[Buds BioCube]

I'm curious as to why you removed the stock filter from the cube?

A number of reasons..
1) The Cube was not going to be a Reef Tank and my only need for a Filter was a Sponge Filter or a Hang on the Back filter if the Sponge filter did not get the job done.
So far the Sponge Filter has done great.
The Cube has been up since the Super Bowl with no water changes and the Water tests perfect..I could not be happier.

With the Cube being a Freshwater Cichlid tank I did not need all of that area at the back of the cube..
It would just be a waste and from the start I had planned to open up the entire Cube

2) The Cube is 11 years old and the Silicone edges were loose and lifting up.
Probably because the Cube has been sitting in a shed in the South Florida Heat for 10 years!
I new that if I was going to resurrect the Cube and that I live on the 2nd floor of a Condo...it would have to be Re-Sealed...no way around that.
The easiest way to Re-Seal the Cube is with the cube being completely open.
For Re-Sealing the Cube the Filter area would have to be removed.

So, removing the rear plastic Filter area was just a Win Win all the way around...and you can see this in my Pictures above.

On another Forum I was asked if I thought the Filter area could safely be removed and then put back in after sealing the Cube.
I responded that I thought it would be very difficult to do.
I advised to maybe re-build the filter area with either plexiglass or glass .

All in one tanks are Great but as with ALL Silicone tanks at some point it is going to need to be Resealed.

 

[Buds BioCube]

I also wanted to have some kind of a "Background" for the Cube and not the White Crusty black plastic wall that the Cube had.
Granted the taped on PetSmart Cave Background does not fully excite me...It's a search in Progress.
But something better than the black plastic Filter housing

 

[noddy]

Thanks for the reply.
I asked because I have been looking into getting one of these cubes later in life when I am tired of all the stuff associated with big tanks.
I was wondering if the built in filter was just garbage. Makes sense if it needed to be resealed.
Looks great by the way.

 

[Buds BioCube]

I asked because I have been looking into getting one of these cubes later in life when I am tired of all the stuff associated with big tanks.

If you buy a new Cube or relatively a new Cube I'm sure that you would be fine for a long long time.

Not all of the Silicone in my Cube was terrible but any edge that I could feel loose with my finger along with the fact that I live on a 2nd floor...
Well...
I couldn't sleep at night or leave without thinking of a possibility of 29 Gallons leaking.
I once had a 55 gallon that leaked very slowly..I felt the carpet wet one Saturday morning and I went into rush mode to remove the fish and drain the tank.
What a Pain..
But I Re-Sealed the Tank and kept it for another 10 years.

The Cube being 11 years old and sitting outside I probably would have still Re-Sealed the Tank even if the Silicone felt fine..
I'd rather be safe than sorry before investing the Time and $$ getting it up and running.

I will say there are a lot of BioCubes around and people really like them.
For a tank that I thought of getting rid of..I'm glad that I didn't.
I sit in a chair and just watch it...very relaxing!

 

[Buds BioCube]

Lighting Update:

I got my replacement LED Light and it is already having issues, this one Hygger Auto On Off 18-24 Inch LED Aquarium Light Extendable Dimable 7 Colors Full Spectrum Light Fixture.

I am seriously thinking of getting the Fluval Plant Spectrum 3.0 Bluetooth LED Strip Light 15-24", 22 Watts (link removed)

I get everything going fine and the Lighting ends up causing me issues.

 

[noddy]

I asked because I have been looking into getting one of these cubes later in life when I am tired of all the stuff associated with big tanks.

If you buy a new Cube or relatively a new Cube I'm sure that you would be fine for a long long time.

Not all of the Silicone in my Cube was terrible but any edge that I could feel loose with my finger along with the fact that I live on a 2nd floor...
Well...
I couldn't sleep at night or leave without thinking of a possibility of 29 Gallons leaking.
I once had a 55 gallon that leaked very slowly..I felt the carpet wet one Saturday morning and I went into rush mode to remove the fish and drain the tank.
What a Pain..
But I Re-Sealed the Tank and kept it for another 10 years.

