gmen4life

has anyone bought a bio cube kit and would it be all you needed besides live rock?

harpua2002

I used to own the 8 gallon Biocube and really enjoyed it. Current USA's Aquapod and JBJ's nanocube are other brands of essentially the same tank, so if you find a better deal on another brand that would be ok too. What are you looking to do with this tank? Even in the 29 gallon you are still somewhat limited on stocking (no tangs, angels, wrasses, etc. for example), but you can still have a very nice looking setup with a Biocube. Do you want a reef? The lighting is included and is adequate for many soft corals and some easier LPS. No SPS or clams would be possible though, unless you choose a brand that offers an HQI model.

There are other things that you'll need besides live rock. You'll need some aragonite sand unless you want to run a bare bottom tank. A hydrometer (cheap, but inaccurate) or refractometer (more expensive, but MUCH more accurate) to measure specific gravity/salinity is a must. An RO/DI unit is not necessary, but helpful. Tap water is not recommended for marine systems, as it can lead to algae issues. You can buy RO/DI water at your LFS or from the machine at Walmart, etc., but that gets old pretty quick IME. You'll need a marine salt mix unless you are buying premixed SW from your LFS (many sell it, but mixing your own is a lot cheaper). Also, many people use a powerhead in cube tanks in addition to the stock pump.

gmen4life

yeah i have power heads and all that laying around anyway but in the cubes im not sure they come with skimmers and now you mention it a tangless tank wouldnt make me happy lol ...... well anyway i may just do something better and set it up as i want was going to buy live sand and 1lb of live rock per gallon i probably will buy the best rock i could find does it pay to order it shipped?i dont really care about being cheap i jst want it done right no skimping i never want just enough filtration i like much more then needed

harpua2002

The cubes don't come with skimmers. You can run a nano without one and just do weekly water changes, and as long as your stocking levels are good it should be fine. Live sand isn't necessary. Plain aragonite sand will become live in time.

gmen4life

see i at first wanted to do like a 40 gal or so but then seen the bio cube and thought it was neat so here i am re thinking everything what i read anything 40 and up is more foregiving as all tanks are so......still lost

harpua2002

It's true that bigger tanks are more stable. They are also a lot more expensive. And, if you wouldn't be satisfied without a tang in your tank, you'll need to go quite a bit bigger than 40 gallons. Even the smallest species of tangs need a 75 gallon minimum, IMO.

gmen4life

hmmm see i may have to do the 106 lol its not on display at lfs the owner said make an offer the glass is like real thick on it would be a perfect salty deeper and taller not much longer then my 60

PufferofDoom

the biocube does have a custom protein skimmer for it, but its sold separately.

Overall the biocube is a great nano to mid size tank (depending on the size).
No way you could keep tangs though, they need maybe around 70 gals minimum, and even that is debatable depending on the species. good luck!

gmen4life

well i dont want to be limited so i suppose bigger is always better lfs has a oceananic in the back that need a bit of silacone its a 106 gallon maybe ill offer 50 for it lol

PufferofDoom

lol, have fun, and good luck!

gmen4life

**** MTS is killing me had to paint basement so its clean and fresh for my mts they keep appearing

caymansarah

Hi I have a 29gall bio cube and would say 2 things....I have had a number of fish jump over the divide between the tank and into the filter - I have probably lost 3 or 4 fish this way and rescued many...I now have cut a strip of net/window screen stuff and placed it to provide a barrier so they can't get over...just something to think about on that.

the other thing which could be peculiar to my tank but it sprung a leak after 1 1/2 years - we have resilicones around the base on the inside and seems fine now.

But besides those problems - I love the aesthetics of it and get lots of compliments...just be wary of the fish jumping hazard which really posed a problem..I had to return a firefish (saltwater) to the store because it kept getting terribly damaged and injured whenever it jumped over - and then once I changed to fresh, lost a couple ofneon tetras and a platy fry - and rescued several platys because of it.

PufferofDoom

Lol, it is a strong syndrome!