# Biocube 29G journal 2.0



## SourGummy (Apr 29, 2011)

continue from last post:
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28860&highlight=biocube

now 7.5 months into the tank, everything's still going well under filtered tap water . New addition since last thread:

-aqualife 115 skimmer in chamber 2
-GSP (need to move this when i have time this weekend to another spot in the tank)
-green BTA from SUM

the maroon is loving the BTA and refuse to move away from it other than feeding time. Skimmer is working perfectly, torch coral still isnt extending much, tried almost every spot in the tank.

any suggestion on what coral i can add to to tank? Im thinking about some big size mushroom to cover some of the LR near the front/middle


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## vs5295 (Mar 21, 2011)

time for the Rapid LED upgrade !!


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## SourGummy (Apr 29, 2011)

ordered 2 PAR30 led from boostled last week and they just arrived yesterday, love the new color in my tank now, hopefully the corals will adapt to it soon. Post photo after the long weekend.


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## SourGummy (Apr 29, 2011)

new photo up


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I like the look of the dual PAR bulbs with the biocube. If you want that sps to grow then I'd put it up higher in the tank...just an opinion though


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## cablemike (Jan 7, 2009)

the color is a really nice with those bulbs


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

Are there any YouTube assembly vids? I don't know where to place the submersible heater, or the power head thingie!!! Also, are the bioballs as bad as people say they are (re: they cause nitrate spikes)? Should I just use ceramic rings in media bags from my old aquarium to kick start it and not use bioballs?

Defects detected so far:
1) one pair of bulbs is shot. i swapped out the bulbs to see if it might be the housing, but it's the bulbs. should i buy straight replacements, or are there LED alternatives that will use the same housing / plug? why is the fan on a manual switch instead of coming on automatically when it's really hot?
2) one of the three moonlight LEDs is burned out. does it require technical know-how (i.e. soldering skills) to replace it? why is there no _Off_ switch for the moonlights? it would have been nice if they shut off when day lights were turned on...
3) the intake fan is broken.

Thanx.


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## SourGummy (Apr 29, 2011)

the SPS grew by around 0.5cm since I changed the bulb(it was showing signs of bleaching prior to that), the BTA now moved to just beside the SPS to get more lights, its actually better for the overall view since its not as hidden anymore and I can see it from the front of the tank. Just killed off all aptasia yesterday and moved the zoas up the rocks.

Also a fight broke out between the torch and the hammer I think, both stingers were out when I got home last night, or maybe a joint battle against something?



JohnyBGood said:


> Are there any YouTube assembly vids? I don't know where to place the submersible heater, or the power head thingie!!! Also, are the bioballs as bad as people say they are (re: they cause nitrate spikes)? Should I just use ceramic rings in media bags from my old aquarium to kick start it and not use bioballs?
> 
> Defects detected so far:
> 1) one pair of bulbs is shot. i swapped out the bulbs to see if it might be the housing, but it's the bulbs. should i buy straight replacements, or are there LED alternatives that will use the same housing / plug? why is the fan on a manual switch instead of coming on automatically when it's really hot?
> ...


1) bulb cost $10-15, LED DIY ~$200, LED retrofit kit ~$350. From my experience 1 daylight + 1 blue bulb is good enough for most easy corals for this tank, even my BTA was happy under those stock lighting.

2) It's cheaper just to get a cheap moonlight bulb from ebay and stick in in the hood somewhere, ~$15.

3) you can use a computer fan as replacement, google it up, you will save ~$20-30

Current setup: heater in chamber 1, i took out the false bottom from there. skimmer in chamber 2. Played around with the direct of the pump/powerheads for the longest time, this seems like the best for my rockworks.

Old set up that lasted for 6months: heater in chamber 2, small piece of filter pad in chamber 1, bi-weekly water change(or at least try to). I rely mainly on 20lb of live sand and ~30lb of LR for filtration, and billions of collonista snails also help cleaning up all food that gets stuck on the sand bed or rocks


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## SourGummy (Apr 29, 2011)

bright orange coralline algeo on turbo shell


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