The Cube being 11 years old and sitting outside I probably would have still Re-Sealed the Tank even if the Silicone felt fine..
I'd rather be safe than sorry before investing the Time and $$ getting it up and running.

I will say there are a lot of BioCubes around and people really like them.
For a tank that I thought of getting rid of..I'm glad that I didn't.
I sit in a chair and just watch it...very relaxing!

Thanks for the reply. I like the simplicity but I'm so used to having huge canisters that it would take some getting used to.

 

[sir_keith]

Lighting Update:

I got my replacement LED Light and it is already having issues, this one Hygger Auto On Off 18-24 Inch LED Aquarium Light Extendable Dimable 7 Colors Full Spectrum Light Fixture.

I am seriously thinking of getting the Fluval Plant Spectrum 3.0 Bluetooth LED Strip Light 15-24", 22 Watts (link removed)

I get everything going fine and the Lighting ends up causing me issues.

No offense here, but is there some reason you always use the 'large' format for the text in your messages? I find it distracting (like all caps), and it limits the number of messages you can see simultaneously onscreen. If you choose to disable it, you just need to select all the text and hit the 'normal' button in the control bar. I do believe 'normal' is the default setting.

 

[Buds BioCube]

It's hard for me to read the small printing on this forum
Unfortunately like most Forums & emails where the font size can be selected the only choices here are Normal Large and Huge
OR
I play with the percentage in the Size Brackets.
Another thing is that Posts cannot be edited.
Not a very "User" Friendly setup.

I would like the text size to be an easier to read next size up rather than what large is.

I guess I'll have to get some magnifying glasses to use with this Forum. LOL

 

[sir_keith]

...It's hard for me to read the small printing on this forum... I would like the text size to be an easier to read next size up rather than what large is... I guess I'll have to get some magnifying glasses to use with this Forum. LOL...

Yeah, same here. I had to get some 'readers' glasses; it was crazy how much I was straining before without even realizing it. Getting older sure is fun... :roll:

 

[Buds BioCube]

Well I lost a fish today.
I'm not sure why.
I checked the Water and everything checked out good.
The other 2 Fish seem fine.
Maybe they ganged up on him.
The Lighting environment of the Cube has changed a lot in the past week.

After adding plants along with Root Tab's and Liquid Fertilizer I am seeing some Algae on the Glass and the Ocean rock.
All the videos I saw on raising plants stated that once Plants and Fertilizer was added to the tank don't be surprised to see some algae growth.
So...I decreased my daily light from 40% to 30% and 6 hours a day from 12:30 pm to 6:30 pm each day.
I did have the full spectrum at 40% light on from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm then Moon light at 40% from 6:30 pm to Midnight...No Lights from Midnight to 7:30 am.
So the Cube went from 7 1/2 hours of darkness per day to 18 hours with no lights.
Maybe the change somehow contributed to one fishes death.

Videos I've watched about the Fluval 3.0 light states to leave the Blue light to only 3% because it's been found to cause Algae.
I have not gotten the Fluval Light yet ..my Hygger light has blue light with Red & Green at 30% because I cannot adjust levels of individual LED's
It's full spectrum that raises and lowers all of the LED's at once.

So I am going to order the Fluval 3.0 and adjust the LED lights as recommended and have a Moon Light again going back to 7.5 hours off per day rather than 18 hours.
What do you think?

 

[sir_keith]

I think it's highly unlikely that changing the lighting would cause one of your fishes to die. Are you sure the things you added to the tank to encourage plant growth didn't affect your water parameters, even transiently? I grow Anubias and Java ferns in my Tanganyikan tanks without any problems, and without adding anything special for the plants. Frankly, I doubt that any of those plant additives have been tested in pH8.5-9.0 water, and for me the fishes come first, and if the plants can't deal with those water parameters, then so be it. Was the fish beaten up at all? Sometimes fishes do just die for no apparent reason. :fish:

 

[Buds BioCube]

Are you sure the things you added to the tank to encourage plant growth didn't affect your water parameters, even transiently?

