Please share pics of your biocube 32 chamber setup and if you're up for it, the details on what's in your chamber

mistergray

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After reading through several threads and googling until my eyes popped, I'm realizing everyone sets up their tanks differently. I have a Biocube 32 coming next week and I'm hoping to have all the things I need at the house before it gets here; as far as the chamber is concerned. I see some people use 1 heater and some use 2. Some people put their heater in chamber 1 and some put it in chamber 3. Some people use the included bioballs and some do not. Some people put there protein skimmer her or there. :eek: Please share pics of your biocube 32 chamber setup and if you're completely bored and having nothing to do on this fine day, please tell me, what you have wear, and specific brands you chose. I'm not sure what protein skimmer or heater/thermometer to go with yet. So many things up in the air.
 

Reefjnky

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I moved to a 32biocube from a 57g rimless last year. I upgraded the return pump to a sicce 1.5 and have an innovative marine nano protein slimmer sitting on top of the return pump. I took out the middle levels and am getting chateo under a red light from amazon. In the tank i upgraded to steves lights and have dialed them up to 75% on blue and 25% on white..about 4000 blue and 1000 white. Circ pumps are 2 koralia nano 565. I didnt have any coral when I moved but 2 clownfish, 1 pajama cardinal, a hippo tang, and a purple dottyback and 2 cleaner shrimp all survived the move.i lost one clown fish last month but have added 2 clowns from my brother and several crabs/snails to clean up the hair algae. I also added a leather coral/ clove polyps this week and a bta several months ago
 

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In the first chamber I have a heater, and eventually I'm going to try out this protein skimmer in the same chamber. In the second chamber I have a diy media basket/rack from egg crate where I hold filter floss, marine pure bio balls (I'd recommend not using the included ones), and carbon on one half, and a refugium on the other that I'm running with this light glued to the back. You may have to scrape off some of the plastic backing stuff depending on the model to make a place for the light to shine in. In the third chamber I just have my MJ 1200 return pump. I also removed the sponge between chamber 2 and 3 for better flow, but you do need something to hold the chaeto in the 2nd chamber to keep it out of the return pump. I used some mesh that I glued around the egg crate refugium holding container and it seems to work ok.
1618258416305.png
 
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Overbrook

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Here's what I have in order:

Chamber 1:
- Heater: Cobalt Aquatics Flat Neo-Therm 150w

Chamber 2:
- In-tank basket (there's a video that directs you to remove some plastic, so it fits well)
- Skimmer: Tunze 9001 - For me, the skimmer skims a bit but mainly helps with gas exchange. Connected to a CO2 scrubber (ice cap), it allows me to keep the pH reasonable.

Chamber 3:
- Stock return pump
- Apex probes (the Neptune 4 probe holder fits well)

For anyone who gets a new BC (or probably any new tank), I will just throw out a recommendation to NOT go fine sand (Fiji Pink, for example). Get something with a bigger granule size. Fiji Pink turned my tank into a snow globe with only relatively moderate powerhead flow, and I've always wished I didn't follow that advice. Maybe fine sand works well in bigger tanks, but I wouldn't recommend it in a cube that will do anything more than low-flow soft corals.
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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I moved to a 32biocube from a 57g rimless last year. I upgraded the return pump to a sicce 1.5 and have an innovative marine nano protein slimmer sitting on top of the return pump. I took out the middle levels and am getting chateo under a red light from amazon. In the tank i upgraded to steves lights and have dialed them up to 75% on blue and 25% on white..about 4000 blue and 1000 white. Circ pumps are 2 koralia nano 565. I didnt have any coral when I moved but 2 clownfish, 1 pajama cardinal, a hippo tang, and a purple dottyback and 2 cleaner shrimp all survived the move.i lost one clown fish last month but have added 2 clowns from my brother and several crabs/snails to clean up the hair algae. I also added a leather coral/ clove polyps this week and a bta several months ago
Thx for the info! Did you have to remove the cover to make all your modifications? I had hoped for a skimmer that wasn’t from coralife that would fit in the biocube without modifying the biocube or taking off the top.

Do you have 3 clowns now? I thought you could only keep clownfish in couples.

Where are your location pumps located in the tank? What way are they angled?
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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In the first chamber I have a heater, and eventually I'm going to try out this protein skimmer in the same chamber. In the second chamber I have a diy media basket/rack from egg crate where I hold filter floss, marine pure bio balls (I'd recommend not using the included ones), and carbon on one half, and a refugium on the other that I'm running with this light glued to the back. You may have to scrape off some of the plastic backing stuff depending on the model to make a place for the light to shine in. In the third chamber I just have my MJ 1200 return pump. I also removed the sponge between chamber 2 and 3 for better flow, but you do need something to hold the chaeto in the 2nd chamber to keep it out of the return pump. I used some mesh that I glued around the egg crate refugium holding container and it seems to work ok.
1618258416305.png
Wow, you’re like McGyver! You modified everything. I like that sponge removal idea for the 3rd chamber.

