Saltywaterbox (29g Biocube)

[Saltywaterbox]

Hello everyone! Welcome to the fourth installment of my nano tank!

I'm new to reef2reef as a member but have been lurking in the shadows since 2009 when I setup my first reef tank. A badly planned 10 gallon mixed reef with lots of lessons to learn and still more to come. I bought a used 29 gallon Oceanic Biocube back in 2010 and have attempted a mixed reef in it 3 times since. The longest I've ran a reef tank is 1.5 years with breaks in between (planning to go much longer this time). The current installment has been running since December 2018 and it is just over a year old. Always trying to apply what I had learned from the past. Well, enough with the past, onto the future!

Now I present to you the Salty Water Box!

(2nd photo taken with Google Pixel 1 and Polyp Labs gel filter)


Equipment:
Display: 29g Oceanic Biocube (custom stand and canopy) ~35lbs of rock and some sand bring it to roughly 27 gallons of water volume.
Sump: Aqueon Pro Flex Model 1 (eShopps PF-Nano overflow box)
Light: single Radion XR15w G4 running SPS AB+ @ 80% overall 9 hours a day (1 hour ramps)
Filtration: Two felt filter socks, carbon and GFO
Skimmer: Tunze Nano DOC 9002 (circa 2012)
Flow: RFG nozzle from VCA on Cobalt mj1200 and 1 Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6055
Dosing: Jebao DP-4 dosing BRS Soda Ash and Calcium Carbonate. 52mL each daily, once per hour with 30 minute offset between alk and calc.
Controller: Neptune Apex with 2 EB8s (yes, the old ones as I haven't upgraded those yet) with pH and temp probes.
Water: 4 stage RO/DI with Red Sea Salt (Blue Bucket)

Livestock:
1 Royal Gramma
2 Blue Reef Chromis
1 Starry Blenny
1 Rock Flower Anemone
1 Sexy Anemone Shrimp
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Assorted CUC
Mostly SPS but a mixed reef with LPS and softies.
Fed once a day. NLS large pellets and nori. Frozen Rod's/Mysis twice a week and ReefRoids once a week.

Maintenance:
Observe daily.
Dosing of AcroPower, Nitrate and Phosphate when needed, Vibrant every 3.5 days currently(hopefully down to twice a month soon).
Replace filter socks every 2 - 3 days and empty/clean skimmer cup.
Weekly 4-5 gallon water changes. Turkey basting rocks, cleaning sand, and bubble scrubbing (started recently).
Bi-weekly change carbon.

Stability for the last 6 months. Test daily to weekly with Hanna Checkers and Red Sea test kits:
Alkalinity: 6.61 - 9.24 avg 7.777 (I switched from Red Sea Pro to Red Sea Blue during this time as the small water change spikes were annoying with the dense RS Pro salt)
Calcium 383-462 ppm avg 414.962
Magnesium 1240 - 1400 ppm avg 1296.571
Nitrate: 0 - 4 ppm avg 0.909
Phosphate: 0 - 0.04 ppm avg 0.015
I'm posting my numbers like this to get a better understanding of long term stability in a reef tank. We all know numbers can fluctuate and that our hobby grade test kits are not perfect with human error. I try to minimize all spikes in water quality and keep things within range of accuracy. It is also difficult to test for nutrients while growing macro/micro algae. I'm currently battling all kinds of nasty with Vibrant and that can skew the numbers.


For more pictures I would suggest my instagram that I recently dedicated to the tank. https://www.instagram.com/saltywaterbox/

Happy Reefing!

 

[Tahoe61]

Great Bio Cube, fantastic canopy and stand.

 

[Saltywaterbox]

Great Bio Cube, fantastic canopy and stand.

Thank you very much! I put my heart and soul (and wallet) into this tank. I built the stand back in 2011. Canopy lifts up on hinges and the front panel door is held on with magnets.

 

[kidrobotny]

cool stand!

 

[Saltywaterbox]

cool stand!

Thanks! Here's some more of it opened up. I wanted to hide as much of the Biocube trim as possible. Just glass and wood.

 

[rhailey931]

Hello everyone! Welcome to the fourth installment of my nano tank!

