Biocube vs Nano cube vs Aquapod

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KatieJ

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
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Hi all! I'm not at all new to this wonderful hobby (had a 55g community freshwater once and currently have a happy, healthy male betta) and have plans to get an Amazon biotope aquarium after I settle back in for my sophomore year of college. The housing regulations didn't have any specific requirements in terms of tank size, and I was looking at cube-type aquariums that are all-in-one, like the Oceanic Biocube, JBJ Nano cube, and Aquapod. Trouble is, I'm a little lost on what to choose!

I think my top pick is the Biocube, kind of wanting to go with the 29g since, after all, bigger = better, but the Aquapod and JBJ ones look pretty similar... didn't people say the Biocube was a higher quality or something? Then again, I heard the bioballs in the back were nitrate factories... would I want to take those out and replace them with filter floss or something?

Since I'd like the aquarium to be an Amazon biotope, I figured I would stick with low-light plants since this would be technically my first time dealing with them (I had a couple of Amazon swords and anacharis, but they died since I apparently didn't know enough about ferts/lights/etc. :'D But I digress.). What tank would be better in terms of light and cost, and filtration efficiency? I mostly am looking at tetras (neons or cardinals, diamonds and/or poooossibly black phantoms) and a few otocinclus, so I'm looking at something definitely 24 gallons and up.

Any help would be appreciated! :>
 
If you're doing a planted aquarim, don't worry about nitrate factories. Fast growing plants will suck it right up if you don't overstock the tank. For the same reason, I wouldn't worry too much about filtration rates in a heavily planted tank. Nitrate factories is a problem for the coral growing folk because coral grows so slow. My last few tanks have been entirely unfiltered. (Although I have to use very pure water change water with them.)

I'd consider the plants I want, and look at what shape aquarium they would look best in, and the lighting they need. Long stem plants look best in a taller tank, ground covers in wider tanks. Wider tanks also have better oxygenation if you have a power failure or some such. (My school used to turn off the power during winter break.) Taller tanks need stronger light to reach ground covers on the bottom.
 
Biocubes are really nice. That's the only one I have so I can only give my opinions on them. I use it for saltwater fish, and it does a good job at keeping the water clean.
 
So I think I'm going to go with the Biocube 29... cardinals, diamonds and either otos or cories are on my stocking list. I think I'm going to go with a whitewater-type biotope, since the Biocube has a relatively strong current that could make fish that live in slow-moving water unhappy.

In terms of aquascaping, I'm thinking moderate to highish-light plants since I heard the stock lighting on these things was pretty high. Someone over at The Planted Tank suggested So I think I'm going to go with the biocube 29... cardinals, diamonds and either otos or cories are on my stocking list - in terms of plants I'm thinking moderate to highish-light plants since I heard the stock lighting on these things was pretty high. Someone over at The Planted Tank suggested these these for a way to give plants all the nutrients they need, but what if I wanted a carpet effect with something like baby tears or hairgrass? What about other plants - if they wanted to spread, would they have any trouble getting their runners/roots "out" of the little pots? I'm curious about this while considering substrate... I really like sand, but am worried it wouldn't allow the plants to thrive unless I had a nutrient-filled substrate under it (still confused about layering... I heard you were supposed to put some sort of divider between the two substrates so they wouldn't mix?).

Another concern I posted on TPT was CO2. Since the Biocube lighting is really too much for a low-tech setup, if I were to inject CO2 there's potential for outgassing issues due to the way the Biocube's filter is set up. How would I fix this? (Keep in mind I'm a college student, so spending hundreds of bucks for a pressurized system is out of the question. :'D I was looking at Hagen/Nutrafin's little systems, would those be okay?) Would I even need to inject CO2; i.e., is there another source of carbon I could use that wouldn't harm anything in the tank?

Sorry for so many questions - I'm learning a lot more than I thought I would! :>
 
Based on my experience with them, the little Hagen units aren't going to do that much for a 29 gallon.

You can run one bulb at a time if you want to stick with low light plants. Or, if you want to try some higher light stuff, you might be able to get away with dosing Excel as your carbon source. The continuing cost can be fairly high, but it might be the easiest thing to do.
 
Thanks, severum! I do think I'll just dose with Excel. I don't have a lot of experience with the higher-light plants; are there any hardy ones out there?
 
Thanks, severum! I do think I'll just dose with Excel. I don't have a lot of experience with the higher-light plants; are there any hardy ones out there?
In general, the fastest growing and hardiest plants are the cheap ones, because it's easy for the supplier to grow. Some mail order places are cheap enough that I just get one of a dozen cheap things and wait to see which ones grow well in my conditions, and propagate that as my main background.
 
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