Seting up a 14 gallon biocube

K

klok95330

Member
Hi all. Been a while since I posted. I'm redoing my 14g biocube.


Stock:

Fish & Clean Up Crew
Going to reef with 1 or 2 (possibly a 6 line wrasse and 1 other) small fish and a cleaner shrimp. Clean up crew is going to be 5 or 6 nassarite/nerite snails (spelling) and maybe 1 or 2 hermit crabs with extra shells of course.

Corals:
Still contemplating on these. I want LPS/SPS. Not sure which yet. Again open to suggestions. This is not my first tank.

Live rock:
about 15 - 20 pounds of florida or fiji live rock for nanos.

Live sand:
not sure yet if I'm going this route. I know about the beneficial bacterias and what not but I'm not sure, if I do go this route if it will be DSB or SSB. Still thinking it over.
If I do go with live sand it will be probably about 15 pounds. If I dont go with live sand it will be fine grain live sand. Maybe sugar sized. Again open to suggestions.

Equipment:

Lighting
I'm going to have 150w HQI hang on the back, with either 12k or 20k not sure on which yet still doing research and I'm open to suggestions. With LED and Light fan built in Fan. I'm aware of heat issues. More than likely going to get a small chiller as well later down the line. 8-10 hour photo period. LEDs when main light is out. K2 Viper Delux clamp on

Power heads:
Upgraded sump return pump. With the rotating wave maker attachment that goes in circles for better flow. But also 2 koralia nano power heads. Wave maker will be added later when money allows.

Sump:
The sump area 1st chamber I'm going to have a heater. 2nd area I'm still thinking about. I want cheato on top. With some live rock robble on bottom in place of the stock sponge as well. And I'm assuming it will need light. So still thinking about it.

Skimmer:

thinking between CPR Back Pak and a Aqua C remora HOB skimmer. Not fond of the Biocube skimmer from bad experiences before. Too much trouble.


Water:
Dont have an RO/DI unit yet. I live in an apartment so I need something I can attach to a faucet. Doesn't have to be a big system as far as GPD, but it does need to be reliable and do its job.


Test Equipment:
Refractometer, Digital Thermometer and I want some recommendations for Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia/Alk/Ph/Phos/Magnesium/Calcium test kits as well.


Salt:
Normally I use Instant Ocean. Any other suggestions?



Please give me your thoughts. Would like to make this as successful as I possibly can. So any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thank you! Happy reefing!
 
K

klok95330

Member
You and me both. I'm still iffy on some of the choices that I have. Still looking for some input. I can see it in my head and I'm going to put it together slowly and take my time. Gonna let it cycle with live rock and a decent clean up crew for a few months. Then start adding some hardy corals so I can get back in the swing of checking levels and keeping everything in balance. Gonna cost some money but I'm going to get it together in time and as money allows and the my wife allows :) good thing she likes reefs too. Still looking for ideas and I will be posting pics as it comes together. Want some advice on stocking corals and fish. Or any tips and trips also will help. Thanks!
 
sasquatch

sasquatch

Brunt of all Jokes~
PREMIUM
any ro/di unit can work from a sink connection, Guest fittings are easy to find just put a shut off valve at the hose connection and one on the output so it dosen't leak when you store it, should let it run for 5 to 10 minutes before use each time
 
K

klok95330

Member
Any suggestions or advice for this setup? I need/want any and all advice that I can get. Tons of experience here, I'm going to start it out slowly. Wont be stocking fish/coral for at least 2-3 months. So I have plenty of time to get used to maintaining water quality/heat/SG/levels. Gives me time to gather equipment and stuff too. The tank I just finished cleaning. Waiting for my tax return to get the expensive stuff. The small stuff I'm going to get as I go. Needs first then wants after. Please give me your thoughts/ideas/advice. Thank you guys!
 
