Xanthine's Biocube 16 - the journey continues

[banasophia]

Looks really great, now I want a cespitularia for my clowns!

 

And check it out, Reef Hobbyist has an article in the current issue about dissolved oxygen... Haven’t read it yet, but thought I’d post it here for you guys too since we were just discussing:

https://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/

[icatchsnook]

Thanks for the article @banasophia!  The section discussing the DO relationship with pH is definitely affirming my thoughts regarding the closed lid biocube systems.  Another interesting point they brought up was the surface area to volume ratio of the system, which for a cube shaped tank is lower than most other geometries. 

 

I think that by running the coralife skimmer continuously it is maintaining the max DO in the system throughout the day and night, probably just due to the fact that the skimmer is designed for up to 32gal but mine is running in a 16gal.  I have not really had the time this week to test pH in morning and again night to see if there is any detectable swing, but am planning to do this soon.  Back a while ago, I was running a small computer fan at the back openings of the hood where the wires pass through and this did lower the temp of the tank but not sure how much it did for increasing DO.  The issue I am finding now with the skimmer online is that the tank temp is swinging between 79-80F which is a bit higher than I used to keep it which was 77-78F.  I went ahead and purchased the Steve's LED kit for my 16gal and am going to get that installed and run it for a while to see where the temp stabilizes, but for the time being I am observing enough of a good effect on the corals since bringing the skimmer online that I'll keep it running and work on getting the temp down a bit.

[banasophia]

2 hours ago, icatchsnook said:

Thanks for the article @banasophia!  The section discussing the DO relationship with pH is definitely affirming my thoughts regarding the closed lid biocube systems.  Another interesting point they brought up was the surface area to volume ratio of the system, which for a cube shaped tank is lower than most other geometries. 

 

I think that by running the coralife skimmer continuously it is maintaining the max DO in the system throughout the day and night, probably just due to the fact that the skimmer is designed for up to 32gal but mine is running in a 16gal.  I have not really had the time this week to test pH in morning and again night to see if there is any detectable swing, but am planning to do this soon.  Back a while ago, I was running a small computer fan at the back openings of the hood where the wires pass through and this did lower the temp of the tank but not sure how much it did for increasing DO.  The issue I am finding now with the skimmer online is that the tank temp is swinging between 79-80F which is a bit higher than I used to keep it which was 77-78F.  I went ahead and purchased the Steve's LED kit for my 16gal and am going to get that installed and run it for a while to see where the temp stabilizes, but for the time being I am observing enough of a good effect on the corals since bringing the skimmer online that I'll keep it running and work on getting the temp down a bit.

Yeah I still need to read the article but sounds informative!

 

I think 79-80 is fine for the temp. 

[Cpl_Wiggles]

I have been out of the loop for awhile but have been extremely impressed and inspired by your perseverance and determination over these past two years. How is the tank looking?

[Xanthine]

Sad update. I had to unexpectedly leave my house and my marriage and move to a different state, and the tanks and associated stuff did not fit into my car. I don't know what happened to them and I'm heartbroken in more ways than one.