Coralife BioCube 29g Build

[timfederwitz]

This is exactly why I bought the biocube myself. Now after having it a ehile and my wife watching me mod the h*ll out of it, she's admitting we should have started out with the bigger rimless tank. :bounce2:

I TRIED to talk her into the Red Sea REEFER 250, or even the 170, but she wasn't having it right now. She told me, "You can get as many and as big of tanks as you want once you refinish the basement". So I guess that's on me to get done.

Your already here and getting great advice, never mind those videos and do nothing that you saw in them with the exception of the skimmer mod. Not that those videos are necessarily wrong, you know the old saying, "there s more then one way to skin a cat", same thing applies to reefing.

Couldn't agree more. Damn near as many people as you can find with an opinion will have a different one to accomplish the same thing. It's good to get varying opinions, but without a LOT of research it is hard to tell which is the best for "you".

But I've always said, the ocean / reef takes pretty good care of itself. So if I can replicate that as much as possible, it should work out.

 

[soulpatch]

You can see my modded tank whenever I have you come over for manual labor.....er visit a reefer friend. Even with my tank there are issues that are easy to point out and ah ha moments we all encounter. Seeing the tank might give you some ideas or drive those questions you haven't even thought about yet. Probably have a few items you can throw in your tank as well if you want them. I know I want to get rid of one of my frogspawns and some of my zoas need fragged. If you bring over some "not your father's rootbeer" I might even be talked into fragging my torch or a couple of the acans.

That said the 93 will be pretty well automated with auto water changes and the like. My lack of a fishroom and the pains I have with limited room for mixing station should also give you some ideas as you design your basement.

 

[timfederwitz]

You can see my modded tank whenever I have you come over for manual labor.....er visit a reefer friend. Even with my tank there are issues that are easy to point out and ah ha moments we all encounter. Seeing the tank might give you some ideas or drive those questions you haven't even thought about yet. Probably have a few items you can throw in your tank as well if you want them. I know I want to get rid of one of my frogspawns and some of my zoas need fragged. If you bring over some "not your father's rootbeer" I might even be talked into fragging my torch or a couple of the acans.

That said the 93 will be pretty well automated with auto water changes and the like. My lack of a fishroom and the pains I have with limited room for mixing station should also give you some ideas as you design your basement.

Dude... yes please! :eek1:

You just have to tell me what brand/flavor you drink and it will be in tow.

BTW, I am SOOO glad I got the Apex Jr, but I already think I should have gotten the Gold system (and still might). However, the lights being timed the way I want is awesome, and being able to track the temp has been enlightening. The highest the tank has gotten was yesterday, but was only 79.7 and I have the heater set at 76. Overnight it dropped to 77.1, and is sitting at 79.0 right now. I would think a 3-4 degree swing over the course of 12-24 hours isn't too bad. But someone please tell me if I'm wrong. Also, not sure if this will change once I have the skimmer running and livestock in the tank.

I still have to do the math, but I think after I add up all of the expansions I want on the Apex Jr it may actually cost more than the Gold and not have as MUCH stuff as the gold! Like I said before though... it won't have been a waste, because I will move the Jr to my freshwater tank and get a Gold for my reef.

I want more outlets, so there is a Energy Bar 8 for $160. I want the salinity probe, which also requires me to add the PM2 expansion module, which both combined total $210. I would suspect I should have the pH Probe (even though my freshwater tank pH hardly ever changes) and that requires the PM1 expansion module, which both combined total $155. At this point I would still be missing the ORP probe that comes with the Gold system, but would have spent $765 and only have one more possible expansion (ORP I guess, but that requires ANOTHER PM1 module and the combined total is $175, which would bring the grand total to $940, but the Gold system could still be expanded on and the Jr will be maxed out).

I will probably wait a month or two and then get the Apex Gold.

 

[soulpatch]

I would save money and get the regular apex for around $500. you will miss out on the ORP and Salinity probe but unlikely you would use it. And should you ever get to that need you can add it on later.

With your modules you forgot to add on the breakout box and vdm modules that you will probably want to do LED dimming and control float switches in the future. Add on things like the AFS, DOS, and potentially their new WAV pumps and you are close to double the capacity of the jr.


The beer is actually called "Not your father's root beer" It is beer that tastes like A&W root beer but with like 6% alcohol. It is awesome.

