Just bought a biocube...here goes nothing

[RonSimmonz]

In my experience it hasn't happened. Contrary, some people have reported that the Marinepure media can eventually harbor bacteria that actually breaks down nitrate. It's all anecdotal evidence. The nitrate factory claim has been mostly directed towards the old style of plastic bioballs.

Hmm good to know. I have heard bad things about the stock bio balls that come with the tank. My last question is this...I know you said that Purigen and Chemi Pure could be overkill but are there any negatives outcomes that could be caused by using these two at once or is it just not necessary

 

[CalebWBrink2000]

Hmm good to know. I have heard bad things about the stock bio balls that come with the tank. My last question is this...I know you said that Purigen and Chemi Pure could be overkill but are there any negatives outcomes that could be caused by using these two at once or is it just not necessary

I don't think you'd see anything bad from it. I know that some tanks suffer from nutrients being too low, but that's usually not a problem most people have, lol.

 

[RonSimmonz]

So I lied. I have one more question. I have seen people put egg crates on the bottom of the tank before adding substrate. Would it be recommended to do this or is it pretty much pointless?

 

[Mikedawg]

So I lied. I have one more question. I have seen people put egg crates on the bottom of the tank before adding substrate. Would it be recommended to do this or is it pretty much pointless?

Some people do this to even out the weight/pressure of rock on the bottom glass and to minimize contact with sharp points found on a particular rock. I don't think this is a concern with a Biocube and what will be a small load of rocks; plus, egg crate will keep wrasses, some other fish, inverts, etc. from comfortably digging/turning over the sand. I think it might also make it more difficult to keep your sand clean by creating pockets. I've done it both ways in the past, but now position my aquascape and then add in the sand without an egg crate bottom.

 

[Scurvy]

Welcome to the cult! I started up my 32 LED back in November. I wound up replacing the lights before ever adding any coral as I was looking to keep LPS/SPS in mine and that stock light doesnt pack much punch. I started with a Tunze 9001 skimmer but fought with it for 6 months before replacing with an Icecap K2-50 about a week ago. It fits snugly in chamber 2 with the InTank basket. I'm so far very happy with this skimmer and my tank has never looked better. I've found it skims much more consistently than the Tunze and kicks out No Micro bubbles.

 

[RonSimmonz]

Welcome to the cult! I started up my 32 LED back in November. I wound up replacing the lights before ever adding any coral as I was looking to keep LPS/SPS in mine and that stock light doesnt pack much punch. I started with a Tunze 9001 skimmer but fought with it for 6 months before replacing with an Icecap K2-50 about a week ago. It fits snugly in chamber 2 with the InTank basket. I'm so far very happy with this skimmer and my tank has never looked better. I've found it skims much more consistently than the Tunze and kicks out No Micro bubbles.

Would you be willing to post a picture of what the set up looks like with the Icecap K2-50?

 

[Scurvy]

I was trying to block the light with one hand and shoot with the other so not the best pics but you get the idea. There's just enough room to get the cover off the skimmer cup. I use a turkey blaster to empty the cup rather than pulling it off every time. I'll only remove the cup to clean when I pull the InTank basket to replace media.

 

[jsker]

LOL I like the title, Welcome to R2R.

 

[Gator1970]

Welcome! I would ditch the coralife "skimmer" look into other nano skimmers to fit back there. I believe the ghost skimmer fits in the back. The one from coralife is garbage, IMO, unless they've updated it.

I didn't have much luck with the innovative marine ghost skimmer - I'd recommend aquamaxx hob, remora hob, or maybe one of those small tunze's if you want to keep everything contained within the tank footprint.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R.

 

[Sdoutreefer]

Welcome! I love AIO tanks. Hopefully you'll enjoy yours. I had great luck running inTank media baskets with filter floss in the top, purigen in the middle chamber and Chemi pure in the bottom. Also, throw the bio balls away. They're old school and useless, in my opinion. Another option you should consider is going skimerless. Again, I've had a lot of success going skimerless on AIO systems. Just keep up on your water changes and watch your feeding.

Again, welcome to R2R!