Keyskid's 14g Biocube

[KeysKid]

Here are some pictures that I just took of my 14g Biocube.
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003Good.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Coral3.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002Good.jpghttp://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/CoralGood.jpg

[meco65]

The tank looks great. I have a 14 Bio-cube as well and love it.

[KeysKid]

Thanks Meco, yeah I love this tank. Friend has a 8 gallon Biocube, once I saw his, I knew I had to get one.

Here are some more pictures I just took. Still trying to get a good picture of my swissguard, every time he sees the camera he hides!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nano001.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nano003.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nano004.jpg

[KeysKid]

Someone suggested me to buy the 425gph Hydor Nano for the cube, so I did. Once I put it in there I should it might be too much flow, so I took it out. But now I just put it in because I didn't have enough flow.

Ill leave it in and see how everything does. Any suggestions?

Heres a picture with the hydor in.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002Good-1.jpg

[Mikeygo1]

keyskid, how do you get the snails to line up like that? For real though your tank looks great, it makes me think I need to put a little more love into my cube.

[cherubfish pair]

Are those palys or zoos in the middle picture? Looks like they're not doing too well, with mucous. My palys are doing very poorly and I think it's to do with chemical warfare because it was sitting next to a bunch of mushroom corals. Hermits will eat that crud.



http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nano001.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nano003.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nano004.jpg

[cherubfish pair]

Are those palys or zoos in the middle picture? Looks like they're not doing too well, with mucous. My palys are doing very poorly and I think it's to do with chemical warfare because it was sitting next to a bunch of mushroom corals. Hermits will eat that crud.
LOL!! I didn't see the sea star there! It looks like it's moving in to eat some crud.

[KeysKid]

I actually just got the zoas from a friend right before the picture. Might be the reason why they aren't opened.

And do you think I should take the starfish out? I wasn't sure if I should have him in there, but he hasn't seemed to hurt anything.

[keywestcoralboy]

Those starfish are gunna killl everything and take over your other tanks too... they are the devil

[cherubfish pair]

I would get an ID on the seastar, it might be compatible with your corals. It looks like some type of knobby skin. You will have to supplement feedings to it to keep it from trying to eat corals even if it's not a coral eater. Just hope it's just a scavenger.

[KeysKid]

Ive tried. Haven't figured it out. Ive had him for a while, doesn't seem to be hurting the corals or anything.

[KeysKid]

Got a good picture of the swissguard today :D
Hopefully getting some more live rock soon, then going to add some small corals. Any suggestions?
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Swiss1.jpg

[KeysKid]

Went up to Miami and got some new LR and corals. Also added two firefish.

Here are some pictures, Star Polyps in the middle haven't opened up yet.

Also with the cold front had to add a heater to it. Pretty weird having a heater in the Florida Keys.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BiocubeGood1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Firefish1.jpg

[KeysKid]

No comments?

[KeysKid]

Went to the beach today and collected some little snails and hermit crabs for the nano. Nothing else has changed.

[KeysKid]

Heres a picture I took a few minutes ago. Green Star Polyps are opening up :)

This thread isnt getting much attention, might just stop posting up pictures :/
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002Good-2.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Yeah you tank looks pretty good.

[KeysKid]

Just got done testing all my parameters, everything looks good but calcium was a little low. Just added some Purple Up, should help.

[naughty]

hey, love the tank, do you have any mods on the cube? also, what heater are you using and where are you putting it?

[KeysKid]

Thanks. No mods, everything stock. I did put an extra small media filter bag in the middle chamber with carbon in it, Just for a little help.

The heater is a Tetra 50w heater. Its suggested for 2-10 gallon aquariums, but being here in the Keys it easily keeps my tank at 78 degrees during cold fronts.

The heater is in the picture, I really didn't have anywhere to put it so its just on the front left, really doesn't take up much room. I could probably put it in a chamber in the back, but oh well.

[cherubfish pair]

Went to the beach today and collected some little snails and hermit crabs for the nano. Nothing else has changed.
Have you collected anything else from the beach other than the snails and hermits?

[KeysKid]

No, but while diving off the boat I collect some stuff such as blue angels, queen angels, french angels, coral banded shrimp, Haitian anemones and a bunch of other fish.

[KeysKid]

I have quite a bit of green algae starting to grow. I don't believe I'm over feeding because my fish are consuming everything I put into the tank. Also I do biweekly and sometimes weekly water changes. Not quite sure for all the algae, any idea of what I should do?

[cherubfish pair]

Have you collected anything else from the beach other than the snails and hermits?
I said beach but I meant reef. :D

[NucMed]

How long do you leave your lights on? When I was using the stock lights I changed one bulb to actinic and the other to 50/50 to help with the colors and ran my actinics for 12 hours and 50/50 for 10 hours. I had more algae growth and had to scrape my glass more when I used the bulbs it came with. With less daylight and more actinic it slowed the algae growth down and the corals were more colorful. When I switched to LED's I had to cut back on the hours and now run the royal blues for 8 hours and my daylights for 6 hours. Nice tank by the way. I have the 14 gallon biocube myself.

