE BIOCUBE RESOURCE GUIDE FOR FILTRATION....As the floss becomes dirty the organic particles begin to break down and lower your water quality. The solution, replacing the cartridge every few days,

 

hrmm... who do i listen to? augustus or the resource guide on this forum?

 

and btw everything is going perfect in my tank (biologically its flawless right now in terms of amonia/nitrates/etc and the fish are happy, the 'dust-like' stuff (i never said cloudy) was PRIOR to me cleaning the sponge so what you said has no relevance to me....lastly, why are you so hostile? i thought this was a friendly environment. i wasn't expecting someone to tell me im causing a holocaust on my fish. ;\ dissapointing. sorry i asked.

[ShaneFromFlorida]

the algae is part of the cycle... as well as the "dust particles" in the water most likely

 

it will go away with time and effort... there is alot of research on that out there that you can find

 

as far as your carbon... if you put it in first thing when you started the tank its probably all used up by now...

 

yes you can lean rocks on the wall and the purple is coraline algae

 

that other guy did kind of come off like a jerk

 

but it is highly recommended to cycle your tank before adding any livestock

 

the good water parameters youre reading might be due to the algae blooms eating all your nitrates ect

 

if i was you i would start to look at mediabaskets.com and alternate media besides carbon and bioballs

 

you do have a TON of reading to do... but thats all part of the fun

 

good luck and i hope everything goes well

[Fluffeh]

thank you very much at least i know there are friendly people who want to help me here im betting i better rely on the biocube resource guide over someone like augustus

[dmbreefer]

yea dont worry about that guy...might be having a bad day?? but anyways, you might want to keep the rock off of the back wall and a couple inches off of all of the sides of the tank right now because it makes it much easier to clean the glass off when you are scraping algae and also a lot of stuff can build up in the back so if you dont have rock leaning up against the back you can easily siphon out the back of your tank without moving stuff around....also you should be doing water changes right now since you do have fish and livestock in your tank, id say about 20% weekly...make sure your new water temperature and salinity are exactly the same as your tank water before putting it in...and just be patient...keep asking questions you'll have good people come a long to help ya out

[ajmckay]

 

Fluffeh, part of using internet forums is being able to decipher the good from the bad. Sometimes it's not so easy but in general if someone tells you to do something (or that you should have done something) a certain way without telling you why then it's probably just regurgitated BS... If you don't understand something then ask for a better explanation.

 

Some things: Whether you started too early or not depends on the quality of LR you received and it's bacterial capacity to process waste. Typically it's recommended to beginners that they wait up to a month before adding livestock because it's difficult to asses the quality of the rock and to ensure that sufficient research is done. When did you add the fish and anemone? What kind of anemone is it?

 

If I were you I would try to be less focused on the equipment side of the hobby for now, and focus on learning the biological concepts. That way you'll be able to make your own equipment choices rather than just doing what other people tell you to do. Whether or not you incorporate a sponge or bio-balls or whatever depends on YOUR tank. What works in one tank isn't necessarily applicable to all tanks.

 

Water clarity issues are common at this point in the game. 3wks is still a very young tank. The anemone is a gamble. Anemones can die rather suddenly and when they do they can sometimes take out the rest of a small tank with it... They also require high water quality and sufficient lighting and water movement. For these reasons it's recommended that they not be placed in tanks less than 6 months old. It's proven that the lifespan of an anemone can span over one hundred years and they're delicate invertebrates on top. So I suppose you could say that they're not recommended to everyone. Clownfish do not need a host anemone to thrive or even to spawn.

 

As for your stocking, what kind of starfish is it? Some starfish eat corals and inverts and others even eat fish. This is another animal that usually doesn't do well in a small beginner reef tank unfortunately. You should consider getting some snails. This includes a mix of detrivores (say 3-5 nassarius snails) and herbivores (common snails include astrea, trochus, margarita, cerith, nerite, turbo, and still others.). Try to avoid (at least at first) some of the fancy snails like the conchs. I like astrea snails for cleaning the glass and rocks. Turbo snails get huge so only get a few of those if you want them (they can run over corals and knock stuff over). This will help you control your algae. Another thing that will help control some types of algae is increasing the flow. If you don't already you could consider buying a propeller pump like the hydor koralia. They're pretty popular because they're small, they look nice, and they put out a lot of water flow.

