Biocube 32LED newbie questions!?

[Amc8804]

New to the forum and to the hobby as well! My names Adam, and I have been doing a lot of reading and research on this new hobby of reef aquariums and I have a few questions or looking for some advice.

So who here has the newer 32gal LED biocube up and running? I am looking at getting into the hobby and the LFS recommended I start with the all in on biocube. I have been reading forums and seeing that not many people run the tank stock chambers, but put their own touch. Not looking at a skimmer as of now, plan on doing frequent water changes until I see the need for a skimmer.
It seems that a lot of people get the intank media basket for chamber 2 with floss on forst shelf then dofferent things on 2 and 3, and some use the stock shelves but get their own filters. Just wondering what is the heat route!
Also, is the return pump good enough or would it be better to get an after market pump? Or can I just get a powerhead to increase the tank flow?
Let me know what yall think!

 

[JVan82]

The LED 32 will work just fine out of the box for most soft corals and some LPS corals. As far as upgrades it up to you. I have the intank media basket but ran the stock unit with Floss on top, then purigen and Chemipure elite on the bottom. Intank saves room in the middle chamber for other things, Fuge, skimmer, reactor, probes, ruble rock...
The return pump again works, is a little noisy. The fan for the stock lights is hit or miss on the noise it produces. You can look through my build and message me if you have any questions.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2596045

 

[TexChuck]

Congrats on the LED 32! I'm loving mine. You can check my build out too if you want and message me with any questions.

I 'missed' on the light fans so they're noisy, but I've grown accustomed to the noise. Others might not. I thought I'd be upgrading the lights quickly, but I haven't seen the need to so am still running stock.

I've played around with a lot of configurations, and have mine set up similarly to JVan82's. Intank media basket, with floss on the top shelf, purigen below that, and Chaeto below that. Running a Tunze skimmer in the second part of the 2nd chamber (followed the intank video instructions exactly).

As for flow, I'm generating plenty with an inexpensive Jaebo PP-4 powerhead and a Innovative Marine SpinStream. Stock return pump. I think it would be difficult to configure the return pump only without dead spots.

So long story short... intank media basket is a good investment, buy a cheap powerhead, and you're good !! Don't see the need to upgrade lights or return pump unless the noise bothers you. I'd maybe put a skimmer higher on the upgrade list than replacement lights or return pump.

 

[JVan82]

Congrats on the LED 32! I'm loving mine. You can check my build out too if you want and message me with any questions.

I 'missed' on the light fans so they're noisy, but I've grown accustomed to the noise. Others might not. I thought I'd be upgrading the lights quickly, but I haven't seen the need to so am still running stock.

I've played around with a lot of configurations, and have mine set up similarly to JVan82's. Intank media basket, with floss on the top shelf, purigen below that, and Chaeto below that. Running a Tunze skimmer in the second part of the 2nd chamber (followed the intank video instructions exactly).

As for flow, I'm generating plenty with an inexpensive Jaebo PP-4 powerhead and a Innovative Marine SpinStream. Stock return pump. I think it would be difficult to configure the return pump only without dead spots.

So long story short... intank media basket is a good investment, buy a cheap powerhead, and you're good !! Don't see the need to upgrade lights or return pump unless the noise bothers you. I'd maybe put a skimmer higher on the upgrade list than replacement lights or return pump.

You can get an upgraded fan from amazon, cheaper than upgrading the lights, I have an upgraded fan laying around, if someone wants it, since I have upgraded my lights.

 

[Amc8804]

Beings that I am just getting started I dont think I will be looking at getting a new light system just yet. I just want to make sure I have the basics down. I will begetting the tank once I move in to my new house in a week or two, and just want to make sure I do everything right. I have been reading a lot of different builds and seeing how each is different and alike as well.

I think I decided to get the biocube skimmer that fits into chamber 1. Then in chamber two I going to keep the orignal shelves and run floss, purigen, and chemipure blue on third shelf. May or may not get a heater in chamber three. Im going to go with the stock return pump and get a cheap power head to get some water movement.

I have around 20-25 lbs of dry rock from a friend that I'll be putting into the tank along with sand. Owner of the LFS recommended running the cycle along with a damsel fish or something else that could handle the conditions. Seems like everyone runs a fishless cycle though. Thoughts and opinions on this would be appriciated! Thanks everyone!

 

[JVan82]

Skip the biocube skimmer it's crap, I've had my tank up since Aug 16 still don't have a skimmer.
Don't add fish till after the cycle is complete, buy a bottle of ammonia and dose the tank, or add a piece of ship from the grocery store, or just ghost feed (add food to the tank once or twice a day) until you see ammonia on your water tests.

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[Amc8804]

Ghost feeding or using the shrimp would mean I wouldnt have to dose ammonia. Correct?

 

[Amc8804]

And would I need a small piece of live rock to seed the dry rock? Or can I use the bottled bacteria instead?

 

[davidtsx]

Skip the biocube skimmer it's crap, I've had my tank up since Aug 16 still don't have a skimmer.
Don't add fish till after the cycle is complete, buy a bottle of ammonia and dose the tank, or add a piece of ship from the grocery store, or just ghost feed (add food to the tank once or twice a day) until you see ammonia on your water tests.

