Banasophia’s Biocube 16 & IM Nuvo 10 ☀️

[banasophia]

1 hour ago, Nickles said:

Is this the Sicce Syncra Silent 0.5?  Did you have to modify chamber 3 to fit the return?  I was trying to upgrade the return pump in my Biocube 14 and the pump doesn't fit.  I am wondering if I need to remove the divider where the sponge is located.

Oh yes it was the one you said… I didn’t have to modify it in any way to get it to fit, but my tank is a 16 so maybe it’s a little bigger? 

[banasophia]

[banasophia]

Hank, getting some coral hugs:

 

 

[debbeach13]

Great pictures.

[banasophia]

5 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Great pictures.

Thanks, he looked extra cute snuggling in that spot! 

[banasophia]

[debbeach13]

Hi Hank

[banasophia]

16 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Hi Hank

Hank says hi! 🐠👋

[banasophia]

The new Nano Reef Contest is saving tanks already!
 

So… yeah… step one for my Biocube 16 Tank Improvement Challenge was to finally set up the inkbird that has been sitting in my tank supply closet for over 2 years… and I don’t even know what to say… I programmed it and as soon as it started running the alarm started going off because my tank was running at over 84 degrees! 
 

I thought it must be a problem with the calibration, but it’s not. I don’t even know what to say except I’m glad I know now.
 

I have been assuming my chiller was working even though the temp display was messed up… the first digit is readable as a 7, so I figured it was running in the 70’s not up at 80 or above, so the other digits were irrelevant. Well, I made some bad assumptions. 

 

Who knows how long the chiller has been malfunctioning. Luckily I have a cool little gizmo called the Bio-Cool that a guy sent me to test out a while back… I never wanted to risk using it when I got it because it didn’t seem as reliable as the chillers, but I popped it on the back of the tank and I’ve been watching it lower the temp over the last hour and a half and it’s down from over 84 F to 82.5!

 

[banasophia]

Much better! 😅

 

[Looselyhuman]

I've moved towards running my tanks warmer (80-82) than I used to be comfortable with. I think you get better growth at higher temps. So 84 wouldn't freak me out too much.

 

Of course things can go wrong faster when you're at the higher end if the range, so it's good you caught it.

 

Anyway something to keep in mind. Plus you just lowered it 6 degrees from where it's been running very successfully. You might see some changes...

[banasophia]

58 minutes ago, Looselyhuman said:

I've moved towards running my tanks warmer (80-82) than I used to be comfortable with. I think you get better growth at higher temps. So 84 wouldn't freak me out too much.

 

Of course things can go wrong faster when you're at the higher end if the range, so it's good you caught it.

 

Anyway something to keep in mind. Plus you just lowered it 6 degrees from where it's been running very successfully. You might see some changes...

Yeah, we’ll see what happens… luckily this is a very resilient tank! I think 80-82 is fine for two of my three tanks… my 5 gallon has always ranged from 76-82… but above 82 is where I get worried. This tank is basically a sinularia and Kenya tree tank at this point, and bubble algae has gone wild in this past month… I look forward to fixing it back up and getting it so it’s more closely controlled. I’d like to add another fish or two and some crabs once it’s in better shape.
 

The parameters need to be stabilized in this tank as well. I just got a doser for it and I’ll probably set it up this coming weekend. 
 

I plan to set up inkbirds on my other two tanks during the week this week, and water changes will be on Wednesday. 

[banasophia]

Added the nano-reno tag, here we goooo

 

[banasophia]

So it was the first cold day of Fall yesterday and we discovered the heater for our house is not working… I slept on the couch in the family room so I could keep the fire going to keep it from getting too cold for the tanks. I just woke up and looks like everything is faring just fine.
 

Of course I simultaneously found out my heater in the Biocube 16 doesn’t work… when the temp dropped because of the cold house the heater did kick in, but then it seems it got stuck at 86 F and I couldn’t change the temp. I had to use the heater from my water mixing barrel, so I’ll just hold off doing my water changes for the time being since the water will be way too cold.

 

I’m thankful to have the Inkbird in this tank to accurately measure the temp.

