Joshnieder216's biocube 32 build

[Joshnieder216]

After debating for a long time if i wanted to do a build thread ive decided to take the plunge and throw mine out there. I bought my biocube when they were first released last Aug/Sep. Since then i have been slowly buying parts and pieces here and there to try and keep the initial sticker shock down and also really take the time to decide exactly how i wanted to go about putting everything together. I truly appreciate all of the builds in the forums so far as ive borrowed ideas from alot of you here. I'm gonna try to go back in time from pics on my phone and piece everything back together from the beginning so bear with me until i can get caught up to date.

[Joshnieder216]

My first big purchase was my brs 6 stage rodi and 40 lbs of brs reef saver rock. I wanted to start fresh and avoid any pest hitchhikers. I threw the rock in a heated circulated tank to cure knowing it was gonna be a few months before everything else was ready to go anyways. My garage is heated and never below 60F so to avoid dragging buckets up from the basement decided this was the best place. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/148b2113957d66c7faec1dc8e09ec302.jpg


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[Joshnieder216]

So next was the stand. I decided to build my own based off the coralife stand only using solid wood rather than the laminated press board they used plus I wanted to incorporate a dj power strip to get that Red Sea feel at a discount price. I used a couple small brackets so that you can tilt the shelf down to get behind the strip to change cords if need be but locks in place otherwise. It's kinda cheesy but overall functional. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/0221c7cc8ad11dc16df5d4d90f4ec49d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/41cded9a637c6645f2d0133e9e353ce8.jpg


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[Joshnieder216]

We have a "not so local" fish store that's kinda known for building live rock walls on the back of their tanks. I REALLY liked the look but wanted to avoid paying then to build one if I could take it on myself. It turned out pretty good for my first attempt I think but like anything else if I did it again it would be better. (I've since decided to remove the egg crate from the bottom of the tank)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/7a2314d5094d0a776cd9338b2b7a787c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/b945c68fb6b52e9a6a1ddf29993e4337.jpg


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[Joshnieder216]

So here's where the fun began...I had a PLAN to gather the rest of the equipment I wanted to get this thing up and running for Christmas. Spend a couple days getting it all out in place to add water Jan 1st. Well there was a silicone mishap which if you find my biocube face palm thread you'll see the details of what happened. A very humbling experience and a reminder of why plans are usually a bad idea. Ive spent the last couple weeks trying to rectify the mistake I'd made and the jury is still out if all is going to be well.


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[Joshnieder216]

So where we are now is last week I got my rockscape in and it's been sitting stagnant. Last night I got all equipment, sand and water in the tank and the cycle started. I'm doubling up with biospira and the Red Sea reef mature so hopefully all goes well with that. Not that I'm in a hurry to get cycled but just wanted to get a solid start. As it stands right now my tank is chamber 1 100w neotherm heater. Chamber 2 stock rack with floss on top (switching to intank basket and fuge whenever fuge is in stock) Chamber 3 mj1200 w/Coralife UV, AL115, tunze nano top off and that is CRAMPED in there. Hopefully not but most likely somethings going to get changed back there as it's pretty busy. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/cbebdb787f3cf1c174cf19830bae2bea.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/f27304c7a9dbdc361a22b9afe7ba272c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/2ac8a86dcedc7e60f6c1fe27c1dcf05c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/c0c4cd21d670542b8f627402a45e4114.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170112/717dadc836f193d75f7606580e358b82.jpg


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[Seattle_Reef]

Looking good so far! I like the rock work. I'm looking forward to updates, thanks for sharing.

[Smoke Inator]

love the rock wall!

[Joshnieder216]

love the rock wall!

Hey, thanks Ron. I've gotta admit I've followed you pretty close on here the last few months. You've asked alot of the same questions that have been on my mind about things. I really chewed my lip the other night about cutting a hole in my lid above chamber 1 so i could keep my AL115 over there...haha

[Smoke Inator]

Hey, thanks Ron. I've gotta admit I've followed you pretty close on here the last few months. You've asked alot of the same questions that have been on my mind about things. I really chewed my lip the other night about cutting a hole in my lid above chamber 1 so i could keep my AL115 over there...haha

:thumbsup:

I just picked up an ato so i can go AL115 in chamber 2 and move my reactor to chamber 1.

with the amount of cash we dump into these things, my wife would kill me if i start cutting the hood apart.

[Joshnieder216]

:thumbsup:



I just picked up an ato so i can go AL115 in chamber 2 and move my reactor to chamber 1.



with the amount of cash we dump into these things, my wife would kill me if i start cutting the hood apart.




Yup, mine too. I couldn't come up with a way to do it and make it look good.

I'm conflicted. I wanna stick with the fuge in #2 because someday I'd like to try to keep a mandarin, but at the same time my chamber 3 is so packed full it's gonna be a huge deal to change the sponge down there. Not giving in just yet but ultimately I do like the idea of a reactor over a fuge.


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[PyroSteve]

Looks good. 3D rock wall is a nice touch!

[Smoke Inator]

crap, just ordered the AL115 to try out.

Thanks Josh, its all your fault!

[jzch82]

Can we see a picture of the back and all the pumps?
Can you also post a link to the AL115 thing you bought so I know why to find it if I end up needing one?