I highly doubt it.
The plants and Fertilizers have been in for awhile and I would think that if it was an actual water issue then all 3 would die.
I will monitor the Cube over the next few days without adding anything further.
All of the water parameters are the same that they have been for the last month...I check weekly.

From the Tetra 6 in 1 Strips
* Nitrates: 20
* Nitrite: 0
* Hardness GH: between 150 - 300
* Alkalinity KH: 120
API High PH Test Kit PH 8.2
Tetra Ammonia Test Strip Ammonia: 0

I can take a water sample to my LFS and have them confirm.
I have not done any Water changes since the Cube was setup on Super Bowl Sunday.
If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I grow Anubias and Java ferns in my Tanganyikan tanks without any problems, and without adding anything special for the plants

That's good to know.

Was the fish beaten up at all? Sometimes fishes do just die for no apparent reason

I did not check it out before I flushed him LOL
If another one dies I will check it out more carefully

Thanks for the response.

 

[Buds BioCube]

The last African Cichlid tank that I had was a 55G
I placed two "Red Devil's" about the size of a quarter into the tank with other Cichlids.
During the day with the lights on there was never any aggression noticed between the fish.
However at night with the lights off is when all **** would break out.
It was not a total carnage but I would say weekly a fish would turn up beaten and dead.
This continued until just the 2 Red Devil's remained.
I left them both in the tank and they grew BUT eventually there was just 1

Anytime I tried to add an aggressive fish to the tank..the Red Devil won out.
Finally I left him alone and he grew over the years.
When he finally died he was the size of a Blue Gill I would catch in the canals...very large.
I buried him in a shoe box in the backyard.

And then Started over with a group of less aggressive African Cichlids
Then I purchased a 150 gallon long tank and turned it into a local everglades Freshwater tank with Bass & Blue Gil that I had caught in the canals around my home.
I loved that tank as did my friends..We would occasionally hold Worms & Shiners over the tank and hand feed the fish.
The Bass would break the water and take the food along with your thumb & index fingers in their mouth.
It was a blast at Parties! LOL!

 

[ererer]

After adding plants along with Root Tab's and Liquid Fertilizer I am seeing some Algae on the Glass and the Ocean rock.

Bud, what sort of fertilizer are you adding, in what amounts, and how often? I do agree with Keith and think that it's unlikely that this contributed to your fish death. I keep some planted tanks and use liquid fertilizers and root tabs, I also have a fluval 3.0.

 

[Buds BioCube]

Liquid Fertilizer: Aquarium CoOp Easy Green (1 Pump per 10 Gallons of Water)
2 pumps first week after getting it
2 pumps 2 Weeks later non sense.

API Root Tab: Tabs Broken in half and buried in Substrate about 3/4's down.
5 Half Tabs 1 each corner and in the middle.
Placed Tabs in every 2 weeks.

 

[Buds BioCube]

I received my Fluval 3.0 15 inch 22 watt light yesterday.
I was surprised by how small it is compared to the Hygger Auto-On Light

But so far I Love this little light.
Yes it's not cheap but looks to be worth every penny.
It started it's first cycle this morning.

I'll let you know how it works out but so far it looks like a winner.
Viva La Fluval!

 

[Buds BioCube]

Fluval 3.0 15" 22w Mounted into Hood:

Cube lit with Fluval 3.0

 

[Buds BioCube]

Well I guess Cichlid-Forum does not like my Image Host choice...Bummer

 

[Buds BioCube]

What Image Service can I use?

I hate the PhotoBucket Pictures with their Logo imposed over the picture.

 

[Buds BioCube]

Well I'll do this again..

Fluval 3.0 15" 22w Mounted into Hood:

Cube with Fluval Light @ 30%