Hannah & Georgie's Biocube 32

[Shanel]

I'm building this Biocube 32 for my daughter and Grandson. This will be the first saltwater tank for them. I tried to make it as low maintenance as possible. Looking for feedback & ideas to improve the build. Right now we are just in the setup and testing stages. so here it goes. Updates to follow.

 

[wrz0170]

All I can say is wow! I have a BC 32 myself and never realized you could pack it that full with a little room leftover. Would love to see a list!

 

[Shanel]

Thanks! I will work on the complete list. I attached a pdf file outlining the tank and it's operations. Kind of like an owners manual.

 

[Shanel]

Here is the list. Hope I didn't forget anything

1 - Biocube 32 Tank & Stand
1 - Apex Classic
1 - Apex Trident
1 - Apex Display
1 - Apex Display Mounting Bracket`
2 - EB4 Power Bars
1 - 1link Module
1 - Pm2 Module
1 - ALD Module
1 - DOS Pump
1 - AFS
2 - FMM Modules
3 - Water on Floor Sensors
1 - FS-50 FLow Meter
1 - PMUP v1
2 - Smart ATO Replacement DC Pump - AutoAqua
10 - Optical Sensors (OS-1)
2 - Temp Sensors
1 - Continuity Sensor
1 - PH Probe
2 - Jeabo SW-4 Powerheads
2 - Jebao Controller Mounting Bracket
1 - Jeabo DCP-2500 Return Pump
1 - WS55-180 Motor Driver
1 - Br1500MS Battery Backup
1 - JBJ Artica DBA-075 1/10 HP Chiller
1 - Vivosun Titanium 200 Watt Heater
1 - Coralife UV Light 100115640
1 - Auqa Gadget MiniMax 7301 Media Reactor
1 - Biocube Skimmer 100538604
1 - 12v Power Supply 60w 5 amp
1 - 24v Power Supply 96w 4 amp
2 - Power Brick Mounting Brackets
1 - Steves Led’s 8794102401 Reef Lights
1 - HurricaneX Controller, Steves Led’s 843546835
1 - Meanwell LRS-200-48 200W, 48V @ 4.4A
1 - 48v to 12v Converter
1 - Jebao 4-Channel WIFI Doser3.4
4 - 24v DC Relays
1 - 12v Dc Relay
2 - Door Switches
2 - Led Bars (Inside Cabinet)
1 - Probe Holder
1 - Doser Line Holder
1 - D-Link WIFI Extender DAP-1330
2 - Cabinet Fans, Coolerguys 60x20mm
1 - 2" Filter Housing
1 - Switch Housing, 6 Rocker Switches & 6 Momentary Switches
1 - 2.5 Gallon Tank
1 - 6 Gallon Tank
1 - Ground Probe
11 - 120v Right Angle Nema 5-15P Replacement Ends
4 - John Guest PP450821W Adapters
4 - John Guest P1250806S Adapters
10 - John Guest P1250808S Adapters
1 - Bag Ceramic Bio Balls
1 - GFCI Replacement End
1 - Nano Curved Mag-Float
1 - Medium Mag-float
1 - Boat Load of Electrical Wires & Connectors
1 - Boat Load of Hoses and Fittings

 

[jskoms]

Wow!

 

[Shanel]

Wow!

Thanks!

 

[jskoms]

Thanks!

Please keep us all update, I have a Biocube as well with about 10% of the automation . Looking forward to the education.

 

[Shanel]

Will do. Getting the AWC settings dialed in today. Will post results when finalized.

 

[Shanel]

This Is How The AWC Works:

Side Note
1st make sure the the high & low water level sensors in the clean saltwater tank are positioned closer together than the waste saltwater tank. I set the waste saltwater tank to have 8 3/4 inches between the sensors & the clean saltwater tank to have 8 1/4 inches between the sensors. The issue you will run into is after the 2 water change cycles there will not be enough room to drain the water from the display tank. It will start a 3rd cycle and depending on how much clean saltwater is pumped into the display tank it may cause the salt level to rise once the water evaporates in the display tank. The display tank water level will need to evaporate before the ATO starts topping off again.

Settings for the Dose profile
Amount to Dose 4050mL
Time 57.5 min
Number of Doses 5
Dose Every 690 Sec (11.5 Min)
Volume per Dose 810.0mL
Pump Speed 250mL/min

AWC Cycle
With these setting the AWC cycle will be 1 hour to fill & 1 hour to Drain. 1st it will go through 5 pump cycles to fill the display tank with a total volume of 4050ml of clean saltwater. 2nd it will go through 5 pump cycles to remove a total volume of 4050ml of display tank saltwater. 3rd it will check to see if the operating water level sensor of the display tank is closed (Low level). If the water level is at operating level then it will drain the display tank until the water level is low. 4th it will refill the display tank with clean saltwater to operating level. This prevents the salt level in the display tank from building up.