[KeysKid]

I run the PCs from 8AM to 8PM and then the blue moon lights during the night. Thanks by the way!

[Fishinfool]

Those starfish are gunna killl everything and take over your other tanks too... they are the devil

My star like this went to town on two of my people eater colonies while I was at work. When I got home he was draped over the top of the plug with his mouth attached, sucking the life out of them. TAKE IT OUT!!

[evb9]

awesome set-up, LOVE the swissguard. Do you like the 14 or do you wish it was bigger? I ask because I'm looking at biocube's and you seem to take advantage of the space, just wondering if you would go up in size.

[KeysKid]

I already took out the starfish a few weeks ago. He didn't hurt anything, I just didn't want to take any chances.

I love the 14BC, my friend has the 8BC and it seems too small. Ive seen quite a few 29BCs and they are really nice, but they aren't near as small as the 14. I would go up in size, but I like the 14 because its small, but not too small.

There is definitely enough room in the 14 to put a good amount of liverock and coral in it. But in the future I could see myself upgrading to a 29, but probably keeping the 14 as well.

[KeysKid]

Decided to put the heater in the first compartment with the filter media in the back. Getting a cold front tonight, going to see how well the heater does in there.

Also thinking of upgrading the pump in the back. Any suggestions?

[MOB1224]

Looks like you mostly have rics and low flow corals in the tank why upgrade the return? The tank looks great keep up the updates.:beer:

[KeysKid]

Not sure, Just saw that almost everyone that has the BC14 upgraded it so I figured it would be a good idea.

I have the hydor nano powerhead which is 265gph, but I put it in my tank and it seemed like too much flow. What do you think? Should I keep it? It just looked like my clownfish wasn't happy with all the flow :/

[cherubfish pair]

If you could put the Hydor nano Koralia on an on/off timer it could be a wavemaker. The Natural Wave Timer is a good one and JBJ also makes one. There's also the entry level controller "ReefKeeper Lite" that has an on/off wavemaker for under $100.

[KeysKid]

I'm also thinking about adding Cheato in the middle chamber. I made this thread for questions and help.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1952095

[reefWW96]

are any of those ricordia wild caught by you? the rock they are on looks very nice, almost wild. those zoanthids that you said you got from your friend were from the wild. i have caught that exact color before. your tank looks pretty good to!

[KeysKid]

I didn't catch them wild but a friend of mine did. The ric and zoanthids were wild.

[KeysKid]

I added a small Mini Jet 606 powerhead today in the cube. Jut put it inside the display. Looks kinda weird with it. But its doing better with the more flow. I only have it on the minimum setting so its only like 90gph more and it seems perfect.

Ill get pictures tomorrow when the lights are on. Tried getting a picture of the tank with the night lights on, but for some reason on the camera it looks really weird, any suggestions of how to take a picture of the tank with blue night lights?

[KeysKid]

Here's some pictures from last night and today.
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001Good-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/006good.jpg

[burtbollinger]

looks nice...I think you will get better color and health if you dont run your main PCs so long...8-8 is crazy :) I'd recommend cutting that back by AT LEAST 4 hours. good luck and keep up the good work.

PS...consider the placement of those GSP...might want to isolate them on their own island or something, because as some point they WILL explode on you and begin spreading in ways you dont want.

If I were you, I'd move them to the front of the tank, like little GSP rock islands...

[KeysKid]

Alright cool, thanks for the suggestions.

[KeysKid]

Just ordered a media basket, filter floss, Purigen and Chemi-Pure from Mediabaskets.com, Can't wait for it to come in!

So I saw that I should remove the bioballs from the back in a matter of a couple days? What is the reason for this? Would it be bad just to remove them all at once and place the media basket in afterwards?

[MeatWad]

Hey love the tank here I have a BC14 also and I will be moving to a BC29 real soon either that or a nice rimless cube tank. I have the BC29 already but just not sure I want to move to it or sell it and get a rimless setup. My BC14 is WAY over stuffed and I am shocked I dont have coral warfare going on. I have a algae issue from not buying a timer yet and leaving my LED's on like 10-12 hours a day I will be picking up a timer tomorrow because after seeing a pic it looks bad lol

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/MeatWadsReef/IMG_20101219_203847.jpg

Here is a top down shot of the front of the reef.

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/MeatWadsReef/IMG_20101228_214119.jpg

Check out my other pics

http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/MeatWadsReef/?start=all

[KeysKid]

Nice man. How long has that been running for?

[KeysKid]

Changed the timer from 10AM to 7PM that should help. That is 9 hours compared to 12 hours.

[Luckedout]

Just ordered a media basket, filter floss, Purigen and Chemi-Pure from Mediabaskets.com, Can't wait for it to come in!

So I saw that I should remove the bioballs from the back in a matter of a couple days? What is the reason for this? Would it be bad just to remove them all at once and place the media basket in afterwards?


The problem is the drop in bio-filtration that you will lose when you replace them with new sterile media. You could end up having your tank do a mini-cycle if you're not careful.

It's always a good rule of thumb to do things slowly regardless of tank size.

