8 gal. Oceanic Bio Cube

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Hello Everybody,
I stumbled across this Forum from a google search and figured I would try it out. I have been dealing with fresh water fish aquariums since I was about 10. I have a 125 gallon freshwater setup now, but have recently been reading up and learning about saltwater and coral reef setups thanks to my uncle. I am going off to my second year of college and was looking into the Oceanic Bio Cube. I am wanting kind of a learner tank that I can grow knowledge from so when I get my own place in a few years I can hopefully setup my 125 gallon to a salt water. I am just wondering what you all think of this setup or is it junk and I should just build my own? I have read through some of the post and looked at a few pictures of others setups and its really got me wanting to setup my own. Also what would be some good coral reef to go with the compact fluorescent type of lighting included or can I upgrade to the halide lighting? Thanks in advance and again hello to everybody.

[lReef lKeeper]

first of all ... welcome to TR !!

in a "learner" type of tank ... you would normally want it to be BIGGER. the bigger the better. saltwater is WAY different than fresh. in a bigger tank you will have a lot more room for errors. in a small tank, things can go wrong VERY fast.
so i guess that i am saying to build your own. i would start with a 40gallon breeder if i were going off to college (but i am a high school drop out). these tanks are the perfect size for a small room or apartment.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Ya I have read that the larger tanks are easier. Only thing is I am only allowed up to a 10 gallon aquarium in my dorm. :(

[lReef lKeeper]

a 10 gallon aquarium ?? or 10 gallons of water ??

there is a huge difference in the 2. HAHAHA i can think of a way around anything !!
(but there really is a huge difference).

as long as you stay on top of it EVERY day, and keep asking questions ... you should be fine. "nano" tanks a a lot more difficult for the new guys in the hobby, because there is just so much to learn and having a small tank just does not allow the room for errors, and they WILL happen. on a good note ... if you know how to handle the error, they are USUALLY pretty easy to fix. you are in the right place to find out how to handle those errors, so stay here, read, learn, and ASK QUESTIONS. there are a lot of very knowledgeable people on this board that will be glad to give you a helping hand.

while i have your attention ... i have 1 word of advise ... RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH ... i guess you can tell that you can never do to much RESEARCH in this hobby.

BTW ... check out the podcasts for anything reef related. it is an excellent learning tool.
Oh, and check out Reefreaders - July 2007 (http://www.reefreaders.com)

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I think it says only up to a 10 gallon aquarium. I am pretty excited I found this forum everybody seems real nice and helpful. I have a book called "Marine Aquarium" by Nick Dakin that I have been slowly going through. My uncle gave it to me to read and he will also be helping me with the setup and any issues I may have. He has a 95 gallon or so coral reef aquarium he has had for about 3 years now. I may even be able to get some coral from him as well since he is thinking about getting rid of his setup.

[lReef lKeeper]

sweet, nothing better than FREE coral !!

where was i going with the 10 gallon tank or 10 gallons of water, you ask ??

a 10 gallon tank is great ... when it has a 100 gallon sump !! lol

i think Brother V is rubbing off on me ... i better go to bed and sleep it off !!

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

While searching around I found the Aquamedic Nanowave 9. I am just wondering which you all think is best for the money? I have also seen the jbl model. Out of the three which would you guys recommend? They all seem fairly nice and I just really can't decide. Thanks again and all the photos of new nano aquariums you all are posting look amazing. Thanks for the encouragement!

[CarmieJo]

Hi Tim and :welcome: to TR. I do think the Nanowave has a lot of nice features for the price but I don't know anyone who has one.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

They are relatively close to the same price. I found the nanowave on nanotuners website for a good price and figured I would add it to the list. I guess this is more of a poll now lol. They both seem to have similar features....I dunno tough decision. I would build my own, but these are more practicle for my situation.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I am thinking I am just going to build my own 10 gallon nano setup. I am planning on getting a 10 gallon all glass aquarium. I am looking into possibly like a zoo-med power head and then modifying the lighting system with a DIY kit. I would like to run metal halide or something equivalent too so I can choose a larger range of coral. I was going to try to modify a filter system and try to run a smaller heater within the filter so that the tank itself will have a cleaner look. Any suggestions or info on some stuff to add to my setup would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[CarmieJo]

I think that a hob filter is a good idea. Not only will it keep your heater out of the DT it will provide extra flow.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Well I think I may have had another change of heart. LOL. When I was out today pricing for my custom setup, I checked out another lfs and low and behold they have a biocube 12 gallon deluxe model. Its on a summer sale price of like $140. I think I am set on buying that now. I talked with a helpful representitive and we went over some of the corals they carried that I could run and that they were currently running. I am probably going to make my mind up tonight and/or tomorrow morning and either go purchase the jbj 12 gallon or build my own. I am starting to get really excited to get a system up and running.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I was looking into this as an upgrade as well JBJ 12G NANO CUBE FILTRATION CIRCULATION PUMP UPGRADE - (item 7711617867 end time Aug-27-07 15:24:00 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/JBJ-12G-NANO-CUBE-FILTRATION-CIRCULATION-PUMP-UPGRADE_W0QQitemZ7711617867QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4631 2QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem) . Has anybody tried one of these by chance? Thanks in advance!

[CarmieJo]

That is probably OK but I think it is a little pricey. I'm not sure how much th eLocLine costs but think that a MaxiJet 900 costs <$20. Also, sometimes people who upgrade the stock pumps later have trouble with heat.