Starting A Water Change
The Apex will start a water change one of 3 ways. 1st being time scheduled on the day and time you program it to start. 2nd by Feed Cycle D. 3rd by depressing the 3rd momentary switch for 2 seconds. You can also abort the AWC by depressing the 3rd momentary switch for 5 seconds.

Equipment For Filling & Draining the AWC Tank
I have customized two 3.5 gallon buckets to fill & drain the water. For the Clean Saltwater Bucket I used an Smart ATO Replacement DC Pump by AutoAqua to pump the clean saltwater into the AWC tank. I drilled a hole through the center of the lid for the hose & another one right next to it for the electrical harness. Attached to the end of the hose is a 1/4" barb to 1/4" stem. Then tie strapped the hose & harness together. For the waste saltwater bucket I drilled a hole in the center of the lid & installed a 1/4" bulkhead fitting. Then used a piece 1/4" hose & attached at both ends of the hose a 1/4" barb to 1/4" stem.

Filling & Draining the AWC Tank
Connect the clean saltwater hose & electrical connector to the bottom ports on the back of the tank. Connect the waste saltwater hose to the middle port on the back of the tank. Open both valves. Depress the 5th momentary switch for 2 seconds to drain the waste saltwater tank. Depress the 6th momentary switch for 2 seconds to fill the clean saltwater tank. Either one of these functions can be aborted by depressing the corresponding switch for 5 seconds. This is an automated process. Each cycle will time out after 8:30 minutes or by the water level sensors which ever comes first.

 

[JReef3]

That’s a lot of tech in a very small package! The world could end and the inhabitants of your tank would be good to go with the that system changing their water, topping it off, and feeding them. Super cool setup and clearly a lot of planning has gone into it. Nicely done!

 

[Shanel]

That’s a lot of tech in a very small package! The world could end and the inhabitants of your tank would be good to go with the that system changing their water, topping it off, and feeding them. Super cool setup and clearly a lot of planning has gone into it. Nicely done!

LOL, Thanks I appreciate that. Yes tons of planning and midstream changes. Originally this was going to be a freshwater tank. I figured if someday she wanted to go salt then the conversion would be easier. I was going to make a mini version of my freshwater tank.

 

[Shanel]

This Is How The ATO Works:

ATO Operations
The ATO Tank is located inside the cabinet on the left side of the shelf. There are 2 optical level sensors in the reservoir one to signal when the tank is full (ATOH_1) & one to signal when the tank is empty (ATOL_2). There are 3 optical level sensors in the return pump chamber. The lowest positioned sensor is the low-level sensor (L_WL_4). The middle sensor is the operating level sensor (O_WL_3). The highest positioned sensor is the High-level sensor (H_WL_2). There is 1 optical sensor in the filter chamber (Fltr_1). When the system detects the water level is low by the O_WL_3 sensor, output 1 (A) of the 1Link module turns on Relay #1 and supplies 12v dc to the ATO pump. If the O_WL_3 sensor malfunctions it will use L_WL_4 to turn on the pump and H_WL_2 to turn off the pump. If the ATO reservoir is low indicated by ATOL_2 sensor being Open, the pump will be turned off. If the filter is indicating that it needs to be replaced by sensor Fltr_1 being Closed, the pump will be turned off. When the AWC cycle is happening indicated by output AWC_ATO_Ti being On, the pump will be turned Off. When the system detects a power outage, the pump will be turned Off. The pump can be manually turned off by rocker switch #2. If all else fails and the pump stays running for 2:25 minutes the program will switch to manual control and turn off. You will have to switch the output ATOPump back to automatic. The program always waits 5 seconds before it will change state. This keeps the pump from turning on/off rapidly.

Refill & Drain The ATO Reservoir

Refill Process
To refill the ATO reservoir use straight RO/DI water & the same bucket with the dc pump attached. Hookup the hose to the top port on the back of the tank and open the valve. Connect the electrical connector to the top port. Depress the 4th momentary switch for 2 seconds. You can also abort the ATO refill by depressing the 4th momentary switch for 5 seconds. The refill process will shut off after 4:15 minutes or when the ATOH_1 sensor is closed (Tank is full) whichever comes first.

