first time Biocube 29

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Justin3D

I got the maxijet and the y locline in but the flow seems really feeble, I'll try removing the 90 degree elbow and running the tubing directly. Are there any mods to increase the flow of the maxijet and still use it as a functional pump?

The sell mod kits for all the maxijets. Try it without the locline and see how the flow rate changes. MJ1200 only pumps 300gph. With a mod kit, it comes with two impellers, it pumps 1600/2100 gph. You can order the mod kit online for 20 dollars.

[airman_verde04]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

That is an awesome DIY project Justin.

Good luck with your Biocube! and hello to a fellow Virginian! I'm unfortuantly in SC for now.. moving back in two years to finish up at VT, have fun with that biocube! AKA BIO-endless upgradable tank-cube! haha..

[Justin3D]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

The sell mod kits for all the maxijets. Try it without the locline and see how the flow rate changes. MJ1200 only pumps 300gph. With a mod kit, it comes with two impellers, it pumps 1600/2100 gph. You can order the mod kit online for 20 dollars.

Doesn't that mod turn it into more of a circulation fan like the Koralia? I was able to get the hose connected without the 90 degree elbow so it might help the flow, if not I'll just go back to the stock setup like you mention.

Originally Posted by airman_verde04

Good luck with your Biocube! and hello to a fellow Virginian! I'm unfortuantly in SC for now.. moving back in two years to finish up at VT, have fun with that biocube! AKA BIO-endless upgradable tank-cube! haha..

Thanks, I've only been here a little over a year now but I'm enjoying Virginia.

Yesterday I scraped the vinyl off of the back for the refugium light, it was harder than I expected. I only had a square exacto blade that was about a quarter-inch wide, it snapped in half in the middle of scraping! Good thing I didn't lose an eye. I had to finish up the scraping with an even narrower exacto blade.

Today I popped out the bottom tray in chamber one so I could fit a 100w stealth heater. After that I made the opening between chamber one and two larger with my trusty dremel tool.



Saturday is the day for water, sand and rock!

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Justin3D

Doesn't that mod turn it into more of a circulation fan like the Koralia? I was able to get the hose connected without the 90 degree elbow so it might help the flow, if not I'll just go back to the stock setup like you mention.

Basically, yes. The new impeller is simply longer and has a fan blade on it instead of an impeller. The new nose cone holds it in place to stop the "wobble" from the longer shaft. Then, it draws water in the sides, out the end.

[Justin3D]

Got it all set up yesterday, the rocks are crawling with amphipods but they bolt at the first sign of light.

[OneDummHikk]

Coming along nicely Justin

[airman_verde04]

sweet man, its looking good! I looked at a 29BC today, In the right space, they feel super big!! I'm planning on getting one in the far far away future.. haha.. like in 3 years.. or more.. HAHAHA!! keep up the slow work!! slow work = happy reef tank!

[Tippmann98]

Nice build so far, I wish I had done mods to my 29 BEFORE i put water in it...I have a couple though.. Look for my new thread, as I am new to this site...Keep it up!

[Justin3D]

Tippmann98: it was really hard waiting, especially with my girlfriend begging me to put water in! I'll look for your thread.

In tank news, I've been testing the water conditions for about a week with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, just a few days ago the nitrates started going up. They're around 5-10ppm right now. Does this mean the tank has cycled? It seems like it went too fast.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Justin3D

Tippmann98: it was really hard waiting, especially with my girlfriend begging me to put water in! I'll look for your thread.

In tank news, I've been testing the water conditions for about a week with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, just a few days ago the nitrates started going up. They're around 5-10ppm right now. Does this mean the tank has cycled? It seems like it went too fast.

Justin, you still have some more steps to go through. The first post was on 6-1 and today being the 25th, you are about 3 1/2 weeks into it and it is safe to add some clean up crew but I wouldn't add any fish yet.

[Justin3D]

actually it's only been 11 days with water. Is this something you would see with cured rocks?

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Justin3D

actually it's only been 11 days with water. Is this something you would see with cured rocks?

It is one of the advantages of having cured rock is the cycling part of it. And yes it can cut down on the cycle time. Wait for the diatom blooms to happen and then consider a clean up crew.

If you don't know what they are, the diatoms look like an algae bloom but they wipe off. I usually get them in high flow areas on my tank. So I take a powerhead and blow it straight on the glass so that I know when it happens. It will just be a film of colored (it comes in different colors) and will simply wipe off if you wipe it off.

[Justin3D]

Updates:

I picked up 6 dwarf red leg hermits over the weekend, I only ment to get 5 but one of the spare shells I got had one hiding in it. I only got the hermits to just test things out but they seem to be doing fine, picking over everything.

Today I grabbed a small hunk of chaeto from the LFS for 25 cents and popped it in the refugium.

I'm going to get the rest of the clean up crew this weekend

[Justin3D]

A few days ago I woke up to an algae covered tank, I've been working crazy hours and all through the weekend so I never got a chance to finish my crew. Monday I hit the LFS store but they were low on snails so this was all I could get:
4 x Nassarius Snails
3 x Turbo Snails
1 x Banded Trochus

They are getting a shipment in tomorrow so I'm planning on getting 1 more Turbo and maybe 3 more Trochus snails.

Today I picked up 4 more hermits, so I'm currently at 10.

I noticed my chaeto was getting blown into a dark corner of my refugium by the water flow so I picked up a clear suction cup heater holder and stuck the chaeto in there. It's a bit hard to tell with the rippling water but the holder has the tiny clump of chaeto directly in front of the light, hopefully it will appreciate that and start growing some.

[Justin3D]

14 days of work without a break, I deserve some corals!

Hairy Mushroom or as the LFS called it a "fuzzy mushroom"



$10 Torch Coral frag


Duncan!


Two Scooter Blennys and some angry blue hairy mushrooms


the shrooms where covered in flatworms so I did a FW dip on them, that was pretty nerve wracking.

almost forgot the awesome zoas I got

Also not shown are 4 new snails, I think they may be nerite snails, I got them from Petland and the girl there didn't know anything about marine critters.