champion6sigma
New member
I thought all durso's have an emergency? Why would anyone own a tank without a hole for emergency regardless of what setup you choose?
My tank has 3 holes....one return, one emergency one for durso.
homer1475's Biocube 29 Build Thread
- Thread starter homer1475
- Start date
I thought all durso's have an emergency? Why would anyone own a tank without a hole for emergency regardless of what setup you choose?
My tank has 3 holes....one return, one emergency one for durso.
soulpatch
New member
No. A durso is a modification on a drain to help silence it. It is typically done in tanks with 2 holes where only 1 is for a drain and the other for a return. The design of the durso helps eradicate the gurgling and such one gets with the single drain.
If you have 3 holes and are using 2 for a drain then you would be better off going herbie as it is totally silent with no air in the main drain to constantly be purging as with the durso design.
champion6sigma
New member
How is the change made? The only thing I would be changing is the pipes in the overflow? Or just taking out the dorso curved thing with hole and replacing that one piece with something else? I've pulled up pictures of people with weird overflow boxes, piping behind tank....
soulpatch
New member
You are basically herbie now but with the drain pipe having a durso top on it.
If your emergency is a straight pipe with the entrance just above the bottom of the weir teeth you are good there.
The drain itself should be about 6 inches below the bottom of the weir. You would then set the water level to basically be at the bottom of your weir teeth so that your emergency is just barely above that but the main drain 6 inches below. Having your drain there ensures no air or flushing motions. You would just want a gate valve on the main drain and return so you could finely tune it to have the water at the desired level.
I literally hear nothing from my drain/overflow box. I hear the slightest hum from my return pump if I open the cabinet doors. Seriously my biocube is easily 10 louder then the large tank.
If your emergency is a straight pipe with the entrance just above the bottom of the weir teeth you are good there.
The drain itself should be about 6 inches below the bottom of the weir. You would then set the water level to basically be at the bottom of your weir teeth so that your emergency is just barely above that but the main drain 6 inches below. Having your drain there ensures no air or flushing motions. You would just want a gate valve on the main drain and return so you could finely tune it to have the water at the desired level.
I literally hear nothing from my drain/overflow box. I hear the slightest hum from my return pump if I open the cabinet doors. Seriously my biocube is easily 10 louder then the large tank.
homer1475
New member
Ordered in a few things.....
Marsaqua 300W lights x 2
60# of live sand Yes I know live isn't live, but after watching the BRSTV about sand, for 2 bucks more a bag, I'll buy the live sand.
50# of dry pukani
Dual BRS reactor
2 large MarinePure plates
Cabinet lighting(thanks Soulpatch for the link)
200G box or IORC
Think thats everything I'll need to at least get setup and cycling. I do need some plumbing parts, but until the tank gets here and I get to setting it up to see exactly what I'll need(my first sump plumbing job).
Exciting times ahead, but unfortunately it means I'll be leaving the nano section behind(at least my thread) as my biocube will either become a FW tank, or sold. I think I'll have another couple months around here.
Marsaqua 300W lights x 2
60# of live sand Yes I know live isn't live, but after watching the BRSTV about sand, for 2 bucks more a bag, I'll buy the live sand.
50# of dry pukani
Dual BRS reactor
2 large MarinePure plates
Cabinet lighting(thanks Soulpatch for the link)
200G box or IORC
Think thats everything I'll need to at least get setup and cycling. I do need some plumbing parts, but until the tank gets here and I get to setting it up to see exactly what I'll need(my first sump plumbing job).
Exciting times ahead, but unfortunately it means I'll be leaving the nano section behind(at least my thread) as my biocube will either become a FW tank, or sold. I think I'll have another couple months around here.
soulpatch
New member
If you look around on here you will find a thread on making the dual reactor two separate units instead of one flow for both. Helps when you want to run different medias.
Hope you have a run or something to cut that rock in. That is main reason I went for reef cleaners and some of the brs reef saver since they are mined and in case of reef cleaners already cured.
Hope you have a run or something to cut that rock in. That is main reason I went for reef cleaners and some of the brs reef saver since they are mined and in case of reef cleaners already cured.
homer1475
New member
Already read the thread about cutting them. You dint even have to cut them, BRS sells the bracket for a single. Just take them off the dual bracket. Its surprisingly cheaper then buying 2 singles.
Have a run to cut the rock in? I do plan on cycling them before I add them to the tank. The pukani is supposed to be the best rock and easiest to cut.
You southerns and your funny accents.
Have a run to cut the rock in? I do plan on cycling them before I add them to the tank. The pukani is supposed to be the best rock and easiest to cut.
You southerns and your funny accents.
soulpatch
New member
Stupid autocorrect.
The bracket bakes it cheaper but not if you need the additional connections and tubing. I went with their silicone upgrade and loving it.
I meant can to cure the rocks in. Pukani might be easier to cut and more porous then others but it takes longer to cure and has some more phosphate issues. The less porous nature of my Rick is why I have marine pure. 1/10 of my marine pure alone would house more bacteria then all of my rock in the tank...
The bracket bakes it cheaper but not if you need the additional connections and tubing. I went with their silicone upgrade and loving it.
I meant can to cure the rocks in. Pukani might be easier to cut and more porous then others but it takes longer to cure and has some more phosphate issues. The less porous nature of my Rick is why I have marine pure. 1/10 of my marine pure alone would house more bacteria then all of my rock in the tank...
homer1475
New member
I decided to add a couple marine pure plates to my BRS order. I've read good things about them, so we'll see. It should also allow me to dump my current live rock if I decide to(leaning heavy toward it). 2 marine pure plates in the sump and 50# of new rock should suffice.