[KeysKid]

Ok thanks Luckedout.
So how exactly should I do this? I'm thinking of removing a bioball every couple hours once I get the basket, and after I get to the last one just insert the media basket and thats it?

Thanks everyone for all the help, I've learned a lot from this.

[MOB1224]

Also the smaller the tank the slower you should go. Less water volume means bigger swings in params. The tank is lookin good, good luck:thumbsup:

[KeysKid]

Alright Thanks MOB. How slow are we talking? I'm up for doing whatever is good for my tank. Just trying to figure out exactly how long it should take removing the bioballs. Can't wait for this media basket.

[twelvejewelz]

looking good. Be careful with that maroon clown. When it gets bigger it will most likely get VERY nasty in such a small place with all of those other fish. Maroons are known to get larger and mean!

[KeysKid]

Thanks yeah I figured that out after I got it. Was in a LFS and just had to get him because he looked so cool. Once he gets bigger Ill put him into my 55.

For my next clown I'm thinking of a percula, any other suggestions?

[MOB1224]

Alright Thanks MOB. How slow are we talking? I'm up for doing whatever is good for my tank. Just trying to figure out exactly how long it should take removing the bioballs. Can't wait for this media basket.

Not sure man I have never used bio balls I always took them out b4 filling the tank. I would just take my time and do some water tests as I went to make sure that u don't get any major swings in your params. Good luck:fish2:

[KeysKid]

I received my Media Basket, Chemi Pure, Purigen and Filter Floss today. I started taking the bioballs slowly one by one. Might have all of them out by tomorrow, maybe the next day. Here are some pictures of what I got.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003.jpg

[KeysKid]

Oops double post.

[KeysKid]

Oh yeah, Earlier today while I was feeding my fish I noticed this small worm like thing sticking out of my live rock. He kept going in and out of the rock and looked like he was trying to eat or something. I was guessing "tube worm" just because he looked like a worm? But not sure. Can anyone ID this?

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/008Small.jpg

By the way, I know I have a green algae problem. I'm cutting down on the feeding a lot to try and get rid of it.

[knpjdad]

Sorry... Can't ID the worm for you, but I can "eye" a good looking system when I see one!

Great Job!

[KeysKid]

Thanks man, Took out the final bioballs today and added in the media basket!!

First level is the filter floss, second level is the purigen, and bottom level is the chemi-pure!

Here are some pictures!
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002.jpg

[KeysKid]

Tank is doing really good, Just got done doing a 2.5 gallon WC. Most of the time I do a 1 gallon WC but this time I did 2.5 Gallons since I just added the media basket and got rid of the bioballs. Ill take an updated picture in a little bit! :)

By the way, Yesterday I found some aptasia on a rock in my tank :( So I removed the LR it was on and cut all of them with a knife out of the water then put the rock back in. I'm sure a few survived but I know I killed quite a few!

How bad are aptasia? I know everyone on here hates them, but should I really put a ton of effort into getting everyone I see?

[KeysKid]

Oh yeah, A month or so ago I went to Miami with a friend and got some corals and live rock, and one of the live rocks I bought turned out to be a rock full of star polyps. Pretty cool, considering I bought it for like 2 bucks.

[KeysKid]

Here are some pictures I just took today, The second picture is the Live Rock that turned out to be star polyps! :)

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good3.jpg

[cherubfish pair]

How bad are aptasia? I know everyone on here hates them, but should I really put a ton of effort into getting everyone I see?
I've been hearing more and more that aiptasia is actually baby curley-Q anemones. I've had them in my tank before and wanted to see how big they get but it looks like the only hermit I had in there ate them all.

[KeysKid]

Yeah well I'm sure all my aptasia will get eaten then. I have a peppermint shrimp and hermit crabs.

Anyone have any suggestions on some coral I should get?

[KeysKid]

Just moved some stuff around in my tank, planning on getting some new corals pretty soon so I made some room!

Ill take pictures after everything opens up more, just did a water change.

[KeysKid]

Added some new corals recently. Added 5 Duncan Heads, 5 Candy Cane Heads, some zoos, and some pulsating xenia!

This thread isn't getting much feedback, so not sure if you even want new pictures..

[KeysKid]

Even though this thread isn't getting too much attention I decided to add some new pictures I took today :) In the pictures is my new Duncans, Candy Canes, Zoos and Mushroom!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/004.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/005.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/006.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/007.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/008.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/009.jpg

[naughty]

gorgeous! :D
i think your thread gets more attention than you know ;)

do you have a cleaner and a peppermint shrimp? are they getting along well?

annd is that a baby maroon clown in there? it's very pretty! is it mean?

[KeysKid]

Yeah I have both a peppermint and cleaner, they both get along pretty well. They don't really go to close to each other, but Ive never seen them fight and Ive had the peppermint in there first.

And yeah its a baby maroon, and no hes not mean at all. Hes really friendly and doesn't mess with anything. Everyone says they are so mean, but I think hes the nicest thing in my tank. He will eventually get too big, so I could either put it in my 55g or give it to one of my friends in the future.

