Help me with my Bioube 29

[Mombo]

Ok I think ill nab the Tunze 6045 then so I can change the flow as I need to for coral etc. Ill prob get that after I cycle but before fish.

What return pumps are people using? Are some quieter then others? Ive seen the MJ1200 suggested, are there other ones to be considered?

Ive been reading about Loc-line. Not sure where I could pick it up locally yet but should I look into replacing the tubing in between my return pump and the exhaust with that to eliminate the elbow? Or is that a negligible upgrade? Seems like a cheap upgrade if its effective.

Im excited! Next week I should have everything and ill be able to add water! Finally get some pics up.

 

[Elysium]

I used a Sicce Silent 1.5 for my return and it was dead silent. I used the stock elbow and still had sufficient return into the tank.

 

[Mombo]

When aiming the return and the powerhead should one be aimed up towards the water and one aimed down towards the sand or both upwards? Should I have them blowing so there flow goes the same direction or blowing so there flow is against each other meeting towards the middle?

Or is all of that dependent on where the rocks are placed and where flow is needed etc?

 

[Mike N]

When aiming the return and the powerhead should one be aimed up towards the water and one aimed down towards the sand or both upwards? Should I have them blowing so there flow goes the same direction or blowing so there flow is against each other meeting towards the middle?

You definitely want some surface agitation, use the return for that. Then use the powerhead to create a flow around your rocks and to the filter. If you stack rocks against the back panel it should be something like this:

 

[Mombo]

BLEH! So I got this tank used and it was setup for fresh water. I just removed the pump because I was considering eliminating the elbow to increase flow..... Well the pump is a Rio 600.... haha. Substantially weaker then what usually comes with the tank which was already too weak! So the pump upgrade just got fast tracked. Cant do the Sicce 1.5 right now since I have to spend the money elsewhere so I went ahead and ordered the other popular one. Cobalt MJ1200 on the way. It should get here right before I am planning on adding water so it wont put me behind schedule atleast.

Also love the pic haha. For the sake of the biocube. The Powerhead in the pic is where the return valve is and the intake is in the correct position. I would assume I dont want the power head right below the return right? Or should the powerhead be there shooting just like in the pic and then turn the return to the side so it shoots behind the rocks?

 

[Adam113]

BLEH! So I got this tank used and it was setup for fresh water. I just removed the pump because I was considering eliminating the elbow to increase flow..... Well the pump is a Rio 600.... haha. Substantially weaker then what usually comes with the tank which was already too weak! So the pump upgrade just got fast tracked. Cant do the Sicce 1.5 right now since I have to spend the money elsewhere so I went ahead and ordered the other popular one. Cobalt MJ1200 on the way. It should get here right before I am planning on adding water so it wont put me behind schedule atleast.

Let us know how the pump is! I'm on the stock pump in my cube which is about three years old. Still going strong and I don't have any flow issues, but it's probably time...

 

[Mombo]

Ya the stock pump wasnt much less then the MJ1200 so I figured I might as well. Has anyone removed the elbow from there biocube to increase flow yet? Wondering the correct type of tubing to use. I could go with the Vinyl or the Silicone tubing. Seems like the silicone would be much easier to work with but I am wondering if ill run into kinking problems vs the stiffer vinyl but less kinking risk.

 

[Mike N]

BLEH! So I got this tank used and it was setup for fresh water. I just removed the pump because I was considering eliminating the elbow to increase flow..... Well the pump is a Rio 600.... haha. Substantially weaker then what usually comes with the tank which was already too weak! So the pump upgrade just got fast tracked. Cant do the Sicce 1.5 right now since I have to spend the money elsewhere so I went ahead and ordered the other popular one. Cobalt MJ1200 on the way. It should get here right before I am planning on adding water so it wont put me behind schedule atleast.

Also love the pic haha. For the sake of the biocube. The Powerhead in the pic is where the return valve is and the intake is in the correct position. I would assume I dont want the power head right below the return right? Or should the powerhead be there shooting just like in the pic and then turn the return to the side so it shoots behind the rocks?

