Im going with the 29gal biocube. Going to add the Sapphire Nano Skimmer BC29R, Koralia Hydor2 circulation pump, 100watt submersible heater(not sure which one yet.) Going to put live rock rubble in chamber 1, skimmer in chamber 2 and chamber 3 as is. Tank base will be aragonite live be carib-sea 40lbs, 30lbs fiji live rock(cured.) I will most likely add a lighting upgrade down the line but I believe its fine for what im going to put in the tank. Does this setup sound ok? If anyone has some different suggestions i would appreciate it. Would also like some suggestions for coral and fish when I get to that point.

Thanks

well u can keep only about 4 or 5 fish in that set-up. for heaters go with all-glass aquariums.

__________________
I'm so sorry I haven't been on the forum in so long! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this lovely website! I moved to a different county back in May 2011 and started high school in a totally different school district. So I'm still adjusting and studying hard, and don't presently have any aquariums. But once I do, I'll be right back on this forum!

I love my BioCube! Heres a link to my build thread if you want to check it out:


Maxheadrooms 29G BioCube

__________________
"Guns don't kill people, the government does" - Rusty Shackleford

Might think about using magic mud, not sure about the heater my light seems to keep it pretty warm, I'm thinking about a small chiller because I want to go with a brighter lighting system. I do not have a skimmer and have no problems, My Refug has LR in chamber 1, Magic mud in chamber 2, Magic mud and Micro algee in 3 and dual powerheads in 4.

I had a 29g biocube and i try growing stuff in it with the stock like and my polyps took for ever on the growing.But you can always upgrade to a MH pendant or even better you can switch the PC in the hood for T5 thats what i did with mine and i even had hard coral in it very nice looking tank's good luck on your setup bro .

__________________

Don't add live rock to any of your chambers. Will cause nitrate issues down the road Live rock in your display is all you need for biofiltration

__________________

How does the Biocube 29gal compare to the Nano Cube HQI 28gal. That is what I'm considering. I know the Nano is more expensive by about $200, but comes with protein skimmer, 150watt Metal Halide lighting, and dual 266gph flow pumps vs the Bio's single 316gph. I'm planning on doing corals and/or maybe an anemone with a few fish. Do I need all the extra, is it worth it?

__________________
Why so serious!!!

Lighting is always worth the upgrade. The MH is pretty good that it comes with. What type of anem are you thinking of keeping? There are only a few that work in nano tanks. But you can keep SPS corals with this light.

The skimmer is junk and most replace it with the Tunze 9002. Overall all AIO tanks are about the same and you end up upgrading. The NC looks better with a MH light. An open top BC with a MH is fugly.

__________________

150w is goinf to be around 5.3w per gallon thats good for any type of coral you want
softy and hard coral when i had my 29g biocube i had a metal halid pendant (150w)
and i had every type of coral

Attached Images

ecocube-hqi-pendant.jpg (44.2 KB, 3 views)

__________________

Using watts/gallon to compute what corals you can keep really doesn't work well with reef tanks. You can have 6 watts/gallon but if you have PC lighting it is not even close to 6 watts/gallon if you have MH lighting. All about PAR and type of lighting

__________________

Gotta agree with StevieT all the way! Lots a good advice, one doing a AIO would would be wise and listen closely.

Depending on your room temps, type of lighting and size of tank you can often control temps with fans. I do not have a chiller on my tank and run a pretty bright MH/T5 light.

__________________

being that I have chamber 1 empty, I gather that adding some Live rock in there won't hurt then would it? My cube consists of;

a Phosban reactor 150 (after a little modification to the hood) that's powered by a 245 gph utility pump and a CPR SR3 Skimmer in Chamber 2 of course. 40 lbs of live sand and about 20 lbs of crushed coral make up the sand bed with about 25 lbs of live rock round out my substrate. The Bio Balls have been tossed out and there is no other filtering media. I do however have on order some Seachem Purigen and am replacing the stock pump with Maxi-jet 1800 475 gph.

A Koralina 1 powerhead and Hydor FLO Rotating Water Deflector round out the water flow.

Stock lighting. I have some Green stars and some button Corals, but man am I itching for some colorful variety, but at the same time keeping the Coral maintenance around the low-medium spectrum.

Suggestions?

Yes, live rock in the rear chambers can hurt. Same principal as bioballs, don't put any in there

__________________

Cool, I'll leave it empty then. I was going to put my Purigen in there, but I'm reading that I should put it in a low flow area. Chamber 3 then?