BioCube 14 back after three years

[Nolesx4]

Well it’s back and running after the crash of 2015. 

 

For the rock work I reused the BRS pukani rock from the prior build. I used a wet saw and flat spotted the the base rocks so they would sit smoothly on the glass. Using super glue gel, glued the rest to create caves and overhangs. This gave me plenty of spots for the future corals. I’m going bare bottom to reduce maintenance. 

 

Flow in tank is is provided by two Koriella Nano 425’s mounted on the rear side glass flowing behind the rock. With their output and the stock return, I’ve created a vertical gyre which is creating a nice flow throughout the tank. 

 

Lighting is supplied by an Asta20 Marine. I got it cheap on Amazon and like it so far. I know that I will be upgrading it in the future, but it’s working good now. 

 

After some thought and design, I decided to add a sump to the system this go around. I got a Eshoppe Nano overflow and have it set up in the middle compartment. The sump return is a Quiet One 2200 and pumps thru a DIY filter housing carbon, GFO and Purigen bags. It temporarily returns thru zip tied tubing to the top of the tank. 

The sump is a 10 gallon tank with three compartments made with 1/4” smoked acrylic. Water drains into the back portion thru a tray with Poly Bio filters. This section also has my DIY protein skimmer made from a Simply Lemonade bottle and some PVC. The water flows to the middle return area. This also houses the original BioCube pump which drives my refugium chaeto spinner. Three directional sets of jets keep the chaeto suspended and spinning nicely. In the same chamber I have a box of MarinePure balls. 

 

I set up the system using RedSea Pro salt Feb 3rd and used Dr Tim’s for a fishless cycle. It took just shy of two weeks to get to zero ammonia and nitrite. With a water change after a month, the nitrates were 5ppm. 

I added the cleanup crew and chaeto Mar 18th and the chaeto has grown from a golf ball to soft ball size and has kept nitrates and phosphate at 5ppm and 0ppm respectively. I have also seeded the system with pods which have multiplied and are visible on the class and  water stream. 

 

So after three months of letting the tank stabilize, and checking what our LFS have, I will be getting livestock this weekend. 

 

[Tamberav]

Really nice start. I love all the DIY and that cheato ball. It looks to be growing differently from the flow and I bet helps keep it free of any debris. 

[Type-H20]

Like your rock work and it all looks well thought out.  Will be following along.  

[1891Bro]

Great start. Looking forward to more. 

[Nolesx4]

So I’ve added a temporary DIY auto top off using a float switch, parasitic pump and some bent PVC pipe. Used thin wall 3/4” PVC and cut a 1/2” slit out of the center line. Then made two cuts heated and bent it out for the floats mounting tab. The piece is held on by friction and some zip ties. 

Hooked it up to a 9v power supply and is working fine so far. Will watch over the next few days to make sure it’s filling to the right level. 

[Nolesx4]

Had a hiccup over the weekend with the salinity. After I installed the sump and ATO, even though I had 35ppt reading in the tank and the water I added to the sump, keeping the original level in the return section, the salinity dropped to 25ppt. I have no explanation for it. I can only think that the cats and dogs may be drinking out of the sump. And the ATO diluted the tank. 

Well after a few adjustments over the course of a few days, we’re back up to 35ppt. I’ve been testing every two days and it’s holding steady. 

So as of this weekend, a few fishies will be coming home unless I screw up again. 

I did get another great deal on 2qts of MarinePure balls and added them to the inlet side of the sump. I believe that I’ve got over kill on the bio media, but you never know. 

I did notice some GHA on one of the old pieces of live rock from the last build. But I have been operating the lights manually and have had them on far to long than I should have. So I hooked up the old timer and were good to go. 

The nitrates have been holding steady at <5ppm and phosphate are just starting to register on the test. So I changed out the carbon and phosguard Wednesday. Tested today and phosphate is all but gone. 

My granddaughter has been going crazy watching just the snails move around. She’s going to freak once the fish arrive this weekend.    

[coryscritch]

Is that a diy skimmer too? 

