Help!!! Biocube or not??

[aqua519]

Want to start a reef tank and cant decide if i should get a biocube or not... I can get a Biocube 29 for a good price but dont know if its worth the money or if i should just get a regular tank system. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I have never had a tank before and also wondering if its easier or harder with the biocube? I know maintainence is the same no matter what tank but just curious.

Thanks in advance
Mike

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Check out Red Sea Max AIO (all-in-one) Tanks... You can gave great success with your 1st swt if you practice good reef keeping principles.

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/37227-full-tank-rsm-photos.html

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/

Good luck ! BC are nice, as are "build it yourself tanks", I just like RSM tanks because after a lot of research it's what I went with for my 1st swt & have had nothing but great success with...

 

[AnisaG]

Hi Mike,

I bought the BioCube 29g in June of this year. It's cute, compact, and exactly the right size for me. However, I wish now that I had spent the money on something more customized. Though the built in filtration is great, you end up completely changing it within a month to suit your own wants anyway, and The hood is a real PITA (no hinges, you need to remove the whole hood evertime you need to mess around in the tank, which is ALL THE TIME!!)! I also had issues with the stand seeming flimsy right off (though it does what it needs to do) and the silicone in the tank flaking off into my water (I did a return and the problem also exists on the new tank) Though nothing is seriously wrong with my biocube and I do really like it, I wish that I had gone with something different!
Sorry if I am a complete downer, but I wish someone had told me this when i started!
Good luck in whatever you decide and be sure to start a tank thread!

 

[BigJay]

I love the cubes but they aren't perfect. If you can mod it to add a sump then they are superb tanks. They look clean , streamlined and virtually noiseless. I would look around on craiglist though if you want one , since they are very popular and there is almost always a couple for sale whenever I check in my area.
Calculate the cost of new light bulbs when considering a used one and negotiate from there. No matter what anyone tells you , apart from it being completely unused , change the bulbs.
And as said the stock filteration is entirely inadequate in all cube tanks, the lighting isn't truely enough (except hqi versions) and the stock return pump needs to be supplemented with a powerhead. Don't waste money on the skimmers that go in the chambers as they are a complete PITA.
If your one of those that wants the best of the best and likes to upgrade then the cubes aren't for you. If you want something clean, simple and elegant without spending a ton of money then they are a good choice.

 

[aqua519]

Thanks for advise. Think in gonna stay away from Biocube only because of limitations. I know the way I am and I will want to get more. I went to lfs an spoke the guy about a 75 gal rimless tank. Any opinions on rimless with no hood. I know probably going to loose more water due to evaporation with no hood. Water will maybe stay cooler??

 

[BigJay]

I realized you posted this in sw for beginners. If your not going reef then biocubes are an even better option. Just keep in mind its only a 29 gallon tank meaning if its not reef at best your going to fit about 4 small to medium fish and if you are going reef anything more then 2 can be pushing it. The cubes just simply aren't big enough to house any of the medium to large fish (tangs, eels, lionfish, even the large varieties of clown like tomatoes,puffers, triggers etc) even if you only have 1 fish in the whole tank.

 

[BigJay]

Thanks for advise. Think in gonna stay away from Biocube only because of limitations. I know the way I am and I will want to get more. I went to lfs an spoke the guy about a 75 gal rimless tank. Any opinions on rimless with no hood. I know probably going to loose more water due to evaporation with no hood. Water will maybe stay cooler??

most people run open top tanks with no hoods. The rimless are very sexy in my opinion and look most excellent with a furniture style pendant light hanging over them and furniture quality stand. Keep all the filteration equipment in the sump and I'd say you'll have a fine showpiece! Much better option then a cube btw.

 

[aqua519]

Thanks BigJay, whn I get some time I'm going to read to 90 gal thread. I'm also looking Into a bowfront I have a specific spot in my basement where I'm putting the tank so options are somewhat limited. I'm actually doing research I'm the most impulsive person. But I want to do it right.