 

[timfederwitz]

I would save money and get the regular apex for around $500. you will miss out on the ORP and Salinity probe but unlikely you would use it. And should you ever get to that need you can add it on later.

With your modules you forgot to add on the breakout box and vdm modules that you will probably want to do LED dimming and control float switches in the future. Add on things like the AFS, DOS, and potentially their new WAV pumps and you are close to double the capacity of the jr.


The beer is actually called "Not your father's root beer" It is beer that tastes like A&W root beer but with like 6% alcohol. It is awesome.

I would have figured the salinity was more important than pH, but what do I know.

It's not a bad idea though. You would know better than me.

Now that you say it is a beer, I actually remember seeing it and wanted to try it. I'm down!

 

[homer1475]

The only difference between the gold and standard systems is the ORP and salinity probes. ORP is useless IMO, and salinity can be measured better and more accurately with a refractometer. IMO the extra cost of those probes isn't worth the extra 300$ for the gold system. Save your money on the probes and buy another EB8 module, trust me you'll need it eventually. I have 2 EB8's and almost need a third, or an EB4 now that I have some dosing pumps coming.

 

[timfederwitz]

The only difference between the gold and standard systems is the ORP and salinity probes. ORP is useless IMO, and salinity can be measured better and more accurately with a refractometer. IMO the extra cost of those probes isn't worth the extra 300$ for the gold system. Save your money on the probes and buy another EB8 module, trust me you'll need it eventually. I have 2 EB8's and almost need a third, or an EB4 now that I have some dosing pumps coming.

Cool. Thanks for the advice guys!!

 

[soulpatch]

I mean think about it for your tank and when you would actually need/use salinity. The only time is really in case your ATO goes on the fritz and dumps too much RODI in the tank you could set up the probe to kill power to the ATO pump. Otherwise there is really not much use. Sure I guess evap could swing it slightly but you would have to neglect the tank for that to happen.

I go through a solid 1-2 gallons a week in RODI top off at this point (though that is rising slightly since I went open top but less then over the winter...lol) My salinity doesnt swing as I check it once a week minimum and if a water change weekend it is checked a couple times.

I too thought I needed the gold but was talked down from it by many on here. So this is like pay it forward. It is something you can always add later should you think you really need it but chances are that thought will never cross your mind.

Homer - Do you have each LED driver plugged into the EB8 along with the fans in the top? If so move them to a cheap power strip and downgrade to one plug on the EB8. Your apex I/O port controls power on and off to the lights so you can have them all come on at same time and the fans are behind the splash shield so give no benefit to run unless the leds are on. So combine onto a cheap 5 outlet power strip and save yourself valuable EB8 space.

 

[homer1475]

Homer - Do you have each LED driver plugged into the EB8 along with the fans in the top? If so move them to a cheap power strip and downgrade to one plug on the EB8. Your apex I/O port controls power on and off to the lights so you can have them all come on at same time and the fans are behind the splash shield so give no benefit to run unless the leds are on. So combine onto a cheap 5 outlet power strip and save yourself valuable EB8 space.

Yes that's exactly how I have them(4 plugs on the EB8). Never thought of just plugging them all into a cheap strip and one plug on the EB8. Could do that for the MP10's too since the WXM module controls them through a virtual outlet also. Great tip Soul. :thumbsup:

 

[soulpatch]

$5 power strip sure as heck beats $150 EB8

 

[ReefWreak]

Great ideas soulpatch. I wouldn't go with the gold either, and I would go with the stacked power outlets. I'm using this from Amazon, a 3 port with vertical stacking, so they are all off of the power plug, and I can use the outlets next to this port.

I also have my vortech on an outlet on my controlled bar, but I'm not sure why, since there's no value to it since it's entirely independently controlled (I have a Reefkeeper which doesn't interface with ecotech/vortech).

Also, timfederwitz for your temp swing question, I have my heater come on at 77.5, and over this summer, it has fluctuated between ~78 at night to 81.5 during the day with no ill effects, and that includes the more sensitive SPS/acropora corals. I do keep my home AC at 76 24/7 though for the dog and the tank. I have a chiller, but it's easier to keep the house cool. The chiller was bought as backup since my house AC was on the fritz last summer (new building, had to work the kinks out), but I haven't had to hook it up this year (whew/knock on wood).