[Nolesx4]

Yes it is. I need to redo the cup mount as it’s to shallow to hold much. 

[Nolesx4]

So I’ve got three Chromis as the first fish. Kinda amazed the bright blue they show compared to the greenish silver at the shop. 

They’ve already eaten some brine shrimp and are swimming together. 

[Nolesx4]

So I got another DIY bug up my bum done…

a magnetic stirring plate for my water testing. 

A small old video card fan, a PWM controller, 9v wall wort mounted to a piece of smoked acrylic scrap from my sump dividers. 

[Christopher Marks]

Now that's clever! So many neat DIY solutions @Nolesx4, I love it! I never would have thought to put magnets on an old fan to make a stir plate. 👏

 

Welcome back to the community 😊

 

 

[Nolesx4]

Thanks! 

I just got done doing water tests, what a difference!! I don’t have to shake the vials, I just focus on getting good drops. 

Its like night and day for those of us using API kits. 

[Christopher Marks]

I bet, what a nice device to have! I wonder if other hobbyists would be interested in having a little stir plate of their own?

[Nolesx4]

I learnt the technique when I built a large version for making yeast starters for my home brewing. 

 

Once I get all the bugs worked out and finish the enclosure, I just might start selling them. 

 

I’m going to order some white acrylic to do the top for better color accuracy. I had to slip some white card stock under the vial to see it. 

[Nolesx4]

Too much free time on my days off. Added a volt meter I had laying around to the plate. 

[Nolesx4]

Tank Update:

So all my parameters have been consistent, knock wood, since I added the Chromis…

Nitrate-0

Phosphate-0.03-ish

Calcium-430

dKh-9

 

So I decided to clean the refugium. I took out my balls and washed them good. Removed any hair and stuck them in the skimmer section. I wanted to get rid of the detritus trap under the balls and just go bare so it’s easy to suck it clean. 

The chaeto has been staying nice and green but has stayed a consistent size of a baseball. I know this is due to low nitrate & phosphate. 

 

It’s been almost four months and I’ve taken this one slower that the last time. I think it’s about time to get a couple of coral to brighten up the tank. 

[Christopher Marks]

Glad to hear the chromis are doing well two weeks in!

 

I won't comment on your clean refugium balls however 🤣

[Type-H20]

On 5/23/2018 at 7:13 PM, Nolesx4 said:

So I got another DIY bug up my bum done…

a magnetic stirring plate for my water testing. 

A small old video card fan, a PWM controller, 9v wall wort mounted to a piece of smoked acrylic scrap from my sump dividers. 

I'm not following this diy device.  What exactly is happening in that bottom pic?

[Nolesx4]

7 hours ago, Type-H20 said:

I'm not following this diy device.  What exactly is happening in that bottom pic?

It is a stirring device for tritiation type water tests. It has a small magnetic bar that couples to the magnets on the fan to stir the chemicals in the test vial so you don’t have to cap and shake them. 

The bottom picture is of the volt meter that is showing the voltage going to the fan giving me a reference point for speed adjustment, it reads up to 9.6v. 

I know that it needs to read 3.5 for the fan to start turning and couple with the stirring bar. For 5ml vials, API test kits, I can dial it up to 9v, and Red Sea vials up to 7.5v, causing a mini vortex of stirring power. Any higher and the bar jumps off. 

I usually set it for 6v and 5v respectively. 

I’m working on adding a LED light to help see the color change reaction point. I’m using a small LED flashlight now and you can really see the difference between one drop or solution going from blue to yellow to bright yellow which the test says to look for. 

[Nolesx4]

So I walk into the living room and hear the ATO pump running, running too long. I look at the water level and it’s right. Lift up the lid to the ATO tank, only two gallons out of five!!! 

Drying up the wet carpet around the tank. After my work on the tank yesterday, the ATO feed had slipped out of the connector and was pumping directly to the floor!!!

 

On another note, after only a day, the amount of crap in the bottom of my refugium is crazy. It’s going to be easy to suck it out and keep it clean.