T

tlkng1

New Member
I am also in the process of re-building my 14g..I'll post the process separately. Here is what I have...I removed the floors in chambers 1 and 2..heater will be in chamber 1 once winter rolls in but for now is just there. I have ordered an inTank media basket for chamber 2 and will be using floss, Purigen and Chemi-Pure...I ditched the BioBalls (recycled them into cat toys..they make great soccer balls :) ). I changed out the stock pump in chamber 3 for an MJ900 and removed the sponge..with the floss I don't need the it. In the display area, I mounted a Koralia Nano just below the upper intake and have it aimed, for now at least, towards the surface for the better gas exchange. Will make a determination later if the flow is too strong.

I have 8 pounds of livesand and roughly 19 pounds of liverock. Now, this particular liverock already has growth on it. The place I get it receives this rock no more than 2 hours after it is "harvested" and I was at the store about 2 hours later. All in all, this rock went from "breeding" area to final tank in under 6 hours. Now, that isn't to say it hasn't been re-arranged a few times.... This same store sells salt RO/DI water so I added 7 gallons of that and then, because they know me so well, they also allowed me to buy 7 gallons of their in-use water.

Currently, the only light I have is a 10,000K lamp; I also have to replace the moonlights which are on their way and should be here on Thursday/Friday. The other CF bulbs are on their way as 5 stores in my area didn't carry the bulbs; talk about frustrating. I have ordered, the Nanotuners 3.24 light retrofit kit and should have that early next week. I have one of the guys at my specialty LFS ready to do the work for me...I am pretty handy but when it comes to cutting wires, even if they aren't under power, and then trusting my reconnects when the power is back on...well......

I started the set-up on Thursday (5/19) with the water and live sand then placed the liverock on Friday (5/20). I tested last night and Nitrates are spiking so I imagine the cycling is nearly completed. The live rock was essentiall already cured so the cycling time should be very short. The pic is from Saturday...water was cloudy as I had just re-arranged the rock..again. The display areas is crystal clear today.

I have a CUC coming on Friday (5/27) that consists of 10 Dwarf Ceriths, 3 Nassarius, 4 Florida Ceriths, 3 Blue Legs and 3 Small to Medium Nerites. This was a "custom" crew that was recommended by John at Reefcleaners.com. Go to the site, fill out the "custom" request form and John will send back the info..then, just order as usual. For fish stocking, for now I plan on a Yellow Clown Goby as soon as the parameters fully stabilize then after that...I am still researching.

If you have enough live rock in the display, you really don't need live rock rubble in the media area. On the skimmer, many people I have spoken with on other forums, who tried the skimmer, are saying there is very little return...most took it out. The going census seems to be that it isn't needed for the 14 but IS effective in the 29.
 

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K

klok95330

Member
Looks nice. Wish I was close to the ocean for this reason alone. Yeah I'm still thinking everything out. Its going to be a slow process. As I dont have the money to get everything at once. But I'm going to be getting around 14 to 15ish pounds of sand and about 15 pounds of live rock. Still thinking of the clean up crew. I will be using the website that you used as well. its bookmarked :p . I'm gonna try to order live rock from the liverockranch.com. I'm gonna give em a shot. The closest place to me is all from jakarta. But last time I used that I got like 12 gorilla crabs in it :/ after loosing many fish I took the rock out and broke em open and got them all out and disposed of them... I would like a skimmer but again I'm still contemplating. I may get it once I start stocking my corals. Its an accessory at this point. I want all my needs first. I'm also going to be getting a chiller to so I'm also looking into that. It gets pretty hot here during the summers. Around 100-110 most of the time. In my apartment I keep the AC at about 70-73 almost all the time. But with the 150 watt HQI I'm going to be getting I'm worried about the temps going to around 80-83. I want mine right around 78
 
T

tlkng1

New Member
I've seen and heard some negative reviews about Liverock Ranch...apparently more than a few people have ordered, paid and never received or all they received was base rock. I have a better place in mind but I don't have the e-mail address here..I'll post it tomorrow. I found the site a couple of days ago but don't want to seearch for it again just in case it is the wrong one :)
 
T

tlkng1

New Member
Re: Setting up a 14 gallon biocube: Short Vid of Flow

I did a quick shot of the tank and its flow..this is with the MJ900 and Koralia Nano.