I’ve wanted a skimmer that doesn’t require removing the top or modifying the inside of the chamber. Let me know what you decide.
 

Ocean’s Piece

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I have a heater and protein skimmer in chamber one, then in chamber two I have my mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration (one the first rack I have my mechanical filtration and I use polyfil. Use whatever but don’t use the filter cartridges. Other cheaper alternatives. On the second rack, I have some chemi pure blue. One the third rack I have some leftover live rock. I have live rock in my display so I may just move those out and keep rack 3 empty. Chamber 3 I have the return pump. It would be nice if I could get the intank media basket for I have some more space for some other things in the future but as of now I’m not worried about it. Another positive is that you know that all the water is passing through the media basket and not making any shortcuts which is currently happening on mine.
 

Ocean’s Piece

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Forgot to add here’a the exact stuff I have:
Protein skimmer: coralife v2 (v2 is much better than v1 but the options from above are better) eheim jager 100W is literally all you need but if you want to go the two heater route, it may be a safer idea. If the ac in your house is consistent, your temp should only fluctuate between .1-.4 at max. Poly fil as mechanical filtration. Saves a bunch of money. Chemi pure blue. Live rock. Then I have the return pump it comes with. May upgrade as well but I’m not worried about it. Not filtration but I have a Jebao OW-10. You’ll want a powerhead to reduce the dead spots if you don’t upgrade the return.
 
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mistergray

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Here's what I have in order:

Chamber 1:
- Heater: Cobalt Aquatics Flat Neo-Therm 150w

Chamber 2:
- In-tank basket (there's a video that directs you to remove some plastic, so it fits well)
- Skimmer: Tunze 9001 - For me, the skimmer skims a bit but mainly helps with gas exchange. Connected to a CO2 scrubber (ice cap), it allows me to keep the pH reasonable.

Chamber 3:
- Stock return pump
- Apex probes (the Neptune 4 probe holder fits well)

For anyone who gets a new BC (or probably any new tank), I will just throw out a recommendation to NOT go fine sand (Fiji Pink, for example). Get something with a bigger granule size. Fiji Pink turned my tank into a snow globe with only relatively moderate powerhead flow, and I've always wished I didn't follow that advice. Maybe fine sand works well in bigger tanks, but I wouldn't recommend it in a cube that will do anything more than low-flow soft corals.
I wanted to get a skimmer but I didn’t want the coralife one and I didn’t want to do any of the modifications needed to get another brand skimmer in. Hoping another brand makes a skimmer one day for the biocube that fits without mods.

I had wondered if it was okay to run to heaters in the same chamber beside each other. Guess it’s okay since you are doing it. Good to know!

What are apex probes?
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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I have a heater and protein skimmer in chamber one, then in chamber two I have my mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration (one the first rack I have my mechanical filtration and I use polyfil. Use whatever but don’t use the filter cartridges. Other cheaper alternatives. On the second rack, I have some chemi pure blue. One the third rack I have some leftover live rock. I have live rock in my display so I may just move those out and keep rack 3 empty. Chamber 3 I have the return pump. It would be nice if I could get the intank media basket for I have some more space for some other things in the future but as of now I’m not worried about it. Another positive is that you know that all the water is passing through the media basket and not making any shortcuts which is currently happening on mine.
What brand skimmer are you using?
 
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mistergray

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Forgot to add here’a the exact stuff I have:
Protein skimmer: coralife v2 (v2 is much better than v1 but the options from above are better) eheim jager 100W is literally all you need but if you want to go the two heater route, it may be a safer idea. If the ac in your house is consistent, your temp should only fluctuate between .1-.4 at max. Poly fil as mechanical filtration. Saves a bunch of money. Chemi pure blue. Live rock. Then I have the return pump it comes with. May upgrade as well but I’m not worried about it. Not filtration but I have a Jebao OW-10. You’ll want a powerhead to reduce the dead spots if you don’t upgrade the return.
I didn’t know there was a v2 of the skimmer. All I read was that the coralife skimmer was awful and that’s why I never attempted getting one. I may need to revisit the whole skimmer ordeal. Have you had any problems with the skimmer?

I’ll have to Google poly fill, I haven’t heard of that yet. I have filter floss on the 1 level, matrix on 2nd and chemi pure elite on the 3rd.

I bought a Tunze 6055 powerhead but it’s like bringing a tank to a gun fight. Lol! I’m hoping to get something with a smaller profile in the far future, but for now I wasted my money and I need to live with my silly little decision.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

Reefjnky

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Thx for the info! Did you have to remove the cover to make all your modifications? I had hoped for a skimmer that wasn’t from coralife that would fit in the biocube without modifying the biocube or taking off the top.

Do you have 3 clowns now? I thought you could only keep clownfish in couples.

Where are your location pumps located in the tank? What way are they angled?
The only modification to the cover is the steves lights. The skimmer is an aio skimmer and actually sits under water if i fill the tank to much but other than that it sits right on my return pump in the far left chamber. The pumps are in the back top corners and point down towards the middle but not directly on my rockwork..i lucked out with the clown fish. I had 2 oscellaris clowns that were 4 yrs old. One died last month and last week my brother gave me his 6 month old oscellaris clowns..the 4 yr old left is the male which is slightly bigger than my brothers female. The smallest is my brothers male. They stay together and seem to seek each other out and havnt had any aggresion so far.
 