 

Oh, and read the beginner articles in the nano-reef library (link at the top). Research the nitrogen cycle and it'll help you out a lot. Know it well. There are some good articles:

 

http://www.fishlore.com/WaterChemistry.htm - Some key parameters

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php - A more in-depth beginner look at salinity!

[tako]

ajmckay's post has a lot of good advice.

 

I got rid of the sponge in my biocube. Putting filter floss at the top of the middle chamber is a lot more effective and you can change it with a new piece very easily. Do this every couple days and it will help keep debris out of your water.

 

Getting the purple coralline could come in a matter of months, but it may take years. Everyone's tank is different.

 

18 lbs of rock isn't enough for a 29g tank in my opinion. I wouldn't add more live rock since you already have an anemone and live stock. You may want to add another ~10 pounds of dry rock and let the live rock you have seed it over time.

[rO.oster]

yup that dude was a jerk

 

i was at the tail end of lunch break or i would have responded more thoroughly. i am very glad to see the great responses so far, and that you gave in to your oh so wanted indulge of reef tanking. welcome

[Fluffeh]

Thanks guys so much for helping me out and with all the insight. I really appreciate it...

i have worked in conjunction with a saltwater fish store in town who i did research on (i made sure of this) to make sure they know what they are talking about so everything in my tank and everything i have done so far has been basically with them holding my hand ... (now that i know a lot of the basics i dont need them anymore - and not to mention i have the help of this forum now!)

to answer a few questions--

 

the live rock = i was given the best live rock they had at the store (its sooo purple and sooo pretty) because it had been cured already and was very 'healthy'.. i can tell because there is so much living organisms inhabiting the rock itself right now.

 

i added the clown fish and anemone about 2 weeks after the LR/LS and everything was up and running

 

i am not CERTAIN about the anemone (as i said the fish store has been holding my hand), but im pretty sure it's a bubble tip anemone as i am looking at various pictures on the internet of the different kinds. it has a translucent look to it and is a shade of blue (and glows in the dark ;p)

 

the starfish once again I am not certain about, however it was given to me just like the rest of the livestock in my tank from the fish store - its a very small star, smooth on the top side with tiny tenticle things on the 'back' side.

 

i do have some type of hermit crabs (the store mentioned they aren't just regular hermit crabs however), they are very small and pick at the sand/rocks all day long. they sold them in packs of 6 so i have 6 of them currently working away..

 

------------------

i am going to find out exactly what kind of starfish/anemone/hermit crabs i have and post it tomarrow as im sure this will help if i have any questions.

like i said, the LR was very very healthy and came from a previous tank which i am thinking helped out with the filtering/cycling process.

i did talk to oceanic today and they recommended me to remove the cartridge filter (or at least wash it under fresh water) and just see if the flow of the water - particularly the surface - is moving more. as of right now the filter cartridge is placed directly under the drip tray on top.

 

 

i did have a couple more questions (sorry!!)

1)i been reading about the floss method of filtering, would that completely do away with the filter cartridge (even the 'plastic' part)? and when adding the floss (im assuming you place it on top of the drip tray), if some of it were to go through the drip tray and into the bioballs would this be a problem? can i add the floss and keep the sponge in the third chamber?

2) how will i know if my anemone is dying off? right now it looks so healthy.

3) when doing a water change - should i mix the salt and water the night before maybe? im glad someone told me that the temperature should match the tanks *smacks himself on the head*, this should be obvious but an idiot like me would not have thought of this right off the bat. i guess i need another heater to put in the bucket?

4) when adding water, some people have told me to add something to it so that the fish do not get stressed by the new water such as 'stress' chemicals? is this necessary and are there any recommendations?

 

 

Thank you so much for your guys' time, I feel much better that I have people with knowledge who can help me I apologize in the lengthy post but i wanted to address all the questions and concerns im having. thank you for your time in reading it.

[ajmckay]

Good idea to get identifications on your anemone, starfish, and hermits.

 

If you started out with really high quality rock then you're probably okay. I still probably would have done things a bit slower, but oh well.

 

I can't comment on the BC29 specifically, but yes you'll probably just take out the entire cartridge. the filter floss is just a simple form of mechanical filtration. Some people find it easier to just throw it out and replace it every few days than have to rinse out a sponge. They serve no other purpose. Over time they can become colonized by bacteria, but the effect will be minimal.

 

Anemones can die slowly or very quickly. Sometimes they'll melt away in a matter of hours for no apparent reason. I'm not an expert on these animals by any means, but even if I were there is still a lot that we don't know about these animals. They're also tough to keep in small reefs because they can kill your other corals with their powerful sting. They can also get caught up in pumps etc. which kills them really quick (they can move around). So to summarize a "healthy looking" anemone can still die quickly.

