Bio Cube Owner's Thread

[jfro]

My BC29 arrives tomorrow, but I won't get to set it up right away. My wife and I have decided to have Pergo flooring installed. The tank will go in the living room so I've asked them to complete that room first. Hopefully within 2 weeks it'll be up.

 

[cjscott]

Hello everyone I am really new to this hobby and am glad to have found you all. I have a bio cube 29 that I set up last Friday with the help from my brother in law. He has lots of experience with saltwater aquariums but I am finding that stuff he told me is conflicting with posts and what I read in articles. I wanted to bounce some questions off of you guys.

Background - I set up my tank on 3/7 with 10 lbs of live sand and about 18 lbs of live rock. I mixed the water to correct salinity and left the lights on until I started the 12 hour cycles on timers yesterday. I have 5 snails and 5 hermit crabs.

Questions - Should I add more live sand? I would like to add more live rock but don't know if I should wait for the tank to cycle first or how harmful this would be now or later? My book says to add a couple of damsels to help the cycling but my brother says no no no I will never get them out. How many snails/hermit crabs do you guys have (my book says 1 per gallon)?

 

[NewFish3]

In my BioCube 14, I have

5 margarita snails
5 astria snails
5 nassarius snails
10 hermit crabs

If you have a 29 cube........I would say start off with off with something like I have.

 

[MyMonkey]

People... We need photographic documentation here. Take those pics folks.

 

[yousmellsfishy]

Finally some new shots of my BC8 up and running now for a little over 10 months:

 

[maxheadroom]

Here's a bad pic of mine from last month. I'll get some new pics soon.

BTW, yeah I know he's bleached. Noob mistake. Don't listen to 98% of people that work at an LFS.

 

[rjwilson37]

Sweet pictures everyone, nice to see these little tanks doing well.

I switched over from an Aquapod 24g that the lighting went out on, to the 29g Biocube. Over half of this stuff came from my Aquapod, but I added a few hardy corals to fill in spots. I just have a couple fish and shrimp right now, but will be getting a couple more fish in a couple of weeks.

 

[yousmellsfishy]

OMG rj! :eek2: That is Beautiful

 

[jfro]

RJ - Beautiful coloration - great tank, great job.

I got my BC29 today and have a couple questions. I'll star by asking if anyone has pics of how the ballasts are supposed to hand on the back of the BC29 stand?

I have the nanocustoms upgraded hood so I have 2 ballasts. Any help would be appreciaqted.

 

[rjwilson37]

Thanks for the compliments.

I just have my ballasts inside my stand on the bottom shelf, which is were the surge protector is as well.

 

[GBE378]

I just am currtently setting up a BC29 and just got the live rock today.

Here are some pics is a little cloudy still.
<a href="http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/?action=view&current=P3130085.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/P3130085.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/?action=view&current=P3130087.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/P3130087.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I am also see if my old Super Skimmer 65 will work as a HOB skimmer. Its been out of commission for a while so its creating alot of microbulbble and will prolly take a while to break in again. Also had to make a little modification to it, with the return. Not sure if its going to work but theres nothing in it for now and if worse comes to worse I take it out and try somthing else.

<a href="http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/?action=view&current=P3130002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/P3130002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/?action=view&current=P3130001.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh146/rfauquier/P3130001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[MyMonkey]

Cool. Did not know that back panel came off. Hmm...

 

[MyMonkey]

Wow rjwilson37! Nice looking tank there. Care to expand on the system. Skimmer, mods, additive, corals etc? Also, what is the green and purple variety front right. Looks to be a matting coral of some type.

 

[Sharkbait1]

I'm in for sure !!

jr nice looking tank.:eek1:
jfro I have the same nanocustoms upgrade. 150MH 2x36W Atinic. The cords on the ballasts should be long enough so that the can just sit inside the stand pretty much where ever you want.

But I know we need pics.. Here it is a few weeks ago. I have since re-aquasaped and think it looks better but still not the way I want it..
I do 2 WC a month and on 1 of them I reaquasape. I have a bucket in the yard that I keep "spare LR" in so I get a "new" tank every month.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Sharkbait1/FishStuff/photo#5168936574180865538"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/Sharkbait1/R7vAbZKTNgI/AAAAAAAAAVk/eM9DlAoNW00/s800/DSC_2979.JPG" /></a>

I have since added a good clean up crew and most of the algae is gone!

 

[ggk1988]

Here is a really old picture of mine. I will post a new photo once I beat some hair algae.

 

[smartang22]

I have a 14 gallon Biocube that just turned one year old! I upgraded the pump to a maxijet 900, took the bioballs out and replaced with LR rubble and chemipure, and I hid my heater in the right chamber. I upgraded the lighting with the system from Nanotuners. It was super easy to install and the tank is much brighter now.
I currently have a cleaner shrimp and a clown nmed Clownt. I have rics and zoas and yellow polyps, pink xenia, a large feather duster, purple and red shrooms, chaeto, and a pom pom crab. I love it!

I don't have any pictures, but I will post them. I am giving some overgrown xenia to a fellow RC member this weekend so I will take a picture after I ship those off. They grew like a weed, just like everyone said they would. But being a beginner I wanted to have a hardy, aquacultured specimen so that I could grow some confidence. But I am just happy that I could give them away.

 

[jfro]

I noted earlier that I'm waiting for Pergo flooring to be installed before going forward with my BC29 but I'm getting crazy anxious. I need to get the tank ans stand in place and start putting the system together. I've learned from experience that it's easier to get it set-up right to begin with and minimize the modifications.

Does anyone want to recommend a good heater for the BC29? My heater will plug into my chiller - any recommendatons?

 

[jfro]

Well, I decided to put the BC29 in my office at work. I've got the rock set-up and water running through it but I need to add some more salt to get the salinity dialed in.

I have a question for whoever is using a chiller with the nanocustom upgrade. Where to you have your pump? Mine is in the middle chamber, but that's where I'll put some LR Rubble and some Chaeto. Hopefully, the Chaeto won't interfere with the pump.

Anyone have a mod that works well with the pump and Fuge?

 

[chromiumlux]

Just what I've been looking for!
Count me in. I've got a 14g bio cube. No pics yet--need to figure out my camera and how to upload.

 

[jcvkang]

i have an 8 gallon and 14 gallon biocube.

unfortunately, i'll be getting rid of the 14 gallon and giving my 8 gallon to my parents.

i just got a Red Sea Max the other day. it was a time for an upgrade.