[video=youtube;dxJayjyeDNA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxJayjyeDNA[/video]
 
ChrisOaty

ChrisOaty

Member
I've got a modified 14gal biocube too..actually i'm about to drill the back so I can throw a sump (5 gal bucket for algae scrubber) in it. I honestly wouldn't go with mh for lighting...even with a chiller...just seems like so much equipment for a little tank. build yourself an LED array. a 12 unit LED dimmable LED array can be built for about 150 bucks that will be much more efficient in terms of wattage and heat. I built a 9 unit led and love it.
 
Rhodes19

Rhodes19

Active Member
ChrisOaty said:
I've got a modified 14gal biocube too..actually i'm about to drill the back so I can throw a sump (5 gal bucket for algae scrubber) in it. I honestly wouldn't go with mh for lighting...even with a chiller...just seems like so much equipment for a little tank. build yourself an LED array. a 12 unit LED dimmable LED array can be built for about 150 bucks that will be much more efficient in terms of wattage and heat. I built a 9 unit led and love it.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see how you drill the back and plumb it. I can't do that with mine because it sits on my desk at work and there is now room but I would love to follow it. If you have build thread let me know. :) I was going to do an algae scrubber for it too but, again, no room. :( That would have been a fun build.

+1 for the LEDs. I want to do that at some point.
 
Rhodes19

Rhodes19

Active Member
Hi Keith,

klok95330 said:
Hi all. Been a while since I posted. I'm redoing my 14g biocube.


Stock:

Do you have the new or old style BC 14? In the new one the back wall goes up to the canopy and acts like a fish guard.

Fish & Clean Up Crew
Going to reef with 1 or 2 (possibly a 6 line wrasse and 1 other) small fish and a cleaner shrimp. Clean up crew is going to be 5 or 6 nassarite/nerite snails (spelling) and maybe 1 or 2 hermit crabs with extra shells of course.

The CUC sounds good but I wouldn't put a 6 line in there. IMHO the BC14 is too small for him and he won't have enough swimming room. Right now I have a small occellaris and a YWG in my BC 14 but I think that is pushing the bio load. I do frequent water changes and that helps.

Corals:
Still contemplating on these. I want LPS/SPS. Not sure which yet. Again open to suggestions. This is not my first tank.

If this is your first reef tank, I would consider softies or lps. The stock light would work ok for them and the MH or LEDs would work for softies, lps and sps, but its going to be the water quality that will get you with the sps. Because the water volume is so small, any little changes will make a huge difference to the sps. You will really have to stay on top of it for the sps to thrive. I have some softies in my BC 14 but at some point I want to get rid of them and do some lps like acans.

Live rock:
about 15 - 20 pounds of florida or fiji live rock for nanos.

Live sand:
not sure yet if I'm going this route. I know about the beneficial bacterias and what not but I'm not sure, if I do go this route if it will be DSB or SSB. Still thinking it over.
If I do go with live sand it will be probably about 15 pounds. If I dont go with live sand it will be fine grain live sand. Maybe sugar sized. Again open to suggestions.

Going bare bottom or sand bed either way will be fine. Go with what looks good to you. BB are easier to clean because you can see the detritus but if you go with a sand bed, go with a shallow bed, maybe about an inch. With DSBs, your looking at a minimum of 4-6 inches and that will take up a lot of needed water space. Most of the biological filtration will be done in the live rock. 10 lbs is probably all you'll need. Also, don't wast your money on live sand, it usually isn't and they tend to give you cyano out brakes during cycling. Use dry sand, and save some money. The sand will eventually become live.

