Cabo's Coralife Biocube 29

[Cabo2008]

Ok, so I think I finally got my BC setup the way I want it (until something else catches my eye....lol) so I thought I'd post a quick build/results thread.

The current setup includes:

-RapidLED retrofit kit (aurora puck) with the StormX controller
-Upgraded return to MJ1200
-InTank media rack with filter floss, purigen and chemipure elite
-Mini-fuge which really just houses chaeto for the 'pod population (made from eggcrate)
-About 28lbs of CaribSea Liferock
-Deepwater HOB skimmer
-Gyre 130
-RW-4 pointed at the back/bottom to add some turbulence and help push detrius forward for cleaning out during water changes
-Koralia 425 opposite the RW-4 in the bottom back to "sweep" the rest of the bottom of the tank
-Apex controller

It's a mostly LPS (acan's) tank with few "stragglers" that were either part of a "frag pack" I picked up or from a friend's tank that he took down.

Here's some pics (please forgive the quality, still need to get a good camera):

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--N_gBOjG1NM/VPNKsjvLFHI/AAAAAAAAA2k/ScpjOwcLYVk/w1139-h759-no/IMG_6300.CR2

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-IyzCvqkIMeU/VPNXutaYvlI/AAAAAAAAA2c/WIow_gYm8rk/w1139-h759-no/IMG_6290.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bt1gzKVzJ94/VPNXvuWFicI/AAAAAAAAA1c/b5v2hyy_ovs/w1139-h759-no/IMG_6297.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yKku2O9hF1E/VPNXux5l_gI/AAAAAAAAA1k/vuZU2GtYTIY/w1139-h759-no/IMG_6291.jpg



https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XG2FX3NIF_8/VPNXu9ui-pI/AAAAAAAAA1s/UsByAXbKNSY/w1139-h759-no/IMG_6293.jpg


Then a little shot of the butcher job I had to do on the hood to fit the skimmer:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HdNEZceA-bo/VPNsjebORjI/AAAAAAAAA2M/_zSod3ipXyQ/w1331-h749-no/20150301_144209%5B1%5D.jpg

I tried every skimmer I could get my hands on before settling on this one (Hydor slim skim, AL 115, Tunze 9001, Tunze 9002, and even the one made for the BC29) and didn't like any of them. I would have just gotten the AM HOB-1 but they were out of stock and the DeepWater was available and very similar.

Also I tried using 2x Vortec MP10's in every mode they have and my corals just never seemed as happy as they do with the Gyre/powerhead config I have going on now.

Anyways, I just thought I'd share since we all like seeing what everyone else is doing..........right? :)

[Cabo2008]

Of course any suggestions or ideas are welcome (I hate my rockwork...but I've redone it 2 or 3 times and this is the best I've come up with).

[Cabo2008]

Ok, so I'm thinking about removing the media rack and just making the whole 2nd chamber a "chaeto farm".

My reasoning for this is 2 fold.

1- I'm really not seeing much water movement in the half of the chamber that has the chaeto (which is causing a few "sludge bubbles" on top of the water there).

2- With the size of skimmer that's on it, plus having more chaeto for pods to live in and help with nitrates, that might be a better choice than running the CPE and Purigen I have in the media rack. Plus I do a 5 gal water change every week.

I might try this out for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

[soulpatch]

I have thought about this as well. I would have to move the pump for my reactor though.

Since I have a reactor I dont really need the media rack anymore and it is a pain to get it out for media removal with how I have my skimmer.

I have to see if I can fit two pumps in chamber 3 or if I can put the reactor pump in chamber 1 maybe and leave the second chamber for pump returns and chateo.




As to your tank those are some awesome look acans but your fancy clown takes the cake. Beautiful.

[Cabo2008]

Yeah, I think I'm going to do it.

A reactor would probably do better anyway if I ended up needing something else. I was looking at the CPR nano reactor as I think it'll fit in the 1st chamber and still allow for much more flow than I had with a skimmer there.



Thanks man! I have to admit, I'm on an acan kick with this tank. Back about 10 years ago, when I had a 240 gal, I started picking them up but they were crazy expensive then. So I guess I'm still hooked!

[Flightpipe]

What percentages are you running on each channel on your rapid led puck?

[Cabo2008]

Right now, about 100%-blues, 50%-color, 50%-whites, 75%-UV

[soulpatch]

Do you have a controller Cabo or just using the dials on the drivers?

[Cabo2008]

Right now I'm using a StormX controller but I might just hook it up to my Apex controller. The StormX is cool, but if I can do most of the same stuff with the Apex, that just makes it easier.