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[Smoke Inator]

AquaticLife Internal Mini Protein Skimmer 115

I just ordered it so next weekend i will send picks of my chamber setups

[Joshnieder216]

crap, just ordered the AL115 to try out.

Thanks Josh, its all your fault!



Anytime! Hopefully one of us can hammer this out. I kinda feel like I'm being greedy asking too much out of too small a place. Is day 2 of the cycle too soon to be thinking full blown sump??? Haha jk

365283https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170114/131384207de0e63e093cf84e53a87fe9.jpg

As requested this is the aquatic life 115 protein skimmer and my chamber 3 which is WAY too crowded.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[rockhead51]

I don't run a skimmer (all softies and one frogspawn, so they seen to like it that way) in my BioCube 32, but I do have a general question (I'm a noob): what good is a skimmer in chamber 3 after all the mechanical filtration? Wouldn't it be better to go into chamber 1, or take up half of a modified chamber 2?

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[Joshnieder216]

I don't run a skimmer (all softies and one frogspawn, so they seen to like it that way) in my BioCube 32, but I do have a general question (I'm a noob): what good is a skimmer in chamber 3 after all the mechanical filtration? Wouldn't it be better to go into chamber 1, or take up half of a modified chamber 2?

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Ideally yes, chamber 1 is where i'd like to keep it. Hoping someone smarter than me can find a way to make this particular skimmer fit in there. More or less this setup is just how i could fit all the equipment I hope to use in the space I have. My chamber 2 is going to be tied up with an intank rack/fuge or possibly rack/reactor if I decide to scrap the fuge. I'm absolutely open to any and all suggestions though. I do believe your right that in chamber 3 the skimmer loses a ton of efficiency but anything it pulls out is better than nothing.

[Scurvy Dawg]

Cool rock wall, keep us up to date after things start maturing and filling in.

I have a quick question....How come so much filtered water for a 32? I am always a little nervous keeping too much stagnant water sitting around.

BTW, I have the exact same BRS filter setup as you and love it. Had a small issue with the auto-shutoff valve leaking and they sent a replacement in 2 days. Those guys over there are pretty awesome to deal with.

[Joshnieder216]

Cool rock wall, keep us up to date after things start maturing and filling in.

I have a quick question....How come so much filtered water for a 32? I am always a little nervous keeping too much stagnant water sitting around.

BTW, I have the exact same BRS filter setup as you and love it. Had a small issue with the auto-shutoff valve leaking and they sent a replacement in 2 days. Those guys over there are pretty awesome to deal with.



I originally tried using a couple 10 totes. They would flex so bad between full and empty my bulkheads leaked so I decided to use brutes since that seems to be the norm. The 30 gal can was the smallest I could find. Worked great having the room for my initial fill up and now I'm keeping them under half full. Planning on 5 gal weekly water changes.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Ok guys so a cycling question since this hasnt been talked about a million times before. Yesterday was day 8 of my cycle and with Red Sea Kits my readings were:

Temp:78.3
SG:1.024
KH:10
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:.5/1.0 (Hard to tell from test kit)
Nitrate: off the charts high

My question is at 8 days should my nitrates already be built up that high? I started with reef saver rock, did however use ocean direct live sand. I threw in a bottle of Birospira just for kicks and have been using the Red Sea reef mature program. I have no delusions of my tank being nearly cycled after only 8 days but could someone shed some light on my super high nitrates this early on?

[Smoke Inator]

My question is at 8 days should my nitrates already be built up that high? I started with reef saver rock, did however use ocean direct live sand. I threw in a bottle of Birospira just for kicks and have been using the Red Sea reef mature program. I have no delusions of my tank being nearly cycled after only 8 days but could someone shed some light on my super high nitrates this early on?

Everyone cycle is different. hard to tell what is normal or not, just take it slow and change the water as needed to remove the N. The ammonia spikes early on are the most important in that the growing bacteria can reduce a spike within a day. If i had to start fresh again, i would have done the controlled ammonia additions over time. I got impatient probably got my bio load too high too fast....I still took 3-4 months..Along the way i had the normal breakouts but, the hair algae was the hardest to control.

The pump on my reactor went out last week while i was traveling...combine that with the family over feeding the fish while i was gone and now ive got more hair to deal with this weekend.

Everyone has different methods and opinions but, I got great results from 20% weekly water changes combined with carbon & GFO early on....There was a magical day when the algae disappeared, literally. I still have snails that have a ring on the shell where the algae was soo bad it killed the coraline..now they have clean shells

[Smoke Inator]

on a good news front, My AL115 came in so i am determined to find the best spot for it.
if it will go in chamber 1 i will find a way....if not, i have an ATO to install and will post some pics

[Joshnieder216]

Bummer about the reactor pump.

I got frustrated with my skimmer in chamber 3 the other night and just took it out completely. Still waiting on intank to release the fuge that i can get it and the basket in and really start playing around with a more definitive layout.

As far as putting it back in chamber 1, There's a structure bracket inside the lid that could possibly be removed and might free up JUST enough room by the skin of your teeth but haven't tackled it yet. Like you said earlier its hard to start cutting away.

