BioCube 16 LED

[SaltyShel]

Hey y’all so I have a BioCube 16 (as you can see by the title lol) and I guess it was used but I didn’t know this until I went to start cycling, so I ran a water/vinegar solution for about a week. Now I’m at the point where I’m trying to get it ready for the cycle and I noticed the light has water in the casing and some of the little wire connections where it was soldered is rusted… it’s funny cuz I had a feeling I should’ve checked if the lights even work but I haven’t yet.

Idk if I should take off the splash cover and drain or if I should just leave it alone. I’m also considering new lighting but I honestly don’t have the means to go buy a whole light set up and I’d prefer to keep it hooded.

Any help would be great, thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

I'd probably replace it if it has water in it.

 

[SaltyShel]

I'd probably replace it if it has water in it.

That’s what I was thinking… the last thing I need is an electrical fire lol

 

[SaltyShel]

UPDATE!!!

I called Coralife and they are going to (I think) send me a new hood for my tank, as a replacement!

 

[Tankkeepers]

Can't speak for the 16 ked but the 32 led does great and so far growth anything and still looks really nice after almost 2 years

 

[SaltyShel]

Can't speak for the 16 ked but the 32 led does great and so far growth anything and still looks really nice after almost 2 years

That’s what I’m hoping for! I got my new lid so my tank is on its way.

I’m actually planning on possibly going barebottom. I think it just looks so nice with my scape and the tank that’s up right now has sand and I just don’t care for it.

My only concern is how different is sand vs. no sand when it comes to cycling or overall keeping the tank balanced. I’ve been looking into it but will no sand cause me a bunch of issues or am I just stressing too much?

 

[Tankkeepers]

That’s what I’m hoping for! I got my new lid so my tank is on its way.

I’m actually planning on possibly going barebottom. I think it just looks so nice with my scape and the tank that’s up right now has sand and I just don’t care for it.

My only concern is how different is sand vs. no sand when it comes to cycling or overall keeping the tank balanced. I’ve been looking into it but will no sand cause me a bunch of issues or am I just stressing too much?

Iv been bare bottom in this 32 for 1 and a half of 2 years tank stays alot cleaner has better flow and is easier to clean and frankly I like the look

Removing the sand actually helped my overall tank health

IMO I think bare bottom is easier to maintain and askng as you don't want a sand dwelling thing then it's absolutely no problem

 

[Tankkeepers]

I have not found a downside other then not being able to keep sand dwelling things (few news and clams I can think of need sand)

 

[SaltyShel]

Yeah the sand dwelling animals would be nice to have but I would rather not keep them than have to deal with sand lol. It’s gonna be too hard to get to with my scape and especially once coral are on it. Plus I hateeeee cleaning sand lol. I have considered doing a sand tank eventually but idk.

I’m right now struggling with my bio filtration method because idk what to do. Since I won’t have sand, should I add some media? I’ll post a pic of what kind I have. It came with a HOB filter I bought a few months ago and haven’t used lol but my 16g is an AIO so honestly the media is just sitting in the bag doing nothing. Would adding this media now, to cycle with, be beneficial? Or would it not matter since I would have to replace it eventually anyway?

 

[Tankkeepers]

No not really ill get a pic here in a minute of my setup

But my biofilter is very simple as for me simple is better

In the 3 chambers in the back iv got them setup as follows

First chamber with the return from display

It's all blacked out on my 32 I assume it is on your to so perfect spot to put some larger rocks in there to allow alot of flow threw the lower one still but give sponges pods etc a nice dark place to grow

Cryptic and benthic zones

Then it goes over the waterfall and I made an outlet like the one you can buy to move it off the wall and out alittle that flows over the original filter pad but I ripped the pad off so I can use replaceable filter media and buy in bulk

Then the Lowe section under the filter has a jbj nano glow on the back facing in about the middle

Refugium but really just give algie a better place to grow Then your display and use it for nutrient stability aka hid it where it can be seen an incurage it to grow there by giving it powerfull correct lighting

Jbj 4w led nano glow has worked for 2 years now 24 7

I took the old basket side scraped them up real good glued them to the wall to create an in tank algie turf scrubber works well

Then I have a few smallish rock at the bottom that's not higher then the outlet to the last chamber this allows more pods and other lower light micro fanana to grow

Then the last chamber has return pumps heater and a bag of carbon

Equipment chamber

Has a uv light in here durring cycle and algie phases

Sound complicated but once setup its a gorget about other then replacing the filter floss no more then every 7 days with new as it takes about 7 days for the leftover waste in the media to really start breaking down so get it out before then 3 days being best

I do 7 tho

And I do 10 gallon water changes every 2 weeks equal about 40 percent total volume

No need to dose anything yet will in the next year or 2 as coral grows

 

[Tankkeepers]

I made a shelf in the first chamber so the rocks are above the lower intake this creates a dead zone below the lower intake and is the only place in the entire tank where anything can settle

Once a year I remove the rocks throw away most of the sponges and vacuum the dead non organic waste from here keeps my tank from getting old tank syndrome as moving these rocks kills off some bacteria and removing the sponges prevents a dye off from to many

Similar to a rock fall in the ocean happens often and one cause of a tank crash is a bacteria mass dye off as they compete for room you lose some by disturbing a large section you reset it allowing new growth to happen

This is a controlled kill which prevents a mass dye off


and it has to be heavy as 600 gph flows threw here I run a 240 and a 400 gph return pump
So denitrus does not settle here

And once my coral is alittle bigger I will have to add the big 3

Alk mag and cal right now the water changes take care of that

 

[Tankkeepers]

Aka my tank is

mechanical filter floss

Chemical filter carbon
Using chemipure blue to bind phosphates If needed(have not since green algie phase a year and a half ago)

Uv light was also used durring the cycle and algie phases have not used in a year and a half


The rest is all biological

This is a slimed down version of my original tank that ran for 10 years

 

[prattosphere]

Yeah the sand dwelling animals would be nice to have but I would rather not keep them than have to deal with sand lol. It’s gonna be too hard to get to with my scape and especially once coral are on it. Plus I hateeeee cleaning sand lol. I have considered doing a sand tank eventually but idk.

I’m right now struggling with my bio filtration method because idk what to do. Since I won’t have sand, should I add some media? I’ll post a pic of what kind I have. It came with a HOB filter I bought a few months ago and haven’t used lol but my 16g is an AIO so honestly the media is just sitting in the bag doing nothing. Would adding this media now, to cycle with, be beneficial? Or would it not matter since I would have to replace it eventually anyway?

My LFS recommended live rock for your media. I added 3lbs to mine, some in the back, some in the display. I could buy more, but it's $9.99/lb and I also added 10lbs of special grade live sand. Also, I think that should help balance out the fact that you won't have live sand.