[soulpatch]

I have mine wired into my apex. If you get the apex wires though be aware that they are opposite of normal where black is the positive and red is negative. So they will be the inverse of your dial wiring.

It is anoying but at least I already went through that hassle of *** is wrong so you dont have to...


And I should also note that through all of our PMs I was secretly hoping your corals liked the MP10s so I could buy the gyre off of you for less then new. HA HA

[Cabo2008]

Haha! That's funny. Yeah, they really like the Gyre......I already eBay'd the MP10's and cancelled the upgrade order from Ecotech. I'm tellin' ya man, I like the Gyre, not because of how it looks in the tank (it's a bit odd, but not bad) but the freakin' acans love the current I'm getting from it.

That's good to know about the apex wires.....black=pos and red=neg?......that makes perfect sense.....

[soulpatch]

yeah the wires being opposite drove me insane for hours trying to figure out why my apex wasnt working. I thought it was my profiles or something and lo and behold it was the reverse wiring.

[Cabo2008]

Ok, so I thought I'd post some changes and updates.

I got really tired of trying to keep a refugium running in the second chamber with my HOB skimmer there. I was having flow and lighting issues due to where the skimmer is positioned.

I know I don't really need NEED a fuge, but I want one to help keep my pod population up to feed my Mandarin. I'm culturing pods too, which are doing well, but I like to safer than sorry.

Here's some pics of how I set it up:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gb758JEIZ1I/VQ9gheoqUuI/AAAAAAAAA3M/vgITj9is-g0/w1168-h657-no/20150322_202510%5B1%5D.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RJXsvg2ZtWvuPZhR60snF3mr0bve4BIGJe-hi9gbDPA=w394-h222-p-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QzySJmWcZaGfuxw4Js1EMlmekPf24zB4Si1RNoTkP-A=w327-h184-p-no

Also, some of my Acans are still trying to get used to the lighting changes I made when I swapped out the StormX controller for the Apex VDM module (probably because I completely changed the sun up, sun down "method" since the VDM's wizard allows me to do so easier). So I'm keeping an eye on that.

Once everyone gets "happy" again, I'll post up some new pics too! :)

[soulpatch]

curious to see your pod breeding setup. I want a mandarin as well but would need to have a well established pod breeder in order to get one. He would replace my six line if I went that route...

[ageno125]

looks great I was thinking of a BIo cube 29 and ended up with a 46 g edge. GL!

[Cabo2008]

curious to see your pod breeding setup. I want a mandarin as well but would need to have a well established pod breeder in order to get one. He would replace my six line if I went that route...

I really can't take credit, there's write up's around the interwebs.....I just read a bunch and took what seemed to me to be the best parts of all of them.

Right now, it's the following:

-1 5 Gal (food grade) bucket
-1 Gal of fresh seawater (to start it off)
-DT's phytoplankton (food for the pods)
-1 16oz. bottle of Tisbe ReefPods
-1 rigid airline (about 30" or so)
-1 soft airline (as much as needed to reach pump)
-1 air pump

Steps I followed are:

1-rinse bucket with RO
2-add about 1 Gal of fresh seawater to bucket (room temp)
3-add Tisbe pods
4-add enough phytoplankton so the water is very green, but not too dark...I set mine up so I can just barely see the bottom of the bucket through the water.
5-Hook up pump to soft airline and then to the rigid (the rigid goes in the bucket). You really only want a few bubbles per second.

Check the bucket every couple of days (I check it daily, but that's just me) to make sure there's enough phytoplankton in there and to see if any pods are hanging around (I find most of mine on the edges). From what I've read, it takes about 10 days for them to start spawning, so I let mine go for about 15 days before harvesting any (waited until I could see bunches of them on the edges....I figure if I can see those, then there's probably thousands I can't see).

Right now I'm only harvesting about twice a week (it's been up for about 45 days now) but my Mandarin is getting fatter now and I hope the dedicated refugium helps even more.

I only really ever add more seawater when harvesting (rinse the pods off over the culture bucket before adding them to the DT). I'm guessing I'm going to have to dump out and "clean" the bucket in couple of more weeks. That should be "fun". I just have to remember to keep enough pods to start he culture up again after dumping the nasty stuff out of the bottom.

[soulpatch]

what are you using to remove the pods and rinse?

I would probably need a heater in mine as my basement would have the water be in the 50s or so...

