24 Gal Nano Deluxe or 29 Gal Biocube?

[sharkiegirl94]

I've been on this community for a while...but before i was doing a 30 gal freshwater set up. It's been about a year or two and I am thinking about starting a new smaller tank as saltwater. I'm sure this is a new set of challenges that awaits me. I'm having trouble deciding which style and size of tank - very specifically I want a nano reef. I'm against buying any tank smaller than 20 gal because I've read on here less choices, harder to cycle/maintain/etc. I would love to get a Biocube (Coralife) 29 ideally...but they're a little too over my budget and I've heard some negative things about the parts being cheap and needing replaced. My question for that one is: Is it worth the money? My second choice is a smaller 24 Nano Deluxe i saw on Petsolutions.com....but i saw reviews that people had problems with the cooling fans and pump breaking in a time span of 2-5 months. And the filters and skimmer etc not having a cover on the back? That it was open? A gentleman stated it was a "money-trap"...and nobody wants those...but this tank was about $40 cheaper.

Another thing I would like advice on is my fish wish list (say that 3 times fast lol) here's what I've pieced together so far from Petco.com and giving no thought into any corals/critters yet (Let's save that for another day.)

-At least 1 (maybe 2?) Green Chromis
- 1 sand-sifting starfish (I hate snails...but do want a cleaning crew...)
- 1 Jewel Damsel (heard they can get ugly?)
-1 Filamented Wrasse

And i think that's all. Thanks in advanced for your help!

 

[bribo12]

I would do the biocube, just my personal preference if you have to go all in one. I've never owned either tank as I'm more a fan of piecing everything together but the biocube seems to have more quality to it. Now onto the critters. Sand sifting stars are not a clean up crew member, they wipe the sandbed I beneficial critters than die. I'd skip it. The filamented wrasse needs a much longer tank as well. Use liveaquaria for tank size recommendations not petco. They have much more accurate recommendations.

 

[sharkiegirl94]

That's what I originally wanted...hmm...starfish are hard to acclimate too...i thought shrimps but i don't want any getting eaten. XD Thanks for replying so fast! Lol it was a long one! Still I may wait and see what other people say.

 

[sharkiegirl94]

I also am going for color variety on the fish. Green Chromis is a must buy. I just love that little fish.

 

[Bectan01]

If you decide against the all in one tanks I really like the footprint of a 20g long for a reef. A lot of fish like swimming along the tank and the slightly shallower style means lighting can be easier. Like the above poster I have never done an all in one because I too like building from scratch. A 20g can be easy to set up, you can just get a couple of powerheads and use your live rock for filtration (I run a 55 like this) weekly water changes will keep your water in check. Lighting for reefs is if course the expensive part and water, I recommend ro-di for a reef tank so that can be costly initially. Check out firefish (purple are my favorite) and plenty of gobies to choose from (I have a court jester, he's the best) cardinal fish are good too. Damsels can be mean and clownfish can be too so be wary of those...