[KeysKid]

Today I was moving around my magfloat cleaning the sides and realized there was a baby brittle star underneath the magnet! But sadly i think I might have killed him by moving around the magfloat :( Are baby brittle stars bad for a reef tank? He was tiny, maybe an inch from one end to the other.

Also I have tonsss of little "pods" i believe, they look kind of like little ants running around my tank, but they are more of a clear color. I tried to take a picture but they are kinda hard to see. But they are everywhere, on the sand, live rock, magfloat, everywhere. Is that bad to have too many pods?

Here are some pictures.

By the way, I also upgraded the powerhead in my display to a Koralia nano 240gph. Everything is doing really good, Ill post some more pictures later.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-4.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002-3.jpg

[cherubfish pair]

KeysKid,
How did you add the words and circle to the post above?

[Shane5223]

Tank looks fantastic...Keep up the posts, I have one that I started about a year ago, but have really just started to stock it.....I have never heard of having too many pods, usually you will see a bloom all at once an d then they level off a bit...Those little brittle stars are great for a reef tank and proboabley a hitchhiker off of a piece of rock...

[KeysKid]

Ok thanks for the info. Yeah I have had a ton of them for at least a month now. Everywhere I look I can see them.

Cherub, I just edited the picture with Paint. Super easy to do.

Everyone I need some suggestions, First of all I'm thinking of putting my maroon into my 55g pretty soon and added a mated pair of clowns. So here is the first question.

What type of clowns should I get? Percula, Semi Picasso, Ocellaris? and why?

Next I'm thinking of adding a coral or some corals. I'm thinking a torch? Anyone try these under PC lights or in a biocube? Would it live good?

[Shane5223]

Ok thanks for the info. Yeah I have had a ton of them for at least a month now. Everywhere I look I can see them.

Cherub, I just edited the picture with Paint. Super easy to do.

Everyone I need some suggestions, First of all I'm thinking of putting my maroon into my 55g pretty soon and added a mated pair of clowns. So here is the first question.

What type of clowns should I get? Percula, Semi Picasso, Ocellaris? and why?

Next I'm thinking of adding a coral or some corals. I'm thinking a torch? Anyone try these under PC lights or in a biocube? Would it live good?

I have a percula, he was the first fish I added and he is doing fantastic...Although I ony have him and a yellow watchman goby, so he really has the tank to himself...

I have had some grren hammer and some pulsing xenia with my biocube 14 and they both did very well until a heatwave this past summer killed 1/2 my tank...I know have a chiller and am lloking to pickup some hammer this week..

As far as lighting, you would want to keep the hammer closer to the top with the stock lighting..You can get the new PC-r bulbs from UVL and they will give you between 30% & 50% more light in the tank...You could also get an upgrade for a 3rd light in your hood for around $70 from nanotuners...That would allow youto do alot more as far as corals...

With your existing setup you could do most soft corals and LPS in my opinion as long as water quality is good and stable..

[KeysKid]

I already have hammer coral on the top middle. It was one of my first corals and is doing very well. I do many water changes so my parameters are good. How hot did your tank get? And what temperature would you consider too high?

[KeysKid]

Just took a picture of the tank with the Koralia Nano in it. Everything is doing really good now.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001Good-2.jpg

[spoiled739]

I have a 12 gallon Nano Cube, and I was going to get a Premium Picasso True Percula. They are really sweet, but also pretty pricey. Check them out at http://www.orafarm.com. How many fish do you have?

[KeysKid]

Right now in my biocube I only have the Maroon Clown and no other fish.

Ive had other fish in it but put them into my other tank. I think I'm just going to keep only the clown in there by himself, and if I get two clowns then just them two and move the maroon to my 55gal.

[KeysKid]

Did a little rearranging. Here are some new pictures! Sorry the pictures are too awesome of quality, just with my little digital camera.
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-5.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002-4.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003-2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/006-1.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Damn bro looking awesome.. nice pics, nice tank

[Jadams]

Looks great! What happened to all the ricordea's though?

(Sorry, I didnt read thru the whole thread if you already mentioned something about it..:lol:)

[KeysKid]

Gave almost all of it to my friend with a bigger tank since I wanted more space for variety.

[KeysKid]

Put the maroon clown into my bigger tank and added two True Percs!!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/006Good-1.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Dude looking sick nice pics,,

[rastarainy]

those clowns are sweeeeet

[robot2222]

Hey the tank looks sweet . I bought a 14 bio cube and i am cycling it now . I wanted to know what you thought of your media rack set up with the purigen and chemipure ?
Do you think your tank has improved with it set up over the way you originaly had it set up ?

[KeysKid]

Yeah I really think the media basket is worth getting. My parameters have all been awesome with it, and I noticed after taking out the bioballs and everything that there was tons of nasty detritus and stuff trapped in the back, but with the basket now that's all gone.

Also I got some new mushrooms and a plate coral today, will post pictures soon!

[robot2222]

thanks for the response . how often do you feed the fish ? do you feed the corals anything ?

[KeysKid]

I feed the fish a small amount everyday but sometimes every other day. I also feed my corals brine shrimp but not too often. I mix up what my fish eat, sometimes brine, flakes or pellets.

