Live Rock Filter for BioCube?

[fishrule]

I’m setting up my 29g BioCube tomorrow night and I have read a few posts where people have removed the bio media.
If I read the posts correctly, I should remove the Bio Balls and add in Live Rock Rubble? If so, how much Live Rock should I add? I have about 5lbs of Rubble in a tank at home that I can add.
Should I remove or add anything else to the filtration chambers?
I’m going to run the tank with the pump that comes with it for now, but should I upgrade the pump for any reason, or is it good to go?
I don’t see a heater in the tank. Do I need to add one to it?
Is there anything that any of you wish you added/changed other than lighting when you first setup your Nano’s?

 

[bruder]

If you are really ambitious and willing to spend a little bit of money, you can fit a skimmer in your third compartment! And yes you need to get a heater, you can tuck it in your first compartment from the right with your filter.

 

[demartini]

yes take out the bio balls and the ceramic rings. put as much live rock pieces in the chambers as you can fit. Add a heater where there is room in the back. good luck!

 

[fishrule]

Great, thanks guys...
Bruder, do you have a picture of your skimmer setup and what skimmer did you buy and how much?

 

[fishrule]

Originally Posted by DeMartini
yes take out the bio balls and the ceramic rings. put as much live rock pieces in the chambers as you can fit. Add a heater where there is room in the back. good luck!
What Ceramic Rings??? I don't see any. :notsure:

 

[demartini]

if you don't have any then just take out the bioballs

 

[fishrule]

Originally Posted by DeMartini
if you don't have any then just take out the bioballs
Should I also remove the filter cartrage or keep it in?

 

[bruder]

I can get you a picture of the skimmer tomorrow. I got the Fission Nano Skimmer.

 

[ahmoser]

I left my bioballs in....I feel that they are more efficient than lr, you just have to rinse about 1/4 of them off every month. I am very interested in adding a skimmer, and would like to hear any suggestions. I am also interested to hear if anyone has made a sump to go with the bicube? I have a 30 gal spare tank and I'm not real sure how to do this. Leave the filter cartridge in, but I rinse mine regularly. :happyfish

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by Bruder
I can get you a picture of the skimmer tomorrow. I got the Fission Nano Skimmer.

Bump

 

[saltyvt]

Better yet make a fuge out of your center chamber!! Add LR rubble to the first chamber, along with chemi-pure and purigen, open up the divider from chamber one to two, to get the full potential flow, add fliter floss to the drip tray , remove the sponge and replace the stock pump. whew!!!, or not! :thinking:

 

[xiaochew]

Originally Posted by DeMartini
yes take out the bio balls and the ceramic rings. put as much live rock pieces in the chambers as you can fit. Add a heater where there is room in the back. good luck!
Hi DeMartini, mai i know what is the reason that we have to take out the bio balls and the ceramic rings?

 

[xiaochew]

If i did not take out . will it cuase any bad effect to the water.
Mine is a new tank. I have put lr in it already. The setup have been a week.

 

[fishrule]

Originally Posted by xiaochew
Hi DeMartini, mai i know what is the reason that we have to take out the bio balls and the ceramic rings?
The Bio Balls are removed and replaced with Live Rock in the BioBall Chamber. This acts as a natural filter. Which is what this thread is about. I wanted to remove the biomedia and run this tank more naturally.
As far as your second question: Your tank will be fine if you are running it with the Bio Balls. You don’t even need to do the change to Live Rock if you don’t want to.

 

[demartini]

the thing withe the bioballs is that you have to keep taking them out to clean them, because they can turn in to a nitrate factory! you have a biocube and the back is soooo small. It would be really hard to keep pulling them out... save your time, and just takes those out and put live rock where ever you have space in the back......same with the ceramic rings.

 

[kmc]

I also replaced the bioballs with LR rubble in our tank and I think it helped the water clarity. I also added a couple of bags of carbon, I believe it is Chemi Pure to the top of the pile of LR rubble and underneath the tray. I put the heater in the first compartment and also added an extra piece of filter material I get at the LFS in front of the stock filter in the first compartment.
I run my water level a little bit too high on purpose. I raise the water level until water is just spilling over into the back of the tank from the front. I have found that this keeps any scum from building up on the water surface.
I would also be interested in seeing the skimmer set up for the third or pump compartment. Speaking of the pump I am also still running the original pump but am also interested in hearing anyone's experience with replacement pumps.
Thanks

 

[ahmoser]

When I rum my water that high, my male clown always ends up barely breathing on the tray in the middle compartment! I have found him like 5 times this way! Have you had any trouble with this?

 

[krisfl]

Originally Posted by kmc
I also replaced the bioballs with LR rubble in our tank and I think it helped the water clarity. I also added a couple of bags of carbon, I believe it is Chemi Pure to the top of the pile of LR rubble and underneath the tray. I put the heater in the first compartment and also added an extra piece of filter material I get at the LFS in front of the stock filter in the first compartment.
I run my water level a little bit too high on purpose. I raise the water level until water is just spilling over into the back of the tank from the front. I have found that this keeps any scum from building up on the water surface.
I would also be interested in seeing the skimmer set up for the third or pump compartment. Speaking of the pump I am also still running the original pump but am also interested in hearing anyone's experience with replacement pumps.
Thanks
So you have activated carbon on the top of the LR rubble and also under the LR rubble? How often do you have to remove the LR rubble to replace the carbon on the bottom? Do you think one could get away with just putting the carbon on the top of the LR rubble? Do you have the carbon under the drip pan (not sure of the technical name) or on top? I was thinking of placing filter floss on the top and removing the sponge in the 3rd compartment and just having the pump.
Sorry for all the questions just want to make sure I get the best setup for my 8g biocube before I add stuff to it. Right now I just have premixed saltwater and LS. Been about a week but was going to get some LR and LR rubble to replace the bioballs.

 

[kmc]

KrisFl,
Sorry for the confusion. I have the carbon bags on top of the LR rubble only. I was calling the drip tray the tray that sits on top of the LR rubble.
I have not had any trouble with fish going over the top but I have found an occasional cerith snail in the tray. The weirdest thing I have right now is that my sally lightfoot has somehow gotten over into the back compartment. She had been missing for a few days, along with our tiny yellow clown goby. I suspect foul play. Anyway we looked down in the pump well one day while doing a water change and there she was, along with a couple of snails and a hermit crab. When I tried to catch her with the net ( Instead of squash her with something heavy) she scooted under the sponge filter and back under the middle compartment. Ii didn't realize the divider was open at the bottom but I guess it is. Have not seen her since so she has sentenced herself to life in crab jail as I now call it. I keep waiting on an ammonia spike but none so far. Would be curious to hear of any similiar experiences with life in the back chambers.

 

[xiaochew]

Originally Posted by FishRule
The Bio Balls are removed and replaced with Live Rock in the BioBall Chamber. This acts as a natural filter. Which is what this thread is about. I wanted to remove the biomedia and run this tank more naturally.
As far as your second question: Your tank will be fine if you are running it with the Bio Balls. You don’t even need to do the change to Live Rock if you don’t want to.
Hi Ihave LR in my tank already. actually mime is a new tank that was abt less than 2 weeks old. I have abt 13 pound of live rock in the tank. is it a good time to take out the bio balls and rings now.