Oceanic 14gallon...feedback please

[jjj1100]

Hello everyone,
I am thinking about getting an oceanic 14 gallon and was wondering what everyone thought about them. Are they ok to go out of the box or do I have to do any modifications to the unit for flow or lighting.

Pics would be great to see

Or would someone recomend I go with a Nano Cube, or Aqua Pod???


Thanks!

 

[birdbait1]

Well first and foremost is to say i am a newbie to salt but have a couple decades in fresh water. I bought the exact tank your questioning about to make a small reef. I too questioned this tank in another forum and most people seem to like it. It is pretty good out of the box but everyone convinced me to loose the bio-balls as they would be trouble later on. This ended up very good for me because in this chamber is where I now keep a small heater. From what I see the tank is worth it.

 

[CitS]

Here's the biocube mod.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1051464

 

[jjj1100]

thanks for the responses...so do you think biocube is the way to go? or should i look at others also

 

[milsaltnewbie07]

go Biocube i just got the 14, and i love it however i do miss 55 that i just sold

 

[cmb88]

hya

hya

I bought one after much research!! I love it..sooo simple..i also lost the bio balls and the filter cartridge.. I keep a small heater in there as well. I love it!! im soo obsessed with it..Check out my thread!!! in the nano forum..cmbb gl (there are pics there)
as it turns out after 14 lbs of live rock..it only holds about 8.5 gallons of ro water!! but its great..I kept it on dark cycle 5 weeks just to be sure..then added cleaner crew..now adding shrimp etc rics..i also was a freshi tank girl, but now im converted..STABLE system you will love it!! GET IT!!!

Also side note..The lights are great!! no modifications to anything yet..although some zoas wont appear to be as bright..I am only doing zoas, rics, xenia..goby/pistol etc..no lps, sps, clams etc..cause of limitations on lighting etc.....I do 1 gallon (10%) water change once a week!! LOVE IT..feel free to go to my thread if you have any questions

here are a couple pics of my set up..thread has more..

b4 the sand settles first day

cave ready for pistol/goby!!

 

[Reno Reef]

I have a 14 BC and an Oceanic 33G. And as much as I do like the BC (which only has about 15 lbs live rock a molly and a small piece of GSP) but I think if I could do it over I wouldnt buy it again.

The mods I did to mine are as such.

Ditched the bio balls. replaced with LR
Widened the overflow from chamber 1 to chamber 2
Ditched the filter media
got rid of the stock PH and replaced with MJ 1200 I also did one hell of a mod to make the flow as random and increased as possible.

I ended up ditching my heater because the MJ 1200 and closed hood keeps this tank around 79-81 degrees.

Here is a pic or 2 of my flow-overdose mod.

and from the front.

 

[SOULEMAN]

thats a cool mod for the flow.. i think its pretty smart there..

 

[kingfisher62]

Check out the mod thread mentioned earlier!
I have pulled the bioballs and replaced with LR rubble, pulled the filter cartridge and sponge and put a little filter media on the drip tray. I also keep some chaeto growing in the display.
All in all i have been happy with my biocube but the stock pump could be stronger I have added a power head into the display tank

 

[hammerswinger]

I have a bio cube 8, i know not the same tank but all i did was replace the stock pump with a MJ600, heater in the back chamber and bio balls removed and replaced by rock rubble. Works great. Only thing i wish i would o repositioned the output to the middle chamber to get more even flow distribution in the tank.

 

[roader247]

I also have a 14 gallon Bio Cube, I put my heater in chamber 1 cut a little bit of plastic out between chamber 1 and 2 removed bio balls and all filter pads and sponge in chamber 3. I scraped a square of paint off on chamber 2 and mounted a box with a light for a fuge, works great no nitrates at all.. and changed the pump to a minjet 606 and put a rotating Hydor on to move the flow around the tank. I have a wall hammer zoo's xeneia and some yellow star polyps. every thing has doubled in size Good Luck

Mark

 

[hammerswinger]

oh yeah i cut the plastic between chambers 1 & 2 also

 

[jjj1100]

thanks for all the replies...now i am confused if I want to do the 14 or the 29....hmmmm decisions decisions decisions

 

[cmb88]

oh yeah

oh yeah

i also have a powerhead in the 14 gallon oceanic!! umm bigger is more money!! MONEY PIT!! if money not a prob go bigger..if you want to keep it clean simple and managable start small!! gl

 

[kingfisher62]

The larger tank will be more money but it will also be more stable and more forgiving to mistakes. Oh, I see you have a 300 gallon reef so I am sure money is not a concern!

Just a note . things are a little tight when it comes to cleaning the glass with the 14g. I sort of regret not getting a little large one but we just wanted a smaller one for the bedroom!