Coralife 32 LED Biocube questions

[dabob79]

Ok, so I've decided to downsize and went with the Coralife 32 gallon LED Biocube. First of all, how many of you are using this new tank? How do you like it, and what changes have you made/would you make?

I'm using the stock LEDs, but adding one of these as well...
https://www.21ledusa.com/aquarium_led_reefbar_pro_actinic_blue_p/rbp505010.htm

I also got the Oceanic Biocube skimmer, anybody using this thing? I've been told to check out the "airline mod", but can't seem to find that one. Anything else I should try when setting this thing up?

I just filled the tank last night, using 20lbs of Caribsea Arag-Live Fiji Pink sand, several scoops of sand from my existing tank, and a couple pieces of live rock from my existing tank. I'm going to give it a week or so and see what kind of cycle I get, then move my remaining fish over. I'll post some pics once I get the extra light added and everything clears up. Anything else I should know about this tank?

Thanks!

 

[JVan82]

I've had my 32 up and running a lil over a yr now, I've added an intank media basket and refugium. Also running 2 mp10s, and apex. I removed the hood and went with an ecotech XR15, after trying and led retrofit.

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[rajilnaja]

I have the 32 also. I removed the hood about 6 months in and replaced with black box LEDS. I left the stock basket pretty much as is just removed a few of the divders to give the macroalage more room to grow. I have the skimmer let it run for about 2 months and just removed it. Didnt produce any skimate for me and got tired of adjusting it. We just crossed the one year mark this month also.

 

[Cal1089]

Pics of the cubes?


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[Ryan Darilek]

I've got one too and like mine a lot. The only thing above stock I'd recommend changing would be the lighting. I tried something similar to what you're adding and it didn't accomplish what I wanted (still looked white washed). I invested the $300 in Steve's LED retrofit kit and it's like an entirely different tank. Highly recommend doing so. Good luck and keep us posted! Here's a pic of mine

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[Darryl Hey]

in tank basket Tunze skimmer and true lumen deep blue strip and 10000 daylight

 

[dabob79]

I've got one too and like mine a lot. The only thing above stock I'd recommend changing would be the lighting. I tried something similar to what you're adding and it didn't accomplish what I wanted (still looked white washed). I invested the $300 in Steve's LED retrofit kit and it's like an entirely different tank. Highly recommend doing so. Good luck and keep us posted! Here's a pic of mine

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Well the light bar I'm adding has separate controls for the blue and white LEDs, so I can turn it more blue to get the look I want. They're also 3W CRI LEDs, so it should bump up the PAR numbers a bit. I just came up wit a genius mod for the biocube skimmer too, check this out!

So the problem I was having with the skimmer was the way it hangs on the wall between the first and second chambers. The cup basically rests flush on the wall, causing the water level to rise in the first chamber and the display area. This also made the water level way too high for the skimmer to work properly, I had to turn the air WAY down. So I got to looking for a way to raise the cup, because in the new 32 gallon Biocube there's a bit of room to work with between the top of the cup and the lid. After digging around and experimenting a bit, I found that a piece of 1 1/4 inch vinyl tubing I had was the exact same size of the lip the cup rests on. So I cut a 1 1/4 inch long piece of it, heated it up in some boiling water so I could slip it over the lip on the top of the skimmer body, and viola, extended the neck and raised the cup! Now water flows more unrestricted over the wall, and I can turn up the air a lot more to produce more foam. I'll let this run a day or two and see what it does. Here's a picture of the finished product in place...

And a pic of the tank as it sits right now, waiting to see if it's going to cycle at all...

That's it for now, I'll keep ya'll updated on my progress!


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[Ryan Darilek]

Well the light bar I'm adding has separate controls for the blue and white LEDs, so I can turn it more blue to get the look I want. They're also 3W CRI LEDs, so it should bump up the PAR numbers a bit. I just came up wit a genius mod for the biocube skimmer too, check this out!

So the problem I was having with the skimmer was the way it hangs on the wall between the first and second chambers. The cup basically rests flush on the wall, causing the water level to rise in the first chamber and the display area. This also made the water level way too high for the skimmer to work properly, I had to turn the air WAY down. So I got to looking for a way to raise the cup, because in the new 32 gallon Biocube there's a bit of room to work with between the top of the cup and the lid. After digging around and experimenting a bit, I found that a piece of 1 1/4 inch vinyl tubing I had was the exact same size of the lip the cup rests on. So I cut a 1 1/4 inch long piece of it, heated it up in some boiling water so I could slip it over the lip on the top of the skimmer body, and viola, extended the neck and raised the cup! Now water flows more unrestricted over the wall, and I can turn up the air a lot more to produce more foam. I'll let this run a day or two and see what it does. Here's a picture of the finished product in place...

And a pic of the tank as it sits right now, waiting to see if it's going to cycle at all...

