Jackal's Biocube 16 LED - 3 Years In and Counting!

[MSunkin23]

Man, I love my Aqamai KPS, my Koralia is now used as a salt mixing powerhead. Crazy how tiny and strong it is. Also feel like the flow is much wider angle than the koralia.

 

From time to time I have issues modifying my program, but its been months since I have needed to go into the app. Maybe they updated it.

 

 

[Jackal227]

6 hours ago, MSunkin23 said:

Man, I love my Aqamai KPS, my Koralia is now used as a salt mixing powerhead. Crazy how tiny and strong it is. Also feel like the flow is much wider angle than the koralia.

 

From time to time I have issues modifying my program, but its been months since I have needed to go into the app. Maybe they updated it.

 

 

I haven't had time to really dive into the program yet.  I've been running the LPS 50 liter program which maxes out at about 30%.  It seems to be doing good so far.   How high are you running yours?

[MSunkin23]

On 5/21/2019 at 5:43 AM, Jackal227 said:

I haven't had time to really dive into the program yet.  I've been running the LPS 50 liter program which maxes out at about 30%.  It seems to be doing good so far.   How high are you running yours?

You know its strange, over time I have now cranked mine up to 40-45% max, but started off at max of about 30%. I am not sure if this is because my tank is filling in (my assumption), or I need to clean the powerhead or something.

 

I built a manual program for mine, and never looked at the LPS50. I might give that a shot. Basically my program runs smooth/constant at night, and then about 35-45% wave mode when the lights are on.

I do have a 1hour 50% constant flow at night as a tornado of sorts (most polyps receded) which gets rid of any detritus on the sandbed or rocks.

[Jackal227]

I stopped by the LFS yesterday to pick up some new snails.  I added 4 Trochus Snails and 2 tiny Bumblebee Snails.

 

While I was there I saw some cheap frags as well so I picked up: 

 

What looks like Eagle Eye Zoas maybe: 

 

Another unnamed Zoa with some nice pinks and oranges: 

 

Also grabbed a single neon green Trumpet head:

[RoeReef]

Hey Jackal's, This thread is great!  Your tank is awesome! I'm brand new here. I just set my account so that I can follow you.  I have already learned a lot from you and will implement some things to my tank in the future here. I had a bit trouble since my start in March.  Just reset my tank yesterday by getting a new stand that I had issues with the old, adding different rock, getting two clowns, instead of damsels that were too territorial. Added more media such as Chemipure and Matrix, some sponges. Also, skimmer by BioCube. Will do testing today to see what else I need to do. I figured to let things settle for 24 hours. Thanks, for all of the information you have shared so far.

[Krish87]

2 hours ago, RoeReef said:

Hey Jackal's, This thread is great!  Your tank is awesome! I'm brand new here. I just set my account so that I can follow you.  I have already learned a lot from you and will implement some things to my tank in the future here. I had a bit trouble since my start in March.  Just reset my tank yesterday by getting a new stand that I had issues with the old, adding different rock, getting two clowns, instead of damsels that were too territorial. Added more media such as Chemipure and Matrix, some sponges. Also, skimmer by BioCube. Will do testing today to see what else I need to do. I figured to let things settle for 24 hours. Thanks, for all of the information you have shared so far.

Welcome to the BioCube club 🙂 Happy to see that you are all setup! Looking forward to your build thread.

[Jackal227]

10 hours ago, RoeReef said:

Hey Jackal's, This thread is great!  Your tank is awesome! I'm brand new here. I just set my account so that I can follow you.  I have already learned a lot from you and will implement some things to my tank in the future here. I had a bit trouble since my start in March.  Just reset my tank yesterday by getting a new stand that I had issues with the old, adding different rock, getting two clowns, instead of damsels that were too territorial. Added more media such as Chemipure and Matrix, some sponges. Also, skimmer by BioCube. Will do testing today to see what else I need to do. I figured to let things settle for 24 hours. Thanks, for all of the information you have shared so far.

Thank you!  You'll find a lot of good information on this forum.  There are quite a few Biocube 16 builds on here now and many great setups. 

 

 Other than the clowns, what are your plans for the tank? 

[Jackal227]

I've been playing around with the Aquamai KPS programming a little bit.  I'm currently running a schedule based on the LPS 50 liter preset.  It runs mostly between 15 and 30 percent power.  I've upped the values to 20 and 40 percent.  I've kept the same overall layout of the program with an increased power.  It seems to be working well so far. 

 

Also, some new corals showed up today.  I finally have some color for the sides and lower light areas of the tank.  They are still a little upset from the shipping, but here's what came in: 

 

Blueberry Favia:

 

Lemmon Lime Favia:

 

Purple Virus Favia:

 

War Coral:

 

Jack O'Lantern Leptoseris:

 

Bird Of Paradise:

 

Blondie Zoas:

 

19 Months FTS:

[Jackal227]

The new corals are starting to settle in now and show their colors.  Here's some early morning pics under the blues: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wonderboy]

Great shots!

[Jackal227]

7 hours ago, Wonderboy said:

Great shots!

Thank you. 

[Krish87]

Stunning pictures, @Jackal227 🙂 

[Jackal227]

20 hours ago, Krish87 said:

Stunning pictures, @Jackal227 🙂 

Thank you! 

[RoeReef]

On 5/27/2019 at 10:57 PM, Jackal227 said:

Thank you!  You'll find a lot of good information on this forum.  There are quite a few Biocube 16 builds on here now and many great setups. 