Equipment:

Lighting
I'm going to have 150w HQI hang on the back, with either 12k or 20k not sure on which yet still doing research and I'm open to suggestions. With LED and Light fan built in Fan. I'm aware of heat issues. More than likely going to get a small chiller as well later down the line. 8-10 hour photo period. LEDs when main light is out. K2 Viper Delux clamp on

If you like a bluish color, then go with the 20 k. If you can do either MH or LEDs, I would go with the LEDs. They are more energy efficient, last longer, and run cooler than the MH and you may not need a chiller.

Power heads:
Upgraded sump return pump. With the rotating wave maker attachment that goes in circles for better flow. But also 2 koralia nano power heads. Wave maker will be added later when money allows.

That sounds good. I would stick with the stock return diverter instead of the rotating diverter though and pointed it up at the surface for better gas exchange and use the nanos for flow/wave making.

Sump:
The sump area 1st chamber I'm going to have a heater. 2nd area I'm still thinking about. I want cheato on top. With some live rock robble on bottom in place of the stock sponge as well. And I'm assuming it will need light. So still thinking about it.

Take a look at StevieT's media rack. Its great for holding the filter floss (get rid of the stock filter) and you can put cheato in the middle with a submersible LED light, and have carbon or other media on the bottom rack. I wouldn't use rubble of bioballs in the chamber though, they can catch detritus and become a nitrate factory. Pull the stock sponge as well for the same reason.


Skimmer:

thinking between CPR Back Pak and a Aqua C remora HOB skimmer. Not fond of the Biocube skimmer from bad experiences before. Too much trouble.

Skimmers are good (except for the BC skimmer) but if you do regular water changes, you won't need one. I do have the remora nano and I wasn't very happy with it. Loud (so my wife told me) and it didn't seem to produce skimmate after about 6 months and I know it wasn't because my tank was squeaky clean or anything LOL.

Water:
Dont have an RO/DI unit yet. I live in an apartment so I need something I can attach to a faucet. Doesn't have to be a big system as far as GPD, but it does need to be reliable and do its job.

+1 to what sasquatch said. Ro/DI water goes a long way to good water quality.

Test Equipment:
Refractometer, Digital Thermometer and I want some recommendations for Nitrate/Nitrite/Ammonia/Alk/Ph/Phos/Magnesium/Calcium test kits as well.

+1 for the Refractometer and Digital Thermometer. Look at getting a digital ph meter and look at getting Salifert or Elos for the rest. If you like digital, look at Hanna Checker for phos and alk.

Salt:
Normally I use Instant Ocean. Any other suggestions?

Boy can that question open up a can of worms. LOL. I was using IO but am switching to IO Reef Crystals. They are supposed to be better balanced for Ca, alk, and Mg. Still need supplements though.

Please give me your thoughts. Would like to make this as successful as I possibly can. So any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thank you! Happy reefing!
Click to expand...


Well, I hope I helped a bit. I'm no expert but those are based on my experiences and research. It sounds like you are off to a good start and have done quite a bit of research as well. If I can help confuse you any more, let me know. :D
 
K

klok95330

Member
Ill have to check this out. Not too many pics on the site. I just hope none of it comes with gorilla crabs. bad past experiences with live rock with them in it. :/
 
D

dalbertson

Member
I have some pics if you want to see what his rock looks like. Just cycled a new tank with his rock about three or four months ago. Lots of purple and pink coralline algae. No gorilla crabs so far! lol!
 
ChrisOaty

ChrisOaty

Member
hi all, sorry if i'm hijacking but i had a couple people interested in my drilled biocube setup. i finished it up a few days ago and the scrubber's beginning to take off. dealing with a hair algae issue on a couple of pieces of rock that i have in the display, but i can see it already slowly going away. my return pump is a rio 1700, i split that into two 1/2" lines that return on either side of the tank in the back pointed forward and a little toward the center, provides great flow throughout the tank. with head loss (considering piping) i calculate i have between 350 and 400 gph of flowI'll throw some pictures up this weekend when I can get everything cleaned up.
 
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