 

[soulpatch]

Wow I would die if my house was at 76. My wife would love that but I keep the house around 72

 

[ReefWreak]

Wow I would die if my house was at 76. My wife would love that but I keep the house around 72

lol I'm used to my house in FL where my dad is cheap and keeps it at 78-80. My wife won't let me increase it more, but 76 is perfect. The thermostat says around 76, but it's at the top of the wall, so realistically the apartment is around 74-75. Comfortable, not too cold. I prefer colder for sleep, but that's what ceiling fans are for.

 

[soulpatch]

F that. I have the house at 72 and still sleep under a ceiling fan at full bore.

 

[timfederwitz]

$5 power strip sure as heck beats $150 EB8

Actually, this brings up great ideas for stacking. I currently run 3 out of the 4 plugs in Jr for each type of lights, but I could actually run the moonlights all the time, and the 4th outlet I have my RW4 on, but could easily stack that, the return pump AND my skimmer off one outlet for feeding, and the RW4 already has the wave controller on it so I don't need the Apex to simulate that for me.

I guess I'm thinking I could actually get away with the Jr for now anyway.

I currently have the Actinic lights come on for 2 hours before turning on the 10K light, and then it also stays on for 2 hours after. My goal was to simulate sunrise/sunset, but technically I could stack the Actinic and 10K lights too and just have them come on together. Thoughts on that? Is there really any benefit to sunrise/sunset??

That would free up one more outlet for something else, like the heater to make sure, if it goes on the fritz and stays on constantly, that the outlet itself would turn off above a certain temp.

 

[timfederwitz]

F that. I have the house at 72 and still sleep under a ceiling fan at full bore.

I'm with Soulpatch on home temp. Ours never goes above 72 and we still have fans on.

We also never keep it above 68 in the winter.

 

[timfederwitz]

Great ideas soulpatch. I wouldn't go with the gold either, and I would go with the stacked power outlets. I'm using this from Amazon, a 3 port with vertical stacking, so they are all off of the power plug, and I can use the outlets next to this port.

Thanks for sharing this 3 port adapter!! Just ordered one so I can stack my return pump, rw4 and skimmer off one outlet!

 

[soulpatch]

Out of everything you plug into the apex the heater and lights are key. You can use the temp probe to control them. The pumps and such are nice to have but not as necessary when it comes to tank safety.

Did you ever go get a small tank or such for QT? Since you want the fish in QT for a month I would set that up as you order in your TBS rock so as the rock stabilizes your fish are going through QT so you dont have the pressure to add them to the tank.

Also I dont know if you friended ASR on FB but he got in some fish this past week and one was a flame angel I think you were thinking about doing. Beautiful fish.

 

[timfederwitz]

Out of everything you plug into the apex the heater and lights are key. You can use the temp probe to control them. The pumps and such are nice to have but not as necessary when it comes to tank safety.

Yes, very good point... and they are set to turn off above 81 I believe. However, could I just run both Actinic and 10K off the same outlet? Or is there a benefit to simulating a sunrise/sunset?

Also, temps don't seem to be an issue with just the moonlight LED on, so was thinking I could have that always be on... or is this not smart?

Did you ever go get a small tank or such for QT? Since you want the fish in QT for a month I would set that up as you order in your TBS rock so as the rock stabilizes your fish are going through QT so you dont have the pressure to add them to the tank.

Also I dont know if you friended ASR on FB but he got in some fish this past week and one was a flame angel I think you were thinking about doing. Beautiful fish.

I found my son's old 15g tank, but it looks atrocious. I will either clean that or just buy new.

And I like the idea of getting the fish early so they are in QT while the rock stabilizes, but how will I get the QT tank to cycle? I *did* buy the Dr Tim's One and Only Live bacteria, and could get some ammonia to add to the tank to get it to cycle, but what all will I need for the QT tank?

I did friend ASR and saw the pic of the Flame Angel. I totally want him! :bigeyes:

Where is the best place to get a truly mated pair of clowns? ASR?

 

[homer1475]

Just drove 2 1/2 hours to pickup the only flame angel in my area.

This is try number 3. Third times the charm? Hes in a bucket right now undergoing TTM. Very small this time, probably around the size of the MP10's dry side. Great fish and will add a ton of color to your tank. My only problem is keeping them alive long enough to make into my DT.