 

I bought a cheap heater to put in my saltwater mixing bucket (I use a 20g trash can). If you read the links I posted above one of them goes into detail on mixing salt.

 

Adding stress coat or whatever to mixed saltwater isn't necessary. Actually most aquarium products aren't really necessary. As a general rule, never put anything in your tank you haven't tested for. This includes buffers, supplements, etc... This also includes medicines and other chemicals. Think VERY carefully before adding anything at all to your display tank. Because reefs are so alive, you can't be sure what possible effects the chemicals you add will have on other inhabitants. For this reason many of us set up quarantine tanks where we treat sick or new fish and corals. That way we can treat them separately and not have to worry about contaminating the display tank. This also goes for so-called "natural" remedies like melafix/pimafix.

[asstastic]

you dont have to listen to anything im about to say but its probably your best chance of have the easiest time making this tank last a long time....

~1st remove that stupid carbon thing in first camber and remove the false bottom in there and put your heater there

~SLOWLY remove your bioballs(like in the course of a couple weeks...)

~ http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-29_c16.htm (new best friend)

~get a bag of chemi-pure in there

~put chaeto in your chamber 2(its a macro algae that eats nitrates) you can scrape back of tank and put light shining thru onto it or underwater light

~change about 3 gallons of water a week

~the divider at the top between the first back chamber and second has t tab the is halfway across that you can cut off and there will be more flow into chamber 2 and whole rear chamber

~dont worry about the fill lines on the side... just fill it up to almost top of chamber 3. it wont overflow

 

this is what the majority of biocube ive seen last a LONG time have done and seems to be the easiest way to do it. you can run it the way you have it but your gonna run into issues(water clhemistry)

 

ps bioballs are gonna be your majory nitrate factory (they work great for freshwater but not for saltwater)

 

 

and you can send me that anenome to hold until your tanks 6 months old

[dmbreefer]

I have a BC29 and i used to use the carbon filters...they would get clogged up too quickly and so my 3rd chamber water level would run to low and then my pump would blow bubbles all over my tank, so i started to only use the carbon filters after water changes for a day or so, it would take out a lot of the floating debris after my water change...now i actually just cut up some pantiehoes and pull it over the drip tray, works well but will probably end up going the filter floss route...I've always left my sponge in, but just squeeze it out after each water change...

 

im not sure what you mean by the "plastic part" that would be seperate from the carbon filter, but if you use filter floss you wouldnt need any of the carbon filter...some people do like to use carbon in their tanks though, can help deal with problem elements that can enter the tank or toxins from corals...

 

People usually say that water needs to sit for sometime (not sure how long) before you add it to your tank, i think it help dechlorinate the water...

 

also no need to add anything to the water as ajmckay said...just remember that whenever you buy any type of livestock you need to acclimate it to your tank...

 

lastly make sure to get another 1-2 powerheads for the tank...water movement will be your friend in the fight against algae, and it will help to keep debris suspended in the water so it will reach the filter and clean the water

 

also what asstastic said is good advice if you are up for it...chamber 1 is def the best place for a heater (hides it well), and if you look around most people are using doing what he suggests

[Fluffeh]

awesome advice and information. i think joining this forum was the best thing i did in years

thanks to all of you!

 

i removed the filter cartridge tonight and i noticed it was sooooo dirty. i called oceanic and they said to leave it out for the night and see if the water clears up. well, in a matter of 2 hours the water is soooo much more clean (the 'dust particles' are dissapearing) ... im thinking bout getting the floss stuff tomarrow

 

if any of the floss gets through the drip tray into the bio balls will that cause a problem for me (or is that even possible to happen)? do i need to get carbon too and how is it sold?

i would love to put the heater in the first chamber but that darn plastic trap door thing doesn't let me fit it in there - is it easy to remove that and does it really serve any purpose?

 

thanks again guys, you've been the biggest help!

 

oh and i ordered the oceanic circulation pump which i should get this week - is this not as good as the hydor one?

[augustus007]

First off, your quoting out of text. Second off , thats not what the manual says because I have a biocube 14. Same manual for 8,14, and 24

Finally, I have been taking care of fish probably before you were crapping in your diapers. You typically change carbon once a month if your fish tank is set up with the propper stock of fish amount , size ect. New carbon should even raise the ph slightly. Alge is good for your tank but too much isnt. And you do not take the sponge out YET.Not when you are cycling your tank. There, I said my peace. Good Luck Your going to need it.

