Nano Cube or Nano Tank?

[A340]

Having many upon many of years on the freshwater side, the time has come for me to set up my first SW tank.

Now, even though Nano Reefs are not reccommended by some for beginners to start off with, I have decided this is the way to go.

Which tank to use is my question. A LFS has a 12g or 14g (can't remember exactly) nano-cube style system for $260, which around here is a great price. Comes complete with the required lighting, filteration, protein skimmer and such. However, it has been my experience with freshwater, that most aquarium kits are next to useless and only provide the bare minimum for equipment.

Now, I could go with standard 10g tank and purchase everything else seperatly, which will come up to more than $260, but at least than I know my equipment is adequate and can customize it.

So, I ask you Gods of Saltwater ..... complete system or build your own? Let the suggestions come!

Thanks for all suggestion and replies in advance .... :thumb:

[zackish]

I just went with a 10 gallon tank because I think stuff is easy to upgrade...like lighting.

[TowBoater]

Actually them nano cubes and such are pretty good. When I had a nano reef I had a tank, lights, and a power head and that was it, not protein skimmer or anything. Your own personal preference but I think the nano cube would be fine because when you get to your own tank you may get carried away on customizing and you will find that is were all your money goes.

[Rue]

I'm of 2 minds...I'm happy as a clam (and I can say that now!) with my RSM...but now that I have a clue as to what I'm doing, it does have limitations...for myself I would luv to have a refugium and that can't be done with my all-in-one...

Ultimately an all-in-one is cheaper (provided you're not hit by the modification bug) - but is more limiting...

If you like to fiddle, I'd suggest doing separate components...if you have no desire to fiddle, then go cube...

Keep in mind that the nano is a lot more maintenace with less room for error...however, it's not like you're a rank beginner, so as long as you're aware of that...it's not a problem...

[cocoa_pleco]

if the nanocube has good lighting, go for it. for reefs, 1-3.5W/g is low light, 4-7.5w/g is medium light, and 8w/g+ is for high light corals. low-medium light isnt bad or anything. you just cant have high light corals, but you can have a amazing reef of low light corals.

[A340]

Everyone pretty well brought up the points that I am having the dilema with.

The Nano Cube is affordable, all in one, ready to go and has everything you need (plus looks quite nice IMO), but it does offer limitations with filteration and lighting, really, you have no options. Also, what if the filter decides to quit? How can you get it fixed without moving everything into another tank?

The classic tank is a step by step process where you can choose what you need, want and spend as much money you want to. This takes more time and research to find what you really do need (which is not a problem, but can be overwhelming). Biggest downside to this, is that you can end up spending lots and lots of money, too much for a nano reef IMO.

Rue also brought up the point with Nano's being more maintanence and less room for error. Agree 100%, however, I find it also makes you more attentive and you learn quicker. Also, the cost of mistakes are lower in a smaller system although, they could add up if you don't pay attention.

Cocoa brought up the issue of lighting, this is one of my biggest concerns that I have with the cube system, I have seen systems with metal halide and systems with flourescent, but not both. Also, timing the lights seperatly, so the blue actinic lights go on before (and stay on later) than the full spectrum/daylight lights is another issue I'm concerend with.

Grrrrr, so many decisions, not enough money .... :hmm3grin2orange:

I don't know, I figure for $260, it's worth a shot. Can't really go wrong with it. Hmmmmmm ...... (scratching head)

[zackish]

I have a standard 10 gallon tank as my reef. I had a HOB hanging around, I bought a $20 50 watt heater. I got a 130 watt total light which was unecessary for a 10 that costed me $130. A bag of sand was $15 and bag of salt was $15. The tank itself was $12. Hydrometer $7.
I think that is less than $200. You can get away for around $200 I think for a regular 10 gallon tank. For some reason it seems like I am forgetting stuff but that is the main stuff.
After that the LR and livestock costs as much as you are willing to spend.

[cocoa_pleco]

hmm, well, alizee, if the nanocube is a good company (OSCAR, hagen, allglass, etc), go for it. if its some unknown foreign tank read lots about it then make a decision

[A340]

hmm, well, alizee, if the nanocube is a good company (OSCAR, hagen, allglass, etc), go for it. if its some unknown foreign tank read lots about it then make a decision
Good advice Cocoa .....


i called the store today and said it was from JBJ, they are the only one's I've seen around here other than the Red Sea Max (which at 29g+5g isn't much of a nano tank ... ;) )

Some specs .....

12g
48w lighting (2 x 24w 50/50 CF) with built in cooling fans
106 GPH flow

..... here's the link:

http://www.jbjnanocube.com/

It's the 12g deluxe.

Zackish: What light are you using? I've been having problems finding a decent one that'll fit a 10g.