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Why is the skimmer crap? I've been reefing for almost 20 years and have used all kinds of skimmers. It works just ask good as my bubble king, cone skimmer or my breckett skimmer. You can't run the skimmer dry, but it pulls a ton of skimmate out.

 

[JVan82]

And would I need a small piece of live rock to seed the dry rock? Or can I use the bottled bacteria instead?

Don't need live rock, I did dry rock/live sand/and a bottle of bioSpira. And correct no ammonia if you use shrimp/ghost feed.

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[JVan82]

Why is the skimmer crap? I've been reefing for almost 20 years and have used all kinds of skimmers. It works just ask good as my bubble king, cone skimmer or my breckett skimmer. You can't run the skimmer dry, but it pulls a ton of skimmate out.

I haven't heard anything good here, concerning the Biocube skimmers, most new reefers but it and upgrade to the 115 or a tunze...
That being said I don't run a skimmer so I'm just going off what I've heard here....

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[Seattle_Reef]

I haven't heard anything good here, concerning the Biocube skimmers, most new reefers but it and upgrade to the 115 or a tunze...
That being said I don't run a skimmer so I'm just going off what I've heard here....

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It's working alright for me, just took a bit of fine tuning. The instructions say to set it up so that the bubbles are getting to just the top of the rim, but that is much too high and you end up with just water in the collection cup. What works for me is to set it at a height where the bottom of the collection cup is just touching the surface of the water, and then dialing in the bubbles to where they come half way up the rim of so. Doing that it produces a full cup of green tea looking stuff about every 2 days. Sometimes darker if I overfed them.

 

[davidtsx]

I haven't heard anything good here, concerning the Biocube skimmers, most new reefers but it and upgrade to the 115 or a tunze...
That being said I don't run a skimmer so I'm just going off what I've heard here....

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Well, most people don't like that it has a little wood block "old technology", but it works really good. Personally, I would go skimmerless like yourself before upgrading to the 115 or tunze on the 32 biocube. I do think the 115 is a good skimmer, but it doesn't fit in chamber one.

 

[JVan82]

Well I'm hoping by the time I "need" a skimmer there's a better option for us 32 owners

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[rockhead51]

Been running mine since around Thanksgiving. No skimmer (many if the stuff you see here- this doesn't fit, that sucks, etc.). Had ruble in chamber 2 but wanted it clean, so cleaned it out and now run stick rack with floss, followed by bagged carbon and bagged PhosGuard, then a bag of Purigen, and then two small bags of ceramic matrix (could've done one larger bag) at the bottom. Floss switched weekly, Carbon monthly, PhosGuard when phosphates start coming up, and Purigen when nasty. Everything gets a rinse with tank water every 2 weeks. 10% water weekly. Put the larger Sicce nano power head in there, but it really ****es my frogspawn off. Still toying with that. Also replaced the hood fan with a quieter one from Amazon. And added a Smart ATO- best investment so far.

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[razvan22]

hood fan

hood fan

Hey everyone

I'm returning to the hobby after a few years break due to school duties. I set up a 32g nano just like your and it is currently cycling. I like it to be as quiet as possible, but the hood fan seems a little too loud for my liking. I am not running the lights since its only been 5 days, but i know the noise will drive me crazy. Could you tell me which fan fits the hood since i read that you guys changed it? Amazon has many available but i don't know the exact size. If you can post a link to the fax model would be great. Thank you in advance.

BTW your tank looks great.

 

[reef cuber]

yes, please post the fan you chose from Amazon.

Hi, I'm also new here and have the 32 biocube. It has been up three weeks now and it's cycling now. I don't have a skimmer in mine as I don't see the need for it just yet. I am not an expert, but I would not forgo a heater for the tank. The steadier everything is, the better (IMO). I did have to turn down the length of time the lights are on, less than 12 hrs as I'm getting green algae on the glass. I have it in a room that doesn't get much sunlight. My next purchase is a power head to get more circulation and get the tank prepared for adding a couple hunks of coral. I also added live aquaculture.. though I am not sure if the LFS was just selling to me cause I don't know better or if it was ok to do it at this point.

The new biocube 32 doesn't come with anything but the frame and filter cartridge. I took all that out and I'm using different porosity sponges, Matrix carbon and Matrix High Capacity Biofiltration meda. I used live sand and live rock to set up the tank. After a week I added some cleanup crew. After another week I added more live rock and more clean up crew and two clowns. All are doing great so far. Numbers are spot on! I'm careful not to over feed and I hand feed the crabs to minimize waste.

One piece of equipment I would suggest is a refractometer to check the salinity. It's an awesome tool! Way better than dinking bubbles off and repeated dunking in the water to trust the reading on the cheap plastic gauge.

Good luck with your tank and set up, I'm eager to know how it goes for you!

Here is my tank

 

[JVan82]

Upgraded fan

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[Amc8804]

Which heaters does everyone prefer? Seems like everyone runs a 100w but all different brands. What are the pros and cons between the different heaters? Im thinking a heater is a heater in my book haha.

 

[JVan82]

Which heaters does everyone prefer? Seems like everyone runs a 100w but all different brands. What are the pros and cons between the different heaters? Im thinking a heater is a heater in my book haha.

I have the neotherm 100w. I like that is flat and not glass. Best insurance is regardless of heater replace them yearly.

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