Ocean’s Piece

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What brand skimmer are you using?
Coralife Biocube Protein Skimmer v2. Takes a little while to break in like all others and works great once broken in. I replace every week or so depending on how much is collected (sometimes every 4-5 days). But I wouldn't blame you if you got a different one. Just absolutely do not get the first protein skimmer. absolute garbage.
 

Ocean’s Piece

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I didn’t know there was a v2 of the skimmer. All I read was that the coralife skimmer was awful and that’s why I never attempted getting one. I may need to revisit the whole skimmer ordeal. Have you had any problems with the skimmer?

I’ll have to Google poly fill, I haven’t heard of that yet. I have filter floss on the 1 level, matrix on 2nd and chemi pure elite on the 3rd.

I bought a Tunze 6055 powerhead but it’s like bringing a tank to a gun fight. Lol! I’m hoping to get something with a smaller profile in the far future, but for now I wasted my money and I need to live with my silly little decision.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Watch some videos on it. I think king of diy or someone like that has a good vid about them. $10 for years worth of supply. Just do your research first
 

midgetracer

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I have a oceanic BC 29 older version but it’s simulator !
In Chamber one I have heater!
Chamber two I have an intank media basket with filter floss purchase from them and Chemi-pure blue also have a tunze COM line DOC skimmer 9001 it’s a great fit but tight ! Chamber three maxi jet 600 at one point also had a UV sterilizer from oceanic above the pump also fits well not sure how well it worked for the lights I upgraded for the second time now have Steve’s LED with a hurricane X controller everything seems to work really well together ! Intank has a great website with all kinds of aftermarket options for your Biocube! Enjoy your journey I love mine
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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The only modification to the cover is the steves lights. The skimmer is an aio skimmer and actually sits under water if i fill the tank to much but other than that it sits right on my return pump in the far left chamber. The pumps are in the back top corners and point down towards the middle but not directly on my rockwork..i lucked out with the clown fish. I had 2 oscellaris clowns that were 4 yrs old. One died last month and last week my brother gave me his 6 month old oscellaris clowns..the 4 yr old left is the male which is slightly bigger than my brothers female. The smallest is my brothers male. They stay together and seem to seek each other out and havnt had any aggresion so far.
What brand/model skimmer are you using?
 
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mistergray

mistergray

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Coralife Biocube Protein Skimmer v2. Takes a little while to break in like all others and works great once broken in. I replace every week or so depending on how much is collected (sometimes every 4-5 days). But I wouldn't blame you if you got a different one. Just absolutely do not get the first protein skimmer. absolute garbage.
Watch some videos on it. I think king of diy or someone like that has a good vid about them. $10 for years worth of supply. Just do your research first
I definitely need to do some research. I don't truly understand the skimmer to be honest. Lol! I just saw that everyone has one and figured I may need one at some point. But I'll look into the v2. Thx!
 
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mistergray

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I have a oceanic BC 29 older version but it’s simulator !
In Chamber one I have heater!
Chamber two I have an intank media basket with filter floss purchase from them and Chemi-pure blue also have a tunze COM line DOC skimmer 9001 it’s a great fit but tight ! Chamber three maxi jet 600 at one point also had a UV sterilizer from oceanic above the pump also fits well not sure how well it worked for the lights I upgraded for the second time now have Steve’s LED with a hurricane X controller everything seems to work really well together ! Intank has a great website with all kinds of aftermarket options for your Biocube! Enjoy your journey I love mine
What's a tunze com? Is that a powerhead? You replaced the stock pump for the jet 600? If that's correct, did putting a more powerful pump in keep you from having to add any type of powerhead or wave pump?

Thx! I had a few mishaps lastnight but all-in-all I'm having fun. Fortunately, the beautiful members in this group jumped in to help me and keep me from hyperventilating. Lol!!!

Go have a good laugh. Lol! Last nights debacle: HELP! I did my first water change tonight and everything that could go wrong did :-/
 

MaxTremors

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I have a Nanocube, and the back chambers are situated differently (overflow is in the middle and then there are two returns, one on each side). There are five chamber (though three of them are connected). The other main difference is that the lid doesn’t cover the back chambers, so you don’t have to worry about any add-ons fitting under the lid and you can have HOB accessories. I don’t know how helpful the way I have mine setup would be of any relevance to a biocube owner, but I do have one recommendation, the Aquamaxx nf-1 is a fantastic nano skimmer. The footprint is tiny, it produces a massive amount of skimmate, it’s easily adjustable and easy to dial in, is virtually silent, and has no micro bubbles. I have an old 29g biocube (from like 2007), and I checked to see if this skimmer would fit in it, and it easily fit in the second chamber with the lid closed, just would have to make sure that the water level stayed fairly high, so if you’re looking for a good nano skimmer….
 

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