 

 Other than the clowns, what are your plans for the tank? 

Hey Jackal227:

 

I have since added Fire Goby's (2), 1 Shrimp, 4 Mexican Snails (they might be too big), had a diatom attack, was advised to get snails, they looked smaller in the store tank. Overall, doing okay. Update coming soon.

[Jackal227]

34 minutes ago, RoeReef said:

Hey Jackal227:

 

I have since added Fire Goby's (2), 1 Shrimp, 4 Mexican Snails (they might be too big), had a diatom attack, was advised to get snails, they looked smaller in the store tank. Overall, doing okay. Update coming soon.

Diatoms are normal for a new tank and will usually go away shortly after.  Those snails should take care of any algae if you have it though. 

[Jackal227]

It looks like the Cerith Snails have been busy.  The last few nights when the blue lights come on I've noticed little specs all over on the glass.  Looking closer they're tiny little Cerith babies around 2 mm in length.  I count at least 20 of these little guys, they're all over. 

[Krish87]

4 hours ago, Jackal227 said:

It looks like the Cerith Snails have been busy.  The last few nights when the blue lights come on I've noticed little specs all over on the glass.  Looking closer they're tiny little Cerith babies around 2 mm in length.  I count at least 20 of these little guys, they're all over. 

Oh wow! 😮 

[banasophia]

On 6/4/2019 at 5:42 AM, Jackal227 said:

The new corals are starting to settle in now and show their colors.  Here's some early morning pics under the blues: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pics!!! I love all your new corals - those zoas are especially amazing!! You may already know about this... I think war corals can develop pretty long sweepers after lights out, so you may want to be sure it has plenty of space. Here’s a YouTube I’ve come across showing the sweepers:

 

 

[Krish87]

Yea, some corals - you know that are aggressive. But I swear I never thought that Lobophyllias can do this . . . 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvjmVVTWSDk

[banasophia]

16 minutes ago, Krish87 said:

Yea, some corals - you know that are aggressive. But I swear I never thought that Lobophyllias can do this . . . 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvjmVVTWSDk

Omg yeah that is freaky!! Good to know!

[Jackal227]

6 hours ago, banasophia said:

Great pics!!! I love all your new corals - those zoas are especially amazing!! You may already know about this... I think war corals can develop pretty long sweepers after lights out, so you may want to be sure it has plenty of space. Here’s a YouTube I’ve come across showing the sweepers:

 

 

I did know that they are somewhat aggressive but those sweepers are definitely longer than I anticipated.  Right now it's got some space around it but I'll keep an eye on it as it grows..

 

6 hours ago, Krish87 said:

Yea, some corals - you know that are aggressive. But I swear I never thought that Lobophyllias can do this . . . 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvjmVVTWSDk

That's crazy!  That thing grew an entire arm and punched the coral next to it. 

[Xanthine]

@Jackal227 - Do you know any more details about your urchin? I'm in love with it and trying to find one and having a hard time finding 'purple spined urchin' that looks like yours. Do you think it's closer to a pincushion urchin or a tuxedo urchin species? Or just a unique one?

Also so excited to be back on this forum and catching up on your tank journal.  Sad to see you had a tank crash too, but inspiring to see you come back from it so strong! 

Sorry I didnt read all the way through yet, but did you end up getting a chiller? I'm having similar issues with the 16 cube running too hot often - even after replacing the hood fan.

[Jackal227]

36 minutes ago, Xanthine said:

@Jackal227 - Do you know any more details about your urchin? I'm in love with it and trying to find one and having a hard time finding 'purple spined urchin' that looks like yours. Do you think it's closer to a pincushion urchin or a tuxedo urchin species? Or just a unique one?

Also so excited to be back on this forum and catching up on your tank journal.  Sad to see you had a tank crash too, but inspiring to see you come back from it so strong! 

Sorry I didnt read all the way through yet, but did you end up getting a chiller? I'm having similar issues with the 16 cube running too hot often - even after replacing the hood fan.

That's how it was labeled at the LFS that I got it from, but looking at pictures I would say that it is definitely a pincushion urchin with purple coloring.  It looks like this one:  https://www.aquariumcreationsonline.net/urchins.html

 

I haven't used a chiller at all.  With the house AC running my tank stays fairly consistent.  It runs at around 81 in the summer and 78 in the winter. 

[banasophia]

1 hour ago, Xanthine said:

@Jackal227 - Do you know any more details about your urchin? I'm in love with it and trying to find one and having a hard time finding 'purple spined urchin' that looks like yours. Do you think it's closer to a pincushion urchin or a tuxedo urchin species? Or just a unique one?

Also so excited to be back on this forum and catching up on your tank journal.  Sad to see you had a tank crash too, but inspiring to see you come back from it so strong! 

Sorry I didnt read all the way through yet, but did you end up getting a chiller? I'm having similar issues with the 16 cube running too hot often - even after replacing the hood fan.

Hi Xanthine! You may have seen my thread about the Chill Solutions chiller I’m using for my Biocube 16 - works great and I’m very happy with the investment. 

 

 

That being said, check out this cool solution this guy recently posted in the Facebook Biocube/Nano group I’m in. He kindly provided details, I’m sure he won’t mind if I share it here:

 

 

 

 

[Jackal227]

1 hour ago, banasophia said:

 

 

 

 

 

Attaching a fan to the back vents is a good cost effective idea.  I've considered something similar before.