Biocube 29g - Is this a good deal?

[Agatheron]

My wife, daughter and I are looking at starting a new saltwater tank. I've posted before asking for some advice. Up until this point, we had largely decided on a 46g Bowfront with an approximately 10g sump. I was in the local Petsmart today and saw that they had a Biocube 29g for $350 CDN including the stand. Price wise this seems really good. At least $300 cheaper than other biocube/stand combos that I have seen. It doesn't come with a protein skimmer, so that much I've been able to determine.

I guess my question is, should we stick to our original plan of the 46g Bowfront, or do we go with the good deal on the self-contained biocube? If so, what are some things that we need to watch for? What sort of protein skimmer would I buy? Oceanic's stock unit?

This isn't a done deal, but the price is pretty decent given other price tags I have seen.

 

[Agatheron]

Sorry for the bump, I was curious if anyone might give me some insight on the 29g Biocube deal.

For clarification, this is not the HQI set, but comes with the standard fluorescent bulbs.

 

[Shark_Bait]

Have you checked your local craigslist for a nice used tank? You could save another 100 bucks or more. I bought a 24gal biocube for 100 yesturday.

 

[Nole_87]

Yea I just paid $400 for a 29 gal biocube and stand with brand new Cree led kit and many extras. In my personal opinion its not worth getting a stock one. It will cost you much more in the long run.

 

[carey]

I paid I believe $339 for my standard cube and stand brand new. I got a really good deal so I jumped all over it.

I wouldnt write off the standard bulb model, it is still capable of keeping some corals, maybe no clams, anemones or SPS corals but softies and some LPS should be fine under the stock lights.

 

[Agatheron]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Craigslist up this way is pretty bare bones, while kijiji is more robust, but there's nothing I can make good use of so far. There's a 110g tank with sump and plumbling and eurobracing for $250, but I don't have space for an aquarium that big no matter how good the deal is!

The Biocube 29 is simply an option we are exploring given that the price seems so much lower than other self contained units. I'm guessing we may still go with our original choice, but we will have to wait and see. Any more thoughts?