[KeysKid]

New pictures!
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-6.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/005-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/004-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002-5.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003-3.jpg

[rastarainy]

nice! is that a plate coral or a torch in the second to last pic?

[KeysKid]

Plate, just got it yesterday!

[rastarainy]

nice! looks really awesome

[KeysKid]

Thanks everyone, mushrooms and plate both opened up very well. Moved some stuff around, put all of the GSP on their own seperate "island" so they don't start growing and stinging the other corals.

Took a new picture today, its kind of blurry but its all I have right now and the lights are off. Also looks like the clowns might host on the plate.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001Good-3.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Your plate is gunna hate them clowns.. when u gunna give me that maroon?

[KeysKid]

Idk bro I have it in my 55, is your maroon gunna kill it?

[keywestcoralboy]

Hell no if they fight ill take it out, i dont want it to die i want to pair them up.

[KeysKid]

Everything is doing really good in the tank, and it seems like eventually these clowns will become a mated pair :) They sleep right next to each other and are always swimming around together.

[blkg35]

Nice setup. Those true percs are gorgeous!

[drew_l]

Thanks for the help, beautiful tank! you're really lucky to be able to walk to the beach and pick up things for your tank!!

[KeysKid]

Moved everything around a lot in the past few days. Also decided to buy some new rics and zoos. Took out the multi-rock and put it into my other tank. Here are some new pictures.

Also, the clowns are doing really good. The smaller one has little black dots on him from being stung by the plate coral while trying to host on it. But they are both very healthy and happy!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/002-7.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/005-2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/006-2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003-4.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/007-1.jpg

[naughty]

pretty :) i love the clowns!!! they're true percs right?

i can't decide whether i want the ocellaris or percula one for my bc14 when it's ready...

[KeysKid]

Yeah true percs. I couldn't decide either for a while, but decided with the true percs. I love them and I'm really happy that I chose them. Plus they never fight and they weren't even a pair.

[spaceblues]

So did you actually upgrade the stock pump in the back? I've read a couple times, but never saw what you exactly decided what to do. I just set up my 14 this weekend and was wondering.

[KeysKid]

No I never upgraded the pump in the back. Tanks doing really good now. Everything is growing new heads and getting bigger. Camera has started to take really grainy pictures, not sure whats going on. Ill get new pictures soon though.

[naughty]

do you ever have temp issues in your tank?

mine constantly runs a little high, i'm worried for the summer :(

[KeysKid]

Yeah I do have temp issues. I fixed it by keeping the lid open and I put a small fan pointed at my tank. The fan I got was like 10 dollars at home depot and is super quiet. It can keep it like 5 degrees cooler depending on what setting you put it on. It really helps a lot with the heat, but now i have to top it off more frequently. I just did a water change a few minutes ago, Ill post some pictures up soon.

[Matsu49]

Your tank looks great and has come a long way since your first few posts. Are you still running your lights for 9 hours?

[KeysKid]

Yeah 10-7, so 9 hours. I'm trying to get new pictures but for some reason my camera started taking really bad pictures? Not sure whats wrong with it. Ill either have to get a new one, or just use my phone.

[SaltyCod]

No I never upgraded the pump in the back. Tanks doing really good now. Everything is growing new heads and getting bigger. Camera has started to take really grainy pictures, not sure whats going on. Ill get new pictures soon though.

I've seen a lot of BC14s that run a maxi-jet 900 in the back, in place of the stock pump. I think if you did that with your setup, you could eliminate the power head in the display portion. I'd recommend changing the return nozzle if you upgrade though, since it just shoots water out straight.

A while back I saw a post where I guy had a nozzle that rotated as water flowed through it. it attached to the stock outlet in the BC and seemed to do really well with flow. I forget what it was called though.

Also, I wanted to ask you about your filter media.. How is it working out for you so far? Did you remove the stock BC filter panel, or are you running that as well?

The tank looks great!

[KeysKid]

My tank is doing awesome the way I have it set up, so I'm definitely not changing anything. The nozzle you are talking about is called a hydor flo. The media basket is awesome and is way better than the stock filter. I also removed the stock biocube filter and just have a heater in that chamber now.

[smogl00]

Nice looking tank! Anxious to see know how things go with that long tentacle plate as times goes on. I've always wanted to get one, but I've been discouraged by the low survival rates that most people experience in captivity with them.

[KeysKid]

Finally got around to messing with my camera and fixed the problem. So I took a few pictures a few minutes ago. Take a look at the pictures I post and compare it with my earlier pictures and you'll see how much my corals have grown. Everything is at least double in size and is doing awesome! Let me know what you think :)


By the way, My clowns have hosted onto both the GSP and Zoos on the bottom left of my tank.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC3.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC3.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC4.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC5.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC6.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC7.jpg

[Jeff_NJ]

Your tank looks great! Congratulations on your success.

/Jeff

[mantis1437]

Wow! Great looking BioCube! I got the same tank and I need to get it up to par. thanks for the inspirational pics!

[mantis1437]

BTW how many fishes u got in there?