[Joshnieder216]

Oh, was wondering also if your reactor was able to fit in #1 if i were to scrap the fuge? If so would most likely put it there with the rack/skimmer in #2

[Smoke Inator]

reactor defiantly will fit in one.

I'm going for flow from 1 - skimmer, 2a - fuge to 2b - reactor, 3 UV & heater
If i go into 2 then im not sure maybe reactor, fuge, skimmer...I have UV in 3 so i wont know till i break it all down today

[Joshnieder216]

BORED with this cycle...Been testing testing testing. In the meantime ive got my intank rack ordered should be in between now and monday. Plan is to use floss purigen and chemipure elite until i get a reactor ordered in a month or so. I have the purigen and chemipure so i'd might as well utilize it for the time being.

Just for kicks the other night i dosed 4ppm ammonia, in 24 hours i had 0 ammonia 1 nitrite and my nitrates were off the charts. At 48 hours still 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and nitrates still off the charts so i did a couple 25-30% water changes. As of last night my nitrates were down to 20. Strongly resisting the urge to throw in a couple snails and crabs and just let my tank bio build a little more. Against the advice from the guy at my LFS mind you who assures me my cycle is ready to start adding fish...who isn't helping my patience haha.

I am curious as to what some of you are using for a cleanup crew in your 32 or anything comparable to that size for that matter? What im leaning towards now is:

4- Cerith
4- Nassarius
4- Trochus (if available) if not Astraea
1- Fighting Conch
1- Emerald Crab
4/6- dwarf hermits
1- Pom Pom Crab if i can find one

Not sure if thats too much too fast or too little? If anyone has any suggestions recommendations or advice please feel free to throw it out as nothing is set it stone. I'm itching to get some movement in this tank though!

[ReeferGrower]

Do you have any closer pictures of the rock wall? Hard to tell whats between the live rock to cover the egg crate. Looks awesome though. Theres a 32 for sale on craigslist right now for 250 Im thinking about grabbing to have a second tank.

[Joshnieder216]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170129/50e056c4946fb5732f2f36bf24482fca.jpg
Hard to get a great pic but I used great stuff pond and stone. For texture on the foam I pressed in water softener salt crystals around the rocks as I went. After letting it cure for 24 hours I placed the wall in a tub of water for another 24 hours for the salt to dissolve. The next step was painting the foam with epoxy and throwing sand on it but I got lazy and excited to see it in the tank. Plus I figured eventually it was all going to be covered with coralline.

Now, if I were to do it again I would try to find black egg crate. For now the white sticks out like a sore thumb. I would also place the rocks closer together to have less foam exposed between them. And lastly I would have trimmed the egg crate farther back from the edges. Once I got the wall trimmed to fit in the tank the outside edges of the egg crate were exposed and looks kinda trashy. Again, hopefully someday it's covered with algae and won't be noticeable but could have easily been avoided had the frame been cut smaller.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Thanks for the compliments on the wall though I really appreciate it but can't take credit for originality as I borrowed all the ideas from various other places. As an extra tank If you can pick one up for $250 I'd say go for it but for a primary tank I'm not sure I'd go this route again. Especially after taking my wife to the lfs the other day she saw a 90 gal cube and said "why didn't you get one this size?" Sheesh.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[ReeferGrower]

Thanks for the compliments on the wall though I really appreciate it but can't take credit for originality as I borrowed all the ideas from various other places. As an extra tank If you can pick one up for $250 I'd say go for it but for a primary tank I'm not sure I'd go this route again. Especially after taking my wife to the lfs the other day she saw a 90 gal cube and said "why didn't you get one this size?" Sheesh.

"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

Definitely like the rock wall look. Wish I wouldve seen your tank before we put together our 32. I would love to have a larger tank, but currently we are in an upstairs apartment, so my theory is if I spread the tanks out I can spread the weight out. This next one I want to buy a few nicer things than our first tank.

[Joshnieder216]

So after going to the lfs to pick up some cleanup crew the owner convinced me that with using dry rock and the tank being "sterile" the cuc would basically be worthless since there was nothing to clean up. So with that being said I took the plunge and bought a pair of ocellaris, cleaner shrimp and a strawberry crab.

Here's to hoping it's not too much too fast but I did dose to 4ppm nh3 again the other night and zeroed out in under 24 hours so I'm thinking I'm good. Drip acclimating now and afraid the lights will be off by the time I get them added so pics to come tomorrow most likely.

Ps the strawberry crab is AWESOME!


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[ReeferGrower]

Rad! Wouldnt mind tossing in a strawberry if I come across one. Didnt know there was such a thing as too early for a clean up crew though. I couldnt wait for mine to show up, never thought Id be so excited to see a box of snails. Lol

[Joshnieder216]

Alright so as promised here's the new guys. Got them all in late last night, fed lightly today when the lights came on and again about 30 min before lights out. Everyone seems to be eating well. Tested water this evening just to be sure and everything checked out so that's good.

Clowns are swimming frantically up and down in the corner and I'm hoping this is just adjustment period. Really hard to get a pick of both of them.

Shrimp has been moving around the rocks all day trying to find his happy spot.