I'm new to reef2reef as a member but have been lurking in the shadows since 2009 when I setup my first reef tank. A badly planned 10 gallon mixed reef with lots of lessons to learn and still more to come. I bought a used 29 gallon Coralife Biocube back in 2010 and have attempted a mixed reef in it 3 times since. The longest I've ran a reef tank is 1.5 years with breaks in between (planning to go much longer this time). The current installment has been running since December 2018 and it is just over a year old. Always trying to apply what I had learned from the past. Well, enough with the past, onto the future!

Now I present to you the Salty Water Box!

(2nd photo taken with Google Pixel 1 and Polyp Labs gel filter)


Equipment:
Display: 29g Coralife Biocube (custom stand and canopy) ~35lbs of rock and some sand bring it to roughly 27 gallons of water volume.
Sump: Aqueon Pro Flex Model 1 (eShopps PF-Nano overflow box)
Light: single Radion XR15w G4 running SPS AB+ @ 80% overall 9 hours a day (1 hour ramps)
Filtration: Two felt filter socks, carbon and GFO
Skimmer: Tunze Nano DOC 9002 (circa 2012)
Flow: RFG nozzle from VCA on Cobalt mj1200 and 1 Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6055
Dosing: Jebao DP-4 dosing BRS Soda Ash and Calcium Carbonate. 52mL each daily, once per hour with 30 minute offset between alk and calc.
Controller: Neptune Apex with 2 EB8s (yes, the old ones as I haven't upgraded those yet) with pH and temp probes.
Water: 4 stage RO/DI with Red Sea Salt (Blue Bucket)

Livestock:
1 Royal Gramma
2 Blue Reef Chromis
1 Starry Blenny
1 Rock Flower Anemone
1 Sexy Anemone Shrimp
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Assorted CUC
Mostly SPS but a mixed reef with LPS and softies.
Fed once a day. NLS large pellets and nori. Frozen Rod's/Mysis twice a week and ReefRoids once a week.

Maintenance:
Observe daily.
Dosing of AcroPower, Nitrate and Phosphate when needed, Vibrant every 3.5 days currently(hopefully down to twice a month soon).
Replace filter socks every 2 - 3 days and empty/clean skimmer cup.
Weekly 4-5 gallon water changes. Turkey basting rocks, cleaning sand, and bubble scrubbing (started recently).
Bi-weekly change carbon.

Stability for the last 6 months. Test daily to weekly with Hanna Checkers and Red Sea test kits:
Alkalinity: 6.61 - 9.24 avg 7.777 (I switched from Red Sea Pro to Red Sea Blue during this time as the small water change spikes were annoying with the dense RS Pro salt)
Calcium 383-462 ppm avg 414.962
Magnesium 1240 - 1400 ppm avg 1296.571
Nitrate: 0 - 4 ppm avg 0.909
Phosphate: 0 - 0.04 ppm avg 0.015
I'm posting my numbers like this to get a better understanding of long term stability in a reef tank. We all know numbers can fluctuate and that our hobby grade test kits are not perfect with human error. I try to minimize all spikes in water quality and keep things within range of accuracy. It is also difficult to test for nutrients while growing macro/micro algae. I'm currently battling all kinds of nasty with Vibrant and that can skew the numbers.


For more pictures I would suggest my instagram that I recently dedicated to the tank. https://www.instagram.com/saltywaterbox/

Happy Reefing!

Just started a 32g Biocube. I like what you've done to dress up the tank and stand. Nice work!

 

[Saltywaterbox]

Just started a 32g Biocube. I like what you've done to dress up the tank and stand. Nice work!

Thanks! I've always loved the look of the Biocubes. Now if I can just get the insides figure out, lol!

 

[Saltywaterbox]

Here is some shots of the back side of the setup and what is in the chambers. Most people buy an AIO to keep everything in a small enclosure... I just liked the curved glass.

First chamber: Temp probe and pH probe
Second chamber: Old 300w JBJ Titanium heater with a new Finnex 300w heater as backup. Main return pump (Sicce 2.0) from the sump is dumped into the second chamber.*
Third chamber: Cobalt mj1200 plumbed just like the default return pump. eShopps PF-Nano overflow box. eheim air diffuser for bubble scrubbing.

Drains into silencer in the sump, through two filter socks, the skimmer, bubble trap, and finally back to the second chamber of the Biocube. Skimmer has been adapted with CO2 absorption media in a TLF Phosban 150 reactor. (The tank is in the basement.) Third chamber of the sump has a Cobalt mj1200 hooked up to another TLF 150 reactor with Carbon in it at the moment. This was setup as a Cheato reactor for a while but the Cheato died off while dosing Vibrant.

