Drew's Biocube 14 Build !

[drew_l]

Hello all,

I decided to take the plunge... AGAIN! I previously had a 40g FOWLR tank, which turned out to be a ... "learning experience". I've decided to reintroduce myself to the hobby with a smaller 14g biocube from Oceanic.

So far:
> 14g Oceanic Biocube with retro DIY LEDs CREE 9 cool white, 3 royal blue
> Reefkeeper lite controller
> 75 GPD RO/DI 5 Stage *PLUS* System from Bulkreefsupply.com
> Maxi-jet 1200 return pump
> Marineland 50W heater
> 15 lbs of Live Rock - hanging out in a bucket for now
> 20 lbs of Live sand
> Hydor Koralia Evolution (not sure about gph)
> Marineland C160 Canister Filter
> Chaeto in Chamber 2

On its way!! :
> Media rack
> Chemipure
> Seachem Purigen
> Refractometer <-- Should have got this a long time ago !!!

To start:

28.02.11
I bought the system second hand and I cleaned it from top to bottom. Filled up a few buckets of freshly made RO/DI water and leak tested the tank (so far so good - forgot this test though... :uzi: - should be OK, right?).

RO/DI unit

RO/DI unit

I Let the water sit for a night and then powered up the return pump to get some water circulation. There was some crud left over from the cleaning, so I turned on my canister filter to help out! After that I ball-parked salt (as my refractometer is coming in the mail as I type... My guess wasn't so far off, I took the water to the LFS to test my accuracy, and it tested at 1.015. My secret: taste-test!!! :crazy1:

Canister Filter in action (***FYI Marineland C160 Canister filter BOXES do not make good stands.. I came back upstairs and the box had given out on one side!!! Fortunately the filter was leaning up against my tank stand!)

Canister Filter mixing sand

Live Rock hanging out,

:fish2:

Adding sand next !

 

[drew_l]

Aww!

How do I make my pictures bigger ?

Edit
Oohh there we go, Reefkeeper Lite!

 

[drew_l]

Sorry about the pics.. I took them with my phone .........

 

[schneidergarret]

looks good so far i will be tagging along for this one and i hope it goes better than your previous experience

 

[drew_l]

looks good so far i will be tagging along for this one and i hope it goes better than your previous experience

Thanks! I hope so too. I didn't spend much time on forums last go around. I've been doing a lot more research and preparation this time so I should be a couple steps ahead!

 

[drew_l]

Figure I'd add a some pictures and an update.

04.03.11:

So I tried a couple of different methods with adding sand:
1) made a water-bottle funnel -- Unsuccessful
2) Submerse a jug of sand in the water and slowly pour along the bottom -- Unsuccessful
3) I finally just ended up slowly pouring the sand straight in.

I came across a great post be an RC member saying how they placed the unopened bag at the bottom of the aquarium and cut it open with a knife. Then slowly emptied the bag by pulling it along the bottom and out of the tank.

Think I'll give that a go next time, It seems a little more challenging with a 14g footprint.

Here are some pics of the sand storm:

Top open - looks pretty nasty! Is that normal?????????

Side view - C160 Canister working hard!

 

[stevie-o]

looks like you got everything good so far. put in that sand, and live rock!!!

 

[stevie-o]

lol at my last post just a sec too late. you could of used a pvc funnel don't worry about it though that canister will clear it up in no time

 

[drew_l]

Oh btw, In the above... I ran the Canister Filter with pillow stuffing from a home furnishing store, pretty cheap stuff; made sure it was "reefsafe"

I had to replace it about 1-2 hours after.

I also put a big hunk in the overflow between chambers 1 - 2 just to protect my chaeto. Thinking about it now, I should have removed it and kept it with the live rock in a separate bucket.

This really helped as both filter floss' were trapping a lot of stuff!

 

[stevie-o]

the chaeto will be fine. just curious do you have a light on it?

 

[drew_l]

lol at my last post just a sec too late. you could of used a pvc funnel don't worry about it though that canister will clear it up in no time

Haha! I was just able to sneak that post in!

Yeah the Canister Filter worked wonders, I'm going to post pictures when the tank settled down completely... It actually was pretty good the next morning (approx 12 hours after).

Crazy though, I don't think I placed the trays back in correctly so the C. filter was leaking like a faucet for about 10 mins! :eek1:

I fixed it up (so I thought) and placed it in a bag for good measure. Cleared up the tank - but still leaking. first KIA: C160 Canister Filter :hammer:

 

[drew_l]

the chaeto will be fine. just curious do you have a light on it?

Yes, scraped the back glass and have a custom lighting rig setup back there.. It produces enough light in chamber two, i think. (can't take credit for this: previous tank owner rigged this up - Thanks !!)

 

[stevie-o]

that's a sick little setup then looks like your going to run it like i run my 29 only i don't have a canister. still looking for some more options on skimmers i can fit in the back.

 

[drew_l]

I have a media tray on the way as well as some chemipure and purigen. I'm hoping to run the media tray as follows:

- filter floss
- Chaeto
- Chemipure & Purigen

I see most people run chemipure and purigen in separate trays.. Is it OK to run them side by side on the same tray???

 

[stevie-o]

if you can fit it do it. http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...immers-AquaticLife-AK01114-FIPSISVS-4-vi.html check out this mini skimmer

 

[drew_l]

I'm going to run without a skimmer at first and see how my parameters are. If I can't keep control with weekly-1.5 weekly water changes I'll consider a skimmer.

For stocking, thinking about
> 2 tank-raised clowns (small)
> Diamond back goby
> Cleaner Shrimp
> a few electric blue-legged hermits
> some snails

Corals:
> Already have two zoas
> Already have 1 hammer coral
> Both are currently living in a friends tank.
> Unsure about other corals

 

[drew_l]

Update from Sunday March 6, 2011. Canister did its job well, looks like things have cleared up for the most part ! I hooked up my Koralia to get more flow.

Here's some pictures:

LEDs

 

[schneidergarret]

i think i like biocubes better than nanos i have a 24 gallon nano but that biocube is looking slick can you do the same thing with the light and refuge with a nanocube does anyone know? and its looking good when are you putting in the live rock?

 

[drew_l]

I'm hoping in the next couple of days !! My salinity is not correct at the moment. I have a swing arm hydrometer but it hasn't been very trustworthy so far. I have a refractometer on its way in the mail. As soon as I can get the salinity right I'll add the rock.

Trust me, I'm getting anxious just looking at this sand all day... haha!

 

[drew_l]

Quick update,
Still waiting for my Refractometer and media basket.. I've noticed the temperature a little off recently. I have a 50W Marineland heater which is rated maximum for 15g tanks. I'm using a probe with a Reefkeeper Lite to monitor the temperature. I adjusted the temperature on the marineland heater to "74degF" and It still shows my temp on the Reefkeeper at 82deg!!

Has anyone ever had issues like this ? Room temperature is constant, no floor heaters, or other equipment nearby.

Thanks