Strawberry crab has been hanging by the lower intake to the filter picking up any and every little thing that floats by. Thinking he's gonna like it there. From what I've gathered he's essentially the same thing as an emerald only a different color.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170202/0332a533b07369674efdf72fad6098d0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170202/d8f6ca857c322d259bd359775cc681dd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170202/f31288f70fd5b0669baac1f81a6cedac.jpg



"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Smoke Inator]

Good looking crab, our lfs doesn't ever get anything unique


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[Joshnieder216]

Good looking crab, our lfs doesn't ever get anything unique


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He said they only get these in a couple times per year so it was really a fluke I just happened to catch him. He's found a super hiding spot though, since I fed last night He's been nowhere to be found. Even went so far as to check through all the back chambers to find nothing. Really hoping he's not one of those shy guys that you never see but time will tell.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Me last week: "I wish I could get some diatoms or algae in my tank to get rid of this sterile look"

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170210/f10af081b93ab13919b30a3d377eaae5.jpg

Boom, ask and you shall receive. Full on explosion took place in under 48 hours. Threw in 4 margarita snails and 4 dwarf hermits last night. Wish I had got a before and and after picture because these guys killed it overnight.




"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[bdare]

Not to downplay the hard work put in by your CUC, but diatoms also recede at night when the lights are off and come back during your photo period.

[Joshnieder216]

Not to downplay the hard work put in by your CUC, but diatoms also recede at night when the lights are off and come back during your photo period.



Buzzkill. Good call though, I didn't know about that. I guess the true comparison will be at 3:15 when I normally get home from work.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Potential disaster averted this evening. I noticed last night it looked like the light was off on my UV and found out tonight why. I took it out of the tank to find that the bulbs had not only burnt out but more or less exploded. There were several pieces of glass rattling around in the shell and even worse what was left of the elements looked like as if beginning to break down. Called amazon to see if they would replace since it had only been in the tank for a few weeks which they agreed to refund after returned then I could buy another.

Now the question I'm asking myself is do I really want to replace it? I'm not going to bash coralife as the bulbs very well could've been damaged in shipping and I failed to check before install. But fact of the matter is I've got my money back and do I really wanna put it back into something that I considered a novelty to begin with.

If anyone has any input good bad or ugly on the coralife mini UV please feel free to help sway me. I have some time to decide.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Smoke Inator]

i have one and used it for a while but now its sitting in a box of junk. some argue that its not worth using because of the dwell time needed to kill anything.

[Joshnieder216]

So as Smoke suggested he was going to try the AL115 airline and magnet mod to get it to fit in chamber 1, I decided I'd pull the trigger and try it myself.

Happy to say that at the moment it's in and running but still trying to get it dialed with some positive results before victory is proclaimed.

In other news after testing and everything coming back clear and dialed in decided to let my lovely wife buy me some frags for my bday.

I didn't want to jump into anything extravagant with the tank being so new so everything came out of the $10-20 tank with the exception of the one my wife absolutely had to have.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170216/fe3cbab2cd7166de0ecd6268ab36c8ae.jpg
Gorgeous frogspawn Fragged from a much larger colony and the dude gave it to me for $15!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170216/18a799900d9de6ae52304fa632ad6d71.jpg
Little GDP which I have a small island in the sand bed I'm going to TRY to keep it confined to.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170216/3eb9962a5a022e0c79aebc91d6a9fbd5.jpg
Some no name zoas and acans that came out of the cheap tank. Good color in my opinion but the acans are turned around so can't get a decent pic at the moment. Also another zoa that a snail relocated to the front of the tank that I can't get a pic of.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170216/4b8367a5615fc06d7e266e6bad843dbf.jpg

My wife's plate. This bad boy cost more than the 5 I picked out myself but she was determined. Looks awesome though!

I dipped everything which I'd never done before and I got quite a bit of life off them. Have to admit I was nervous but 24 hours later and I've got full extension out of everything so I'm happy. Done adding for awhile though as I feel I'm rushing things a bit. So now I'm just going to focus on getting this skimmer lined out adding a media reactor and getting a fuge in. I'll keep updating with the progress as I go because this is for me just as much as anyone else following along. Please if anyone has any advice or questions feel free to chime in.




"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[TexChuck]

Hey man - just wanted to say your thread is an inspiration to me !! You're doing some really cool stuff with your filtration.

I'm brand new to the world of SW, and just started my first reef tank.. A 32BC, all stock now, 30# live sand 45# live rock and a pair of heaters. Much to learn !!! Thanks for sharing all your experiences.

[Joshnieder216]

Hey man - just wanted to say your thread is an inspiration to me !! You're doing some really cool stuff with your filtration.

I'm brand new to the world of SW, and just started my first reef tank.. A 32BC, all stock now, 30# live sand 45# live rock and a pair of heaters. Much to learn !!! Thanks for sharing all your experiences.



Thank you very much. It's really good to hear and inspiring to me to keep sharing if I can help at least one person. We're all in this together and trying to figure things out as we go.

I don't really have anything new to report as of now other than I got a valve put on the airline of my al115 so I have complete control over the skimmer and it's dialed in for the moment. Not pulling anything good just yet but I'm pretty sure it's still breaking in. I plan to start dosing nopox again soon if I decide I'm going to leave it as it.

