29g biocube mods

nanocustom lights and fuge in middle chamber

I have had a 29g bio-cube the last 4 months and I have horrible algae problems. I think i will get a handle on that since my tap water's phosphate is off the charts. I have invested in an ro/di system so my water should be o.k. after this. I would like to get a custom lighting system for corals. I would also like to remove the bio-balls but since it has been cycled and I have good bacteria in their. My question is what would happen if I took the bio-balls out and made a fuge in the middle chamber with live rock. I also invested in the protein skimmer and thought it might help but I see alot of you dont recommend it. Should i leave mine off?

thanks
Also how would i make a nice fuge in the center chamber? what would I need besides the live rock?

 

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/BioCube-29-Package-Deal-BC29-Bundle.htm i havent started my biocube 29 yet,but i ordered this,because i wanted to start a fuge in there..and im very impressed with the quality of it

 

remove the bioballs slowly, 10% a week until they are gone


You guys should check out my biocube thread in my sig. I've never had any bad algae problems(but i've also never added tapwater), also never had any snails or fish or shrimp manage to get into the back chambers, it's pretty secure.

Remove the bioballs before you add water and just either add a sump/fuge below your biocube(easy to add an overflow) or you can put some lighting on the middle chamber and grow chaeto.

Do not buy the oceanic protein skimmer, it's worthless p.o.s.

I use the Hydror slim skim and it works great at pulling out dark stinky fish poop ect each week.

The stock lighting you can grow any LPS with ease but will have to replace the bulbs ever 8-10months at $30 x 2.

Stock pump is sufficient but really consider either a Vortech MP10 powerhead or a JBJ Oceanstream wavemaker. Slow flow through back chambers, medium to high flow in DT.

I added 40lb of live sand because 20lb was not very deep.

Also look into larger live rock pieces versus stacking smaller ones, this way you can avoid avalanches from pesky inverts.

I love my biocube although it's been a pain sometimes.
Just keep up with two week water changes, adding your daily RODI fresh water for tops off's and enjoy! (I will be buying the JBJ Auto Top Off very soon to automate that daily chore!!!)

I also set my tank up to the Reefkeeper Lite controller, it's made everything super hands free!!

Good luck hope to see pictures and don't forget to check out my thread!!

You can also search "biocube" and find few really cool set ups on 3reef.