[KeysKid]

I took all the fish out of my biocube and into my bigger tank except for the pair of clowns. I knew it would run a lot better with less fish, and I love my two clowns. When I bought them they were not a mated pair, but now they are always swimming together. Thanks everyone.

[KeysKid]

By the way, Ive found the best method for keeping my tank good is by doing a 3 gallon water change every week and at the latest every two weeks. It keeps my tank running very good and I don't even have a skimmer.

[SeaninMesa]

Nice tank! I also do a 3 gallon change every week and have been having good success as well.

[rgh69]

Looking great. I think I will switch over to the media basket in my BC29. I am currently running cheato and a skimmer but the skimmer pump just failed. After seeing your success with the media basket I think that I will go that way as well.

[norsstar]

great thread! your tank looks wonderful.

[Hextall]

Thanks man, Took out the final bioballs today and added in the media basket!!

First level is the filter floss, second level is the purigen, and bottom level is the chemi-pure!

Here are some pictures!
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-1.jpg



Saw your post on the biocube owners thread and your comment about your build thread.

I also have the media baskets, but had no idea those little clips were used to direct the flow into the media basket (that's what's going on in this picture, right?).

How do they attach?

[Flame_Angel]

Saw your post on the biocube owners thread and your comment about your build thread.

I also have the media baskets, but had no idea those little clips were used to direct the flow into the media basket (that's what's going on in this picture, right?).

How do they attach?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLa89Lbshco

This video shows you the entire install process. Not too difficult.

[KeysKid]

Yeah its very simple to do. Just watch the video posted above. Tank is still doing awesome and I actually recently added a small diamond goby so now my sand is completely white and clean.

[KeysKid]

Going to change out the purigen and chemipure tomorrow and do another water change, Ill post pictures after. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[spaceblues]

How often do you change those out?

[KeysKid]

Ive heard its best to change them out every three months, but some people say every month, but I usually do it around every 2 months, sometimes longer if my tank is still doing good.

[KeysKid]

Just took some new pictures of my biocube, hope you enjoy!

One of the pics shows my clowns that are hosted to my GSP and Zoas. I tried getting a picture of my diamond goby, but every time I try to take a picture he hides!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/001-8.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/005-3.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/008-1.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/006-3.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/003-5.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/007-2.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/004-2.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Damn.. who got you those torch corals?

[KeysKid]

Those aren't torch jack, they are frogspawn and hammer.

[keywestcoralboy]

ooh lala...

[KeysKid]

Yeah man.. I want to get the 29 hqi biocube next!

[keywestcoralboy]

I might try to pair my swissguard..

[KeysKid]

Yesterday I added some more xenia from my girlfriends tank because her xenia is growing too fast! Also moved around some coral. Here are some new pictures.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good555.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good222.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good111.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good333.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Good444.jpg

[kaihonu82]

I just read through your entire thread and you've done a great job with everything! Congrats on having such a successful tank! I'm just about to start setting up my BC14gal (the inTank media housing has already shipped) and it looks like I've got a lot to look forward to.

[KeysKid]

Thanks, Yeah it may seem like a lot of work , but its fun. I would just recommend having the media basket which you already have and doing 3 gallon water changes every week and every 2 weeks max. Doing this keeps my levels really good. Also when doing water changes I like to siphon all the detritus out of the back chambers. I also change out my filter pad usually once a week once they get really brown.

I'm hoping by next month to get a 29 biocube with pc lights and I will transfer everything over to that, plus I will have more room for more corals and fish.

[KeysKid]

Yesterday I went diving and caught a pederson shrimp for my tank. He is tiny, but awesome. Right now he is hosting on my frogspawn :)

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Pederson.jpg

[KeysKid]

Today I took out my diamond goby and my girlfriend bought me a small ~2 inch swissguard! He is so awesome. Only a few hours after I put him in he was already swimming around close to the glass, and even when I walked up he stayed there.

Heres a picture of him in the bag, Ill get a better picture hopefully tomorrow. Sorry for the quality, it was taken with my phone.

This is a list of everything that I can think of at the moment in my tank.
Pair of true perc clowns
Swissguard
Skunk cleaner shrimp
Pederson shrimp
Few snails and blue legs

Frogspawn
Hammer
Duncans
Candy Canes
GSP
Mushrooms
Rics
~7 different types of Zoas
Yellow Polyps
Pulsing Xenia
Plate coral

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/swissy.jpg

[KeysKid]

Moved around my corals the other day. Ordered a torch coral online from saltwaterfish. Once I get that my tank will probably be pretty close to maxed out. But I've said that before already :) Here is a cell phone picture from the other day, ill take more once the torch arrives :)

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/10511-2.jpg

[teddyzaper]

absolutely amazing, i hope my tank will turn out this nice!

[CJ03]

Ooooooh! Nice. I have a bio cube 14 set up now but it is nothing compared to this. You have a good amount of coral in there and the layout looks great. Im impressed! Certainly gives me something to strive for.


Caleb

[KeysKid]

Thanks, I just added a torch coral yesterday. Ill get some pictures of it soon once it opens up more.