 

to augustus007 -- u said "You do not take the sponge out yet because it keeps all the nurtifing good bacteria which then in turn fights the bad. Shame on you. No wonder its all cloudy."

 

FROM THE BIOCUBE RESOURCE GUIDE IN THIS FORUM IS THE FOLLOWING....Do I need to remove the sponges?

Many biocube owners remove the sponges that come in a stock system because over time they build up and trap detritus that will cause your nitrates to rise. The benefit to keeping them is that they filter out large things that may otherwise get sucked up into your pump. If you do decide to keep them it is a good idea to rinse them out every week and replace them every 3-4 weeks.

 

to augustus007 -- u said "As for the carbine. You change that once a month."

 

FROM THE BIOCUBE RESOURCE GUIDE FOR FILTRATION....As the floss becomes dirty the organic particles begin to break down and lower your water quality. The solution, replacing the cartridge every few days,

 

hrmm... who do i listen to? augustus or the resource guide on this forum?

 

and btw everything is going perfect in my tank (biologically its flawless right now in terms of amonia/nitrates/etc and the fish are happy, the 'dust-like' stuff (i never said cloudy) was PRIOR to me cleaning the sponge so what you said has no relevance to me....lastly, why are you so hostile? i thought this was a friendly environment. i wasn't expecting someone to tell me im causing a holocaust on my fish. ;\ dissapointing. sorry i asked.

[augustus007]

BTW , why would you mod your biocube? Take out carbon? Take out some Bio balls? I mean why buy it then. It was made that way for a good reason. You could have bought a regular tank and modded it any way that suited your needs. You could have bought any filter and a tank for a fraction of the price. Biocube does, well, what it says it does.

[augustus007]

you dont have to listen to anything im about to say but its probably your best chance of have the easiest time making this tank last a long time....

~1st remove that stupid carbon thing in first camber and remove the false bottom in there and put your heater there

~SLOWLY remove your bioballs(like in the course of a couple weeks...)

~ http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-29_c16.htm (new best friend)

~get a bag of chemi-pure in there

~put chaeto in your chamber 2(its a macro algae that eats nitrates) you can scrape back of tank and put light shining thru onto it or underwater light

~change about 3 gallons of water a week

~the divider at the top between the first back chamber and second has t tab the is halfway across that you can cut off and there will be more flow into chamber 2 and whole rear chamber

~dont worry about the fill lines on the side... just fill it up to almost top of chamber 3. it wont overflow

 

this is what the majority of biocube ive seen last a LONG time have done and seems to be the easiest way to do it. you can run it the way you have it but your gonna run into issues(water clhemistry)

 

ps bioballs are gonna be your majory nitrate factory (they work great for freshwater but not for saltwater)

 

 

and you can send me that anenome to hold until your tanks 6 months old

Nitrates? Thats what water changes are for. Your wasting your money if you do anything else.

[tako]

Woah, calm down.

 

There are plenty of reasons to remove the carbon filter that comes with the biocube. I don't know the exact lay out of the 29, but many people remove the false floor to prevent a detritus trap beneath it or put a heater in there. This kind of ruins the flow through the filter already. The floss can get clogged up before the carbon needs to be replaced and it costs a lot of money to keep replacing those things every month. Many people prefer to just throw a bag of chemi-pure or chemi-pure elite and leave it for a few months.

 

The bioballs have gotten a bad reputation because everyone keeps regurgitating the "nitrate factory" line. I personally removed them because I wanted space to grow chaeto.

 

I like the biocube because everything is concealed under the hood. It may not look as good as a well-planned rimless tank with a sump, but it's a lot better than having exposed lighting,a ton of crap hanging off the back, and some rigged up lid on the aquarium.

[PACMAN]

BTW , why would you mod your biocube? Take out carbon? Take out some Bio balls? I mean why buy it then. It was made that way for a good reason. You could have bought a regular tank and modded it any way that suited your needs. You could have bought any filter and a tank for a fraction of the price. Biocube does, well, what it says it does.

 

There are a great deal of people on this forum who say to take out the bioballs as they will soon become a nitrate factory. As well, cutting the lip from chamber 1 to 2 is also recommended. These are little nuances that people have learned that are better for the biocube aquarium. So i think there is nothing wrong with modding a biocube.

 

Edit: Amen Tako!

