Is a Biocube worth it?

[MistahKrabs55]

Is a 32 gal. Biocube worth it for my soon-to-be ocellaris clown pair? Also, please vote in my poll!

 

[Spare time]

What all are you planning on putting in there?

 

[MistahKrabs55]

What all are you planning on putting in there?

I said what I want to put in it in the post, a pair of ocellaris Clowns, and thats it, no anemone or anything

 

[User1]

What all are you planning on putting in there?

They said clown pair. I'm pretty sure you meant in addition to or what the bigger picture / vision is Not trying to nit pick.

OP - biocubes are nice little tanks. Lots of options for modifications if that is your think or should you start to grow certain corals. Hoods can be modified to accept LED's be it DIY or over the counter. Can drill to add sumps. Can remove hood and add several over the counter lights be it Kessil, Ecotech, etc.

Two things come to mind regarding the biocubes having owned a pair.

1. Heat
2. Flow

Heat - depends a lot on lighting and you may not have a issue. Both of my 29 gallons I went after market LED's and had a bit of heat trouble in the summer here in Northern California.

Flow - as the tank matures you will want to increase flow. Internal power heads take up room and honestly you don't have a lot depending on rocks, substrate, and coral growth.

Something to think about. I replaced the return pump they included and that helped flow a bit. Then added in a RW4 or 8, forget which, and let the reef angel controller manage the flow patterns. That was probably the sweet spot and once done didn't have any issues keeping any corals or clams. Later took them down since I was tired of managing 2 tanks and consolidated them into a 40 breeder then finally a 210 gallon.

Nice tanks though - popular for a reason.

Edit: I kept a pair of clowns and a rose bubble tip anemone. Was fine.

 

[ps2cho]

What I really dislike is the curved glass. Its easy to scratch because its hard to clean. There are plenty of other AIO options that don't suffer from that problem.

That is why mine went in the trash years back and I'd never go curved glass ever again.

 

[MistahKrabs55]

They said clown pair. I'm pretty sure you meant in addition to or what the bigger picture / vision is Not trying to nit pick.

OP - biocubes are nice little tanks. Lots of options for modifications if that is your think or should you start to grow certain corals. Hoods can be modified to accept LED's be it DIY or over the counter. Can drill to add sumps. Can remove hood and add several over the counter lights be it Kessil, Ecotech, etc.

Two things come to mind regarding the biocubes having owned a pair.

1. Heat
2. Flow

Heat - depends a lot on lighting and you may not have a issue. Both of my 29 gallons I went after market LED's and had a bit of heat trouble in the summer here in Northern California.

Flow - as the tank matures you will want to increase flow. Internal power heads take up room and honestly you don't have a lot depending on rocks, substrate, and coral growth.

Something to think about. I replaced the return pump they included and that helped flow a bit. Then added in a RW4 or 8, forget which, and let the reef angel controller manage the flow patterns. That was probably the sweet spot and once done didn't have any issues keeping any corals or clams. Later took them down since I was tired of managing 2 tanks and consolidated them into a 40 breeder then finally a 210 gallon.

Nice tanks though - popular for a reason.

Edit: I kept a pair of clowns and a rose bubble tip anemone. Was fine.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I liked my old 12g biocube. Good setups.

 

[MistahKrabs55]

Im gonna move to Poland real soon, like in a year or two, so IDK how the temp there would affect the tank. And no, im just starting off so i wont go for corals nor anemones, im too scared about their sensitivity to water changes. With that said, should I still change the pump if im only gonna have an ocellaris pair and thats it?

 

[MistahKrabs55]

I liked my old 12g biocube. Good setups.

Im gonna try to get 32 gal, cause as I've heard, the bigger, the easier.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

I have 1 and as my first tank it is pretty nice. I bought it online used for $200 with the stand and the Steve's LED upgrade so that also helped me go that route. That being said I also know that when I buy a new tank I dont want to do the All In One style. It's really cramped space so your options of upgrading are drastically limited.

@saf1 makes a good point though, the flow isnt that great in the tank with just the pump. I have 2 hydor's and Im not exactly happy with them, they take up a lot of room as mentioned.

All in all though, it is a good tank and pretty reliable. I currently have 2 clowns, a bicolor blenny, a firefish and a pink streaked wrasse in mine. Growing LPS and Zoas fairly easy and going to attempt some Monti's starting tomorrow. If you want any tips on the build or things I have learned in the process please feel free to reach out.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Im gonna move to Poland real soon, like in a year or two, so IDK how the temp there would affect the tank. And no, im just starting off so i wont go for corals nor anemones, im too scared about their sensitivity to water changes. With that said, should I still change the pump if im only gonna have an ocellaris pair and thats it?

You shouldn't need it, most flow is aimed toward feeding filter feeders like corals.

 

[Johniejumbo]

Im gonna try to get 32 gal, cause as I've heard, the bigger, the easier.

I would have like a 32. At the time I move around a lot and the 12g was my “travel” tank. I have a clown pair and a few corals in it with an old yellow watchman goby. I moved that tank 6 times in 5 years. It held up nicely!

 

[kstripp]

My two cents - I briefly had an led biocube (I think size 14) that I was going to use as a QT... but it had temperature problems like @saf1 mentioned. House at a reasonable (mid 70s) temperature, no heaters, and the tank never went below mid 80s. We decided to return it and got a nuvo fusion instead. Seems to be much nicer quality and has no thermal issues.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

What I really dislike is the curved glass. Its easy to scratch because its hard to clean. There are plenty of other AIO options that don't suffer from that problem.

That is why mine went in the trash years back and I'd never go curved glass ever again.

I havent had much of an issue with the curved glass, I have a plastic scraper that I got from inTank that works perfectly on those curves.

 

[Water Dog]

Here’s the thing... at first, you‘ll say that you won’t put anything other than a pair of clowns in the tank. But then, as you progress in the hobby, you’ll want to go beyond just fish. Once that happens, the stock lighting in the Biocube hood becomes quite limiting, and the costs to upgrade the Biocube hoods are quite expensive. Removing the hood and running an aftermarket fixture over the hoodless Biocube is an eyesore IMO. If I were starting with an AIO, I’d get something like an Innovative Marine NUVO 25 or 40. I speak from experience as I once ran a Biocube 29 with Nanobox LEDs retrofitted in hood.