General Concensus For Oceanic Biocubes? Pic Now!

[Jen_S]

What is the general thought on the bio tankI have a dwarf puffer and am ready to throw out the 2.5 gal eclipse tank that I was going to use temp for the puffer. The ammonia has been sky high for weeks and I can't get it to cycle. My dwarf puffer is in the wrong setup (goldfish, newt, coldwater tank). The temp is high enough and I haven't worked on cooling it down for the others as I was waiting for the eclipse to cycle but it won't. Husband is running to the petstore for me to look at the 14 gal biocube (he's such a sweetheart though the puffer is a fish he picked).
I want to know if anyone has this tank for a freshwater setup (pics would be lovely too) and what they think of it. I've looked at the specs online and like that it has the filter and lighting built in and also has a feeding lid (the bigger eclipse tanks don't). I also like that it is glass as my little tank has cracked (no leaks yet) and has scratches even though I've been careful. I guess my biggest concern is the filter. I think the filter on my tiny eclipse is failing and that's why I'm haveing so many issues with it. When I first clean the tank, I have a stream but by the next day, it's dripping though no clogs in the filter. I'm also curious about long term issues others have run into if any.
If we get this tank, I would be putting 2 dwarf puffers in eventually as well as 2-4 otos (whatever number you guys think would be best). The plants will all be live plants and I will be making lots of hiding places for the puffer so there are no squabbles between the two. I will be cycling this new tank as well before putting the puffers in it!

 

[afishdude]

what type of filter is it?

 

[Jen_S]

Here is a link to their website
We were going to get a nano tank but that's not what the lfs sells.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

Nice, biocubes are awesome. You should be able to grow some pretty nice plants with those pcs. Everything on the biocube is nice, except for the price. Its not bad for a nano reef, but i personally think its way too much for a freshwater tank. 2 puffers and like 3 ottos should be fine in that tank and if you have enough plants, you might even be able to push 3 puffers in there.

 

[Jen_S]

Yes, it is expensive but it is a tank that I could use as a saltwater nano reef if I ever got up the nerve LOL. To plant it, I'm going to use cutting from my 46 gal tank which has lots of cambomba, hygrophilia difformis, watersprite, java moss, and an extra amazon sword. I'll of course find a small piece of driftwood or something in addition to rock caves. I may use mini terra cotta pots too but I haven't decided.
Since this is a 14 gal tank and not the 12 gal nano tank I was looking at, could I put in as many as 6 otos? This would be slightly overstocked but I'm not sure. It would only be 8 inches of fish maybe a bit more (can't remember if otos are 1 inch or 1.5 inches). I want the otos to have a school though so they are at their happiest but I don't want to crowd fishes. Any thoughts?

 

[Dorkhedeos]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but a biocube 14 doesnt really hold 14 gallon. i would say its more like 12.5 to 13. Even though it might seem overstocked, i would say go for it because imo otos dont create that much waste. If you do this though, just be sure to keep up water changes and make sure you dont miss more than 1

 

[Jen_S]

You didn't burst my bubble Craig went and got it this morning...he was at the lfs and realized that he didn't have his credit card like he thought they were closing at it was Sunday so he went beck this morning. I'll be spending the day setting it up now To get the nitrifying bacteria from another established tank, do I just let the filter cartridge drip or do I need to squeeze it out into a cup to pour into the new tank? I ask because 2 of my tanks have frames on the cartridge so I don't know how easy that would be but my newt tank had sponges in the filter and is much easier to take apart than the Fluval filter is.

 

[archamfr]

the bacteria live on the sponge media, not in the water.
the best way to transfer them is to eaither take the whole sponge or a cutting from it and place in the un-cycled filter, being sure not to allow the sponge out of the water at anytime.

 

[Jen_S]

So can I temporarily put the sponge media in and then tranfer it back? 1 day- 1 week or so.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

if i were in your situation, i would just cut a little chunk out of there and put a small pond snail in there to keep the ammonia going. a little chunk is all you need because the bacteria doubles quickly

 

[Jen_S]

Thanks, I'll do that and then get some pics up for you to see

 

[Jen_S]

Here's a pic of the new Biocube tank!!!
14 gal Biocube set up for dwarf puffers.

Tell me what you think.
Plants are all easy growers as I don't use co2.
Water sprite in back left corner
Cambomba in back middle
hygrophilia difformis in back right corner
Amazon sword in front middle.
The small large leafed plant in the frone left was a tag along the last time I bought Cambomba. It looks like a type of sword but I don't think it's an amazon.

Do you think there are enough hiding spots/ plants?? I still plan to get a small piece of driftwood that will suction cup to the back wall.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

I think it seems pretty nice. I think you should get like 1 wideleaf plant or something similar though and maybe put some java moss in there. Puffers seem to like that and if you get a male and a female, they might even spawn in it.

 

[Jen_S]

I've got java moss, I just didn't grab it

 

[AshleySpatula]

i think it's a really pretty set up! nice work, i am sure the puffers will like it. i dont know much bout puffers, but i would like it if i were a little fish!