Sabrina's BioCube 14

[knockOUT]

Moving on to the next project  <!-- s:mrgreen: -->:mrgreen:<!-- s:mrgreen: --> my daughter wanted a tank for her room, I was going with a 6g but a deal came up for this 14g so we went with it...

Early Stages... I initial thinking is this is going to be a mostly softies and a couple of hardy LPS\\'s

[subielover]

Very cool, looking forward to watching it progress. Keep us updated.

[crabman]

Very nice!  If you come across any more good deals, let me know.  Jordan is driving me crazy!

[knockOUT]

for sure!

[knockOUT]

Well after attempting this Nano thing and crashing a couple of time (3 to be exact) I think I finally got it...
its been running now for couple of weeks and the test reading are excellent for calcium 420, alk 9, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 0

I used rock/water from my 215g to start the tank, the only thing new is the sand.
I added a hang on back filter, these biocubes come with nothing in the means of a good filtration and i really think this was my biggest problem, water would get foul pretty fast, the other problem I was having was heat, the lighting is way too close to the water and although is only PC lighting it was affecting the temperature and kicking it up to 83 degrees, the water felt warm to the touch, that cant be good.

I added a few zoa/paly frags and mushrooms I had taking up space, just got a pretty anemone today and seems to be happy!
fish will not come in until a couple more weeks, one goby, two clowns will be purchased at the fragswap in October and that will do it!

Lifted the canopy to help with the heat problems, this also cleared the way for the hang on back filter


Hang on back AquaClear 300, i used to run this one on my 35g freshwater tank and kept it sparkling clear, its doing exactly the same for this tank


added two Koralia 1\'s for added flow, these are pumping behind the rock


FTS


White Pink Tip BTA, hope it stays this way

[knockOUT]

Need recommendation on return pump, what is the biggest I can fit in the chamber and also be quiet?

Does the Skimmer Oceanic sell for this tank does any good, I am planing weekly water changes so I am not really looking to spend money on this, unless is really exceptional

Light for refugium in middle chamber, below the aquaclear, I used a Xenon light which I am also 100% sure contributed to the issues in the past, I found this one in Marine Depot, but looking for options, its pricey
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=JB9315&idCartRow=16842070&isKit=0

[knockOUT]

ohh I also took the ATO from my main tank and added it to this one, that was another major issue remembering if and how much water to add everyday, I swear this little tank is twice the work of my big tank!

[subielover]

Need recommendation on return pump, what is the biggest I can fit in the chamber and also be quiet?

Does the Skimmer Oceanic sell for this tank does any good, I am planing weekly water changes so I am not really looking to spend money on this, unless is really exceptional

Light for refugium in middle chamber, below the aquaclear, I used a Xenon light which I am also 100% sure contributed to the issues in the past, I found this one in Marine Depot, but looking for options, its pricey
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=JB9315&idCartRow=16842070&isKit=0

That was a really good idea to raise the hood like that, very tricky.

As for a return, I prefer the mj900. It keeps water moving through the back chambers very well and does not produce much heat at all, and they are cheap :?

Oceanic skimmer=crappola. I looked into this a lot when I started putting more sps into mine but just heard way too many of the same comments, that being that they are useless. Sapphire aquatics makes a skimmer that fits into one of the rear chambers (probably chamber 2) that I have read very good reviews on. Of course it is around $100, much more than the oceanic skimmer, but if you feel the need for a skimmer this is probably your best bet.

As for the refugium lighting, I picked one up at Home Depot for about 10 bucks. It was designed to be mounted under cabinets or something like that but grows chaeto perfectly fine.

Glad to hear the nano is running well for you, I hope Sabrina is enjoying it

[knockOUT]

thanks for the info Ed, kids are all about fish, so she is not loving it as much as I am just yet! forget the skimmer, I\'ll stop by HD tonight and see if I find something similar to what I already have, maybe in led to lessen the heat

[crabman]

Looks nice Kelvin.  Jordan\'s has a skimmer built in and I don\'t even use it.  Just do a gallon W/C once a week.  For top off I have her sqirt R/O in the filter area before she goes to bed every night.

[knockOUT]

yeah, I am not spending the money on the skimmer, I havent read one good post about it... the ATO is working great... I am using kalk water from my main system reactor to fill up a reservoir and so far so good, I am keeping the other tank in check with a timer for now

[HENRYSTYLE]

looking better

[knockOUT]

Its been a while since I taken any pics of the BioCube, added a few pieces of coral from the last frag swaps...

[redfishbluefish]

that thing has more coral than my 50.  i had better get crackin'... "Honey, where's the check book?  No, I'm not buying anything for the fish tank, I swear!"

[subielover]

That looks really great. What kind of fish is that?