I do find myself standing at a crossroad of my next mod. My choices are lights or media reactor. I've decided on the steves leds plug and play with the bluefish controller. Media reactor in chamber 2b I'm going to run brs Rox and gfo then use the bottom of my media basket as a fuge after floss and purigen. Decided I'm not putting the UV back in simply because I don't trust it. My heater and ato are occupying chamber 3 now.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[GatorScott]

How do you turn off the lights on the BC 32 without messing up the timers set?


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[Joshnieder216]

Since setting the timers I've not had them off for more than a couple minutes at a time but they've always held the program.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[GatorScott]

Since setting the timers I've not had them off for more than a couple minutes at a time but they've always held the program.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude



Oh ok. So you use the power button? I'm going to need to acclimate a fish soon and don't want to lost the timers set lol


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[jpcemc]

I am cycling my BioCube as well currently and I have about .25 Ammonia and maybe 20 Nitrates (no Nitrites). Wondering why my Nitrates aren't off the charts. I am ghost feeding as well.

[Smoke Inator]

The built in timers keep their settings even when you use the power button.
As long as things are plugged in, you can use the power button as much as you need for as long as it takes.
When unplugged, it will still keep the time and timer settings....it has a battery like a PC motherboard.

I removed the LED lights and the power source but kept the circuit board..If removed there is a hole in the hood where the clock display is....With no power, my clock still works from the battery.

[GatorScott]

The built in timers keep their settings even when you use the power button.
As long as things are plugged in, you can use the power button as much as you need for as long as it takes.
When unplugged, it will still keep the time and timer settings....it has a battery like a PC motherboard.

I removed the LED lights and the power source but kept the circuit board..If removed there is a hole in the hood where the clock display is....With no power, my clock still works from the battery.



Awesome thank you!!!


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[Joshnieder216]

I am cycling my BioCube as well currently and I have about .25 Ammonia and maybe 20 Nitrates (no Nitrites). Wondering why my Nitrates aren't off the charts. I am ghost feeding as well.

Sorry to just now see this, did things work themselves out for you? As mentioned earlier, everyones cycle is different. How far along in are you? Some of the depending factors are use of live sand/rock or dry? did you dose any type of bacteria or cycle starter?

I will say I prefer dosing pure ammonia over adding shrimp due to the fact that if you do the math its a controlled addition. Not saying its better or worse just my method of choice.

[Joshnieder216]

Warning: BRAG POST

I was out of town most of last week at conference and left my wife in charge of the tank in which she did a stellar job. Also while I was away I won the Illinois Rural Water Association Award for "Public Water System of the Year" So ive got that going for me...:beer:

As far as the tank goes I've still been working on getting the AL115 tuned in chamber 1. Limited success but success none the less. It's pulling a light/med colored skim but the trouble is I only have minimal control over the skim height and im having to empty a full cup every night. Even with the water control valve wide open and the airline valve nearly closed the skim level is fairly high. Also tons of microbubbles but I cant notice them from my recliner and I hear they go away with time.

Started dosing 3ml nopox daily again also. Not sure it's necessary now or will be after i get the reactor in and running? I do know that a diatom bloom that only lasted a couple days was the only trace of algae ive seen. (SO FAR) Any imput on that is greatly appreciated.

Ive been keeping up with weekly 5 gal water changes and all of my levels are holding stable.

Also due to some unplanned extra hours of OT at work I managed to set back enough $$$ to order not only the IM media reactor for chamber 2...but my Steve's LED's too. Both should be in this week.

Lots of big changes coming this week. I'll try to update as I go. REALLY wanting to put in a yellow watchman/pistol shrimp but we'll see if i can find time for that business!

[TexChuck]

Keep it up!! Your tank is looking great. I interested to hear how you're liking the reactor in chamber 2, and also kudos for ordering the replacement LED's.

I've watched all your guys troubles with the AL115 so I went ahead and ordered the Tunze 9001 to install alongside my IT mediabasket, per the IT video. I have the fuge box but think having the bigger skimmer is more important, and will use 2/3 of my media basket as a fuge.

[Joshnieder216]

Everyone cycle is different. hard to tell what is normal or not, just take it slow and change the water as needed to remove the N. The ammonia spikes early on are the most important in that the growing bacteria can reduce a spike within a day. If i had to start fresh again, i would have done the controlled ammonia additions over time. I got impatient probably got my bio load too high too fast....I still took 3-4 months..Along the way i had the normal breakouts but, the hair algae was the hardest to control.



The pump on my reactor went out last week while i was traveling...combine that with the family over feeding the fish while i was gone and now ive got more hair to deal with this weekend.



Everyone has different methods and opinions but, I got great results from 20% weekly water changes combined with carbon & GFO early on....There was a magical day when the algae disappeared, literally. I still have snails that have a ring on the shell where the algae was soo bad it killed the coraline..now they have clean shells



Hey Ron I was wondering what pump you used for replacement when yours went out? Mine hasn't yet but if it does I'd like to have one on hand.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[GatorScott]

Did you get your steves leds installed? I just put mine in. I set them up according to his acclamation stage on the website. Just curious how your lighting schedule is?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Joshnieder216]

Did you get your steves leds installed? I just put mine in. I set them up according to his acclamation stage on the website. Just curious how your lighting schedule is?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro



I promise a proper update is coming. In the last week we've fought influenza b and food poisoning. It's been rough around here for sure!