I also built it through the wall. One day I'll get cabinet doors for it and make this look nice.
EVERYTHING is plugged into a single CyberPower 1500VA AVR battery backup. (including internet) It'll run the whole setup for about 60 minutes. I have my Apex programmed to notify me of a power outage and if the power is out for more than 5 minutes it will shut off unnecessary equipment. Then the battery will last about 6 hours. I live in a rural-ish area and we get frequent small power trips during storms so this is mainly to smooth those out.

*When I initially added the sump to the 2nd revision of this setup I had the main return pump pvc plumbed into the Biocube's return hole in chamber 3. This created a really nasty dead-zone in the bottom of chamber 3 as there was almost no water movement. For revision 3 I just dump the sump return into the second chamber and have an mj1200 in the third chamber to return to the display. This also doubles as a nice fail-safe if the sump return pump seizes as not much can back siphon past the return line or overflow weir.

 

[Saltywaterbox]

Happy 2nd birthday to my tank today!

A lot has happened in the last year with this tank but it is finally settled in and chugging along smoothly.

My old Apex died on me, resetting back to default and almost boiled the tank to death.
I removed half of my sand as it was way too much.
Added a 2nd Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6055 for more chaotic flow.
Royal Gramma caught and ate both Sexy Shrimp
Rock Flower Anemone spawned in the tank, he must like his home quite a bit.
Coral warfare sparked up a case of Brown Jelly Disease that took out my Rainbow Montipora and almost my Bioreef Anacropora.
Coral out growing the tank and had to setup a small frag tank to house the frogspawn in.

I feel like I've finally gotten the hang of caring for harder SPS like Acropora. But, I still feel like there is progress to be made, especially colors. I have been slowly increasing the light output and am starting to see more florescence on some corals. Dosing Red Sea Coral Colors has helped bring out some of them as well.

Here is the tank 1 year ago and today;

I didn't have the nifty Polyp Labs camera lens when the first picture was taken, sorry about all of the blue.

Thanks for checking out my tank!

 

[Saltywaterbox]

I also wanted to add some older pictures to this thread from when I was building the stand back in 2013.

It is three separate pieces. The stand, the door, and the canopy. The canopy is attatched with a long hinge across the top and then two locking hinges on the inside sides of the canopy to hold it up. The door is held on with 4 magnetic cabinet things. The tank can slide in from the back or the front.

Thanks again for checking it out.

 

[Saltywaterbox]

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY!!

Today marks 3 whole years in the books with this setup.

The year of upgrades.
This year started with a light upgrade. I added four T5 bulbs to my Radion XR15 G4. The 24" Aquatic Life Hybrid fixture barely fits inside my canopy sideways. I think it still works well like this though.

Recently upgraded my skimmer from a super old Tunze 9002 to an overpowered Reef Octopus Classic 110SSS. Here is the sump as it is today.

I also added auto-feeders to feed TDO pellets 3 times a day while I'm away. I feed a variety of frozen foods and phyto every evening when I get home.

The year of overgrowth.
Had to get rid of my massive Frogspawn and Duncan colony as they outgrew the tank.
Constantly fragging the SPS as well.

Now it's time to show off GROWTH!!
Dec 1st 2018 - Setup day

Dec 1st 2019 - 1 year later. (Sorry for the terrible picture, I didn't have a gel filter yet)

Dec 1st 2020 - 2nd Year in the books.

March 2021 - Into the 3rd year. 3 months later.

June 2021 - I decided that I needed to remove the encrusting Montipora that was slowly killing everything on Monti-Island and I wanted to make room for a Zoa garden.

Sept 2021 - 3 months later

Dec 1st 2021 - Today!

And some of my favorites from this past year;

Thank you for stopping by and celebrating with me!

Follow me on Instagram! Saltywaterbox

 

[Saltywaterbox]

Update time!

I decided to pull the whole aquascape out and break it up to remove a lot of the rock.

The encrusted mass.

Everything back into the tank, I will be getting rid of the larger chunks soon and clean up the scape.

The fish seem to enjoy the extra swimming space.

 

[Saltywaterbox]

All of the coral finally placed and glued down. One of the rock flower anemones is still trying to find the perfect spot.

Upgraded the frag tank today from a 5 gallon to a 10 gallon. Total system volume is roughly 35 gallons now. Would you still consider this 'system' a Nano build?