Biocube 29 Stock Lights

[Gary Reynolds]

Hi Folks,

I had a 75 gallon reef back in the 80's during the early years of reef keeping.

With all the the tremendous advances in the hobby, and the slowdown of advancing age, I would like to start another reef. The biocube 29 seems to be quite popular and is a reasonable size. I have searched the forums and found a good deal of info but still have some questions.

Virtually all of the threads on biocube builds end up with a mod to LED lights.
I am wondering how successful the stock lights are. Is sps possible with these lights? I doublt that I would keep sps but am wondering what the limits of these lights are. Is heat a problem?

The rapidlight mod seems to be quite good so I can always go that route. Has anyone been disappointed with these lights? It seems there are no limitations with the livestock that can be kept. And of course they are quite controllable for dawn to dusk effects etc.

Now that Coralife is producing the biocube have there been any rumors of a new model coming out with led's?

Besides lighting, any other thoughts you have on the biocube would be appreciated.

Gary

 

[TundraGuy]

I hate to steer you a different way but with all the other makers on the market you may want to consider looking into them. For instance the JBJ offers in the box ready to go LEDs built into the hood. If your even thinking of SPS then go with the Advanced model it has super powerful Leds in the hood these will have no issue keeping SPS. Plus if your looking for a better filtration design hands down JBJ beats the BC. With features like two return pumps and compartments that are easily accessible for your needs. The biggest complaint I have with the BC is compartment one is closed at the bottom and is kind of just there. The second is that the back is enclosed in the hood so if your going to do things like add a ATO or hang on anything you have to cut the hood. Now one step up from JBJ in looks function and overall design is the new rimless Nuvo. I now have two Nuvo 38s that’s how much I like this model. The back is open even with the glass shield over the top. On mine I have a hang on skimmer, a tunze ATO with both mags used, a heater, a bag of chemi-pure elite full size, an led for a fuge built into the back, and I still have room for probes or other upgrades I may do latter on.

The Nuvo is a beautiful display offering a rimless unobstructed view from all angles. You can also get it in white I got both in black but still it’s cool that you could get the false wall in another color then black. Two overflows allow for two drop in pre filters (included in the kit) inside these pre filter towers are 3 different medias from the factory. One is just a sponge the next is a carbon sponge then onto a Phosphate sponge. Of cores you can run whatever media you want in the towers but coming from the factory with something to help with phosphate removal media is a sign the thing is made by hobbyist not a suit and tie.

I do not have any affiliation with this company I am just a very satisfied customer and have no problem informing others of the product. I started keeping salt water back in 1985 so like you can remember the crazy difficulty in keeping tanks back then. I remember buying corals back in the day and asking “how long can I keep this thing alive till I need to replace it?” Times have changed all together. It’s no longer about how long but rather how many of these can I breed/grow?

Trust me out of the box the Nuvo is right for you. Also being that the lights are sitting on arms above the tank you can add to them or change them out at will. Also I have yet to deal with heat issues.

 

[klwheat]

I personally have the JBJ 28gallon cube. I looked at both the BC and the JBJ. Either one, with the 150/175watt MH built in...is WAY too hot. I constantly had to run a fan on the back of mine to keep the temp down. Now, I have the top off, and a radion handing over it. I like the look of the cube, just not the heat. The upside to the JBJ is that there are multiple usable compartments in the back. I have a mini-skimmer, chaeto/fuge, ATO, etc in there.

 

[Gary Reynolds]

Thanks for the replies so far,

I haven't looked at the nuvo 38 at all but have considered the jbj. It sounds like heat is an issue with the hooded aio'c unless you go with the led's. I like the looks of the nuvo and it comes with leds suspended above the tank. That certainly takes care of the heat problem and, other than increased evaporation, I like having the top open.

I will take another look at the jbj and a hard look at the nuvo.

Gary

 

[TundraGuy]

The nuvo comes with a pane of glass that sits flush with the lip of the tank and it cuts down evap big time. I go through 5 gallons of ATO every 15 days. I use Par 38s in some IKEA paper shades above the tank PAR at the bottom is 290 to 340 depending on where I put the probe.