returning to hobby after several years, BC29 question

[angrygary]

hello all!
i am returning to the reef hobby after a 7 or 8 year hiatus. i had been doing salt/reef tanks since early 90's. my last tank was an in wall 180 with a 90 gallon sump/ refugium.
kids went off to college and mom and dad started doing a little more traveling for pleasure and for my other hobbies. firearms, collecting breweriana advertising and dump digging for bottles, beer cans and anything else that caught my eye. spent a couple weeks hiking through old mining towns, and abandoned army depots throughout alaska. needless to say i could never maintain a large reef aquarium doing all that.
so a few weeks ago came across an Oceanic biocube 29 for next to nothing. so i decided i would do it again on a much smaller scale. been shopping for all needed supplies and modification for the last week.been lurking here reading up on what is appropriate for my cube.
this is what i have ordered so far:
*media basket with chemi pure elite, purigen bags
*upgraded return pump cobalt mj900
*skimmer-aquatic life 115
*lighting mod-rapid LED retrofit with a bluefish unit
*powerheads-2 hydor 425's
*ATO-tunze osmolater
*Jager 125w heater
*a mess o' loc-line components to split my return in two

and for the actual tank 20lbs bahama oolite live sand and 160 gal bucket of reef crystals. and ordering this week a 50 lb box of totoka live rock from champion lighting, ($239 SHIPPED TO DOOR). the excess i will sell to my LPS.
i am excited to get back into the bottomless money pit of reef keeping!

one question for this post. the three chambers in the back what components will go into which compartment.
thanks,
Angry Gary

 

[Speedfreak241]

The aquatic life skimmer goes in the first chamber with some slight modification and the media basket goes in chamber two, then usually people put the ato in chamber three.

 

[angrygary]

so media basket in center compartment. what is your reference for first compartment? if i am looking at it from the front, the compartment on the left side is first or third??
thanks

 

[Speedfreak241]

If looking at the front compartment one is the one on the right and three is the one on the right.
This should help I took it off another site.

 

[angrygary]

thanks, i appreciate it!

 

[homer1475]

That mj900 won't be an upgrade, but rather a downgrade in GPH. The mj900 is 230GPH, and the stock pump is 265GPH. If you really want an upgrade go for either the MJ1200(295GPH) or I personally like the sicce syncra 1.5(357GPH adjustable down to suit your needs. I leave mine wide open).

 

[angrygary]

thanks for that. i will look into the mj 1200 or the sicce pump.

 

[angrygary]

okay just ordered the cobalt mj1200.

 

[angrygary]

looking at your picture shows my skimmer is going in the left side. i take it I will have to break out that plastic grate in there? also the heater i bought is 12 inches long. not going to be a keeper. what types of heaters are you all using ?
thanks,

 

[angrygary]

anyone??

 

[ReefWreak]

Skimmer will go in the first chamber, which when looking from the front towards the back, it is on your right where the water flows into the back through the cutouts. You do not have to break the plastic grate there, but you may have to modify the hood on the side of the tank above that section to hold the bracket, if you do not do the magnet mod.

I'm using a cobalt neotherm heater. Been happy so far, but I have it hooked up to my reefkeeper as a backup thermostat in case it gets stuck open, which heaters have been known to do.

 

[angrygary]

my skimmer arrived along with some other smalls today. so i did the anti gurgling mod on it in a couple minutes. clipped a small tab out so it slides in the first compartment. . but i have two issues i see. . one is the proper orientation it sits in there. and i cannot get it in there with the rubber feet on it. do the feet go towards the rear of the tank or forward? also i found the skimmer cup doesn't want to easily slip onto the skimmer body. i have a wee gap that is preventing it from mounting. so it looks like a little shaving is in my future.

 

[homer1475]

Feet? Maybe I don't remember what it looks like stock, but I can't remember any feet on it?

I did the magnet mounting so I didn't have to cut the hood any.

Also have a look inside the skimmer. I had some small plastic bits(little dot like from the manufacturing process) that prevented mine from closing all the way. A simple swipe with a razor knife and all is good. The cup is tough at first, but once it wears in it goes on super easy.

 

[angrygary]

sorry, "FEET" was a bad choice of words. the rubber suction cup mounts was what i meant. anyways after messing with it a bit i got it in nice and secure.
also not familiar with the magnet thing. i will look that up.
thanks!

 

[homer1475]

Youtube reefthuz for the magnet mod. Just for the life of your tank DO NOT follow any of his other advice.

What I like about the magnet mod is it allows for more precise water level adjustments.

 

[ReefWreak]

I left the suction cups on. I install it with the hanging bracket on, and just leave the outside portion that clicks in off until it is installed, then I add that on and tighten it. It actually holds really well with just suction cups, but I've used the bracket as well. I leave the suction cups facing the right side glass/wall. My hood did have to be carved out to fit the bracket though.

 

[angrygary]

thanks for the lead and the warning! both greatly appreciated!

 

[angrygary]

i should have everything here by monday and ready to start building! i ordered the refugium basket for the back. is there and issue with the chaeto coming out of the compartment?. it appears to be open sided?

 

[angrygary]

and is there any benefit to running the refugium while cycling?

 

[ChadO]

i should have everything here by monday and ready to start building! i ordered the refugium basket for the back. is there and issue with the chaeto coming out of the compartment?. it appears to be open sided?

I'm guessing that you are referring to the inTank model from your description. That is what I have, and I've been running my fuge for about 2 weeks now, and no issues with it coming out. It's growing really well for me so far - it's still early, but I'm happy with it. I'm using the JBJ light, and running it opposite my main lighting schedule.