Planning a Biocube 14 build.

S

sscherin

New member
I've been out of the reef tank scene for the last 8 years so bear with me.. I'm kinda rusty and just catching up on the new systems.

Over the weekend we stumbled across a used Oceanic Biocube 14 for $25 so we figured what the hell and brought it home.

The thing is gutted, no pump or lighting left so I have a clean slate.

The plan is to keep softies and LPS.. maybe maybe a small Anemone and sps after we get stable and comfortable with it. I'd rather not have to replace anything to get there if we decide to go that way.

Feel free to recommend alternatives. I have no fear of soldering irons or even machining my own parts. My local makerspace has a laser cutter, CNC mill and 3D printers so lots of DIY options are possible.

My plan so far.

MJ900 pump for the back chamber.
inTank Media basket
Coralife Biocube Skimmer (yes/no?)
Hydor Koralia Nano 240/425 or 565 for circulation?

Steve's Extreme SPS LED retrofit lighting kit or roll my own.
Bluefish Mini lighting controller. (arduino or Pi based alternatives I can DIY?)

I haven't researched an ATO system yet.

I do plan to build a stand so I will have places to hide things
 
Ato

Ato

I would recommend Tunze Osmolator Nano for the ATO. Has been rock-solid for me for over a year.

Best,
Denise
 
I have a bio use 8 and bio cube 14. In my opinion i would skip the media basket and scrape the black paint off the back of chamber 2. Adding a light to the back of the tank and add some macro algae and it works great as a small refugium. I would also advise doing your own LED setup. It is fairly easy and cheaper than buying a kit. You also have more options going that route. Keep the original splash protector that covers the compact fluorescents and build your heat sink in that. I also trim the plastic where the first chamber flows into the second to allow better water flow.
 
Adding a Bluefish mini adds another $110 to that though. For that kind of money, you're close to a nanobox small retro kit that comes fully assembled and is nearly plug and play.
 
I went rimless with my and hung a light from the ceiling I liked it a lot more this way. It like you had another viewing angle. The main problem I have with the small takes is evaporation kills you auto is a must for all take even small
 
I'm doing the same thing as you but I'm trying to be as smart as possible with my budget so if/when I want to go bigger it'll be a little easier.

I'll be getting the same pump as you and the koralia nano 425. I've read a lot about what people are doing for flow and it seems like a 425 and mj900 will be a lot of flow without doing too much.

I've seen tons of people do the intank media basket and I just don't understand why. I'll be putting carbon in the bottom of chamber 2 or that sponge area between chamber 2 and 3. I'll use a sump sponge in chamber 2 and filter floss on top, heater probably in chamber 1. I don't see a point to a skimmer or refuge though with weekly water changes. But I'm not experienced in this hobby so take that with a grain of salt. This is the area where I'd rather not spend money and keep it for other stuff or for a bigger tank down the road.

For lights I'll be making my own. I have some heatsinks laying around that might work but I think I've found some that might cost me like 20 bucks and be a bit better. Steves led was what I would probably do if I didn't want to diy. I haven't looked at controllers much but I figure for the time and energy I'd put into coding and setting up an arduino or pi system I'd rather just spend the 100 on a bluefish mini. For ato I bought a few float switches from ebay and I'll just get an aqualifter hooked up to the switch. I only have the switches just because I haven't set up the biocube yet and I'm waiting to see how much of a pain the top offs will be in my house.
 
bks2100 said:
I've seen tons of people do the intank media basket and I just don't understand why. I'll be putting carbon in the bottom of chamber 2 or that sponge area between chamber 2 and 3. I'll use a sump sponge in chamber 2 and filter floss on top, heater probably in chamber 1. I don't see a point to a skimmer or refuge though with weekly water changes. But I'm not experienced in this hobby so take that with a grain of salt. This is the area where I'd rather not spend money and keep it for other stuff or for a bigger tank down the road.
Click to expand...

The reason for the intank in this case is that it forces the water over the media. It is close to a reactor at that point (though still no where as good) Since the water is forced through the intank it is forced over the carbon and whatnot there by increasing effectiveness. Putting carbon in that small slot between chambers 2/3 is not ideal as when the carbon starts to pick up detrious and clog it will greatly impact the water to the third chamber. You will go to the overflow notch and again negate the purpose of the carbon or other media.

skimmer and refugium help keep stability in the smaller systems. Think of it this was. You add food to the tank daily. Fish eat and poop/pee daily. So every day you are increasing the nutrients (nitrates and phosphates). Sure you do a water change at the end of the week and remove 20% of the water. So you have 80% of the old water with higher nutrients that gets watered down via the new water and the process continues. The skimmer or fuge are another method of export that function daily to help keep things level. Now true that many with a nano do not need either if their loads and feeding habits are in line with the tank but considering the amount of people on here who have color/growth issues and/or algae issues they are missing an important step.
 
Now I'm starting to remember this rabbit hole..

I've been giving some thought to trying a Jeabo PP-4 in place of the Haydor Korila.
The Jeabo is DC with PPM speed control so hooking it up to a Arduino controller would be cake.

Now I'm looking at the Nanobox retro option.. Just wondering how it compares to the Steve's kit in output.
 
Well I'm $400 lighter today..

Ordered the following

Nanobox Retro Plus M light kit
Jebao PP-4
Cobalt MJ900
Hydor Koralia Nano 425 (for the mix bucket)
Fluval 50w heater
Refractometer
20# CaribSea Live sand
Salt

I haven''t finished plotting what I'll do in the back chambers yet but I'm thinking refuge in chamber #2.
Opinions on this JBJ refuge light?

I could roll my own for about $25 with a MEANWELL LED driver and tie it to the last channel on the Nanobox's Bluefish controller.
I'm starting to remember this addiction now.
 
Last edited:
we need pics as you go!
When you get the light, look up my thread on the 32 retro...it has some good settings on programming the bluefish.

welcome back
 
I miss the days i could buy a ton of things for 400.... those were the good days of the nano

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
Worry time.. $200 of stuff sitting on my front porch and I don't get home for 2 hours.
I should time my shipments for weekend delivery.
 
The Nanobox Retro plus M kit arrived a day early..
Oww my eyes!

VIZEzo5l.jpg
 
The new Nanobox retro kit is fanless but I found these 50mm 3200rpm 17db fans for $1 so why the heck not. They bolt right into the stock hood fan mounts.

FDtIPjWl.jpg



Retro kit install almost done. I plan to run the fans off the Mean Well SCW in the Retro kit. Channel 6 on the Bluefish I believe.

fPGdI46l.jpg


Reflector screwed in.. I need to make a splash guard

ghfANkel.jpg


Next thing on the list is deal with the return line. I hacked off the stub and used a 7/8 forstner with a guide block to drill out the hole.

p1d789Pl.jpg


Then I installed a 1/2" loc-line screwed into hose barb elbow inside chamber 3 with hose to the MJ900 return pump.
sJVnp85l.jpg


Next update.. splash guard and plans for Chamber 2.
 
OK I found out from Dave at Nanobox the SCW is not on channel 6.. It's just 24/7 fan power. Channel 6 is still free for a refuge light.
 
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