biocube 29 first chamber grate purpose?

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J

JackLantern

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Dec 16, 2012
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Hello All,
getting back into this after a long hiatus. i came upon a biocube 29. going to use it for a planted tank, though i know it was meant for a mini reef.
i like that i don't have see all the hardware in the tank, and the HOB or canister mess on the back.

question though. does anyone know what that grate is for in the first chamber? with it there, there is a inaccessible compartment and its keeping me from putting the heater in that chamber.

i've read that people "mod" (bust it out) it to put heaters in there, but i'm curious what is the purpose on that grate???

thanks
 
J

JackLantern

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Dec 16, 2012
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the one i have must be older model. it has different LED lights, it is 3 separate ones, not a bar.
and in mine the filter cartridge mounts in compartment 1 facing compartment 2, NOT on top the bioballs in 2

this grate is about 2/3 down in compartment 1.
i looked for a manual for it, no luck.

i don't see what purpose it serves though
 
D

dudley

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Feb 9, 2005
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Dee
Sorry, I was hoping that was the right manual, I hate when they change things.

Can you post a clear picture of the problem area, maybe someone else can offer good advice?
 
N

Narwhal72

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Aug 13, 2009
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That is the floor where the cartridge would go on the Oceanic Biocube 29. In that older version the cartridge was oriented vertically. The floor provides a stop to the cartridge since it is shorter than the height of the tank.

In the Coralife Biocube 29 version the grate was removed and the cartridge was put into a special holder in place of the drip tray and oriented horizontally. That gave more room for heaters or skimmers in chamber 1.

If you want to remove the floor to insert a heater you can push down on the floor with a screwdriver and it will pop out (it's just held in place with silicone). You will not however be able to use the cartridge any longer so I would use some filter wool or a pad on top the bioballs (under the drip tray) to trap debris.

Andy
 
J

JackLantern

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Dec 16, 2012
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thanks Andy, that at least makes sense

i'm thinking of removing only part of the grate so the long heater probe will fit, and leave enough of the ledge for that prefilter to remain, though i expect i'll eventually figure out how to make/mod a filter cartridge w/o the carbon. i never needed that before with planted tanks. and read some sites saying activated carbon is a waste and and leach bad stuff back into tank.
 
N

Narwhal72

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Aug 13, 2009
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Some activated carbons that are treated with phosphoric acid can leach phosphate back into the water. Not really a problem with a planted tank as the amounts are so low that the plants will absorb it.

Cutting out part of the grate will be a problem as if you take it out to cut it you can't put it back very easily. You are probably better off taking the driptray and cutting out the center so that the cartridge will lay in it horizontally and removing the grate entirely.

Andy
 
J

JackLantern

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Dec 16, 2012
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good point, well i can try to cut out part of in using snips or hacksaw blade or something and not remove it to cut it. that our use a light saber ; )

on the drip tray, used your idea, i currently put the fluval polishing pads under the drip tray on top of bioballs, seems to have helped.


carbon: i thought i recall folks saying after the carbon sits in the tank too long it will release the toxins back in the water.
 
N

Narwhal72

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Aug 13, 2009
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carbon: i thought i recall folks saying after the carbon sits in the tank too long it will release the toxins back in the water.
Click to expand...
Heard that before but it's a common misdirection. Carbon will adsorb as much as it can. However, after the adsorbtion sites in the pores are filled it will not longer adsorb anything. But it will not release what it has adsorbed. There may still be pollutants trapped within the pores that have not attached to adsorption sites. These can be flushed out over time. However they were still in the water the first time so it's not like the carbon is adding anything to the water that wasn't already there.

A lot of people confuse absorbtion with adsorption. A good analogy is if you were to get hit in the face with a pie. In this case you absorbed the pie. Although you are both together, you could scrape the scrape/wash the pie off and separate the two. But if you eat the pie (adsorption) it is not possible to separate you from the pie any longer.

What carbon does is adsorption. Once a substance has been adsorbed onto an adsorbtion site it cannot be removed. This is why activated carbon cannot be recharged like a resin.


Andy
 
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