14 gal Oceanic, Need advice on equipment upgrades

M

Mel 2038

Member
So, I recently acquired a 14 gal Oceanic nano. It was all original down to the bioballs. So far, I changed the substrate to Aragonite sand, added live rock from my main tank, and some corals. I also added a Korillia wave maker for flow. I have heard that, I should take out the bioballs (I agree) and install a media rack in that chamber. The lights are still Power Compaq, so they need a upgrade. I would like to add a skimmer, but this seems to be a challenge. Maybe down the road I could add a small custom built sump, but not now. I would love to hear some ideas/suggestions from all those willing to help out. One more comment, I would like to keep the original top on the tank. Thanks' in advance, Dennis
 
fredfish13

fredfish13

Member
have the same one. didn't upgrade the return pump, seems fine. went with koralia 425 wavemaker. take the false floors and bio balls and sponge out of back area and replaced with in tank media shelf. used to have chaeto and chemiclean and purigen running for a year. now i only have a floss on the top shelf. gutted hood and using ecoxotic leds strips. 2 regulars ones and 1 stunner- they are ok. check out Steve's LED's retro on BC14. have a eheim jagr heater as well back there.
 
ksull72487

ksull72487

New member
Fred pretty much nailed it. The mediabasket is a must and the best upgrade you can get. I run Floss, Purigen and ChemiPureElite with Chaeto on the bottom. I also removed all false floors and hid the heater. A 50-100 watt heater will work. Bigger is better as it'll run less saving you $$$. The Koralia 425 is a solid bet, I also use it. On the Oceanic version I'd upgrade the return pump to a maxijet 900, Rio 800 or the coralife s-700. The Oceanic version lacked GPH 150 gph roughly. The coralife version and the coralife s-700 pump offers 185 gph. I'd go with the Rio 800 as its an exact fit no modding at 211 gph. Also I dropped the chemipure elite and bought 1lb of GFO and 2lbs of carbon. I take a media bag and mix both 75% carbon 25% GFO. Cheaper and is the same exact thing. 1.5-2.5 gallon changes every two weeks. Sometimes to do a deep clean I'll do 3-4 gallons. Water should be filled about 2-3 inches from the top on the water level indicator. The min and max is for bioballs only. Essentially itll be a 15 gallon tank in the end. And honestly I feel it can go longer setup this way. Ditch the skimmer. It's not needed with this setup. Overall the bio load is under estimated if done right. Depending I've seen people and heard of people going a month without a water change. The stock lighting can sustain coral growth. But the LED is always better. Steve's LED Mods and inTank LLc is the way to go. Genius and probably rich by now too lol.
 
Last edited:
Siebo

Siebo

Premium member
I have a BC14 in my sons room. Intank media basket with floss, GFO, and purigen. I run Steve's LED's too. They are great! I do a two gallon water change weekly and change the floss. Sps are doing very well in the tank. I also upgrade return pump cobalt 900 and a koralia 420. Going to a RW 4 though I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top