LynkUK Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 Day 42 Update. Not much to report. Prepared 10 gals of saltwater ready for a water change. I have a feeling the cycle maybe stalling. I'm not doing any regular ammonia addition (apart from the beginning of the cycle), but when I do add any it's being processed within 24 hrs. Nitrites are holding firm at no less than 12 ppm...sometimes higher. May just do a 50% water change to see if it kick starts the cycle into something...well, something different. Just a heads up on the Tunze Osmolator...it rocks. Perfect for the BC 29. Keeps my back chamber water level within a 1/4 inch. This weekends tasks. Water change, drill extra hole in back of hood for skimmer power cord and program some sockets and alarms for the Apex. Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Nice tank and equipment. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 FTS with light? Here you go...still not much to see. Day 43 fishless cycle full tank shot... Link to comment
Idaho ken Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Great thread! I am about 80 percent sure my wife has purchased the Coralife 29 as a Christmas present for me lol, so this will definitely aid my build! I Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 25, 2014 Author Share Posted December 25, 2014 Well its Christmas eve and I want to wish everybody Happy Holidays! Great thread! I am about 80 percent sure my wife has purchased the Coralife 29 as a Christmas present for me lol, so this will definitely aid my build! I Hoping you get what your wishing for Ken. I know that I have a Vortech battery backup under the tree from my wife...I wrapped it LOL! As the New Year approaches my mind has started to turn to long term stocking plans. At the moment, thinking a pair of Snowflake Clowns, Tailspot Blenny, Shrimp/Goby pair and maybe one other. Coral ideas are becoming more defined but not finalized. I certainly would like the upper half of the rockwork to be SPS, with the lower half being softy dominated...(subject to change). ...anyways, Merry Christmas everybody!! Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 27, 2014 Author Share Posted December 27, 2014 Belated Update. Tested Nitrites on Christmas Day and they were down to zero Yesterday, I put the skimmer in the second rear chamber and started it up with no airflow. My reasoning is to shorten a break in period by building up a slime coat on it for when I do start to use it. Secondly, I wanted to see just how much heat this tank is generating with everything running. At the moment the tank is averaging 79 degrees with a fluctuation between 78.5 to 80 degrees...so not too bad. pH is running at about 7.9, which is a bit better than I expected at this part of the cycle. Today a 50% water change to bring Nitrates down and possibly a second 50% water change tomorrow, depending on Nitrate readings...which are pretty high. Embarrassingly high, in all honesty. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 Yesterdays 50% water change went as planned and now reading 25 ppm on Nitrates. So, the plan is, from now on, 5 gal water changes once a week for the next few weeks. No sign of Diatoms or algae showing at the moment, but I will keep feeding the tank a pinch of food a day. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 No real updates today for the tank...I've just let it do it's thing today. One thing I thought I would do, is show how I have the rear chambers configured.I found out, at the beginning of this quest, that we hear of plenty of BioCube reef tanks, but the actual nitty gritty of equipment installation etc is lacking when it comes to informative pictures. So, in the name of good will I thought I would post some images. First picture as you can see is the return chamber....pretty cramped. As can be seen, I designed and made a custom acrylic water feed bracket for the the ATO. Acrylic design and fabrication that puts inTank to shame Also I cut some silicone mat to rest on the bottom of the chamber to reduce return pump vibration. Second image is the first and second chamber... As can be seen, a pretty standard affair as far as chambers 1 and 2 go. Link to comment
sirstan51 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Man, what a methodical tank build and well done! You have put together a really nice system. With so much automation, I wonder what you'll tinker with once you actually get it stocked? Are you already looking at a larger tank for a build years from now? I'll keep up on this thread, and as an ode to you, try to be 1/2 as strategic on my old school Aquapod 24g. I go kind of quickly, then back off to not just spoil any progress... Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Man, what a methodical tank build and well done! You have put together a really nice system. With so much automation, I wonder what you'll tinker with once you actually get it stocked? Are you already looking at a larger tank for a build years from now? I'll keep up on this thread, and as an ode to you, try to be 1/2 as strategic on my old school Aquapod 24g. I go kind of quickly, then back off to not just spoil any progress... Haha, I'm keeping an eye on whats available as far as larger tanks are concerned. Even now I have a fair idea of what I would like, just from what I've learnt already from this build. This tank was a long time in the making so I had time to afford the quality equpment like the Apex, Vortech and NanoBox upgrade. Not only that it taught me patience with the project....which has certainly helped during the cycle Link to comment
LynkUK Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Just a quick update: WOW! Nitrates down to 10 ppm already. Lights are now on a full schedule (including moon phase), skimmer is running fully now and micro bubbles have virtually cleared within 24 hrs of turning on the air flow even though there's no crap to collect. Still only have filter floss in the media basket and will keep it like that till just before stock is introduced. No sign of Diatoms or algae yet. Link to comment
