Biocube14 owners are you experiencing this problem?

[10" Red Devil]

I have a biocube14 and I am trying to think of ways to get more flow in the tank. I have upgraded the return to a maxijet 900 but it seems to get clogged weekly with detritus and the flow dwindles quickly! Do you have powerheads in the tank or have you moded your cube somehow for additional flow? The lack of flow is causing some major algae problems and not allowing the skimmer to do its job. I guess I could add another powerhead, but I am worried about how it will look in the tank not too mention the heat it will add to the tank.

[Illuminati]

Do you have some sort of a sponge or filter floss that collects detrius before getting to the pump? Shouldn't be clogging like that, I have had the same maxijet 1200 on my tank for almost 2 years.

[mdisalvo55]

I still have the stock pump and have never had any problems with it clogging...you still have the blue filter piece right before the pump right? If you do maybe you should just try cleaning that out bi weekly?

[10" Red Devil]

No I do not use the blue sponge or any kind of filter floss as I have found that it leads to nitrate problems very easily. I think you have to have a tank for a while to experience this problem. How old is your guys tank? I think with this old of a tank the detritus really builds up. Its hard to eradicate when every chamber in the back is filled up with something.

[MikePowell]

is it detritus or sand?

[10" Red Devil]

Detritus.

[tedmonds]

I use a little piece of sponge in the middle chamber at the top where the water spills in from the right chamber. It is easy to remove and clean often. I also pulled out the bio balls and replaced them with live rock in the middle chamber. Also have no pre-filter on the rio so it doesn't clog. I use a 90 elbow and pvc to make a spray bar as the outlet. This spreads out the flow and reduces dead spots which can be a source of algae. Hope one or all of these things help. Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by tedmonds
I use a little piece of sponge in the middle chamber at the top where the water spills in from the right chamber. It is easy to remove and clean often. I also pulled out the bio balls and replaced them with live rock in the middle chamber. Also have no pre-filter on the rio so it doesn't clog. I use a 90 elbow and pvc to make a spray bar as the outlet. This spreads out the flow and reduces dead spots which can be a source of algae. Hope one or all of these things help. Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

Do you have a picture of your PVC setup?

Am I missing something here. I mean it does not matter if you place a sponge on your pump, it is still going to clogg and in the same amount of time. This is not getting to the root of the problem which is an excess of Detritus. The problem is that I have the whole back taken up with a Tunze Nano Skimmer, Refugium in the first chamber, Osmolater, heater, return pump in the far left chamber. there is no room for any kind of filter floss or the like. I dunno I think I have outgrown these All-in-ones. I think they are very poorly designed. They are definitely not meant for reefkeeping. I think they were designed for Kidiot newbies doing goldfish or guppies.

[johno4]

What do you have in there and what are you feed? You might need to cut back. Also, just a suggestion, you can put a sponge on the intake of the pump and clean it weekly. Rinsing it often and/or swaping it out with a different sponge should eliminate the detritus build up and prevent nitrate build up. Maybe alternate sponges every week to prevent the nitrate issue.

[10" Red Devil]

Well I haven't fed the tank in weeks except for a maybe 10 small pellets which were gobbled up by the fish immediately. These are the really small pellets made for marine fish. I was throwing 2-3 shrimp pellets in the tank once a week for the nassarius snails.

Thanks for the suggestion. Which sponge works with the maxijet?

[tedmonds]

I don't use a sponge on the pump. I place a piece where the water flows from the first chamber to the second. Since you've modded your's a lot this won't work for you. I feel a skimmer on this tank is overkill, especially if you have a refugium also. Pick one or the other. Do water changes when necessary or move to a bigger tank if you want more stability. Small tanks need more attention.

[mdisalvo55]

I've had my biocube since the first couple weeks they were out and I've never had this issue...The blue piece of filter sponge just needs cleaned every week or two in order to keep the detritus out. On that note, I think you may have too much going on as far as filtering goes. Like tedmonds said, the skimmer may be overkill, try to simplify things by getting rid of something and putting the filter sponge back in there. It sounds like the back is just gummed up because there are too many different things in it. I've been running my 14 for about a year now with many different corals and all I do is clean the blue sponge weekly and replace the piece of filter floss in the first chamber every 2-3 weeks (also added live rock to chamber 2 instead of bio balls).

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by tedmonds
I don't use a sponge on the pump. I place a piece where the water flows from the first chamber to the second. Since you've modded your's a lot this won't work for you. I feel a skimmer on this tank is overkill, especially if you have a refugium also. Pick one or the other. Do water changes when necessary or move to a bigger tank if you want more stability. Small tanks need more attention.

I have been keeping small tanks (10 gallons and under) since when it was considered "impossible" by the reef keeping community. There was a time not so long ago when the minimum tank size for a reef was 50 gallons anything else was destined to failure. That being said I have never had this problem with my other tanks that incorporated a protein skimmer, and a refugium in addition to water changes. You are entitled to your opinion and I understand you think it is overkill but I think that in reality our little boxes do not come anywhere near the purity of natural ocean water and that having a skimmer is nice insurance not a replacement for keeping up with good water quality.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by mdisalvo55
I've had my biocube since the first couple weeks they were out and I've never had this issue...The blue piece of filter sponge just needs cleaned every week or two in order to keep the detritus out. On that note, I think you may have too much going on as far as filtering goes. Like tedmonds said, the skimmer may be overkill, try to simplify things by getting rid of something and putting the filter sponge back in there. It sounds like the back is just gummed up because there are too many different things in it. I've been running my 14 for about a year now with many different corals and all I do is clean the blue sponge weekly and replace the piece of filter floss in the first chamber every 2-3 weeks (also added live rock to chamber 2 instead of bio balls).

Well glad to hear it. I hope it stays that way!

[kingfisher62]

I have an aqua clear hangig on the back wall and it is not too obtrusive.

[10" Red Devil]

Well that is one nice looking tank!! Good Job!

[kingfisher62]

Thanks red,
any pics of yours?

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by kingfisher62
Thanks red,
any pics of yours?

No it has been pretty coraless for quite sometime and now the diatoms so I really haven't wanted to take any pics.