Yes I plan on "cooking" the pukani in a brute for a few weeks or months if need be. I really don't plan on getting this wet anytime soon. I want to seal and paint the stand, get lights wired, build a secondary cabinet for my electronics, etc, etc. Unlike my biocube, I want to slow down, take my time, and do it right the first time this time around.
Yes I plan on "cooking" the pukani in a brute for a few weeks or months if need be. I really don't plan on getting this wet anytime soon. I want to seal and paint the stand, get lights wired, build a secondary cabinet for my electronics, etc, etc. Unlike my biocube, I want to slow down, take my time, and do it right the first time this time around.
Yea the marine pure does really well, so that'll be good.
If considering cooking the rocks, the method should be determined on your intent. If the intent is algae, then dark rock cooking is fine. If you want to get rid of sponges and/or aiptasia or something else non-photosynthetic, then bleach bath is a good route, and you can leave them to just soak for a while and then rinse them out. If phosphates and sponges/aiptasia, then muriatic acid is good.
Let me know if you're looking, and I'll send you some threads I've read on any of the above subjects
If considering cooking the rocks, the method should be determined on your intent. If the intent is algae, then dark rock cooking is fine. If you want to get rid of sponges and/or aiptasia or something else non-photosynthetic, then bleach bath is a good route, and you can leave them to just soak for a while and then rinse them out. If phosphates and sponges/aiptasia, then muriatic acid is good.
Let me know if you're looking, and I'll send you some threads I've read on any of the above subjects
champion6sigma
New member
those ceramic plates sound good. I've never heard of them.
Lots of people like them, and so far nobody has been able to verify any downsides, other than that they lower your nitrates too low.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2453931
champion6sigma
New member
Is that bad? I thought you want nitrates at 0?
champion6sigma
New member
I wish I had the ability to do a slow build....sounds like your system going to be awesome.
Did you install GFCI in that area you are going to put tank?
soulpatch
New member
You want them low but not zero. Having some nitrates is believed to help with color and coral growth
Soulpatch is correct, the ideal is low-not-no (5-10ppm). It's a contested dogma, and I still recommend everyone shoot for 0 nitrate and 0 phosphate in the beginning. Once you're a mature hobbyist and your tank is mature, you can raise the levels to one you're comfortable with, and that can keep nuisance algae under control.
Glad you are good with structure and GFCIs already. Mike Paletta just wrote a good article February 6th "My simply stupid mistakes as a reefkeeper". Worth checking out. I don't think I can directly link to R-B here, but it's worth taking a look and learning from or being reminded by his mistakes.
homer1475
New member
Got my first round of orders in for the new tank. Not sure I'm real happy with the mars aqua lights, I'll have to see what they look like on the tank. I tried just setting it on my biocube, and man is it bright! Way brighter then the aurora puck. Now I need to dig into it to see whether I need steve's board or I can run them directly from the APEX.
Seeing as it was balls shrinking cold the last 3 days(-37, -15, and -10) my live sand was completely frozen solid! Not to super worried about it as now its pretty much dead sand and will be an ammonia source once I set up the tank.
Had to call rubbermaid as my local hardware store only had their own brand of "brute" container. Still made by rubbermaid but not branded "Brute", rather it's labeled "ACE" and its HDPE 4. Rubbermaid assured me it's still a "Brute" container(just made for ACE hardware stores) and totally food safe. Long story short, mixing up water right now to dump the dry pukani in. Also very surprised at how large the pukani is. I'll definitely be breaking it up.
I'm very surprised at how light the marine pure plates are. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the extra box was and why it was so light.
Seeing as it was balls shrinking cold the last 3 days(-37, -15, and -10) my live sand was completely frozen solid! Not to super worried about it as now its pretty much dead sand and will be an ammonia source once I set up the tank.
Had to call rubbermaid as my local hardware store only had their own brand of "brute" container. Still made by rubbermaid but not branded "Brute", rather it's labeled "ACE" and its HDPE 4. Rubbermaid assured me it's still a "Brute" container(just made for ACE hardware stores) and totally food safe. Long story short, mixing up water right now to dump the dry pukani in. Also very surprised at how large the pukani is. I'll definitely be breaking it up.
I'm very surprised at how light the marine pure plates are. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the extra box was and why it was so light.
champion6sigma
New member
Do not look into the light directly ! LOL.
The should blow away the biocube puck in light.
I'm thinking of getting that ceramic plates. I'm spending more time viewing BRS videos on how to reef. I feel like I know so little. I'm debating whether or not to put in my cad lights biopellet reactor. I've got it out of box on kitchen island now....it may help with my algae diatom issues....but man are there options. Bulk reef videos talk about each....
marine depot has a sale going on for presidents day today and bulk reef has a deal on kalkwassor today...
homer1475
New member
Just realized tomorrow is the 1 year mark of my biocube!!
I'll have to do some before and after pics and a small write up on Wednesday when I have time off.
I'm still surprised how far the hobby has advanced in 20 years when I used to have a marine tank. I'm also pleasantly surprised at how much knowledge I've gained in the year I've been hanging around RC, and how much I didn't know back then but still managed a thriving tank.
I'll have to do some before and after pics and a small write up on Wednesday when I have time off.
I'm still surprised how far the hobby has advanced in 20 years when I used to have a marine tank. I'm also pleasantly surprised at how much knowledge I've gained in the year I've been hanging around RC, and how much I didn't know back then but still managed a thriving tank.
