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

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.

[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.

[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,