29 gallon Oceanic Biocube

drdude05 · 05-20-2007, 02:36 PM

I picked up one of these Biocubes and the matching stand at my LFS yesterday. They were having a silent auction on the setup as part of their customer appreciation day and I ended up winning the auction.

Now that I have it, I'm tying to figure out what to keep in it. It comes with two 36W coralife PC, one actinic and one 10K daylight, as well as built in moonlights. Anyone out there that has one of these biocubes, what do you do with the chamber that is supposed to house the bioballs. I will likely be taking them out and using the chamber to house my heater. Does anyone use this middle chamber for something else? Does anyone use a skimmer with these cubes? If so how? The pump that came with it is supposedly rated for 238 gph, I was also thinking of changing this out for a stronger pump, maybe something that puts out 350 gph, for a little more turnover.

Does anyone know of any mods for these cubes?

I like the idea of a shroom dominated softy reef. I would think that it would do well under the PC's that come with the biocube, depending on how bright they are, that might provide plenty of light for a softy reef.

diggman08 · 05-20-2007, 02:47 PM

i have the same exact setup, which i also just got. alls i have in it is RO water at live sand. I left the bioballs in. my only mods will prob be a Tunzes power head 400gph, to create some wave flow, and maybe lighting upgrade down the road., but my lfs told me with that lighting i was able to put almost any species of coral in .

motorslave · 05-20-2007, 04:55 PM

Sequence Barracuda for a CLS, two 400 watt 10k matal halides and a 60 gallon sump should do it! HA!
I dont know (can you tell?) but I will be watching as I am wanting one too.

Jflip2002 · 05-20-2007, 05:24 PM

yeahhhhh, the shroom dominated reef! (my idea woo lol). I like the idea =\

drdude05 · 05-20-2007, 05:58 PM

Has anyone heard of Sapphire skimmers? Are they any good? It looks like they have a model that is designed to fit into the second chamber of the biocube.

http://storefront.addictiveaquatics....-5246-235.html

diggman08 · 05-20-2007, 09:26 PM

im thinking of getting a sapphire skimmer for my bio cube. Dont really want to take out the bio balls though.?. what do i benifit from the bioballs neway?

drdude05 · 05-20-2007, 10:24 PM

Bioballs are for "biological" filtration. If you have alot of LR in the tank then this is already working as your bio filter and thus you don't need the bioballs. This frees up that chamber for other uses ... skimmer, chemical media, heater ... what ever you want to use it for.

thekid55 · 05-20-2007, 10:29 PM

id say a skimmer would be needed for that size tanks.

drdude05 · 05-20-2007, 10:54 PM

Skimmer needed? Likely ... the question is, how to add one with out needed to majorly modify the existing setup. I like the sleek look of the biocube and want to keep the look as much as possible.

Jflip2002 · 05-20-2007, 11:06 PM

Thats the problem Ive found with them, is they look so sleek and nice, that you dont want any skimmer hanging off the back. And a skimmer isnt NEEDED. I ran my 29g with a HOB FILTER, not skimmer, and it worked fine. I just rinsed the filter media every week, and changed it every 2. Its a little PITA. But it depends on what you want, the function of the skimmer, or the sleek look of the bio cube. Unless you can find a skimmer solution to make it still look sleek that is lol.

drdude05 · 05-20-2007, 11:20 PM

Check out the link I posted above for the sapphire skimmer. It is supposedly build to fit the second chamber of the BC29 and from what I have found on it so far, people seem to like it, and it sounds like it does a decent job. Plus it fits with the original BC29 hood so there is no dremmeling, cutting, etc to make it fit.

JY13131 · 05-20-2007, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diggman08

i have the same exact setup, which i also just got. alls i have in it is RO water at live sand. I left the bioballs in. my only mods will prob be a Tunzes power head 400gph, to create some wave flow, and maybe lighting upgrade down the road., but my lfs told me with that lighting i was able to put almost any species of coral in .

I have been able to keep a BTA and clam in one.

diggman08 · 05-20-2007, 11:56 PM

well that is good to know. save me about 200$$ on lighting upgrade... those fans on the biocube take a little getting used too.

bubblybabs · 05-21-2007, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diggman08

well that is good to know. save me about 200$$ on lighting upgrade... those fans on the biocube take a little getting used too.

The fan on mine made so much noise... That's the reason I got rid of my hood and went with a different lighting system...

Babs

luvmylo · 05-21-2007, 03:46 AM

cpr is coming out with a skimmer this month to fit into the "sump" section of the bio-cube. The lfs where I work just got the notice so I would keep an eye out for that if you don't want to make any major mods.