Oceanic Biocube 14 questions

[andygold]

Sorry, LOTS of questions!!!!!

 

Been keeping fresh and saltwater fish for over 50 years.  With that said, this is my first foray into AIO tanks...I just purchased the above tank from a guy who said he used it last a few months ago for fresh water.  It definitely needs some repairs/maintenance! I'm looking to use it solely for freshwater.  Guppies, Cory's, mystery snails, and 4 different types of low light plants ( water Sprite, Java Fern-Windelov, Susswassertang, and dwarf salvinia).  I may have to leave out the salvinia, as I wonder if it will clog the overflow. 

  I just ordered a replacement Biocube 14/16 pump (185g/hour) as I couldn't get the one that was in there to work.  I also need to peel off and replace some of the black silicone from the sides of the bulkhead as it is loose in places.  

 

The clear plastic light dome (not sure of the proper name of this piece) has been modified with a piece of glass in the middle, and it has some cracks in the plastic, and is quite brittle.  I haven't been able to find a replacement clear plastic dome.  Not sure if any still exist.  Anyone know where I can purchase the clear plastic piece?  I don't want to have to order a full hood. 

Prior owner modified the light setup so it now has (12) 3watt, Cree LEDs, a Mean-Well driver and huge heat sink, along with an addition fan.  10 are white with 2 different color temps, and 2 are blue.  Only 4 whites are currently connected as he stated with more then 4, algae covered the glass in a single day.  I'm wondering if the heat from the LEDs aged the plastic dome.  If I can't source a replacement clear dome I'm considering mounting a Mingdak LED strip light  (I've had good results with those) or two under the hood.  Would I typically need to use any of the fans if I go for a modern LED strip light?  There appears to be enough holes/vents in the hood to let LED heat escape, but obviously I'm not sure.  Don't want to cut and modify the hood, and remove the fans if they'll be needed. Thoughts?

 

I also need a plastic elbow that connects the pump's hose to the bulkhead.  Anyone know where to get that?  Can I use a commonly sourced pvc fitting for example?

 

The outflow director is just one little, single segment, flared fitting.  Will a multi-segmented output  director from another tank fit the round output tube that's part of the bulkhead?

 

The tank came with an InTank media bucket.  The wall of chamber one has been modified to fit the InTank diverter clip, so that's good.  There is a rectangular cutout in the chamber 2/3 wall a few inches down from the top.  What is it's purpose? Wouldn't that have bypassed the media in the original chamber 2 rack?  Leave it open, or block it off?  I'm going to be using floss, Purigen, and Matrix.

 

I removed the sponge at the bottom of the 2/3 wall due to talk of nitrate concerns and figured that should feed the pump in chamber 3 a bit easier, but I'm not sure if I need some type of protection for the pump intake.

 

There is a "fish saver"  that I can purchase, which is probably a good idea!  I know the mystery snails will wind up in the filter area.  I notice it covers the top slots in the bulkhead at the front of chamber 2.  Is this a good idea?  Do I need these slots open?

 

Again, my apologies for the long post and many questions, but I figured the experts here would have the answers I need.

 

Thank you in advance!

[A.m.P]

17 hours ago, andygold said:

The clear plastic light dome (not sure of the proper name of this piece) has been modified with a piece of glass in the middle, and it has some cracks in the plastic, and is quite brittle.  I haven't been able to find a replacement clear plastic dome.  Not sure if any still exist.  Anyone know where I can purchase the clear plastic piece? 

 

Prior owner modified the light setup so it now has (12) 3watt, Cree LEDs, a Mean-Well driver and huge heat sink, along with an addition fan.  10 are white with 2 different color temps, and 2 are blue.  Only 4 whites are currently connected as he stated with more then 4, algae covered the glass in a single day.  I'm wondering if the heat from the LEDs aged the plastic dome.  If I can't source a replacement clear dome I'm considering mounting a Mingdak LED strip light  (I've had good results with those) or two under the hood.  Would I typically need to use any of the fans if I go for a modern LED strip light?  There appears to be enough holes/vents in the hood to let LED heat escape, but obviously I'm not sure.  Don't want to cut and modify the hood, and remove the fans if they'll be needed. Thoughts?

I can't help on replacement parts, but that sounds like an upgrade as plastic tends not to age well. That said I don't know if you really need to replace any of it?

The lights are also a serious upgrade, low-power LEDs largely rely on passive cooling from the room and convection circulation. Keeping a strip under the hood long-term would likely require fans if you don't want it to burn out.

 

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I also need a plastic elbow that connects the pump's hose to the bulkhead.  Anyone know where to get that?  Can I use a commonly sourced pvc fitting for example?

I can't speak specifically for biocubes, but I know IM and other companies frequently use custom-sizing and fits for their return plumbing. The bulkheads are frequently removable to some degree, otherwise you could measure it and try to find tubing or pvc which will fit it (tubing might actually be easier).

 

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The outflow director is just one little, single segment, flared fitting.  Will a multi-segmented output  director from another tank fit the round output tube that's part of the bulkhead?

Try it and see.

 

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The tank came with an InTank media bucket.  The wall of chamber one has been modified to fit the InTank diverter clip, so that's good.  There is a rectangular cutout in the chamber 2/3 wall a few inches down from the top.  What is it's purpose? Wouldn't that have bypassed the media in the original chamber 2 rack?

I don't know why it has a cutout there, maybe to prevent clogging or some arcane engineering purpose, don't even know if that's the stock configuration. Plug it with a piece of thin plastic and run it to see what happens, can't imagine it'll cause any issues.

 

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I removed the sponge at the bottom of the 2/3 wall due to talk of nitrate concerns and figured that should feed the pump in chamber 3 a bit easier, but I'm not sure if I need some type of protection for the pump intake.

Pumps are pumps, if you want to put a sponge over the intake, go ahead, but you'll have to clean it and all that jazz. Some cover them up, others don't, if you've got all that media in the way then you'll probably be fine. FWIW Nitrogen cycles don't complete in freshwater, so unless you're running floss or something like that in your chambers Nitrate is Nitrate and is going to crop-up one way or another.

 

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There is a "fish saver"  that I can purchase, which is probably a good idea!  I know the mystery snails will wind up in the filter area.  I notice it covers the top slots in the bulkhead at the front of chamber 2.  Is this a good idea?  Do I need these slots open?

Do you have a picture? I doubt they'd sell a stock part which causes issues.

 

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Again, my apologies for the long post and many questions, but I figured the experts here would have the answers I need.

 

Thank you in advance!

Sorry I couldn't be more specific, but it sounds like most of the issues stem from nervousness about the AIO system and its' flow, figured I'd try'n relieve some of the anxiety; they're really not very complicated, fussy, or difficult and will largely work regardless of what you do to it.