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

So over the last week I've gotten my tank to the point of where I feel I can leave it alone for a good long while and more importantly stop throwing buckets of money at it and slow down to only handfuls.

I got my Steves leds installed in which I'm still playing with the bluefish trying to decide where I like the colors the best. Acclimating but maybe a little agressively due to all of my corals still being on the sand bed.

I'm running my lights on natural sun at 45% from 11am to 11pm. At this point nothing is reaching but nothing is bleaching out either so I think it's a good settling point for the time being, I'll start increasing in a couple weeks prob. As far as separation between the % of blues and whites that's where I'm still experimenting to determine what I really like personally but ultimately the corals will have the final say.

In other news I got my IM desktop reactor put into chamber 3 and chaeto in the bottom of the media rack.

So here goes my filter setup:

Chamber 1: bag of Seachem Matrix tied up to upper part of chamber

Chamber 2: intank media rack with floss, purigen and chaeto followed by AL115 skimmer

Chamber 3: IM media reactor with brs 3/4 brs rox-1/4 brs gfo,cobalt neotherm 100w heater and tunze ATO

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170308/342a4713bbe6acd1ef29ec48e5cf929c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170308/0d952d9eb9d024c4d2584bd843d4e7e6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170308/5e9a365f465084807e05fb89f79a40c0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170308/71ba21ad32be9ea3f82c5093013d2238.jpg


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[TexChuck]

Great update... What's your logic with the Matrix in chamber 1? More room for bio? I've read really conflicting stuff about using media with LR and concern about nitrate buildup. I say this because I have a bunch of Matrix that I use in my FW tank.

Is the AL115 as sensitive to water level as the Tunze 9001? I'm now running almost an identical setup to you in Chamber 2, just with the Tunze 9001 instead of the AL115. I have the same ATO as you, but not sure what to do during feeding -- if I turn the return pump off the way I have the Tunze position, the skimmer floods. So I'm feeding with the return pump on w/ spinstream and the powerhead off for the time being, but that's creating more waste than ideal in the back.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on Steve's LED's...

[Joshnieder216]

Yea the matrix is strictly for surface area. With it hanging I can shake the bag periodically to prevent detritus buildup.

I'm content with my heater in #3 so I had #1 completely empty and felt like it was wasted real estate. So far it's worked ok but if I start to have nitrate issues it will be the first thing to go.

I had the same problem shutting the return pump off during feeding so I just leave it on about half the time. If I think about it I remove the cup and shut off the pump and skimmer during feeding but that's usually only the couple nights a week I'm changing the filter.

I've been trying to symphony from the back when I do my water changes which I'm sure helps too.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[TexChuck]

Thanks man that makes sense with the Matrix! Right now I still have the CL skimmer running in Chamber 1, so I'm not staring at an empty space. I might add some matrix like you and have an extra bag laying around.

How hot does the AL115 run? I ended up unplugging my heater this week -- during the day with both skimmers in place and my heater at 76, I was spiking up to 80.5 in Chamber 2. I didn't take great temp readings before adding the Tunze skimmer, but it looks like it's raised the temp of the overall system 1-2 degrees.


Appreciate you sharing everything with your build. It's helped inform a lot of my decisions.

[Smoke Inator]

im having similar heat issues, ive been alternating my reactor and skimmer times.
reactor in the day since its quiet and skimmer at night.
still not perfect but my temp swing is not as bad.

i kill my ato, skimmer and reactor during feed times and set a delay on the skimmer of +10 minutes. i also dont let my ato run unless the skimmer is on to ensure the water level stays constant

[Joshnieder216]

When I had the skimmer in chamber 1 I was having temp swings, since moving it to #2 it's been rock solid at 78.3. I think it had something to do with flow restriction from the skimmer in #1. I thought I'd have issues again when I added the reactor but none so far.

What temp are you guys keeping your homes? Ours is at 72 now. Here's to hoping a chiller isn't in my future this summer though!

Smoke are you able to control all of those run times with your apex?


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Smoke Inator]

My wife cranks up the house beyond 72 when I'm not looking but 72 is the norm in the winter...I guess she wants to live in the Caribbean.

Trying to keep the tank at 78 is not fun, my swings were up to 82.

Apex is rock solid, wish i would have saved up and gotten the big daddy over the Jr. but, I don't see a need beyond 8 modules for the BC32. Programing hasn't been as tough as i thought...next I'm getting the 8 bar for 12 outlets total. Then the led module and the nanobox adapter.

Next year we are doing the basement and I'm planning a fish room and a 200+ gal reef!

[Joshnieder216]

Ha we really are on the same brainwave only I'm thinking the 150-160 range. I'm gonna hold off and do the full apex though. Hard to believe one these days this tank I'm putting all this work and money into is going to be a top notch QT.

I'm not sure what's causing your temp swings though. Our setups are nearly identical other than the heater I believe.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[TexChuck]

Ha, that's 3 of us!! Minus the redone basement... We just did a bit of work in our living room/den, and I've got a very nice place planned out for a 150+...

