29 Gallon Biocube Build/Tank Log

[Amoore311]

After coasting for the better part of 2 years, I have sold off my larger system and have a bit of a rekindled love for the hobby again.

The drain of home ownership and a new baby on the way completely killed my desire for a larger tank. The large tank is gone now, replaced by my new 28 Gallon Biocube!

I've been keeping reef tanks for the better part of a decade, but I don't have too much experience with a small tank. I've got the basics, and even some advanced stuff down pretty well. I will need assistance with the more "nano focussed" topics and information though.

Anyways here is where I am now, and where I'd like to head. If you notice anything odd, or something I'm missing... please by all means point it out.

Equipment Currently Set up and In Use
-2 Month old 29 Gallon Biocube + Homemade stand I purchased off craiglist
-StevesLed.com Extreme SPS Retrofit. (Pre-assembled by vendor)
18- Royal Blue Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs
10- 5,000K Neutral White Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs
- Brand New Cobalt MJ1200 Return
-150 Watt Titanium heater with temp probe and controller

Equipment Waiting to be Set Up
-Neptune Apex (Full Apex w/ the VDM Included)
-More Circulation??
-Intank Media and Fuge Baskets are shipping out to me today
-Aqualifter Pump + Float Switches for ATO


Fish/Corals/etc
-My 10 year old pair of Percula Clowns.
-Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
-Zebra Turbo Snail
-12-15 Dwarf Cerith Snails
-4-5 Green hairy mushrooms literally on deaths doorstep.
- ~30#'s of well seasoned live rock. Bare Bottom.

I plan on adding fish and corals once I know the tank is stable. Fish wise I will end up with 5-7 peaceful fish, and a tank primarily dominated by an anemone....LPS Corals, and zoas. I will be going with a couple clams as well down the road.

I had to get this tank set up quickly as I needed to have a home for my clowns. With them being over 10 years old, I couldn't simply get rid of them. That being said I moved 30ish pounds of live rock to Biocube before braking the old system down. I started with 100% new salt water, I use oceanic salt. Everything has been doing great since I moved them over on Friday.


Where I need help:

Circulation: What do you guys/gals recommend in addition to the MJ1200 Return? I have experience with Ecotech Vortech Pumps in the past. Maybe a single MP10? What about Tunzes? i know they are great pumps but I've never used them. Any suggestions on Tunze powerheads to research? Finally... whats the deal with these Jebao pumps?

I'd like the pump to be controlled by the Apex. I know I can do that with the Vortech's and Tunzes, how about the Jebao pumps?

Lighting: I like the StevesLED.com Upgrade, but I'd like to tweak the spectrum if it isn't too difficult. How hard would it be to switch some of the already existing LED's out for different colors? Any suggestions here? My previous light on my 100 Gallon was a Reef Breeders Photon. That one was also only White/Blue, and TBH i'm bored with that.

Also, I need to get these lights hooked up to my controlled. Does anyone have any info or first hand knowledge on how to set up a Steve'sLED Biocube retrofit to run off an APEX Controller? The installed dials will not dim to 0%... so I need to keep unplugging the darn thing.

I want full Apex functionality for these lights with custom dimming for sunrise/sunset, etc. Help lol!

Cooling: I notice the tank runs 3-4 degrees above ambient with the hood completely closed. The supplied fan with the Steve'sLED kit is great, but I noticed it is not on all the time. Would installing a second fan that runs when the lights are on help at all? Not even sure where the heck to put another fan.

Top Off: For simplicity, I'd like to dose saturated Kalk in my ATO. Any +/-'s to doing this in a smaller set up? My ATO will be a couple gallon resevoir of kalk saturated RODI. It will be controlled by float switches hooked up to my Apex through a Breakout Box. The pump will be a basic aqualifter.

I do have 2 Bulk Reef Supply Drews Dosing Pumps I can use for Calc/Alk supplementation later on. I'd like to keep it to just Kalk until I NEED to dose CA/ALK/MG however.