That's it for now, I'll keep ya'll updated on my progress!


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Dude!! That's AWESOME! I've been wanting a skimmer but haven't got it because I haven't heard much good about our slim-to-none options. For sure let me know how it does because I'll order this thing in a heartbeat. Great idea, MacGyver!!!

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[dabob79]

Dude!! That's AWESOME! I've been wanting a skimmer but haven't got it because I haven't heard much good about our slim-to-none options. For sure let me know how it does because I'll order this thing in a heartbeat. Great idea, MacGyver!!!

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Will do!


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[Seattle_Reef]

I have the same skimmer and also didn't like how it blocked the flow between chambers 1 and 2. My solution was to use the suction cups instead and mount it to the right side of chamber 1. Also, I upgraded that measly air pump that came with it. Just a Whisper 10 makes a lot more air. I mounted it as high as it would go (limited by the suction cups) and found that you need to have the bubbles lower in the cup then they recommend, otherwise you just get watery skimate. Even with all that, it still requires regular tweaking to keep it working correctly as the bubble flow varies quite a bit over time.

Another good cheap upgrade is to upgrade the return pump for more flow. I got a Cobalt MJ1200.

 

[dabob79]

I have the same skimmer and also didn't like how it blocked the flow between chambers 1 and 2. My solution was to use the suction cups instead and mount it to the right side of chamber 1. Also, I upgraded that measly air pump that came with it. Just a Whisper 10 makes a lot more air. I mounted it as high as it would go (limited by the suction cups) and found that you need to have the bubbles lower in the cup then they recommend, otherwise you just get watery skimate. Even with all that, it still requires regular tweaking to keep it working correctly as the bubble flow varies quite a bit over time.

Another good cheap upgrade is to upgrade the return pump for more flow. I got a Cobalt MJ1200.

Yeah, I thought about the suction cups, but I was still limited on height by them and they're so unreliable for long-term functionality. My simple addition got me the extra inch of height easily and cheaply. I am noticing that the bubbles need to be run a bit lower too, I've still got some tweaking to do.

I'm probably going to upgrade the pump simply because the stock pump is super loud, the flow seems fine though. I also got rid of that 90 degree elbow on the return and just used a piece of silicone tubing to make a nice, smooth bend.

 

[dabob79]

I've got one too and like mine a lot. The only thing above stock I'd recommend changing would be the lighting. I tried something similar to what you're adding and it didn't accomplish what I wanted (still looked white washed). I invested the $300 in Steve's LED retrofit kit and it's like an entirely different tank. Highly recommend doing so. Good luck and keep us posted! Here's a pic of mine

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Hey, BEAUTIFUL tank btw, I was so busy last night I didn't take the time to really look at your picture. Are you dosing at all, or just regular water changes? What are you doing for filtration in the back?

 

[rockhead51]

Here's mine. Plus a close up of my zoa garden and the same under the blues. Stock lighting. Similar mod to the skimmer.

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[Ryan Darilek]

Hey, BEAUTIFUL tank btw, I was so busy last night I didn't take the time to really look at your picture. Are you dosing at all, or just regular water changes? What are you doing for filtration in the back?

Hey thanks man! I dose only calcium, iron and magnesium, but also do weekly 15% WC's but that's because I'm slightly over-stocked on my bioload. In the back I've got it simple with a Chemi-Pure bag, a Polyfilter, a large carbon bag and a slight overkill on filter floss... Seems to be working really well for me though

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[Ryan Darilek]

Here's mine. Plus a close up of my zoa garden and the same under the blues. Stock lighting. Similar mod to the skimmer.

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Looks awesome!!

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[MK3_LUV]

Following, just picked up a 16G myself

 

[dabob79]

Anybody here ever dealt with bryopsis? This is rock that I took from my old tank and is currently in the new Biocube.

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[Ryan Darilek]

Anybody here ever dealt with bryopsis? This is rock that I took from my old tank and is currently in the new Biocube.

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Unfortunately I have... And it's absolutely miserable. I'm fairly certain that is GHA and it's at a manageable stage for sure, just stay on top of it and put a CUC to work as soon as the ammonia levels subside and you should be good. Bryopsis is more fern-like in appearance

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[dabob79]

Unfortunately I have... And it's absolutely miserable. I'm fairly certain that is GHA and it's at a manageable stage for sure, just stay on top of it and put a CUC to work as soon as the ammonia levels subside and you should be good. Bryopsis is more fern-like in appearance

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Cool, thanks!

 

[dabob79]

Hey thanks man! I dose only calcium, iron and magnesium, but also do weekly 15% WC's but that's because I'm slightly over-stocked on my bioload. In the back I've got it simple with a Chemi-Pure bag, a Polyfilter, a large carbon bag and a slight overkill on filter floss... Seems to be working really well for me though

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How long have you had your tank set up? Got any pics of the filter setup from the back?