Is the JBJ 24 gallon nano cube good for a beginner?

[Daisy]

Hi all, I know that bigger is better for newbies, but we plan on moving in the next year or two, so I do not want to get a big tank at this point and have the hassle of moving it, so I thought it would be nice to set up a nano tank and get into the hobby before going big in our next place.

Will this be a hard tank to sustain for a beginner in saltwater? Anything I should know about, is it a quality setup?

Is it enought lighting for some basic anemones? I would like to place a clownfish with its correct anemone in this tank, some live rock, and invertabrates, its rated at 3 WPG of fluorecent light, and I would like some options if I changed my mind in the future regarding stocking, so I would like it to be reef ready, can the lighting be upgraded on such a tank with everything built in?

It seems like a good deal for $399 CDN with the free stand and free shipping, how does it sound to the rest of you?

And my main concern goes out to anyone who has this setup, I am concerned about the dimensions of the stand, and seems like it would make it very top heavy, and well I have a very curious 2 year old that I worry about knocking it over, anyone know how secure these are? That would be a disaster.

The tank can be found here
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/...ndfreeshipping

[newfound77951]

Good for you for doing research before jumping in!

I do not have direct experience with the JBJ nanos but I know there are other people here who have. 3 wpg of compact fluorescents (which is most likely what the tank has) would be OK for most soft corals like zoos and mushrooms, and possibly some LPS corals if placed near the top of the tank.

If you are a newbie to saltwater I would avoid an anemone. They need well established tanks (running at least 6 months to a year) and are not great critters for beginning hobbyists. There are several corals that resemble anemones that are far less demanding (Xenia, spaghetti/finger leathers come to mind). Clownfish do not need an anemone to be perfectly happy, and they are great fish for a tank that size.

As for the stand, you could contrive some way to attach the stand to a wall, which would stabilize it. With a small child it would also be wise to keep the tank in a common area rather than the child's bedroom, where supervision is not always there. Putting the tank on a solid floor (wood, tile etc.) will make it much more solid than on carpet. It might be possible to find a table that would support the weight of the tank (estimate 300 lbs) that is a little bigger than the tank, but that might also invite climbing up onto the table, too.

[Ziggy953]

I have a 24g JBJ nano that I got from a friend. I also have a 120g reef setup already so this wont be my first time around. I think the tank is built very well and has a lot of upgrade options. Before you buy look into the lighting upgrade. They offer a 150w MH with pc actinic hood. If you are wanting to keep anemones this is a better option then the standard hood. Go to JBJ Nano Cubes Chillers and Lighting | JbjNanoCubes.com and check out some of the upgrades they offer. The price for the 150 upgrade isn't much and well worth it because of the options for corals and anemones as well as clams it affords you.

Personally I think the JBJ nano cubes are a great option and an excellent way for someone to get into thet hobby.

[Daisy]

thanks both of you for your replies, it seems with the free stand offer its a great time to get into the saltwater side of things. With the MH lighting option, I read that these have a tendency to heat up the water, how could I get around this? It sounds like keeping an anemone at this point might not be a good idea anyways, but I would be nice to have the option in the future as I become more experienced. Well looks like I have some thinking to do, if you see me asking lots of questions on the forum you will know what decision we came to

thanks again!

[Ziggy953]

There are some modifications that you can do to the hood to allow heat out. I believe the MH hood has 4 fans in it. The 150w MH can heat things up but the increase in lighting is worth it IMO.