Jesse_Emel's Oceanic Biocube 29 Gallon

[Jesse_emel]

Hey everyone I've been looking to get back into the hobby for some time now. I happened to find this Oceanic Biocube on Craigslist for $100 and jumped on it. My 1st tank was a similar Biocube so I'm familiar with the pro's and con's of this tank. I've ordered an LED upgrade for the hood from Steve's LED. I'm getting rid of the bioballs of course and have also ordered a Biocube 29 Fuge Basket, Water Director & Stay Hold for BioCube 29, Tunze 9002 Protein Skimmer, Standard Upgraded Cup Tunze 9002 and Underwater 10W Single Light for the back compartment. I'm also upgrading the return pump to a MAXI-JET 1100 UTILITY PUMP 294 GPH. I'll be modifying the return nozzle with a "Y" and 2 lockline nozzles that can be pointed in different directions for better flow. Here is a picture of the tank as it sits today.....

I hope to get all the parts and pieces and have the tank cycling in about 3 weeks. It will get a good vinegar bath before anything gets installed to get rid of all the salt and coraline left over from the previous owner. I'm looking forward to getting back into the hobby and getting re-involved in the local reef clubs and meetings. Hope to see some of my old friends again soon.

 

[IPisces]

How exciting. That's a great little tank. It will be a lot of fun setting it up.
Looking forward to progress pics.

 

[Jesse_emel]

How exciting. That's a great little tank. It will be a lot of fun setting it up.
Looking forward to progress pics.

Thanks IPisces I could not argue with the price of the tank. It's left me with some room in my budget for some much needed improvements/upgrades. I'll certainly be posting lots of pics once progress starts being made.

 

[Eileen60]

Congratulations on the new setup. Look like its going to be fun.

 

[Terrance]

Tank looks great. Lots of modification as always with a biocube.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Congratulations on the new setup. Look like its going to be fun.

Thanks Eileen I'm so ready to get back into reefing and get some cool corals and fish going in this tank.

Tank looks great. Lots of modification as always with a biocube.

True Terrance, I tried to do a bunch or research before I made any purchases so hopefully I don't order any parts that don't work. But i found the original Biocube was not optimal for growing corals but kept fish just fine. Hopefully the new lighting and upgrades will help with that.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Good news..... I am planning on modifying the return nozzles for this tank. Adding some 1/2" lock line with a "Y" adapter and noticed the person who owned this tank before me took off the stock return nozzle and modified it. So i needed the stock adapter that goes on the display side of the tank and had no idea where to find it. I went to the oceanic web site and sent in a parts request. Not only did the guys at central-aquatics have the missing part but they are sending it to me for free. Just wanted to praise the guys at Central Aquatics and let everyone know how helpful they are. Much appreciated!

 

[Jesse_emel]

Got all the parts and pieces for the Biocube upgrade in this week. Just waiting on a small fitting from Central Aquatics for the stock return nozzle and we'll be good to go. Can't wait to get the LED's installed into the hood.

 

[ReefGeeker]

Way to buy it all at once! Looks like it's going to be a sweet BioCube setup! My first reef tank was a Nanocube 28g, I still love those little cubes!

 

[Jesse_emel]

Way to buy it all at once! Looks like it's going to be a sweet BioCube setup! My first reef tank was a Nanocube 28g, I still love those little cubes!

I think it will be much better than the stock setup myself. I wanted to get everything i thought i needed at once so i can clean it, set it up and just let it run without ripping it apart multiple times while in operation. One and done theory. Course we all know that's never how it goes.

 

[Recalibrate]

Nice, looking forward to watching this build.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Nice, looking forward to watching this build.

I'll be starting construction on 5/31/13. Stand by for updates in about a week.

 

[wes]

Good luck with the build.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Good luck with the build.

Thanks wes, i'm taking Memorial day weekend to mentally prepare for this build. Focusing my chi and whatnot. Look for the start on Next Friday/Saturday.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Cleaning Day

Got the Biocube home for the weekend to give it a deep cleaning. Filled it with Hot water and 1-1/2 Gallons of Vinegar. Let it run for 2 hours and here are the results.....

And here it is all clean and ready to go.....

Back Compartment cleaned out and ready for a new refugium and protein skimmer.....

 

[senji]

2 hrs wow i let my 90g run for 4 days and mixed bleach in it as well needless to say had to find somewhere to go during that time the smell was so bad and i did it in the garage with it open.n lol i was a newb and wanted it clean!!!

 

[Jesse_emel]

2 hrs wow i let my 90g run for 4 days and mixed bleach in it as well needless to say had to find somewhere to go during that time the smell was so bad and i did it in the garage with it open.n lol i was a newb and wanted it clean!!!

Vinegar hardly smells at all and work great on coraline algea and is non-toxic. I still rinsed the crap out of the tank for 30 minutes just to get as much of the vinegar out of the tank as possible. Works great a little tip i picked up from Kevin at Aquatic Dreams.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Biocube Hood

Got the hood torn apart last night. Here are some before and after pictures:

Stock Hood.....

After Parts Stripping.....

Washed it this morning and will let it air dry all day before modifying and installing the new LED retrofit kit.

 

[Jesse_emel]

Got Steve's LEDs installed tonight. it wasn't to bad. I got the setup 95% built and only had to modify the hood to get it to fit. Here are some progress pictures.....

I would say with all the trimming of the existing hood and installing the new LEDs it took about 2 hours.

Here it is with the lights on FULL POWER!

 

[Jesse_emel]

Got the new pump and plumbing installed today.....

Also got the protein skimmer put in the back.....

Also got the dual nozzles installed after some sanding of the stock adapter to attach the "Y" fitting.....

Also just learned that you can't use the "In Tank fuge basket" with the upgraded protein skimmer. So i ordered the media basket and it's on it's way. So if anyone wants to get rid of their bioballs and install a fuge basket i have one available. Shoot me a PM.