Drain Process
To Drain the ATO use the same bucket without the dc pump attached. Remove hoses 46 & 47. Connect hose 46 to port 47. Hookup the hose to the top port on the back of the tank and open the valve. Depress the 4th momentary switch for 2 seconds. You will need to abort the ATO Drain by depressing the 4th momentary switch for 5 seconds when the tank is empty. Make sure to reconnect hoses 46 & 47 to their corresponding port when finished. If removing the ATO tank for cleaning Disconnect hoses 46 & 47. Remove connectors 1, 2 & 31 from interface box. Now you are able to remove the ATO Tank. After cleaning reinstall ATO Tank. Reconnect hoses 46 & 47 to their corresponding ports. Reconnect connectors 1, 2 & 31 to the interface box. Perform the refill process. You may have to activate the pump twice if you want the ATO completely filled.

 

[Shanel]

Mixing Saltwater
Add the appropriate amount RO/DI water & salt mix to the same bucket used for filling the ATO and the clean saltwater tank. Connect the hose to the return port on the lid. Connect the Power extension cable to the center electrical port on the back of the tank. This port has a constant 12v dc output. Connect the pump connector to the extension cable. Let the saltwater mix for at least 8 hrs before using it. It's best to let it run overnight.

 

[Shanel]

Manual Water Change
You can manually fill the Display Tank using the Dose Fill Pump or using the bucket with the 12v pump. Make sure to always use a bucket of saltwater that is full.

Filling the Display Tank using a Bucket
To fill the DT using the 12v pump you have two options.

The first option is to connect the hose from Both the fill bucket and the drain bucket to the display tank adapter 1. Connect one side of the 12v extension cord to the pump. Connect the other end to the center 12v port on the back of the cabinet. With this connection you will have to make sure the pump does not run dry, siphon drain after the pump shuts off or the tank does not overflow. You can siphon drain the display tank with the display tank adapter 1.

The second option is to connect the hose from the bucket to the display tank adapter 2. Connect one side of the 12v extension cord to the pump. Connect the other end to the top 12v port on the back of the cabinet. Turn outputs Auto_Fill_DT and A_Fill_DT_Ti to Auto. Then depress momentary switches #4 & 6 at the same time for 3 seconds. With this connection the power will shut off after 8 minutes or when the FLTR_1 sensor is closed indicating the tank is full or filter is dirty.

Filling the Display Tank using DOS
To fill the DT using the DOS you have two options. Both options use DOS profile Dose12740mL.

The first option using output Man_Fill_DT. This will time out after 2hr 5min run time, when the clean saltwater tank is empty indicated by ST_L_4 sensor being open or when the FLTR_1 sensor is closed indicating the tank is full or filter is dirty. To start this cycle turn output Man_Fill_DT to Auto.

The second option is to use Fill_DT_2_OL output with Man_Fill_DT output. This will fill the DT water level to operating range. To start this cycle turn outputs Fill_DT_2_OL and Man_Fill_DT to Auto.

Draining the Display Tank using DOS
To drain the DT using the DOS profile Dose12740mL.

This function uses output Man_Drain_DT. This will time out after 2hr 5min run time, when the waste saltwater tank is full indicated by WT_H_1 sensor being closed or when the O_WL_3 sensor is open indicating the display tank is at operating level. To start this cycle turn output Man_Drain_DT to Auto.

Dose Profile Dose12740mL
Amount to Dose 12740mL
Time 161 min
Number of Doses 14
Dose Every 690 Sec (11.5 Min)
Volume per Dose 910.0mL
Pump Speed 250mL/min

 

[Coralcitos]

Double WoW! Can you adopt me ? That set up is amazing!

 

[Shanel]

Double WoW! Can you adopt me ? That set up is amazing!

Thanks, This one took some planning. I'm testing it out now before I give it up.

 

[CavalierReef]

I'm really impressed (and I'm and old man who has seen a lot tech ware). That is truly amazing. My 32 Biocube has officially been downgraded from mixed reef to goldfish bowl.

 

[Shanel]

I'm really impressed (and I'm and old man who has seen a lot tech ware). That is truly amazing. My 32 Biocube has officially been downgraded from mixed reef to goldfish bowl.

I appreciate that, Thank You. Lot's of brain racking hours.

 

[Little c big D]

what an absolute unit. It's done so clean as well. I love It!

 

[jskoms]

Let me know if you are ever in Colorado, I’d be more than happy to let you retrofit my Biocube . Seriously though, amazing work!