[cocoa_pleco]

with 4W/g on the nanocube thats not too bad, you cant be a full reef pro with high light corals but it does the job.

if you wanted to use a regular tank, bigals has 96W lights for 10g's. dont know if vancouver has a store but here theres 2 stores. you can go in store or online. what i did for my 10g was get 2 40W fixtures and make one actinic, the other daylight and hang them over the 10g

[Rue]

...speaking of size...the man who coined the term 'nano' defined it as 20g and less...

...but for some reason many reefers think they're entitled to their own definition and some say nanos are 50g or less...duh...

I prefer to stick with the original definition proposed by an expert in the field...but that's just me...:28:

[cocoa_pleco]

to me, micro is .1-5g, nano is 5g-20g, reef is 20g-125g, and ocean is 125g+

[A340]

with 4W/g on the nanocube thats not too bad, you cant be a full reef pro with high light corals but it does the job.

if you wanted to use a regular tank, bigals has 96W lights for 10g's. dont know if vancouver has a store but here theres 2 stores. you can go in store or online. what i did for my 10g was get 2 40W fixtures and make one actinic, the other daylight and hang them over the 10g
I've seen pictures of your light fixture, isn't it like 6 feet long? :hmm3grin2orange:

Will take a look on Big Al's site though, just to see what I can find.



...speaking of size...the man who coined the term 'nano' defined it as 20g and less...

...but for some reason many reefers think they're entitled to their own definition and some say nanos are 50g or less...duh...

I prefer to stick with the original definition proposed by an expert in the field...but that's just me...:28:
As any man will say, it's not the size of the tank that matters, it's how much live rock you put into it ..... :hmm3grin2orange:

(Sorry, couldn't resist)



to me, micro is .1-5g, nano is 5g-20g, reef is 20g-125g, and ocean is 125g+
I've also heard the term Pico Reef for really, really small tanks.

Anyways, I also got a call from the store today, they said they just received a shipment of Oceanic BioCubes in for the same price. So, I guess I'll have to take a look at that one as well and do a bit of research on it.

I would like to eventually (meaning in the next 5 years) get a really nice reef tank set up, somewhere in the 55-75g range. So this little tank will be just to get my feet wet.

[cocoa_pleco]

sounds good!

lol, yes, the lights on my 10g are as long as a 55g since they 40W, but i hung them over. since ive had 80W the orange zoas have tremendously multiplied.

i found someone selling 400W MH lights for 20$ here used so im done with fluorescent on reefs

[zackish]

I think reef is bigger than 20.....even a 29 is kind of small for a "reef"
To me personally...I like to think of reefs starting at 55 gallon...maybe a 40 breeder.

[cocoa_pleco]

some people have amazing pico reefs, including this 1g

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21727&cat=514

[A340]

some people have amazing pico reefs, including this 1g

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21727&cat=514
Amazing what is all possible, huh?

Anyway, it looks like I'm going to go for the Oceanic BioCube 14g. I took a good look at it on the weekend, and it looks like a good unit to start with. The flowrate on the Oceanic is better (137gph) as opposed to the JBJ's 106gph (the same as Oceanics 8g). The lighting is the same on both, 2x24w CF but the Oceanic also has 2 x Lunar LED's. The rear lid for the filter also opens seperatly on the Oceanic, the JBJ needs you to flip open the whole top.

Also, I've found many sites for modifications you can do on the units after you buy them. Pretty neat stuff.

[cocoa_pleco]

the lighting is pretty fair so that nanocube sounds good

[Rue]

Now that the tank choice has been made...the REAL fun begins! Hurry up and post pictures! :hmm3grin2orange: :14: :hmm3grin2orange:

[A340]

the lighting is pretty fair so that nanocube sounds good
It can be bumped up to 96w after a small modification, but it didn't say anything about the PAR or NM ratings, but for such a small tank, I don't think those will be much of a hurdle.


Now that the tank choice has been made...the REAL fun begins! Hurry up and post pictures! :hmm3grin2orange: :14: :hmm3grin2orange:
I'll be picking it up within the next couple of weeks but I'll def make some pics and post them through out the different stages of set up.

[cocoa_pleco]

if you could get 96 watts that wold be really good, that counts as about 7W/g which is medium-high light

[A340]

Just to give this thread a bit of closure. I ended up with an Oceanic BioCube 29g. I was looking at the 14g but after a recent weekend trip to Vancouver, I saw the 29g for $100 less than it was at my LFS, so it was too much of a bargain to pass up.

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for a thread on the progress of my very first SW tank .... :19:

And thanks to everyone for their input and advice on this thread. I appreciate it .... thumbs2:

[cocoa_pleco]

congrats on going for a medium-large tank! it will be worth it!