[PSH]

Yes the price is kind of up there. You could find a Maxi-jet 900 for about $16. I used a Maxi-Jet 1200 in my 24 gallon with 2 Seio 620's.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Alrighty. I think I am going to get the 12 gallon nano cube today. I will probably have to wait about a week or two to get everything going on it. I would just like to get the setup before they run out. The store had four left yesterday so I think I can manage to still walk out with one today. I will look into the maxi jet. Thanks for all the help. I will post pics when I start making some progress on it.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Well I just got the tank home. I picked up a 20lb of black sand for it. I am going to just wait for two weeks to set the tank up when I get down to the school. The lfs down there said its 82 cents a gallon for water. It looks like I still need to purchase a heater, water tester kit, and salenity tester. The tank seems pretty nice. I am going to build a custom stand I think for it.

[Phurst]

Very cool. I know you're excited to get it up ad running. I just set one of these up myself.

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/member-tank-projects/4656-12-gal-nano-project.html

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Ya I have read through that post numerous times...LOL. I wanted to get everything today to set it up, but I didn't want to stress it out having to move it in two weeks. But the lady there was very helpful and showed me everything they were running in theres. I guess everybody that works at the store has the same tank at their homes. So I am pretty excited. Just debating where I want to get coral for it. The stores are kinda limited and I want more of a variety and different colors.

[CarmieJo]

Tim,

I think that you are right in waiting to get to school to set your nano up. I would advise that once you are there you look for a reef club and/or reefing buddies. Where will you be going to school? Astrivian on TR lives in CO, I think around Denver.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I will be going to school at Colorado State University Pueblo. I don't recall anybody being into reefs there, but its a large school. I will just have to ask around. I will be getting my live rock from uncle, from his coral tank. There are about three places I know of where I can purchase frags and what not from. The free live rock will give me some extra money to add coral to the tank. I will definetly have to post some setup pictures and stuff once I get down there in two weeks just to show it off. Thanks again for all the help and TR is awesome!:up:

[CarmieJo]

I guess I should have figured that out, huh?

[saxman]

It looks like I still need to purchase a heater

i'd hold fire on getting a heater...the JBJ 12's run at about 80*F right outta the box. i suggest you get yours set up and running and see where you end up.

we own 4 "plug n play" systems, one of them being a JBJ 12, which really only holds more like 8 gals and change.

[Phurst]

Yep, I ditched my heater, and it sticks right on 80.

[lReef lKeeper]

man, i guess i am gonna have to throw a NANO together now, everyone else is !! thanks a lot guys, like i don't have enough to do !!

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Hehe. Well I guess once I start making progress on setting it up here in two weeks I will post some pictures. I was planning on holding off on the heater. Only thing I need to do now is price some frags around here or find some good deals online.

[lReef lKeeper]

there are a few people on here that sell or trade them. I am one, Phurst is another, i believe that Carmiejo dabbles in frags too. just let us know what you are looking for my friend. i am sure one of us has it or can get it.

[Phurst]

LOL, yeah, sometimes I think there isn't anything Bobby can't get his hands on. I've got a fair bit of stuff I can frag too. Let us know when you get an idea of what you are looking for.

Good luck on the nano!

[lReef lKeeper]

hey now man, i cant get ENDANGERED SPECIES ... YET !! i AM working on it though, but they wont be for sale.

back to the thread topic now. lol

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I like the following:
Bubble Coral
Kryptonite Candy Cane
Evil Eye Zoanthids
Eagle Eye Zoanthids
Orange Ricordea Mushrooms
Electric Torch Coral
I haven't priced or checked the stores here and I don't know if the one down by my schools sells coral stuff. I don't need very big frags. Just wanting to get a nice looking variety to make the tank pop.

[CarmieJo]

I don't have anything you are looking for at this time. I love the common torch I have in my corner tank but torches have really long sweepers and may not be good choice for a nano.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f198/CarmieJo/DSC_3574.jpg

[lReef lKeeper]

i have the candy canes and orange ricordeas right now, and hpoefully soon i will be adding both of those zoanthids to my stock list.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Ya I would probably be happy with a tank full of different types of zoanthids lol. But a variety would much more appealing I am sure. Do you guys recommend any like feather dusters? Also, if anybody has anything from the list above and is willing to sell me a fairly small piece just let me know a price.

[lReef lKeeper]

i would need your zip code to give an accurate price including shipping, but i will let the ricordea polyp and neon green candy canes (2 heads) go for $20 + shipping. shipping really is the killer of most deals online though (unless you buy enough to justify the cost of shipping).

BTW ... i think feather dusters are great filter feeders, its just to bad my copperband butterfly thinks they taste so good !!

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

lol dang butterfly. My shipping would to be Peyton, Colorado 80831. Let me know. I appreciate it.

[lReef lKeeper]

USPS Express Mail Overnight to most areas $19.50.

see what i mean, it is another $20 just to ship them. i have had VERY bad luck with FedEx so i dont use them anymore. i have not tried UPS but here is their price too ...

UPS Next Day Air&#174;

Billable Weight: 1.0 lbs. By End of Day Tuesday
July 31, 2007 $43.87 USD

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

alright. I would rather spend the few extra on shipping though to get what I want. I will let you know if I can't find it locally here in a few weeks and then I may just have to look into that. Thanks again.