Cousin Eddie 420 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 LynkUK, following along....great thread. In the midst of a slow and methodical BC 29 build myself and I appreciate the level of detail and photos! Keep em coming. Hope to have my tank by end of Jan! It's nice to compare my plan with what you've got going on, even though I'm about 3-6 months behind you...lol. I have my own build thread going as well....feel free to follow along. Best wishes to all for a safe and prosperous 2015! Peace CE420 Link to comment
Idaho ken Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Great updates! Got a question though. I noticed you put your Skimmer after your inTank media basket.....does it matter which comes first, skimmer or media? Also, are you running water "deeper" than the "max" line? Just wondering if it really is "max" and why? Ken Link to comment
LynkUK Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 LynkUK, following along....great thread. In the midst of a slow and methodical BC 29 build myself and I appreciate the level of detail and photos! Keep em coming. Hope to have my tank by end of Jan! It's nice to compare my plan with what you've got going on, even though I'm about 3-6 months behind you...lol. I have my own build thread going as well....feel free to follow along. Best wishes to all for a safe and prosperous 2015! Peace CE420 Many thanks,and likewise a very happy new year to you also. I'll be sure to follow your build also Hey I remember 6 months ago and just getting to the end of any cycle was a pipe dream...stay in there! Great updates! Got a question though. I noticed you put your Skimmer after your inTank media basket.....does it matter which comes first, skimmer or media? Also, are you running water "deeper" than the "max" line? Just wondering if it really is "max" and why? Ken Hi Ken, The media basket has to come first, as it's the only way to force water through the media with the way the rear chambers are set up using a Tunze skimmer. Some skimmers can fit in the first chamber before the media basket, and that is also fine. I think the min and max lines on the Biocube, are there for the default trickle filter design that comes standard with the Biocube. Once you start modding the Biocube and ditching that trickle filter design, what really dictates the water level in chambers one and two is the Protein skimmer. Even without a skimmer I would probably run the water level a bit lower, but still way above the max line. Link to comment
toned Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Awesome build! Can't wait to see where you go with it! I got a quick Q for you, in the parts list, you've said you have an IM Mini Reactor, but I didn't see it in the back. Which chamber do you plan on putting it into? Link to comment
Idaho ken Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 How/Where are you running your ATO? I am wanting to install a system, have no Sump other than what's behind the tank. Ken Link to comment
LynkUK Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Awesome build! Can't wait to see where you go with it! I got a quick Q for you, in the parts list, you've said you have an IM Mini Reactor, but I didn't see it in the back. Which chamber do you plan on putting it into? Theres not enough bioload to start running it yet, but eventually I'm hoping to squeeze it into chamber 1. How/Where are you running your ATO? I am wanting to install a system, have no Sump other than what's behind the tank. Ken I have the ATO switches in chamber 3. The water reservoir I have stored at the botom of the stand in a 3 1/2 gal container. The switches can only really go in Chamber 3 or 2, as this is where evaporation will affect water levels. Link to comment
Idaho ken Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Sounds good. I'm thinking about going with either the Tunze 3152 System, not sure about the pump though, as I want it to fit into a 5 gallon water jug without cutting off the top (screw lid). I may have to use a different container type if it doesn't fit. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Sounds good. I'm thinking about going with either the Tunze 3152 System, not sure about the pump though, as I want it to fit into a 5 gallon water jug without cutting off the top (screw lid). I may have to use a different container type if it doesn't fit. This what I used - The Container Store: 13.21 qt version. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 OK, I have a slight problem. Now, before I start I'm just going to state that the last thing I'm going to do is chase parameters before totally understanding the situation. The issue: pH drop when the skimmer is runnning. Without the skimmer I'm getting a pH of about 7.9 during the day. In all honesty it was what I expected - winter, heating on, windows closed would lead to elevated CO2 levels indoors. Running the skimmer drops the pH to about 7.75 - 7.8. Now saying that my Alk and Calcium levels are good and on target with the Red Sea Coral Pro salt I'm using. This leads me to think that skimming is driving into the water column the CO2 that is elevated within the home. 3 options open to me: Accept the lower pH levels caused by environment and just monitor stability at those levels CO2 scrubber Lime water addition added to top off "1" I'm happy with as long as levels don't drop lower than they are. "2" is an option and my preferred choice if a remedy is required. "3" is still a choice that could be even more beneficial once the tank gets really stocked up. I'll monitor things closly over the coming weeks, but certainly am still open to suggestions. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Time for an Update. Well, pH seems to be leveling out at an average of 7.9. Not too worried as it's pretty stable, and the house is closed up because of the cold weather. On New Years day my patience broke and purchased 3 Blue Legged Hermits to test the waters. I have been feeding them pellet food every other day...although I am starting to see a diatom bloom kicking off in the last 3 days. Well, I say "bloom" but I think the flow around the tank is so good from the Vortech, it's only appearing in small patches. I may be tempted to add a couple of hardy corals and add to the CUC this weekend and see how things go. Although, I can't fore see any major problems as water parameters are stable and within a good range. Take it slow and monitor closely... Link to comment
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