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with heat problems! I haven't been able to monitor all day (because work) but pulling the heater altogether from Chamber 3 seems to have me peaking < 80 in the afternoon. Concerned too about Texas heat -- I keep the house around 70-72, but the room with the tank (daughter's bedroom) I think will be warmer with all the equipment + windows. No direct ligth on the tank, but don't want to have to mess with a chiller. Owner of LFS suggested running no heater at all; saying it's really only a seasonal thing around here.

I haven't really considered the Apex, but think I might have to -- going out of town next week and just describing to my friend how to turn things off to feed a shrimp is an endeavor.

In the meantime I'll throw the ATO and Skimmer on the same power strip as the return pump and powerhead, so it's easy to flip off on days when I feed and clean out the skimmer pump.

I'm going to pull the CL skimmer and see if the increased flow from 1-2 and the Tunze in 2 will be more consistent swing wise.

How long are you guys keeping your lights off at night? I have my moonlight cycle going all night and 10 hours of daylight a day... Wondering if that + the fuge light for 12 hours at night opposite my daylight LED's could also be contributing to my heat issue.

On the plus side, I'm getting a decent bit of red coraline algea growth now!

[Joshnieder216]

I think you guys cursed me, feeding last night and my tank was at 81.4. Prob had something to do with it getting up in the mid 70s outside my house got up to 76.

We're still a couple years away from a big tank. Biggest we could do in our current house would be a 93 cube which I'm not against but we'll cross that bridge later.

With my stock lights I ran the blues from 10a-11p; sunrise 11a-11:30a; daylights 11:30a-9:30p; sunset 9:30p-10p (if that makes any sense to you) so I ran my blues with daylights and had full blackout from 11pm-10am


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[TexChuck]

Sorry about that!! Didn't mean to curse you... But yeah, 76 inside would probably do it. This is that weird time of year for us where never quite sure if it's time to run the A/C or not.

That lighting schedule makes sense, thank you. I'll tinker with the channels tonight and see if I can do something similar. It'd be nice to track temp throughout the day as it gets warmer outside just to keep an eye on things. Don't want to do a chiller if I don't have to.

I still have a decent bit of work to do on the wife for a big tank... I've disguised this one as 'for the kids' since it's in my daughter's room.

I haven't pulled the trigger on a reactor or the LED insert yet, but those are next.

[Joshnieder216]

So this happened

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170312/541b5b262dfe4a64f9a01c3f244d97f8.jpg

Very cool watching these guys work together. I had a goby in a previous tank but never goby/shrimp duo. I'm calling them Happy and Shooter.

Also RIP Captain Skinny Legs (the cleaner shrimp my son named) completely my fault. I added some new frags after a Bayer dip and I assume there was leftover residue on the frags or my hand because within an hour of adding them he was tits up. Everyone else was fine and next time I'll add a 3rd bowl instead of just 2 after the bayer.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Smoke Inator]

love is in the air...or water

[Jenyphur]

Thanks so much for all the updates, I am following your thread closely!

I love the goby and shrimp, can you tell me what types they are?

[Joshnieder216]

Ha I'm not sure how closely I'd follow. It's a yellow watchman goby and candy pistol shrimp. They didn't pair up the first day and I actually had to fish the goby out of chamber #1 when I got home from work on day 2. After I rescued him though they had found each other and sharing the same cave within an hour. I just happened to be looking at the tank when they met up, super cool.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Jenyphur]

Well too late, I'm watching you lol. I love those little guys and love that they seem to be getting along. :) Super cute.

[jbaird75]

have you had any issues with the foam wanting to float? nice set up

[Joshnieder216]

have you had any issues with the foam wanting to float? nice set up



None at all but I did a checker pattern with an entire tube of aquarium safe silicone. Also there will be places close to the rocks that aren't sealed off completely by foam, I made sure to get silicone beads all around those places so nothing could crawl back and get stuck behind the egg crate.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Got a replacement shrimp last night, my son finally noticed he was gone and had a meltdown. We're up to "Captain Skinny Legs II" haha.

Getting some brown algae on the larger rock in the sand bed, it's not terrible but I'm not digging it. Been dragging my feet on buying a phosphate test kit so I picked up the Red Sea algae management kit last night.

I'm also cut back my light schedule from 13 to 12 hours (including ramp time) and I'm prob due to change the carbon/gfo in the reactor.

I find it hard to believe I'm having a phosphate issue with my fuge skimmer and gfo but without testing who knows. I'll try to get some results up after work today.

By the way, some new frags too...pics when everything's open.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[runJE]

Nice, following along too

[Scurvy Dawg]

Got a replacement shrimp last night, my son finally noticed he was gone and had a meltdown. We're up to "Captain Skinny Legs II" haha.

Getting some brown algae on the larger rock in the sand bed, it's not terrible but I'm not digging it. Been dragging my feet on buying a phosphate test kit so I picked up the Red Sea algae management kit last night.

I'm also cut back my light schedule from 13 to 12 hours (including ramp time) and I'm prob due to change the carbon/gfo in the reactor.

I find it hard to believe I'm having a phosphate issue with my fuge skimmer and gfo but without testing who knows. I'll try to get some results up after work today.

