Biocubes?? any good opinions?

[gbeef]

Well im back with the freaking bug again..! i knew i shouldn't of walked into the fish store. Anyways im looking at the cube models instead of buliding from scratch.

for those for have biocubes are you happy with them? im looking at a 29gal model Any problems? Or would you suggest JBJ?

Hows the flow in these tanks? do i need to purcahse anything else like a heater? fliters? upgrades?


Im a pretty experinced reefer, ive owned 7Gal 50Gal and a 30Gal... all broken down and sold off due to moving or not enough time. I'm thinking about FOWLR..... but that may change with basic zoos. and polps.. You know how it is.

[sharuq1]

Honestly if I was to do it again I would just get a regular tank and do lighting etc. the way I wanted to (would probably be cheaper in the long run--unless buying used) However, many people like BC's and they do look sleek. I like my biocube, but it just wasn't flexible enough for me when I wanted to upgrade my equipment. If I wasn't such a gadget geek it would probably be fine though :lol:

To consider:
1. tend to get hot--may need a chiller or fan
2. replace stock pump with an MJ900 or 1200 if you want to decrease some heat and increase a bit of flow (stock runs fairly warm-I never did this though)
3. switch fans for lights so they come on when actinics come on
4. make sure one fan is blowing in and one out (manufacturer screws up sometimes)
5. difficult to hook up a sump or other equipment without modifying or doing away with the hood entirely
6. will definitely need more flow. Seio820, koralia 1 or 2 would probably work
7. heater recommended for night/shifts in temp.
8. toss the bioballs, can use chamber 2 for a fuge, for lr, for media....and the filter is not "needed" per se, but if you want to use floss just replace on reg. basis
9. may want to widen space from chamber 1 to 2
10. 2 skimmer options I know of if you want them to fit inside with the hood; sapphire nano skimmer, BC skimmer. I have heard the BC skimmer is not terribly great, the sapphire is pricey
11. Stock lighting is fine for softies, you may want halides if you do other corals, but that all depends. I have seen some very nice mixed BCs, even with anemones. Halide will of course increase your heat. Also if you go to nanotuners.com there are diy lighting options that add more light/better fans etc.

All these are options you can think about. People run them stock as well.

[REDNECK_REEFER]

I've had a 14g biocube set up for about 2 yrs now and I have no complaints at all. The only small detail that you should not overlook is that you won't be able to grow any sps in the tank. Lps does OK, and leathers and all soft corals that are meant for pc lighting are good. My tank has not had any weird things happen to it at all. Pretty much maintenance free. You have to buy a heater and maybe a small powerhead for flow in the 29g model but for the most part theyr're pretty reliable.:mrgreen:

[Jason McK]

My Wifes 14G Biocube is garbage
Heat is an issue
Ballast went within the first month. Customer service from Oceanic was garbage. Thanks to J&L I got a ballast with in days Oceanic took 3 months
1 of the fans went a couple of days after the first ballast
1 of the LEDs went after 3 months. (I only run then 3 hour a day)

I really like the all in on concept but if it where me I'd stay away from the Biocube

J

[gbeef]

whats the evaporation like in these. I like the concept of having everything contained, my other tanks had crap hangging off them. looked burtal. Im not interested in SPS.. it will probly be Zoos./ric and mush..

that sucks about the tank failing are these problems still occuring? I was also looking into JBJ but back in the day ive been hear stuff like CRACKING!... :(

[Chaloupa]

My 3 biocubes have been a different story....I have only had 1 ballast in 1 of the 3 go...all other lights have been perfect....LED's no problem...heat hasn't been an issue at all......and I like them. I have no complaints with the Oceanic Biocubes....my are/were all 14g.

[castaway]

I have to agree with REDNECK_REEFER and Chaloupa
I have a 29g and have had no problems.
No issues with heat and even during very hot weather evaporation is minimal.
I've added a hydor nano powerhead and the oceanic skimmer and it is pretty well maintenance free.:mrgreen:

[hillbillyreefer]

JBJ has the cracking issue fixed. The newer tanks with serial numbers are ok. I've had one for almost a year. The lighting crapped out on me. Now I run open top with a
150w sunpod. It gets warm but not bad enough for a chiller. I lose between 1 and 2 litres of water a day. For the cost of the tank I would not buy another AIO, it was good to get me going in the salt world.

[levi1803]

I have a 14 gallon Biocube and love it so far, I've had it for about 4 months with no issues at all. I haven't had any heat problems and the evaporation is very little with the top fully closed.

[Ian]

In my limited time with thses I really like it. No heat issues lights and fans all worked perfect out of the box. I have added th Bc skimmer and a koralia 1 so far and am in the process of turning the back middle campartment into a refugium.
I can see that I will have another of thses in the future,

[oilfieldsafety]

As for the evaporation rate, I go through 2l of top off water every month, which is nothing to speak of. As for component problems I am told by a buddy who owns a lfs that the 14 has had far more problems than the other two sizes.

[ElGuappo]

I have a 34g red sea max. it seem to ok i am close to the one year mark all is still working. i added a koriala 1 behind my rock wall to blow out debris and had a nano in fr added flow, recently had to move it to a hospital tank. i have now found it you cross the two flows upward it is good enough. i keep zoas, rics, mushroom,buble coral, torch coral, toadstool, gargonian, and a BTA. acro will not live. Trust me:sad:

i really have no complaints. just a few mods is all.

1. replace biomedia with LR rubble. (bags are too hard to get too to rinse)
2. Cut filtersponge in half. (Reduces flow a little)i run carbon atop this when needed.

3. May need a second powerhead for flow. (depending on corals) The right side has lots of flow, as with the botom. the left side has far less.

[Keri]

I'm actually fairly happy with out 8 gal biocube even though I just use it as a quarantine/frag tank now that we have the bigger ones. I don't find heat or evaporation to be an issue, but it's not in a hot room (only about 75) so I think that helps.

We did have one ballast go on us a couple months after buying it and we contacted the company and they sent a replacement no problems.

When it was set up as a nano reef everything in it was really happy and growing well.The filter cartridge is a little sticky to get out but that's probably "user error" rather than a fault ;)

I would recommend them, and I like that they're glass rather than acryllic...I'm hard on the algae and acryllic wouldn't work for me.

[reefy]

I have a biocube for 3 years, They are really nice specially with the stand, I found that heating is a big issue for me, therefore I plumbed to my main tank 2 weeks ago. good luck dude..

[OCDP]

Hey gbeef, did you find anything yet?

user 'matix' has a pretty sweet deal on here currently.. i'm sure you've seen it already though.

I have had my tank setup for about 8 days now... and it sure feels good to be back!

[gbeef]

Im still looking, got the freaking bug again i walked into golds and thats end of story.... It kinda sucks! i sold my 7 gal a couple years ago i should've kept it. I want a Biocube because i want a nice looking tank with no wires and light hanging off it.

I saw matirx's tank i would be all over it except theres no lid:( I want something with a lid so i dont have to auto top off (cuz i have had mishape before)

Either or i may break down and buy new but i want to avoid it if possible. Its kinda crazy i had people offer a nano cube for like 800.00 for a cube!... with no chiller running PC and not the greatest livestock.

Im just going to wait till a decent deal comes along. How about yourself i see you found somthing?

[fishytime]

The rsm is the one to get IMHO. Better lighting options. Skimmer. Timer. One plug into the wall. Looks good.