[Scott Howard]

I have had my BioCube up and running for about 6 months and everything has lived so far. Their are a few questions I have about my setup and the Bio-Cube itself.

Info about my tank:

Salinity 1.023

Stock Lighting

Questions:

1. My anemone's never fully open up and inflate like they were at the store when I bought them. They eat just fine and are alive but they just never look like they should? Lighting Issue?

2. How many hours should I leave the lights on?

3. Do I need a powerhead?

4. What can I do to make my filters last longer? It goes through them like nothing.

5. Is the Sapphire Aquatics protein skimmer the best one for the BioCube? I had this 20 dollar one and it wasn't worth a crap.

6. What are some "must have" upgrades for the Bio-Cube?

[patrick1234]

i have seen ppl put on a 360 or one 180 wave maker on the return head

[ess173]

You need to be putting some chemicals in the water. Anemones need calcium and iodine supplements to thrive. They filter feed on it. A power head isn't necessary, but it never hurts. Also use Reef Salt when doing water changes. The cheaper salts don't include all of the extra minerals that Reef Salt does. Using Reef Salt alone in a nano tank is probably enough calcium by itself, but the supplements will make it open more. If not already using Reef Salt, do a 20% water change and I promise you your anemone will open wide. ------------- good luck ---------

[patrick1234]

the filter your talking about is the blue little filter with carbon in it?

[Scott Howard]

I am using Oceanic Salt in my water changes I perform once a week, I put half a teaspoon of calcium in my tank every water change, and also put the Kent Marine Filter Feeder food in the water too. I am also talking about the primary filter (long skinny one) .

[e_baer]

Originally Posted by ess173

You need to be putting some chemicals in the water. Anemones need calcium and iodine supplements to thrive. They filter feed on it. A power head isn't necessary, but it never hurts. Also use Reef Salt when doing water changes. The cheaper salts don't include all of the extra minerals that Reef Salt does. Using Reef Salt alone in a nano tank is probably enough calcium by itself, but the supplements will make it open more. If not already using Reef Salt, do a 20% water change and I promise you your anemone will open wide. ------------- good luck ---------

I would not add any chemicals unless you are testing for them.

You may want to check your iodine level. It should be around .06 I believe.

[Scott Howard]

I am also putting 1/2 teaspoon of Iodine every water change

[e_baer]

What is your iodine level? If you add too much that will also be bad for your system.

[reefnoob1991]

I added a sunpod over my biocube...a 20" 150W metal halide, anemones need ALOT of lighting so that could be attributing to its poor appearance. Also, a good reef salinity is around 1.024-1.026, check your levels in your tank too it could also be a nutrient problem. The sapphire aquatics is the best skimmer for it, I had one and it worked wonders! I used the recirculating one which is rated for up to 55 gallons and used it on my 75 until I got a new one

[glampka]

Originally Posted by reefnoob1991

The sapphire aquatics is the best skimmer for it, I had one and it worked wonders!

Sapphire has stopped making skimmers for the time being.

[reefnoob1991]

I sold my recirculating one to a friend for 70$ and they can still be found on forums

[Fishhead Junkie]

hey scott, i have a 29 gallon cube, been up and running for almost a year. here are some things i have done to mine.

1) added to korallia jets...1 is near the top and the other i have buried near the bottom behind the live rock to keep water circulating inside all the caves.

2) i went in with some pliers into the intake chamber, took out a few plastic slats that seperate the upper and lower chamber and slid my stealth heater down in there so now its out of site and its seems to have really regulated my water temp to about a standard 81degrees. i ran my digital thermometer probe all the way over to the return chamber to get a reading of what temp the water is as it goes back into the tank.

3) i bought the oceanic protein skimmer($45), i also stuck that down into the intake chamber next to the carbon cartridge, fits perfectly so its out of site as well. not a big fan of the wooden airstone in it...doesnt last very long but i do get some good foam up in the collection chamber.

4) added some brown gutter guarding over the back chamber to prevent any jumping fish from committing suicide into the skimmer area.

you mentioned you were going thru filter cartridges really quick...how quick is quick? i know it says to change them every 30 days...i change mine 1 time a week when i do my 5-8 gallon water change. what really helps make them last longer is if you either unplug the filter pump during feeding to prevent excess food from being sucked up or get yourself one of those toggle switches like a kill switch for a car alarm and use that to turn the pump on and off so you arent reaching into your stand or under it to unplug it all the time. thats what i did. i just flick it off for maybe 10mins while i feed my fish or add phytos and then flip it back on.

sorry this email is so long but now that i have made all my tweeks, everything seems to have calmed down with less maintenance.

you mentioned lighting..i usually run the actinic lights from like 7-8am, then the brights come on from 8am-8pm, and then actinic again from 8pm-9pm. could probably reduce the brights to help stop the algae growth but i just hate messing with the timer. i am still waiting for central aquatics to send me my new replacement canopy seeing as mine isnt working properly.

hope some of this helps.

steve

[ess173]

Oceanic Salt doesn't include all the chemicals Reef Salt does. As far as adding too much calcium or idodine, you'd be hard up to do it. I keep my calcium levels at about 100ppg higher than recommended and everything thrives that filter feeds. It's been that way for 9 months. I've only had a setup for a little over a year, but I am a marine biologist so I know more about fish than most people playing the guessing game. Alot of what you read is BS. People try to make aquariums sound 100 times more complex than they really are. Bio-cubes also have plenty of light for most all anemones, so there's no point in wasting money on another one. Any and all skimmers that use the wood chunk are a hunk of crap and you may as well save your money. You may get some pretty bubbles, but that's about it. They suck more good minerals out than bad proteins. Your tank needs minerals. Add them. Simple as that. Double the does the first time and go from there. It's far from rocket science as many will lead you to believe.

[reefnoob1991]

Everything I've heard about that cheap skimmer for the biocube is that it isn't good. The biocube only has 72 watts over it and the anemone I had in it was bleached out with perfect levels.

[ess173]

Both of the 30 gallons I had set up at the office we Oceanic Bio-cubes. I had a sabea and 2 bubble tips in one, and single tube anemone in the other. The tanks have been sold to friends, but they still have the anemones in them and they are all looking better than they did at the store. never had issues with a cube. If you're looking to add lights I don't know why you'd buy one it the first place. why pay a bunch extra just to have a hood to hack up? haha if you want high wattage, just buy it from the start. just a thought........

[reefnoob1991]

I bought the sunpod 150W MH and it looked amazing, here's before and after pictures with the 108W retro I did to it and then the sunpod

[nanoreef11]

wow that light made a big difference