Nittos Biocube 16 Tank Thread

[MSunkin23]

Biocube 16 LED Thread

 

 

Specs:

Biocube 16 LED

~16 lbs Aragalive Fiji Pink Sand (slightly rinsed with saltwater)

~14 lbs BRS Dry Reef Saver rock (used epoxy and coat hanger to stack)

Koralia Nano 425gph (replaced)

Aqamai KPS

Cobalt 75W Neotherm Heater (back chamber 1 false bottom removed)

Cycle between, Purigen, Chemi-pure blue, and Chemi-pure Elite

 

Livestock

Clownfish x2

Hermits x 3

Turban Snail x 2

Certith Snail x 1

Duncan Coral

Torch coral

Ricordea x 4

Toadstool Leather

Hammer Coral

Acan

Green Star Polyp

Fire Shrimp

 

Maintenance:
I do a ~5gal water change every ~2 weeks

 

 

 

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome back @MSunkin23, solid setup you’ve put together!

 

What sorts of details on the new Biocube design do you like compared to the old one you had before?

[MSunkin23]

Hey @Christopher Marks - Thanks. Well I have a couple of first impressions:

 

1. Lights are much better than BC14 for people who don't want to upgrade to AI Prime or Kessil.
                 -Lights are much more powerful than CFL's I bet LPS gonna do great with this light.
                 -Timer is pretty good bonus, but could be a little easier to program. 

                 -I ran some SPS in my Biocube 14 I am sure I can get away with some birds nest or hydnophora up top

2. Chamber two has a removal media rack. Its not as good as inTank but certainly sufficient where you probably don't need inTank

                 -At a bare minimum you can easily shove some filter floss in there and you are set. Leaving a rack for Purigen or Chemipure if needed.

3. One large issue I had with the 14 was overheating with the top. I remember putting frozen water bottles to cool it down. I don't suspect this to be as large of an issue with LED 16

4. Wiring behind the tank is much more streamlined and less bulky. 

5. Refugium area of chamber two is much more cut out to put an LED light for Chaeto. Definitely a better design for that.

 

Some things to consider
- The additional height (2inches worth) wasn't really needed in my opinion. I think tall tanks suited for reef tanks don't really make sense from a light penetration perspective. However the lights seem more powerful so maybe not a huge deal comparing the 14 vs 16. 

- Chamber 1 false bottom is really in there compared to the 14. I had to basically pry it open with a screwdriver to get it out.

- Flow seems similar. I recommend an MJ1200 or supplemental koralia nano

Hope this maybe helps some people looking at the BC16 LED. So far I would say this is a fantastic option for people looking for an AIO with integrated top. Glad to see Coralife did something good with this product line.

[Jackal227]

9 hours ago, MSunkin23 said:

 

1. Lights are much better than BC14 for people who don't want to upgrade to AI Prime or Kessil.
                 -Lights are much more powerful than CFL's I bet LPS gonna do great with this light.
                 -Timer is pretty good bonus, but could be a little easier to program. 

                 -I ran some SPS in my Biocube 14 I am sure I can get away with some birds nest or hydnophora up top

I have a couple birdsnest frags at the same height as your taller rock, and I can confirm that they do grow well with the stock led lights.  All my LPS have done well so far too.

 

Which Koralia powerhead did you go with? 

 

I look forward to following your build. 

[MSunkin23]

Hi Jackal,

 

I have seen your tank thread, I like the shelf. I have the Koralia nano 240gph. I was hoping it was a little stronger but I think the 425gph might be too much - @Jackal227 is it too much for your tank?. I like the sand to blow around a little, but not seeing that with the Caribsea Fiji at least during cycle.

 

If I did it again I would get the 425gph, but I will live with the 240gph.

 

Best,

Mike

 

 

[Jackal227]

1 hour ago, MSunkin23 said:

Hi Jackal,

 

I have seen your tank thread, I like the shelf. I have the Koralia nano 240gph. I was hoping it was a little stronger but I think the 425gph might be too much - @Jackal227 is it too much for your tank?. I like the sand to blow around a little, but not seeing that with the Caribsea Fiji at least during cycle.

 

If I did it again I would get the 425gph, but I will live with the 240gph.

 

Best,

Mike

 

 

I've been happy with the 425.  I originally was going to get the 240 but the 425 was on sale for the same price so I got the larger one.   