Finally..... any tips for taking pictures of LED lit tanks. The reason I don't have any photos is because they all come out looking like a tank full of windex lol.

[terrypercula]

I have had MP's, Tunzss and Jebaos. I had the WP40 and 25. Here's my take on them....

They're not bad pumps, they do the job, they're affordable BUT they are no where near the quality of a Tunze or Ecotech pump. The controllability is seemingly there BUT the speed control is basically useless. It's supposed to be 100% 75% or 50%, it feels like 100% 99.9% 99.8%...if you want to slow them down you have to DIY some kind of dimmer to them. The else mode was designed with zero knowledge of reef current in mind. It's just constant blasting of water stream.the flow is narrow unlike the vortech or Tunze. All 4 of mine I tried were LOUD. I hear plenty of people say there's are quiet. Either they're deaf or I got four bad ones. They are built noticeably cheap. You can feel it when you hold it. They are very big pumps. This is my biggest complaint. I live the vortech because of the small footprint. The Jebao feels like I put a house fan in my tank. All that being said if you're reefing on a budget they're good pumps. If you're someone who respects quality equipment, as I am, you'll be disappointed.

As far as Tunze or Ecotech it depends on what you're looking for. Tunze is absolutely silent but adds a larger footprint to your display. MP10 is far from loud but there is a noticeable whirling noise. I went with the Ecotech and I'm not sure if I'll ever own another pump again.

[Amoore311]

Thanks for the feedback. I've owned various MP40's since they were released to the market over the years. I do like their quality on the MP40's.

I picked up a WP10 off Amazon to try it out. I figure if I don't like it, it's only $60. The Vortech MP10 I've heard some complaints of noise, which to be honest is what I care most about.

I will be looking towards a MP10 if the WP10 turns out to be not so great. I'll post my results here. I get the WP10 on Wednesday.

[terrypercula]

My MP10 is almost dead silent. If noise is your biggest concern you'll LOVE a Tunze. I never owned the WP10 but I will say the 25 was wsaasy better than the 40 so maybe the 10 is even better than that.

[RDM]

For your cooling: did you take the stock fans out of the hood when you put in the LEDs? I left mine in when I stripped it for LEDs and I plugged them into my Apex. Using the oscillate function for that outlet my fans run for ten minutes and then off twenty. That helps keep the heat out and the fan noise doesn't wear me out. Since you are planning on an Apex something like that might work for you.

[Amoore311]

For your cooling: did you take the stock fans out of the hood when you put in the LEDs?

I have a Pressurized Cooling Fan installed in the hood. This one specifically:

http://shop.stevesleds.com/Pressurizing-Cooling-Fan-with-Power-Regulator-Pressurizing-Cooling-Fan-w-plug.htm

Now that I have my Apex set back up on this tank I can see temperature really shouldn't be a problem at all with the LED's. It's been very stable over the past 3 days.


I received my inTank Media Basket and Fuge Basket yesterday, as well as my Jebao WP10. The baskets are great, and fit perfectly. I have cut to fit pieces of filter pad in the top right now. I'm running BRS Rox 0.8 Carbon and Purigen in the remaining 2 chambers once those supplies arrive.

The WP10 is dead silent. The controller is pretty cheap, but it's what I expected. Within 1/2 hour I had it placed and set exactly how I wanted it. Now we wait and see how the longevity works out for me.

Once my supply order comes in I need to set up my Kalk Saturated ATO up, and get my LEDS wired up to the Apex controller.

Has anyone changed out LEDS before? I want to either add to, or change up a couple LED's in the set up I'm running now. I'd like to add some UV/Purple, Green, and Red to round out the spectrum a bit.

My set up currently consists of:

18- Royal Blue Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs

10- 5,000K Neutral White Luxeon ES 3 watt LEDs - Full Spectrum White LEDs