[Cabo2008]

I'm using a 120 micron sieve I picked up on ebay. I've heard you can just go to a fabric shop and pick up some really tight weave cloth and use that, but I opt'd for something already put together. I then just hold the sieve over the culture bucket and pour fresh seawater over them to rinse them off (then turn it upside down and do the same thing over the DT to get them into it). I picked up a condiment bottle (plastic with a pointed output) to put the seawater in when putting them in the DT as to not add too much water. For the rinse, I just use a large cup i have dedicated for tank use as I want to add more fresh seawater to the culture.

Mine stays at about 69-75 degrees. I have the bucket sitting over the guard on the heating radiator in my apt.

[soulpatch]

interesting. I might try my hand if for nothing else then to give some more live food for my DT. My six line will clean them up for me while I try this out. And without a fish that needs them then I should be good for now.

[Cabo2008]

Yeah, that's a good call. Try it first and see how it goes.

I was just getting tired of trying to get a fuge going in the middle chamber and having to buy pods weekly just to keep him from starving. Now I have the culture going and a solid start on a "real" fuge.....so he should be "fat dumb and happy" for a while now.

[Typography]

thats a neat set up going on there

[Cabo2008]

Well, just a quick little update. Ever since I added the CPR refugium I'm in a nasty battle with bubble algae. It's everywhere right now and my parameters are fine so I'm just siphoning it out every other day with mini-water changes and while it's getting better.....it's still annoying.

I'm hoping the 'fuge didn't really cause this and I can keep it, but a little time will tell. I suppose it's possible that adding it caused a mini-cycle, but I'm not really sure how.

Anyway, I'm just going to ride it out for a bit longer and see how it goes.

[soulpatch]

seems we are all dealing with algae right now. Good luck

[Cabo2008]

Well, it seems that my Tailspot Blenny likes (or at least is willing to) eat bubble algae!

I had no idea they'd do that but I was noticing a significant reduction in growth as well as a lot disappearing (more than I was getting with water changes). So I stopped my every other day water changes to see what happens and he's really plowing through it pretty well. I'll take some pics and post them after my water change tomorrow.

So anyway....apparently they will eat the stuff. :)

[Cabo2008]

Added some updated pics. I HAVE to get a real camera and stop using my cell phone's.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FEc5h4vcvvg/VTLgV_x_K8I/AAAAAAAAA7U/wyBBsVCuHLY/w1336-h752-no/20150418_184037%5B1%5D.jpg

Here's my new favorite algae eater. You can see a little bubble algae on the right (kind of hard due to the pic quality, I know).
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IfJMzyYMPJI/VTLga8aTk3I/AAAAAAAAA7c/0EMAmw73zWU/w1336-h752-no/20150418_184043%5B1%5D.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3SjBFRy77Kg/VTLgjh5U3fI/AAAAAAAAA7s/YojP0cQtWTQ/w1336-h752-no/20150418_184059%5B1%5D.jpg


So, it seems between tweaking the LED's, water changes, and adding some herbivores to the tank, things are starting to get much better.

[homer1475]

I'm going to have to do some reading it seems. My wife really wants a mandarin, and it seems breeding pods isn't that difficult.

As we all know, happy wife = happy life. :D

[Cabo2008]

Yeah, they're not that tough. Tisbe are just a bit more frustrating than Tigger since they like to stay on the bottom and sides more so than swimming around in the water column.

I'm still experimenting on different ways but for now it works and is keeping my mandarin fat. :)

[Cabo2008]

Just thought I'd post an update.

A lot has changed with my tank as I've gotten a bit "mod happy". I added a sump and overflow so I could move a lot of the gear to the cabinet (not that there's much room there...had to move my ATO tank outside the stand....so now an open top bucket ain't gonna work...lol).

Also want to get a different skimmer now that I can put it in the sump. The DW HOB works internally, but the intake isn't in an optimal position as it's too close to the drain/filter sock and I can't seem to get it dialed in right.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff65/lminegishi/20150713_194957_zpscqgpdd1w.jpg

Still have to tie up all the wiring and such, but waiting to see if I need to change anything else first.....I just made all the changes over the weekend.
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff65/lminegishi/20150713_194913_zpszaaq9krh.jpg

Removed the top and added a Kessil 360we too, but I'll add those pics later on. :)

[Justintegra]

Well that escalated quickly :)

Is that the Coralife Biocube stand? We are getting ready to buy our biocube in 2 weeks or so and are considering the stand. Does it seem stable still under the weight. When I can see it all I can think of are the assemble-it-yourself shelves at Walmart, and I would be scared of putting 500 pounds of fishtank on top of it.

[Cabo2008]

Yeah it did :D

It is the Coralife BC stand. It's pretty sturdy but remember to glue all the joints when putting it together and let them dry (makes a big difference in it's stability.....in my opinion).