[Arizonah13]

Your tank is beautiful! Do you dose anything (Part A, B, mag, etc...?) What kind of salt do you use? How did you like ordering from Saltwaterfish.com?

Thanks!

[KeysKid]

Currently I use nano reef part a and b. But I was planning on adding an ATO in the future and dose kalk. I have used instant ocean reef crystal salt from the beginning. This was my second time ordering from saltwaterfish.com and both times everything arrived healthy and on time. Here is an updated fts with my torch coral.
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/IMAG0543-1.jpg

[jr973]

nice packe dup nano i thought mines was packed i have a 29biocube which is jammed but after lookin at yours i believe i can squeeze in a few more corals

[KeysKid]

Thanks, yeah I don't think I can add any more corals into this tank. But even though I have all these corals and some pretty close together I haven't seen any corals stinging and hurting the corals next to them yet. I'm planning on starting to frag some corals for friends to get more room in the future.

[Arizonah13]

Thanks, yeah I don't think I can add any more corals into this tank. But even though I have all these corals and some pretty close together I haven't seen any corals stinging and hurting the corals next to them yet. I'm planning on starting to frag some corals for friends to get more room in the future.

You should just upgrade to the 29g Biocube instead ;-)

How long has this little beauty been running anyway?

[KeysKid]

Yeah I really want to. Its been around 11 months now.

[RooKi3]

Amazing looking tank you have there!

[CJ03]

You should just upgrade to the 29g Biocube instead ;-)

How long has this little beauty been running anyway?

Yeah I can only imagine what he could do with a 29.
Some people have some mad skill at scaling and stocking
their tanks.


Pretty impressive for only being 11mean months old

[KeysKid]

Thanks guys, did I also mention that I set up a 14 gallon for my girlfriend 5 months ago, and we got two separate true perc clowns for it and they weren't mated, and a month ago they mated and laid eggs for the first time and a few minutes ago we just watched them lay eggs for the second time!

[Arizonah13]

Thanks guys, did I also mention that I set up a 14 gallon for my girlfriend 5 months ago, and we got two separate true perc clowns for it and they weren't mated, and a month ago they mated and laid eggs for the first time and a few minutes ago we just watched them lay eggs for the second time!

Wow! I've had my pair of occ. clowns for over a year together - no eggs yet. Maybe because mine are tank bred occ.? Either way, congrats grandpa! ;-)

[KeysKid]

Yeah Ive had the clowns in my biocube for a while now with no eggs yet, but hers have only been together for 2 months max and they've mated.

[fishtankbroke]

Great tank, just starting to build a 14 of my own, not sure it will ever be as colorful but I can try! Thanks for all the info....

[KeysKid]

Well for a while now I've wondered why I have seen any clownfish eggs in my tank and figured they were breeding considering whenever I look in the tank they are side by side. So tonight I looked in my tank with just the moonlights on and saw a ton of little white spec looking things floating around my tank. So I took a little container and scooped some up. After looking at them in the light I can see them swimming around and from pictures I've looked up online they look like baby clownfish. I tried taking a picture, but of course it just looks like a little spec.

Pretty sad considering I know they will just die and get eaten by my corals :/

Maybe eventually I can try setting up a separate clownfish tank, but I've heard its pretty tough to accomplish.

Well here is the picture that you can kind of see the little spec which I think is a clownfish. I understand you can't even tell what it is from the picture.

By the way, from now on I will be looking really hard for eggs, I think they are hiding the eggs around my zoos or gsp, they are hosted to both and they are right next to each other.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/IMAG0558-1.jpg

[KeysKid]

Well its been non stop pouring rain here for the past three days so Ive been paying a lot of attention to my tank. Today I've been working on getting my swissguard to eat since he is still very shy. I'm pretty sure he ate a few piece of frozen brine shrimp. He looks very healthy and I managed to get a picture of him in the back. I also saw a bristle worm in my tank while feeding.

By the way, what are those white things on my glass next to the swissguard? I can take more pictures of the glass if you need me to.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/IMAG0562.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/IMAG0563.jpg

[spaceblues]

Are those white things flatworms?

[surfsharkus]

What happened to the fire fish from the beginning?

[KeysKid]

No their not flatworms because they don't move. And both of the firefish from the beginning jumped into the back chambers when I was away one weekend and died.

[KeysKid]

Made an ID thread about the white things on the glass, and turns out they are just sponges and cause no harm. I might take them off the glass tomorrow though, just so it looks cleaner.

[keywestcoralboy]

Lookin sweet bro, the 65 is goin crazy with the LEDs on it but you are deffinately the Jedi master of the biocube. Team swissguard!

[KeysKid]

Thanks guys. Just ordered a LED Strip of 24, 453nm blue LEDs. I saw some threads of people adding these to their hoods and it made all of their corals and colors pop more. I should get them in about a week and I will show how I add it into my hood.

Everything in the tank today is doing great. Looking to get some really good colored zoanthid frags for my sand. Just trying to figure out where I can get some for a reasonable price.

Swissguard ate a lot today, but sadly he ate my Pederson anemone shrimp. Oh well I guess.

