icenine2005
New member
Aquapod review:
Here is the 24 gallon version of the Aquapod with the 64 watt PC hood. Box it came in from F&S; the packaging is rather disspointing. Just a few pieces of styrofoam protecting the outer edges of the tank and hood on two sides. Much of the tank is only protected by the cardboard walls of the box. There was another box around the "shelf" packaging, but no additional packing material.
The first tank that was sent to me was cracked and with this packaging it is easy to see why that happened. There was not much in the way of visible damage to the outer box, but obviously it had been knocked around during shipping. F&S got another one out to me right away... so far I am a fan of the customer service there.
Here is the crack, again the portion of the glass that was cracked only had cardboard protecting it:
The second tank I recived. No obvious cracks, but I'm looking over it very, very carefully.
Looks to be OK. No visible cracks, bubbles or creases in the glass. ...but does that mean anything? lol.
There were some complaints about the seals posted here and some other forums.... these look pretty good IMO. I also think the laminate backing on the rear of the tank looks OK, that's been an issue for some as well.
Here is the back:
The hood... no clicking when the hood is opened as some have reported with the 12 gallon. There are three rocker switches that work each dual sunpac bulb and the LED independently, even on a single outlet timer. (whew!) If just one lighting cord is plugged in the other is not carrying a current. (double whew! these were the issues some have seen with the 12 gallon version).
When the hood is down I'm not seeing the light bleed through around the edges that I've seen on the 12 gallon.
Lights on:
There is one fan (I'll be adding another or trying nano customs IAC chiller.
The plastic the hood is constructed of seems a bit thin. I would put the material on on par with the JBJ tank, but that is not saying much for it. I fear the hinges will not last long. They operate smoothly, but just seem rather fragile to me.
The rear chambers are laid out to my liking, however they could be a little wider. I'm going to try a DIY skimmer to fit back here at some point.
Some rough measurements:
(I would not start building any stands or modifications based on these, I'm posting them just to give you an idea of the proportions of the tank):
Outside length, width, height (including hood): 17L x 20W x 20H
Inside display and rear chamber measurements:
Water volume without rock or sand: (only the stock pump is present in the rear chambers, sponges were removed) Approx: 22.5 gallons. I filled the tank with one gallon jugs to make this estimate. The display volume I would estimate at around 18 gallons.
Overall, thumbs up for the 24 gallon aquapod (or should it be 22.5? ..lol). It's pretty much what I expected and in general a solid tank, esp at the price it's generally offered. The packaging and hood material are the only real disappointments.
There are a few changes I'm going to make. I can see that I'm going to have to "fish proof" the false wall. There is a gap at the top that will allow fish, shrimp, snails etc to wander into the overflow. The lighting could have been a little more intense. Yes, I know there are MH versions of this tank but I really want a hood on our reef (a child and a cat would be the reason). But.... it's my softie reef that is getting transferred into here, the lighting I am currently running there is pretty much equivalent. I'm going to add an extra outlet to the display for more flow and stick a hydor on the existing outlet.
Now the question is.... how will it hold up? I'm going to hold onto my old 15 gal set up for a while just in case. (and keep things plugged into a GFI)
I hope this post helps you out if you are debating as to whether or not the 24 gallon aquapod is the right system for you. I know that these systems are just hitting the market within the past month, so since I took the plunge early on this one I figured I would post as much detail as I could to help those of you just thinking about it.
Here is the 24 gallon version of the Aquapod with the 64 watt PC hood. Box it came in from F&S; the packaging is rather disspointing. Just a few pieces of styrofoam protecting the outer edges of the tank and hood on two sides. Much of the tank is only protected by the cardboard walls of the box. There was another box around the "shelf" packaging, but no additional packing material.
The first tank that was sent to me was cracked and with this packaging it is easy to see why that happened. There was not much in the way of visible damage to the outer box, but obviously it had been knocked around during shipping. F&S got another one out to me right away... so far I am a fan of the customer service there.
Here is the crack, again the portion of the glass that was cracked only had cardboard protecting it:
The second tank I recived. No obvious cracks, but I'm looking over it very, very carefully.
Looks to be OK. No visible cracks, bubbles or creases in the glass. ...but does that mean anything? lol.
There were some complaints about the seals posted here and some other forums.... these look pretty good IMO. I also think the laminate backing on the rear of the tank looks OK, that's been an issue for some as well.
Here is the back:
The hood... no clicking when the hood is opened as some have reported with the 12 gallon. There are three rocker switches that work each dual sunpac bulb and the LED independently, even on a single outlet timer. (whew!) If just one lighting cord is plugged in the other is not carrying a current. (double whew! these were the issues some have seen with the 12 gallon version).
When the hood is down I'm not seeing the light bleed through around the edges that I've seen on the 12 gallon.
Lights on:
There is one fan (I'll be adding another or trying nano customs IAC chiller.
The plastic the hood is constructed of seems a bit thin. I would put the material on on par with the JBJ tank, but that is not saying much for it. I fear the hinges will not last long. They operate smoothly, but just seem rather fragile to me.
The rear chambers are laid out to my liking, however they could be a little wider. I'm going to try a DIY skimmer to fit back here at some point.
Some rough measurements:
(I would not start building any stands or modifications based on these, I'm posting them just to give you an idea of the proportions of the tank):
Outside length, width, height (including hood): 17L x 20W x 20H
Inside display and rear chamber measurements:
Water volume without rock or sand: (only the stock pump is present in the rear chambers, sponges were removed) Approx: 22.5 gallons. I filled the tank with one gallon jugs to make this estimate. The display volume I would estimate at around 18 gallons.
Overall, thumbs up for the 24 gallon aquapod (or should it be 22.5? ..lol). It's pretty much what I expected and in general a solid tank, esp at the price it's generally offered. The packaging and hood material are the only real disappointments.
There are a few changes I'm going to make. I can see that I'm going to have to "fish proof" the false wall. There is a gap at the top that will allow fish, shrimp, snails etc to wander into the overflow. The lighting could have been a little more intense. Yes, I know there are MH versions of this tank but I really want a hood on our reef (a child and a cat would be the reason). But.... it's my softie reef that is getting transferred into here, the lighting I am currently running there is pretty much equivalent. I'm going to add an extra outlet to the display for more flow and stick a hydor on the existing outlet.
Now the question is.... how will it hold up? I'm going to hold onto my old 15 gal set up for a while just in case. (and keep things plugged into a GFI)
I hope this post helps you out if you are debating as to whether or not the 24 gallon aquapod is the right system for you. I know that these systems are just hitting the market within the past month, so since I took the plunge early on this one I figured I would post as much detail as I could to help those of you just thinking about it.
