Biocube filtration

abryant · Mar 18, 2023

I’ve been having trouble trying to keep my nitrates low in my biocube I currently have the coral Life biocube skimmer and it completely sucks I get zero skim just water, and then on top of that I use filter floss purigen and carbon. I was wondering what could I use to help lower my nitrates because clearly that skimmer doesn’t work, would a canister filter work? And I’m looking to keep the lid on mine so I don’t want I big skimmer that wouldn’t fit with the lid on, anyone have any suggestions?

Dom · Mar 18, 2023

abryant said:
I’ve been having trouble trying to keep my nitrates low in my biocube I currently have the coral Life biocube skimmer and it completely sucks I get zero skim just water, and then on top of that I use filter floss purigen and carbon. I was wondering what could I use to help lower my nitrates because clearly that skimmer doesn’t work, would a canister filter work? And I’m looking to keep the lid on mine so I don’t want I big skimmer that wouldn’t fit with the lid on, anyone have any suggestions?

20% FAITHFUL, WEEKLY water changes will have a huge impact on your nitrates.

What exactly are your nitrate numbers?

What and how often are you feeding?

rmorris_14 · Mar 18, 2023

Definitely need to know your water change schedule and stocking list of fish.

diverjm · Mar 18, 2023

I do weekly 20% water changes, along with utilizing the refugium rack from intank filled with Cheato. I average between 2-5ppm of nitrate. I was running my fuge light for 10hrs which was too much giving me a 2ppm reading. I backed off the lighting to 4 hrs which gives me 5ppm.

abryant · Mar 18, 2023

rmorris_14 said:
Definitely need to know your water change schedule and stocking list of fish.

5 gallon water changed every other week, had two clowns now down to 1, royal gramma, baby hippo tang(don’t want to hear anything about him due to tank size he’s doing great) watchman goby pistol shrimp, just got a cleaner shrimp a couple days ago. I didn’t realize my nitrates were so high I had a crappy test kit so I didn’t realize it but now by about a week my nitrates are about 20-50 so I had to start doing weekly water changes.

abryant · Mar 18, 2023

abryant said:
5 gallon water changed every other week, had two clowns now down to 1, royal gramma, baby hippo tang(don’t want to hear anything about him due to tank size he’s doing great) watchman goby pistol shrimp, just got a cleaner shrimp a couple days ago. I didn’t realize my nitrates were so high I had a crappy test kit so I didn’t realize it but now by about a week my nitrates are about 20-50 so I had to start doing weekly water changes.

Forgot to mention it’s a 32 gallon

rmorris_14 · Mar 18, 2023

abryant said:
Forgot to mention it’s a 32 gallon

I have the same tank and also the same crappy skimmer.

I have two clowns, watchman, Royal gramma and pistol plus inverts. I feed quality frozen food once a day. I have to maintain at least 5 gallon weekly water change to keep my nitrates between 12 and 25. You stated nitrate numbers aren’t that bad, but with the stock list you have, you will probably have to stick to the weekly changes if you want to keep them in check.
Other things to consider is the type of food you are feeding, how much and how often. Because the nutrient export tools are so limited in the biocube, you really need to rely on water changes to keep things in check. Just my two cents
I will respect your wishes and not say anything about the blue hippo

abryant · Mar 18, 2023

rmorris_14 said:
I have the same tank and also the same crappy skimmer. I have two clowns, watchman, Royal gramma and pistol plus inverts. I feed quality frozen food once a day. I have to maintain at least 5 gallon weekly water change to keep my nitrates between 12 and 25. You stated nitrate numbers aren’t that bad, but with the stock list you have, you will probably have to stick to the weekly changes if you want to keep them in check.
Other things to consider is the type of food you are feeding, how much and how often. Because the nutrient export tools are so limited in the biocube, you really need to rely on water changes to keep things in check. Just my two cents
I will respect your wishes and not say anything about the blue hippo

I feed once a day usually frozen mysis but sometimes I’ll change it up and put some flakes in there every now and then, so do you think I should add a refugium on top of what I had or stick with what I have a do 5 gallon weekly water change

rmorris_14 · Mar 18, 2023

abryant said:
I feed once a day usually frozen mysis but sometimes I’ll change it up and put some flakes in there every now and then, so do you think I should add a refugium on top of what I had or stick with what I have a do 5 gallon weekly water change

I’ve heard mixed reviews as to the biocube refugiums being effective due to the size limitations of the back chambers. Some people I really respect in the hobby say they believe its worth it… but I have never personally pulled the trigger, so I can’t weigh in on whether it will help. I just keep up with the water changes and dream of upgrading to larger tank with a more effective skimmer

Also… hopefully you are feeding some
Nori etc and other foods besides mysis for your blue hippo. They need a very balanced diet or they will develop Helio.

abryant · Mar 18, 2023

rmorris_14 said:
I’ve heard mixed reviews as to the biocube refugiums being effective due to the size limitations of the back chambers. Some people I really respect in the hobby say they believe its worth it… but I have never personally pulled the trigger, so I can’t weigh in on whether it will help. I just keep up with the water changes and dream of upgrading to larger tank with a more effective skimmer
Also… hopefully you are feeding some
Nori etc and other foods besides mysis for your blue hippo. They need a very balanced diet or they will develop Helio.

Yes i did forget to mention I feee nori once week also, only been in the hobby for a little bit but I really want a bigger tank I just have zero room

diverjm · Mar 18, 2023

I can personally attest that my nitrates were 20ppm before I did the refugium thing. Weekly I was pruning the Chaeto by 50% as it grows like wildfire with the 10hrs of light. I feed frozen brine and mysis twice a day, fyi.

diverjm · Mar 18, 2023

I also wanted to add I don’t have any chemical filtration whatsoever. Just filter floss, Chaeto and water chances.

Dom · Mar 18, 2023

diverjm said:
I average between 2-5ppm of nitrate. I was running my fuge light for 10hrs which was too much giving me a 2ppm reading. I backed off the lighting to 4 hrs which gives me 5ppm.

I don't feel your nitrate numbers require intervention.