 

I didn’t want to order a replacement for my Biocube 16 heater since a major change will be coming soon with this tank… 

 

[banasophia]

Changes will be coming soon to my tanks so I keep looking at my Biocubes, trying to imagine what it will be like to break one down to make way for a new endeavor. I will miss having the dual Biocubes; I do like the coordinated look and I love Biocubes in general.

 

Like @debbeach13 I was given an amazing opportunity to try out @Reef Casa’s all-in-one Studio 12 setup… how could I pass it up? The package arrived today. I’m so excited; I can’t wait to open it up and check it out this weekend!

[debbeach13]

I am so excited for the new set up to start. Even knowing your tank will probably put mine to shame. It will be fun to watch.

Set up is so easy. Are you doing a full transfer from the bio cube to the studio 12?

 

[banasophia]

2 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

I am so excited for the new set up to start. Even knowing your tank will probably put mine to shame. It will be fun to watch.

Set up is so easy. Are you doing a full transfer from the bio cube to the studio 12?

 

Thanks, @debbeach13!! I’m so happy to be joining you and @416Reefer in the Studio 12 club, with all three of us starting around the same time! It’s always great to learn from each other and see the similarities and differences in how people start up, plan, and run their tanks. Your tanks are always awesome! 
 

I’m not sure yet what I will do… keeping an open mind until I see the tank. I’m leaning toward a brand new start. 

[416Reefer]

On 10/27/2022 at 10:22 AM, banasophia said:

Thanks, @debbeach13!! I’m so happy to be joining you and @416Reefer in the Studio 12 club, with all three of us starting around the same time! It’s always great to learn from each other and see the similarities and differences in how people start up, plan, and run their tanks. Your tanks are always awesome! 
 

I’m not sure yet what I will do… keeping an open mind until I see the tank. I’m leaning toward a brand new start. 

Best of luck ! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with ! 

[banasophia]

Well, it’s the end of an era for me, and the beginning of something new. It has been over four and a half years since I started this tank, my first tank. It’s so strange to sit here on my couch and look over to see such emptiness.

 

I never could have imagined how much wonder and joy could come from keeping a reef tank… to be able to so closely observe a marine ecosystem in a reef tank in one’s own home is truly a precious gift. 

 

It was really hard to take apart my scape and rehome my corals and one of my clownfish today. My clownfish was such a beauty, and the pair were my first fish inhabitants, but they started fighting a few months back and had to be separated.
 

I kept frags of my three types of gorgonians, a branch of sinularia I pulled off the rock, my orange acan, and tiny pieces of xenia and GSP which I hope will be big enough to grow. I also kept some tiny baby sun corals that had started growing on the back wall of the tank as a result of sun coral spawning… I don’t plan to grow a sun coral colony in the new tank because I want it to be an easier tank that doesn’t need such heavy feeding, but I plan to place the baby suns where they will hopefully get enough food from feeding the fish. 

 

I still have the other clownfish from my pair, temporarily staying in my Fluval Evo 5. Hank is now in there, too. I plan to keep both fish in the new tank. The clownfish has been endearing himself to me lately by allowing the torch coral to host him, so it looks like the torch will also be going in the new setup. 

[banasophia]

Exciting news! I finally opened up my package from @Reef Casa yesterday and they sent me the Studio 12 tank and full all inclusive saltwater setup. It looks awesome!! I’ll plan to start a new build thread soon. 

 

I did an unboxing video for YouTube and I just have to warn you that the YouTube learning curve is STEEP! If you’d like to check out the tank and saltwater kit and see me in my full dorkiness, here you go:

 

 

[seabass]

Great job!

[sadie]

That's awesome! Congrats. I can't wait to see how you set it up and what you put in it.

[banasophia]

On 11/3/2022 at 5:29 AM, seabass said:

Great job!

Thank you, seabass! 😊🤗 So much for the nano-reno, but hopefully one day I’ll set the Biocube 16 back up again… it was a great tank.
 

2 hours ago, sadie said:

That's awesome! Congrats. I can't wait to see how you set it up and what you put in it.

Thanks, sadie! I’m still not sure how I’ll stock it. 

[sadie]

hey, how old is Hank?

[banasophia]

3 hours ago, sadie said:

hey, how old is Hank?

I’ve had him over 3 years now.