It is a bit crowded in there though, so I'm probably going to set up a little stand right next to it and move all the electronics over to it........probably safer too.

[ReefWreak]

Well that escalated quickly :)

Is that the Coralife Biocube stand? We are getting ready to buy our biocube in 2 weeks or so and are considering the stand. Does it seem stable still under the weight. When I can see it all I can think of are the assemble-it-yourself shelves at Walmart, and I would be scared of putting 500 pounds of fishtank on top of it.

Many/most of us use the stock biocube particle board stand. To make you even more nervous, only the two side beams are solid particle board. The back is paper, and the fronts bear no weight.

It's pretty spacious, and many of us have also mounted dosing pumps, controller bars, etc to the sides, as well as used the shelves, and really maximized use of the space. I have a pic of the inside of my stand in my build thread as well.

Cabo, I love what you've done with the place. Taking the biocube to the extreme! I know I would love to go crazy with an underneath sump and/or frag tank, calcium reactor, etc, but I'm reserved to keeping ALL of my fish items that are not books or the chiller in the tank stand. Looks great, keep up the good work (and tweaks)!

[Cabo2008]

Many/most of us use the stock biocube particle board stand. To make you even more nervous, only the two side beams are solid particle board. The back is paper, and the fronts bear no weight.

It's pretty spacious, and many of us have also mounted dosing pumps, controller bars, etc to the sides, as well as used the shelves, and really maximized use of the space. I have a pic of the inside of my stand in my build thread as well.

Cabo, I love what you've done with the place. Taking the biocube to the extreme! I know I would love to go crazy with an underneath sump and/or frag tank, calcium reactor, etc, but I'm reserved to keeping ALL of my fish items that are not books or the chiller in the tank stand. Looks great, keep up the good work (and tweaks)!

Thanks!

But "spacious"? You and I have differing opinions on the definition of that I think :). I guess you're right though considering the size of the tank.

I still need to clean it up a bit, swap out the skimmer and replace the "stainless steel" clamps I got that obviously are not "all" stainless as the screw is starting to rust on one already.....sigh.

[soulpatch]

Looking good man. you pumping back into the rear chambers and leaving the stock return or did you ditch that and return directly from the sump?

Are you planning on moving your pod station into the sump or to continue to leave that seperate?

[Cabo2008]

I'm actually returning from the sump directly into the display tank. It's on the side, right in front of the stock return.

The stock return is still running as a "closed loop" of sorts just to keep detrius from building up in the 3rd chamber (the overflow is in the middle, so not much happens in the 3rd without the pump.) I added some link lock I had laying around and am going to try and use that to replace the RW-4 I have on that side for dead spots.

Pod farm is staying separate. The water gets too dirty for me to want to add it to the sump between the critters and the phyto that settles....it wouldn't be pretty....lol.

[Cabo2008]

New skimmer is in. Letting it "go crazy" and break in overnight, we'll see how it is to try and start "tuning" tomorrow.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff65/lminegishi/20150717_214108_zpsniiiydhd.jpg

Wow.....I really did a hatchet job on the backing on ths stand when adding the sump LOL. Didn't really pay that much attention last weekend when I was getting it all installed.

[Cabo2008]

Latest round of updates. Just finished moving the Apex over to a cabinet next to the stand to make a little more room under the tank in case I need it.....LOL.

Also added in a Frogspawn and Hammer that I picked up in a trade. I think the new rockwork/layout I did a few weeks back is much better for keeping everyone "happy". My poor Pipeorgan is never going to be happy again if I don't stop messing with the tank (it takes a long time to open up after just about any changes), so other than maybe adding a few new pieces from time to time, I think I need to reel it back in for a bit.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff65/lminegishi/20150725_195246_zpsx9xvs1bq.jpg

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff65/lminegishi/20150725_195340_zpsyvma9uu1.jpg

[ReefWreak]

Lookin good!

Yea the best thing to do most of the time is to "reel it back in" like you said. Just let it do it's thing, and stop tinkering. It's the problem I have now. A good problem to have I guess, the time, availability, and resources to constantly tinker, but most tanks would do well to be set up once, set up right, and largely left alone to fill in.

I love the new additions, and the tank is looking great. Just be careful with sweeper tentacles from the frogspawn/torch corals. Also with the pipeorgan, I'm always amazed how temperamental mine are. They're more temperamental than most of my acros. If I disturb them, they won't open for a day or two, whereas the acros will re-open within minutes, and the pipe organs won't even open up until an hour or two after lights come on, which is the weirdest thing. Generally the natural world has no room for "sleeping in".