 

I believe it works well because I have it bouncing off of the front glass, and it moves circular around the tank.  This means all the corals are receiving indirect flow instead of getting blasted.

 

I have the fine Oolite sand and it stays in place, but I can see detritus swirl above the sandbed.

[MSunkin23]

@Jackal227 - I upgraded to the 425gph and I feel a bit happier with the flow. I know from experience flow normalizes once the tank matures, so I was concerned the flow was so low with the single 240gph. As long as my planned frogspawn and clownfish are cool with the flow, should be the right move.

 

I had the original Koralia nano 240gph, and am pretty sure the flow was much different on that model. Maybe they changed something...

 

Thanks for the input.

[MSunkin23]

Not a week after initial setup, but wanted to update as things are settling.

 

So far, letting the bacteria and flow do its job. Starting to actually see some red rock coloration on the BRS reef saver (yellow circle). I am pretty surprised to see this so fast after a week.

 

Already thinking about stocking and CUC, but probably going to be some time before I get there. Likely aiming for two snowflake clowns.

[MSunkin23]

Added some Dr. Tims Ammonium Chloride this week. Took two damn weeks to ship on Amazon. Don't recommend Gatzies as an amazon vendor...

 

Went to a great LFS today and saw some awesome snowflake clowns, frags, and blood red fire shrimp. Temptation aside, I am going to hang tight until biological filter is robust as hell.

 

I added what was supposed to be ~2ppm Ammonium Chloride and ended up being around 3ppm.

 

Day 0

NH3 = 0ppm

NO2 = 0ppm

NO3 = 0ppm

 

Day 1

NH3 = 3ppm (added)

NO2 = 0ppm

NO3 = 0ppm

 

Day 2

NH3 = 1ppm

NO2 = 1ppm

NO3 = 20-30ppm

 

Testing again tomorrow and potentially adding more ammonium chloride if NH3 or NO2 below 0.5ppm.

 

 

[Christopher Marks]

Let the great cycle begin! ?

 

Your patience will pay off ?

[MSunkin23]

Hey Guys,

 

I went out to get a cleanup crew and my impatience struck when I saw a nice snowflake clown and a small ocellaris... I guess we will really test if my nitrogen cycle is game. I can remove 2ppm ammonia/nitrite in 24hours so I think I should be okay here.

 

 

[12scanlon]

I have the biocube 16 and really am disappointed with the lights. Maybe I don’t know how they work or something, but I can’t seem to get blue and white lights together? What light setting do u have on in the first picture because that is about what I’m looking for. Btw ur tank looks ??! Way better aquascape than me!!?

[MSunkin23]

Thanks @12scanlon

 

I thought the lights are pretty good. I can't remember what light is in the first picture, but I did figure out a way to keep all the lights on for a couple of hours a day. The timer is a little tricky, but I actually really like this feature. The three modes can be blended for a simple setup.

 

Light LC1 - These are the daylights

Light LC2 - Beauty Max lights with sunrise feature that rise of 30mins

Light LC3 - "Moon Lights" or blue light which rise over 60mins

 

The key to maximum light is to have all three on at once. Personally I like the Beauty Max on by themselves because it gives a nice UV effect to the tanks. This is approx the scheme I run, but I am running low light for now as my tank is still becoming established:

 

LC1: 3:00-6:00pm

LC2: 1:00pm to 6:00pm

LC3: 4:30pm to 10:00pm

 

In this mode, the moonlights are on by themselves from 6:00pm to 10:00pm, and all lights are on between 3:00 and 6:00

 

Hope this helps

[Jackal227]

10 hours ago, 12scanlon said:

I have the biocube 16 and really am disappointed with the lights. Maybe I don’t know how they work or something, but I can’t seem to get blue and white lights together? What light setting do u have on in the first picture because that is about what I’m looking for. Btw ur tank looks ??! Way better aquascape than me!!?

 The light timer is confusing at first.  LC1 is your whites and LC2 are your blues.  If you set them to run during the same time periods then they will both be on.

9 hours ago, MSunkin23 said:

Thanks @12scanlon

 

I thought the lights are pretty good. I can't remember what light is in the first picture, but I did figure out a way to keep all the lights on for a couple of hours a day. The timer is a little tricky, but I actually really like this feature. The three modes can be blended for a simple setup.