[rO.oster]

wow.

 

the information is flying around, what to do? more research, of course. Take everyone's advice with a grain of salt (like was said earlier, learn whats good advice and whats bad), then use the search tool or browse forums until you find your answer.

 

1. mechanical filtration = manually removing debris (particles) from the water. the white wool part of the stock biocube filter that slides in and out of chamber 1? that's mechanical. now shake that filter, hear that rattling? it brings us to 2. chemical filtration. that's activated carbon in there (cheap kind) and it helps to chemically remove toxins and wastes like phosphate and nitrate. the water then flows over --------

 

-----> to chamber 2, where is passes through the drip tray and into the bio balls. 3. biological filtration. the bioballs are the stock method of growing the favorable bacteria to eat waste. see, all these things which you may or may not wish to mod, are trying to either remove waste, or circulate flow.

 

now, don't fool yourself, oceanic (and most companies) are out to make the most money they can. the reasoning behind modding your biocube is to get better performance out of the capability. you bought a biocube because it looks cool, and is all-in-one (no external piping running down to another mini tank) and has a price point. it makes your dream come true, until the reality hits. but luckily, your here now.

 

if you want to keep your anenomie alive, then you will need to spend both time and effort (and yes, money) to get your biocube to the condition which will keep him alive. if you feel like the most work u wanna do is change the water once a week...........

 

(yes, mix the ro/di with salt mix to the right salinity 1.025, and use a cheap small heater and pump ((again, i buy a nice quiet pump for my biocube, and use the old stock one to mix my saltwater)) to circulate the water for 24HRS before your water change)

 

..... then the stock tank may keep your fish and simple coral happy, its a gamble.

 

the research is very rewarding, then you can tell august007 troll to shove it!

[rO.oster]

Nitrates? Thats what water changes are for. Your wasting your money if you do anything else.

 

This has some validity to it, but doing more (building a refugium for growing chateo, protein skimmer, carbon, filterfloss) makes it much much much harder for your tank to start sliding downhill.

 

insurance mate.

[harmini]

wow.

 

the information is flying around, what to do? more research, of course. Take everyone's advice with a grain of salt (like was said earlier, learn whats good advice and whats bad), then use the search tool or browse forums until you find your answer.

 

I bought my new BC29 a week ago at a garage sale. It is still sitting unopened in its shipping carton as I am researching and reading and reading and reading some more. I fully expect to wait another 30 days or more before I even think about adding water. I have a loose leaf notebook and I have been printing pages for a week, starting with the Glossary of Terms and Nano-Reef articles. I then highlight the points of interest so I can find them again.

 

Some Items I have read about seem very logical and also have many favorable comments. The first of these is the In-Tank Media Basket and Fuge Basket. I have "bought in" to the theory on these 2 items and have ordered them from StevieT. I do not plan to install a skimmer, based on what I have read here and other forums.

 

I am totally lost when it comes to keeping stock tank lighting or replacing with upgrades so I will continue to read and research. Same with cooling fans as I guess they are kind of interdependent. I think I will ad a Koralia 750 and need to order a heater.

 

I have never done a reef type tank but did have (3) 30 gallon fish only salt tanks about 20 years ago so I am not a total newbie. My approach to this AIO is to take my time, do it right and do it only once (I know I am dreaming).

[asstastic]

BTW , why would you mod your biocube? Take out carbon? Take out some Bio balls? I mean why buy it then. It was made that way for a good reason. You could have bought a regular tank and modded it any way that suited your needs. You could have bought any filter and a tank for a fraction of the price. Biocube does, well, what it says it does.

 

you buy it because it looks really good and an all in one with closed hood and lights. it wasnt made 100% for saltwater ie. the bioballs... the new biocube had a spot on the back with no paint so if you have saltwater you can make that chamber a refugium instead of having bioballs. you take out the stock carbon and run chemi pure(best way to describe it is carbon and lots of really good voodoo)

[rO.oster]

I fully expect to wait another 30 days or more before I even think about adding water.

 

My approach to this AIO is to take my time, do it right and do it only once (I know I am dreaming).

 

I actually wish I waited another month before adding water. (I already waitited 6 months, couldnt wait no moe!) I wish I would have played with my rockscape more, and created an even better setup. Becuase once you fill it up, the bacteria and life start growing, and constantly switching stuf around in yoru tank does not allow things to grow.

 

Just think about it this way, water changes and water is the blood and life of your tank. Once you put it in, your off to the races. Keep it fresh!