By the way, some new frags too...pics when everything's open.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

How quiet is the fan in the Steve's LED. Been holding off buying it until someone else has one installed. I have the fan on the stock hood dead silent right now with a retro fit fan and don't want to install new lights with a noisy fan since my tank is in my living room.

[Joshnieder216]

How quiet is the fan in the Steve's LED. Been holding off buying it until someone else has one installed. I have the fan on the stock hood dead silent right now with a retro fit fan and don't want to install new lights with a noisy fan since my tank is in my living room.



Mine is in my living room also about 4-5' from my recliner. There is a hum but I haven't narrowed it down to being the fan, skimmer, pump, reactor or a combination. To me it isn't bad but I'm also one of the fortunate ones who's stock fan was quiet. Overall I have 0 regrets with the leds though, by far my favorite tank mod. Corals are loving it.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Thought the tank looked good last night after cleaning the glass and a little routine maintenance so I snapped a few pics. Sorry they're crappy iPhone pics, my wife's the family photographer. Maybe someday I could afford to commission her.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170402/c8e4e7ec0ae7840af96d568e16fb345d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170402/35998095592b4cecb0608ca30511b6ae.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170402/a58fcc53187455dbdb8cb9f7273a091d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170402/0401a2ffd6e93ee19d64bb86018d51ea.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170402/992eb61779ff01dd5861bc278d4c436a.jpg

Oh, almost forgot...we got a "guaranteed to eat frozen" mandarin. We'll see, I have my doubts but the lfs said they'd take him back if showing any signs of not eating...


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Seattle_Reef]

It's looking great!

[hamsterman]

Nice tank! Hopefully the mandarin is a product of captive breeding and will take that frozen food.

[Jenyphur]

Just curious how you like the Steve's LED? Is it worth the upgrade?

[Joshnieder216]

Just curious how you like the Steve's LED? Is it worth the upgrade?



I do. It's really nice to have more control than with the stock lights. They only have 2 channels though so you don't have the full control over the entire spectrum you'd have with other lights but to me that kinda takes more opportunity for failure out of the equation. Installation was a breeze and went exactly like the instructions from the site. My corals all seemed to really enjoy the upgrade. Im really happy that I have them.

Now with that said they're expensive. I'm at the point now where I'm really happy with my tank but if I step back and add it all up I could've had a REALLY nice larger custom tank. The important thing you have to ask yourself is are you going to stick with this tank for awhile? If so yes I'd definitely pull the trigger but if you see yourself upgrading that $400 goes a long way towards a bigger tank.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Jenyphur]

Excellent...thank you for the information. I feel same about my tank...a lot of money spent on an all in one lol. I do plan on keeping it for awhile as a learning tank. I will upgrade in a year or so once I have more experience.

Did your corals get brighter or grow faster ? Any update pics ???

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[Joshnieder216]

Yea my plans are to upgrade in a year or two. Our home now only has room in a corner for a cube. When that happens this one will either become a super expensive qt or go to my sons room.

There was a noticeable difference in the corals more so in color than growth. Some changed colors completely. Had some zoas that went from banana yellow to lime green.




"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Ryan Darilek]

Freaking awesome thread Josh!!! When do we get to see some pictures!?

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[krobertik]

Nice tank and progress. Are you target feeding the mandarin or does it does it find the frozen food on its own?

[krobertik]

Nice tank and progress. Are you target feeding the mandarin or does it does it find the frozen food on its own?

[Joshnieder216]

Freaking awesome thread Josh!!! When do we get to see some pictures!?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk



I'm working on getting my wife to take some with her fancy pants camera. I can't get anything decent to turn out with my phone.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Joshnieder216]

Nice tank and progress. Are you target feeding the mandarin or does it does it find the frozen food on its own?



Yes to both. I have 3 different types of frozen I rotate and target. He has his spot he hangs every night at feeding so I know he's going for it. I also use docs eco eggs which I don't target so I've not seen him eat but everything else in the tank goes crazy over so I can't imagine him passing it up.

Just to cover my bases I've been adding a bottle of docs ecomatter every 3-4 weeks to keep a pod population. I split half the bottle between the tank and the fuge after lights out.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[krobertik]

Yes to both. I have 3 different types of frozen I rotate and target. He has his spot he hangs every night at feeding so I know he's going for it. I also use docs eco eggs which I don't target so I've not seen him eat but everything else in the tank goes crazy over so I can't imagine him passing it up.

Just to cover my bases I've been adding a bottle of docs ecomatter every 3-4 weeks to keep a pod population. I split half the bottle between the tank and the fuge after lights out.


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

Great to hear. Good luck!

[Joshnieder216]

Alright kids, after having been away from the forum for a few months it's time to check in and provide evidence that the tank is still alive. Lost a clown and my mandarin awhile back but have made some new additions too. The biggest is the rbta that took a couple weeks, but eventually both clown took a liking to. Anyways here's the fts...
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170804/8155d7e57a6d94fad53115cb47b48360.jpg


"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude

[Ryan Darilek]

Looking awesome!!

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[PacoPetty]

Awesome thread and thank you for posting! Can we see some updates?

[dabob79]

Yeah, I wanna see updates, this tank is over a year old now!