I will get a picture tomorrow of the tank and post it on here.

[KeysKid]

Everything is doing good today. Here is an updated FTS.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nov2.jpg

I should get my LEDS soon and plan on putting them in early next week.

[keywestcoralboy]

Bring a blue mushroom on Friday and I'll give you some zoos..

[KeysKid]

Deal, I already fragged some for you and melinda.

[KeysKid]

I got the new LEDs in today sooner than expected so I decided to install them today. Putting them in the hood was simple, took me about 15 minutes. In person the tank looks so much better. It's much bluer with more of a shimmer. My corals have way more color now also. In pictures its hard to tell the difference though, here are some pictures!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020270.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020272-1.jpg
HOOD BEFORE
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020271.jpg
HOOD AFTER
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020282.jpg
Just the LEDs
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020287.jpg
Without LEDs
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/Nov2.jpg
With LEDs and Compacts on (Its hard to tell the difference in pictures, especially with my camera. But in person its awesome.)
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020289.jpg

In the last picture my corals are still closed up because the lights had just turned on. But overall I really like these LEDs. Thinking of buying another strip with 50/50 in the future. I also cut some of the reflectors off the hood so the fans can cool off more. I would recommend anyone with a biocube looking to get more blue shimmer without spending a fortune to get these.

[hustlah]

-In person the tank looks so much better-

Agree

[nichthyes]

where in the keys are u?

[ange062]

Lookin good! Seems like the LED's helped make the corals pop, but it's hard to tell from the pics.

[CMM23]

Nice setup


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KeysKid]

Thanks guys. I'm located in Marathon, which is right in the middle of the Keys. Yeah the LED's have made a big difference in the colors in my tank. I love them. If I had a nice camera I'm sure you could really tell the difference, but I'm just using a basic digital camera.

Haven't changed anything in my tank since the pictures. I'm looking to get some zoanthids, but my LFS only has big rocks with Zoas and no small ones. My swissguard is eating really good now, he eats both brine shrimp and pellets.

[Sun357]

Excellent looking Cube!

~Fred

[keywestcoralboy]

Too bad about the bio cube man... I have never heard of one breaking like that... At least it looked good before the "incident"

[spaceblues]

Too bad about the bio cube man... I have never heard of one breaking like that... At least it looked good before the "incident"

What happened?

[KeysKid]

Hes a friend of mine and he likes to make up lies.. nothing is wrong with it lol.

He's just jealous because he can't get rid of hair algae and red slime in his tanks.

[KeysKid]

Here are some pictures that I took like 5 minutes ago of my tank to show you its still running. My friend thought it would be funny to act like my tank cracked or something.

My swissguard is eating really good now and stays in the front of the tank a lot now.

I got my LFS to order me a frag of some bright zoas, and I should have them in about a week probably.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020492.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020493.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020498.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020497.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Ha I did think it was Funny.. But it's still looking good

[josh11551]

I also have a 14 gallon biocube and i keep my LPS pretty far away from all of my softies. do you not have problems with your LPS's stinging the softies? ( i have frogspawn and trumpets/candy canes)

[KeysKid]

No actually the only thing that does get stung is a few zoanthids that are near my frogspawn, but the rock they are on needs to stay where they are, so I'm just leaving them there. But other than that everything is happy where it is and doesn't sting each other.

[keywestcoralboy]

Yo I sold my 135, not my rimless can begin

[KeysKid]

What! I'm calling you in a minute!

[keywestcoralboy]

Got a MH for it today.. Im guna make a build thread but I'm going to remeasure the tank so I'm sure of the water volume

[KeysKid]

Got a frag of some nice zoanthids from the LFS yesterday. I like the colors on them! Other than that everything is the same and is doing good!

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020504.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/P1020503.jpg

[keywestcoralboy]

Damn bro its looking good.. Too bad you will always be the apprentice and me the master..!

[KeysKid]

Sad to say guys its been almost two years since I started this tank and earlier today the biocube started to leak for no reason. I just walked into my room and went to feed my fish and noticed that there was some water on the floor. For some reason the back of my biocube separated a little bit and had a leak. So I took out all of my corals, mated pair of clowns and swissguard and drove them to my girlfriends house in a storage bin. Luckily she has a 14g biocube that we just set up recently. Sadly the swissguard died on the way over :( Not quite sure why. I'll take some pics tomorrow of where the leak happened and their new home.

[JasonBJones]

Very sorry to hear. I hope everything else makes it through the transistion.

[KeysKid]

Well it looks like the casualties were the duncans, candy canes and swissguard. Everything today is starting to open up more and the clownfish look fine. So I cleaned out the biocube and found out what had happened. For some reason the bottom glass cracked straight across which caused it to leak. I didn't notice it before because it was covered with sand. Here is some pictures, the first one is the most recent picture of the biocube before the crack, the second is the crack and the third is their new home at my girlfriends house.

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC001.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC002.jpg
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g323/Keyskid/BC003.jpg

[Nina51]

i just set up a 14g bc and read through this whole thread in amazement! really sorry to see this update from you. hope everything does well in your g/f's tank.