Nano Cube

[Snoopdog]

I used to have a JBJ Nano Cube years ago, a decent little tank. Mine had the power compact set on it. Fast forward to now, I am thinking about getting into the hobby and a ton has changed. LED is now on the scene, about time because heat was a killer down here in the South. How is LED in the reef hobby? Are people leaning toward it or are things like Halide still the king?

The reason I am asking is because I am really eyeing the JBJ LED tanks.

 

[RioReefr]

FWIW, if I were to start over ...I would have gone with a bigger tank like the JBJ 65 gallon and a AI Hydra 26 LED.
I have a 32G and AI Prime.... and almost everyday I say "if only if I had 2 to put together I would be satisfied".
I don't hate my tank, but its true a smaller tank requires to be on-top of the water parameters more closely. For me personally, something like a 65-75 would have been perfect. A more rectangular-shape as opposed to cubed-shape would have been my choice. Sometimes I get my short-sleeves wet doing some things, and didn't really consider that with my initial purchase. Also in my observation, the majority of fish never really occupy that upper 1/3 in the cube, if it was rectangular shaped I really think they would have been more happy IMO.

Here is a link of what I have gotten (in hindsight):

https://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_Rimless_Flat_Panel_Aquarium_65_Gallon_Starter_Kit_Medium_Large_Saltwater_Aquariums-JBJ_Lighting-JB20862-FIAQML-vi.html

 

[Snoopdog]

I do not have a ton of space though. I also either want to go small, or go home. Reef tanks can be a huge drop of money, my larger tank was a 75 gallon and it was a money dump. I really just want to do soft corals, maybe one small SPS for a test. I am still in the looking phase, nothing solid yet. I do know that space will be extremely limited because of where I will place it.

 

[dtapke]

yo snoop, same situation myself. I had updated my jbj to run 4 PC bulbs back in the day, had been moving from place to place and finally got around to setting it back up. I went with a Kessil 160we and love it. The AI lights seem badass too, but after seeing both over small tanks i liked the look of the kessil way better.

running an open top instead of that awful hood will really help keep your temps down too.

also, the only real reason i went with LED was the cost of putting in 4 new bulbs, replacing the burned out ballast and one noisy fan was going to cost more than just getting a new lamp. but i'm super happy i made the switch.

 

[Snoopdog]

I see JBJ is now making tanks with no rims, still nano size though. This is all still looking around. I have many months before I would even make a move.

 

[swhobbie1]

If you want a smaller tank then LED would be better than MH due to the heat and water vapor that goes with that IMO. In LFS I noticed the Kessil seem to have the same flicker in water that MH did.