Good idea to upgrade that pump now.
You should place the powerhead halfway down the tank wall and pointed slightly upwards. I would use the return for surface agitation if I were you, but its personal preference.
Here's another expert diagram for ya:

 

[Mombo]

Lol ms paint skills! I like it. Ill give that setup a try. I found some reinforced braided vinyl tubing for $1 a foot that seemed plenty flexible for this situation and seemed very unlikely to kink so I went for that. Heated it up in some water and im stretching it over the return inlet now so its ready when the pump arrives. Nice smooth curve now instead of the 90 deg.

 

[Mike N]

Sounds like a plan. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Mombo]

Alright Rock, sand, and water is in the tank and flowing around. What do yall think of the structure. First time every trying to do an aquascape haha so I didnt quite know what I was aiming for. Seemed like a lot of people try and have some flat spaces to put coral so I attempted that.

Just making sure I dont have too much rock in there if thats a thing. I didnt use all of the pieces I got but I tried to use the larger ones. I was feeling like I was getting close to having too much sand in there so I didnt end up using my entire 20lb bag. Prob 16-17lbs of it.

I took a pic of the top just to show what the return pump is doing to the surface. Seems like I have enough agitation up there but didnt know if I should angle it up a little more or not.

Now I am working on getting the heater dialed in. I am aiming for 78 deg right?

Here it is from the front.

Sides


And Top

 

[Adam113]

Looks great to me. Looks like you have room to clean the glass. Got some flatter spots, and I like that little cave in the front. Caves are great for every inhabitant.

Surface looks like it's getting agitated, a little higher angle on the nozzle wouldn't hurt.

Now your list got a lot shorter of things to do.

-BE PATIENT.
-TEST PARAMETERS EVERY DAY.

 

[Photon_Anarchy]

Idk if anyone said anything about it, but with it being freshwater before, has it ever been copper dosed before?

 

[Mombo]

not sure on the copper. Is that something I should have done? Or something they might have done? I cleaned the tank out multiple times as well since I was waiting on rock for so long and wanted to work on something haha. Not sure how long copper stays in the tank.

Glad you like the setup of the rocks. I was slightly worried about them haha. My heater looks to be steady at 77.5 Should I leave it or keep tweaking?

 

[Adam113]

77.5 should be fine. If you want to just bump it up a hair to shoot for 78-79 that wouldn't hurt, the most important thing is once you start adding inhabitants, try to keep everything as stable as possible. Whether it be 77 degrees or 80 degrees. I try to shoot for 78/79 for my mixed reef.

 

[Mombo]

I have the API Freshwater Master test kit currently. Anyone know if the Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate tests work for saltwater in it? Atleast I could track the basics that way before I get my saltwater ones.

On that note which brand test kits or individual ones are most effective for the price or will the API saltwater kit be sufficient to get started. Dont have the money yet for all these $100 a pop digital ones yet haha.

Ill make a slight adjustment to the heater and see if I can get it in between the 78/79 mark. The heater that was in there isnt a super nice one. That will be one thing I will have to look into in the future.

 

[Mombo]

Also are my rocks high enough? Or too high?

 

[Adam113]

Also are my rocks high enough? Or too high?

Look good to me

 

[Mike N]

The rock setup looks good. If you are like most people, you'll probably re-arrange them several times before you're truly happy with the layout.
I'd point the return valve up at like 45deg so it breaches the water surface, that provides the best agitation. A little noisy though.

 

[Mombo]

Heh I was just adjusting the return valve before I read your message. I probably have it at close to 45deg now but not quite that steep.

With my rock setup do you think placing the powerhead under the return valve like in your last illustration you did for me is still the right choice? Will that provide enough flow to hit the spots on the other side of the rock as well as get some flow behind the rock?

I was thinking about getting one of those Y connector things for the return valve so I could shoot some up towards the top and then curve it back behind the rock a little. Maybe? Or prob not needed?