 

Light LC1 - These are the daylights

Light LC2 - Beauty Max lights with sunrise feature that rise of 30mins

Light LC3 - "Moon Lights" or blue light which rise over 60mins

 

The key to maximum light is to have all three on at once. Personally I like the Beauty Max on by themselves because it gives a nice UV effect to the tanks. This is approx the scheme I run, but I am running low light for now as my tank is still becoming established:

 

LC1: 3:00-6:00pm

LC2: 1:00pm to 6:00pm

LC3: 4:30pm to 10:00pm

 

In this mode, the moonlights are on by themselves from 6:00pm to 10:00pm, and all lights are on between 3:00 and 6:00

 

Hope this helps

 Is that 3am or 3pm for LC1?  If it's 3pm then you will probably want a longer cycle when you have corals.  Without corals the shorter times will help keep algae down. 

 

LC1 and LC2 should overlap 6-8 hrs a day to provide the PAR needed for corals.  Here is what I've been running: 

LC1 (Daylights):  11:00 am to 7:00 pm

LC2 (Sunrise / Sunset):  10:30 am to 7:00 pm

LC3 (Moon Lights):  7:00 am to Midnight

[12scanlon]

Just set up my new lighting schedule. I only stay up till 9:30 so that’s why they go off so early.

LC1 8:00 am - 9:00 pm

LC2 7:00 am - 9:00pm 

LC3 2:00 pm- 9:30pm

tell me what u think ?? Also why does the LC1 light make ur tank look almost greenish?

[MSunkin23]

Hey @Jackal227,

 

The LC1 is 3pm, I am keeping the lights on for a short duration as I am still establishing the tank. No corals yet, maybe in a month or so I will add ricordeas or zoanthids.

 

Agreed I would need to up the light cycle when I get the corals in there.

 

@12scanlon, looks good. But you might be a little heavy on the lighting. I don't use LC1 by itself because it looks too bland for my liking. I would consider doing a cycle like Jackals but starting and ending earlier. He has a good structure on his.

[MSunkin23]

New Torch addition, I hope I can keep this guy healthy as he arrived from Aqua SD!

 

 

[12scanlon]

32 minutes ago, MSunkin23 said:

New Torch addition, I hope I can keep this guy healthy as he arrived from Aqua SD!

 

 

What kind of torch? Nuclear? I have one similar.

[MSunkin23]

Yes I believe they call it Nuclear Torch, but can’t remember. Got some other corals too that are still settling in.

[12scanlon]

Just now, MSunkin23 said:

Yes I believe they call it Nuclear Torch, but can’t remember. Got some other corals too that are still settling in.

Post some pics would love to see them...

[NanoTrav]

I had the same issue with my Dr Tims and Gatzies. It was 11 or 12 days. So frustrating. I gave a bad review and got my money back. Though it was only 5 bucks. Like the scape!

[MSunkin23]

I have a couple of shots to share here. The duncan closed up for whatever reason when I took out my camera, things are still settling in. Hoping the GSP takes over that rock.

 

Need to determine what coral is going to go up to (maybe SPS or Hydnophora) and the rock at bottom right. 

 

Ricordea Yuma

Florida Ricordea

GSP

Duncan

Torch

[MSunkin23]

Wanted to put together a better update. I lost my Torch which I was bummed about. Definitely feel I could have saved it if it was a branching torch, but because it was a wall torch, once the brown jelly started it was over. At some point, I also lost my snowflake clown due to eating issues. I happened to find a nice "gladiator" clown to replace him named "Maui"

 

I also have recently added:

2 Florida Ricordea

1 Branching Hammer Coral

1 Candy Cane

1 Toadstool Leather

 

Here are some pictures and FTS as of 5/17/2018

[MSunkin23]

A couple of photo updates.

 

As you can see I am battling some algae. I am using some Fluconozole to see if will help. I had a clownfish refuse to eat which forced me to overfeed the tank several types of food. That clown didn't make it, so only down to one clown and a bunch of algae.

 

Otherwise, tank running great and corals growing well. Expecting some new goods in next week for Aqua SD to finish off my coral strategy. Only need a clearner shrimp and another fish after that!

[MSunkin23]

Wanted to put up another update after my Fluconazole treatment was done, and I received a nice new order from AquaSD. I had some bad luck last time, but I am a fan of AquaSD, very responsive and I think they do a good job there.

 

I added a new torch coral after my last one developed brown jelly. This one has much shorter tentacles and I hope they extend out over time and acclimation.