 

[BigJay]

well I'll tell you I'm not a huge fan of bowfronts. I only bought mine cause I got an amazing deal on it off craigslist. It was less then 1 year old and complete for $500. I got all the receipts where the guy invested right at $2000. Had I to do it over again I wouldn't have bought it , though. The problems with the bowfronts is they tend to be vary narrow on the sides, for example mine is only 12" 's and most larger lighting systems housing halides are 15" 's. Plus this narrow area makes it hard to place rocks to the outer sides of the tank. Depending on how much bow the tank has it can distort images in the tank , sometimes making it very difficult to see certain spots in the tank. The only upside I can think of to the bowfront at all is the improvement in circulation.
In my opinion the best reef tanks out there are more of a cube then a rectangle with sides at least 2' from front to back or even better a perfect cube that has 3' from front to back and side to side. It makes rock and coral placement a breeze and gives fish more area to move.
Lastly I haven't updated my chronicle in quite some time but by all means take a look.

 

[aqua519]

Beautiful 85 gallon bow front glass aquarium. Tank is predrilled on bottom, ready for reef setup. Included are under cabinet basin filter, Fluval 304 canister filter, Whisperer 100 air pump, submersible heater, cabinet stand with storage, full hood, large tank decor with rocks and gravel

What do you think about this setup for 300 bucks is it worth it?

 

[Hotch]

I've had my Biocube 29 (std PC lighting) for about 8 months and I have no complaints. The only mod I have is a CPR skimmer in place of the bio balls (Don't use the Biocube skimmer, but DO use a skimmer) and a power head. All the inhabitants seem happy. This picture is at about 5 months. I've moved some stuff around and everything has grown quite a bit (especially the BTA & Duncan) since this picture. I'll try to get a new picture.

Residents: Rose BTA, Duncan, Hammer coral, Zoas, Green star polup, Brain, Mushrooms, Wrasse, Clown, Goby, CUC

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Hotch

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Beautiful tank !

 

[Hotch]

Hotch

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Beautiful tank !

Thank You!

I'm having a little hair alge bloom, but I think it's under control. I manually removed what I could and changed salt brands. I'm not seeing any new growth... Maybe just a tiny bit.

 

[BigJay]

Beautiful 85 gallon bow front glass aquarium. Tank is predrilled on bottom, ready for reef setup. Included are under cabinet basin filter, Fluval 304 canister filter, Whisperer 100 air pump, submersible heater, cabinet stand with storage, full hood, large tank decor with rocks and gravel

What do you think about this setup for 300 bucks is it worth it?

If the tank is in good shape and most importantly the stand is like new then it would be ok. The manufacturer would be important as some of the tanks out there are fairly cheap and the furniture(stand, hood) can be very flimsy and cheap. You also want to make sure there is near 0 water damage to the stand.
Except for the tank and perhaps the heater nothing else coming with the tank is suitable or usable for a reef tank.You'd still have to get a sump, a return pump, a protein skimmer, power heads, lighting etc. In my opinion I'd keep looking as I often see spectacular tanks for less then $1000 and are 100 percent complete. If you pay 300 for that by the time you add everything else you need your going to be well above the $1000 mark.

 

[mrlimpet]

Just to warn you about rimless- you may not be able to buy a couple different species of fish like dartfish because they're jumpers. But with rimless, at least for my tank, much more light gets through and the evaporation isn't so bad.

 

[BigJay]

Just to warn you about rimless- you may not be able to buy a couple different species of fish like dartfish because they're jumpers. But with rimless, at least for my tank, much more light gets through and the evaporation isn't so bad.

excellent point. I am beginning to think there is no such thing as a non jumper, to date I've had these fish jump ship; firefish, midas blenny, percula clown, a watchman goby, six line wrasse and my most recent total shocker was a blue hippo tang which just happened yesterday. I'm going to be modding my hood to put it back on.

 

[audrocks]

Perhaps too late for OP but I've not had a good experience with my BioCube 29g.
I just plugged in a new 29g and one of the flourescents doesn't work nor does the single LED bar. Disassembled, swapped bulbs, etc., to no avail --- broken from the factory.
PetCo is no help - the store rep I talked to told me they stopped carrying BioCubes because of so many returns (putting me in the unfortunate position of having to ship it back and wait on a replacement). Coralife seems like it would make quality products but that has not been my experience thusfar.

 

[Andy]

I realized you posted this in sw for beginners. If your not going reef then biocubes are an even better option. Just keep in mind its only a 29 gallon tank meaning if its not reef at best your going to fit about 4 small to medium fish and if you are going reef anything more then 2 can be pushing it. The cubes just simply aren't big enough to house any of the medium to large fish (tangs, eels, lionfish, even the large varieties of clown like tomatoes,puffers, triggers etc) even if you only have 1 fish in the whole tank.

only 2 fish? I think you could get 4-5 depending on the size of the fish