troubles with 29 bio

[itwasntme159]

i work at a local pet store and i have a 29 bio cube and ever since i bought it ive had nothing but problems with it. the first problem is that the water overflows in the back of it so its not even getting filtered and its super loud during the night (its in my room) the next problem is that when the water overflows into the back it causes the pump to start sucking up air and fills my tank with bubbles, i went to home depot and bought some painting sponges and cut it to fit the back of that. im seriously getting frustrated and no one in the store i work at has a clue what to do with it. i put a 15 gal whisper filter in where som of the bio balls were just to get some more filtration. im wondering if putting a smaller pump on it would help? some one help me!

 

[reefernana]

Okay, I have a 29g biocube, too. This is what I did from the get go. Remove those bio balls. I put in a couple of jars of Seachem's Matrix (an excellent filtering material that never needs replacing), then I added a bag of Seachem's Purigen (another excellent filtering material that you can recharge after it's too dirty), then I cut a piece of filter/foam floss and put it on top of these. I replaced the grate over this middle section and took the filter cartridge that's supposed to go in the right section and laid it on top so the water flows from the right over the cartridge into the middle section. Once I feel I can't clean this cartridge anymore, I'm going to get a bag of activated charcoal and put it on top of the floss. But, you can use the one that came with the tank for now. So, now your tank is not a wet/dry system anymore, it's more like a sump. Some people, also, put live rock rubble in instead of the bioballs, but I decided on my mixture after a lot of research and advice from my lfs that's been in business for over 20 years. They, also, turned me on to Seachem's Reef Salt. That has been working out great! I've not had to use any additives as my water readings have been spot on. Anyway, that's just my suggestion. The other thing is, with this type of filtration setup, I keep my tank about an inch and 1/2 over the maximum line. This prevents any micro bubbles. I've just been up and running for 2 mos., but like I said, it's working great for me. Oh yeah, and the noisiest thing about mine is the fans, which aren't too bad. Good luck!

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by reefernana
Okay, I have a 29g biocube, too. This is what I did from the get go. Remove those bio balls. I put in a couple of jars of Seachem's Matrix (an excellent filtering material that never needs replacing), then I added a bag of Seachem's Purigen (another excellent filtering material that you can recharge after it's too dirty), then I cut a piece of filter/foam floss and put it on top of these. I replaced the grate over this middle section and took the filter cartridge that's supposed to go in the right section and laid it on top so the water flows from the right over the cartridge into the middle section. Once I feel I can't clean this cartridge anymore, I'm going to get a bag of activated charcoal and put it on top of the floss. But, you can use the one that came with the tank for now. So, now your tank is not a wet/dry system anymore, it's more like a sump. Some people, also, put live rock rubble in instead of the bioballs, but I decided on my mixture after a lot of research and advice from my lfs that's been in business for over 20 years. They, also, turned me on to Seachem's Reef Salt. That has been working out great! I've not had to use any additives as my water readings have been spot on. Anyway, that's just my suggestion. The other thing is, with this type of filtration setup, I keep my tank about an inch and 1/2 over the maximum line. This prevents any micro bubbles. I've just been up and running for 2 mos., but like I said, it's working great for me. Oh yeah, and the noisiest thing about mine is the fans, which aren't too bad. Good luck!

Hey reefer I have a couple of questions for you reguarding your set up if you dont mind... First, when you said a bag of seachems purigen what type of bag and how much did you use in it? I not liking the bio balls at all in my tank, I think they hold too much bacteria. Also there is another grate below the bioballs in the middle chamber that can be removed.. I take mine out every now and then and suck out all the crap that accumulates in there.. Even with filter floss i get alot of build up under there. Did you take yours out or leave it in? Thanks for any help..

 

[fordguy67]

REEFER
is seachems matrix and purigen good substitutes to use for bio balls for any size tank or is it just for the nano size tanks. i have just bought a 125 and im looking for the best type of filtration i can get for it

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by PerfectDark
Hey reefer I have a couple of questions for you reguarding your set up if you dont mind... First, when you said a bag of seachems purigen what type of bag and how much did you use in it? I not liking the bio balls at all in my tank, I think they hold too much bacteria. Also there is another grate below the bioballs in the middle chamber that can be removed.. I take mine out every now and then and suck out all the crap that accumulates in there.. Even with filter floss i get alot of build up under there. Did you take yours out or leave it in? Thanks for any help..
I haven't removed the lower grate, but I do make sure and take the sponge out that is next to the pump in the left section. The water from the mid section goes through that before getting pumped into the tank (out through the return nozzle). The Seachem Purigen bag comes in a little box and it is already in a fine netting type bag. I believe that it accommodated up to 55 gal or so. It starts out white, but when it turns dark dark brown, you just bleach it out in a 1 part water, 1 part bleach solution, then you're supposed to rinse it with a dechorinator before reusing. The Seachem Matrix are little balls that look like little pumice type stones and 2 sm. jars of these are good for up to 50-55 gal, too. You never have to replace these or clean them. I, also, use Seachem's Reef Salt and have not had to add anything else (like calcium, or any buffers) and my water readings have always been great. I do make sure I do a 3-4 gal water change every week (RO/IO that I buy from a little water station a few blocks from home for $.25/gal) and with doing this you won't need a skimmer either. Glad to help!

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by fordguy67
REEFER
is seachems matrix and purigen good substitutes to use for bio balls for any size tank or is it just for the nano size tanks. i have just bought a 125 and im looking for the best type of filtration i can get for it
I would imagine that you would just have to have a bigger quantity of these, but I don't see why they wouldn't work for you. I've just created a sump type filtering system instead of the wet/dry with the bioballs. Don't forget, I also use filter/foam floss with these, too. And, I'm going to get a charcoal bag to add to it, just cuz the cartridge that came with my cube isn't cleaning up real well anymore. This had a little charcoal in it and I had the water flowing over it before going into the chamber with the other filtering media.

 

[sigmachris]

Originally Posted by reefernana
I haven't removed the lower grate, but I do make sure and take the sponge out that is next to the pump in the left section.

Good info Reefnana, but a follow up questions...when you say you "take the sponge out that is next to the pump"...do you mean you permantely removed it or you remove it to clean with each water change? If you permanetley removed it, do you find it improves flow?
Thanks,
Chris

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by SigmaChris
Good info Reefnana, but a follow up questions...when you say you "take the sponge out that is next to the pump"...do you mean you permantely removed it or you remove it to clean with each water change? If you permanetley removed it, do you find it improves flow?
Thanks,
Chris
Oops, I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear. I remove and clean it once a month when I replace my filter/foam floss. Without the filter cartridge in the right section and just the filtration media in the mid, I have great flow. I am going to probably split the return with a couple of loc-lines so I can have more directional control though. I, also, have a Maxi-Jet 900 PH that I'm able to hide somewhat behind my rocks on the right side opposite of the return nozzle. So I'm getting a 19 X tank cycling per hour now.

 

[perfectdark]

Thanks man,
yea i upgraded my power head in my left chamber and put a loc line splitter on it. Then I added a Rio 800 power head to my tank with a current type wave maker attacment, then a very small power head to circulate behind the LR. Im gonna get the seachem stuff you mentioned, I need and alternative to these bioballs i dont like them at all. So, far they are a pain and i have put up with them for over 4 months now. Thanks again.

 

[snaredrum]

I put a Sapphire Aquatics Skimmer in my 2nd chamber. It should be standard equipment on these tanks. The skimmer fits great and the water parameters are a lot better. Just my 2 cents.