[homer1475]

Inside of my stand is really full too. With a 5 gallon water container for an ATO(roughly the same size as your sump), all the apex stuff, and drivers for the LED's. my cabinet is stuffed. I had to move all the other "stuff" to another cabinet on the side to.

With summer here(I'm rarely home due to work other then to sleep) I haven't played in my tank for over a month, and everything looks and is doing great!. I think sometimes just letting it be and not chasing numbers, tinkering, moving rocks, etc, etc, etc, is better in the long run.

[Cabo2008]

Yep, I think I agree.

Unfortunately (well, not really), I've decided to do one more large change to the system. I'm either replacing the BC29 with a Deep Blue 20x20x20 rimless/RR tank or a Red Sea Reefer 170. I really like the sleek look of the reefer but I can already see things I'd need to change to be happy.

One of the main things is the ATO tank that comes with it. It's just too darn small. I need a 5Gal tank to make it through a week. Considering I travel a bit for work and it's not unusual for me to be gone for a week at a time, I don't want the ATO tank to run empty on me.

[soulpatch]

those things are the reasons I am moving from an AIO. Getting a standard tank and drilling to meet my needs with a custom sized stand to fit all the equipment I will have to start or upgrade to in near future.

[Cabo2008]

Yeah man, the BC29 was cool to get me back into the hobby, but I need to get back to a custom setup to really be happy with the system.

[homer1475]

Yeah man, the BC29 was cool to get me back into the hobby, but I need to get back to a custom setup to really be happy with the system.

Agreed 100%, but now that I have the "bug" again, I so NEED a bigger tank.

I'm now thinking maybe 150G. While I like the cube design, 90 is as large as they make without getting it custom. I'm not sure I would be happy with a 90 cube since my wife wants a tang and mandy.

[Cabo2008]

I hear ya man.

I can't "go big" until I get a house again and move.

But when I do, I'm probably going to move up to a 240 again.

[soulpatch]

Agreed 100%, but now that I have the "bug" again, I so NEED a bigger tank.

I'm now thinking maybe 150G. While I like the cube design, 90 is as large as they make without getting it custom. I'm not sure I would be happy with a 90 cube since my wife wants a tang and mandy.

You can go some tangs in the 93 cube. And getting a mandy is possible in anything with a decent sump to house pod pop.

I am limited to 93 in this house and the larger tank will be next where I go completely custom for a larger cube most likely. A 150 cube isnt much larger then the 93 seeing as it is only an additional 6 inches wide and deep.

Eventually I will get my large reef tank when I can have the custom fish room for everything.

[Cabo2008]

Well, Soul was asking me about what I was doing for moon lights with the kessil, looked up some things other had done and figured I'd give it a shot. Here's what I came up with.

It's really not as bright as it looks in the photo......I guess the light management on my phone works pretty damn well.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff65/lminegishi/20150731_213013_zpswccsepjk.jpg

It's just a deep blue halo LED ring around the Kessil LED lens, connected to a variable controller (for brightness).

[soulpatch]

Cool where did you get it?

[Cabo2008]

Here's the thread I got the info from:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2215243

I just added the variable controller because I figured it would be brighter than I wanted it to be. I also added a lens to protect the led's from any salt/splash. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not yet, I guess only time will tell.

I picked up the 80mm black backed "angel eye" from superbrightleds.com

[soulpatch]

I was trying to decide on the lunar lights from apex as an option. Who knows what I will do

[fradam1]

Awesome tank! Just noticed that you don't have the Aurora puck anymore. If so, why did you switch to the Kessil? I put one in the hood of my bc29 a few months ago with a Typhon controller and am having a hard time trying to dial in the colors and the intensity. The blues are at 25, UV 25, red 15, and white is at 25, if I go any higher my corals start to look pale. How are you able to run yours so high and have acans in the middle of your tank?

[soulpatch]

You need to slowly acclimate them to higher levels for the puck. Mine is up around 80 for the blues and uv. I think I keep the whites closer to 70 or so as a point of reference.

I too have a kessil that I am thinking of switching to primarily since an open top tank is a bit easier to work on and with out heavily modified cubes requiring the top to be hacked up it is a cleaner look...

[Cabo2008]

Yep, that's exactly why I got rid of the puck....it's a bad @ss LED, but I didn't want to spend the amount of time required to keep "fiddling" with it to get it where I wanted it. Plus, like Soul said, it's a cleaner look and easier to work on without the hood.

As for my Acan's, the ones in the middle were acclimated to higher lighting when I had the puck, so they're pretty happy under the kessil at that level.