Aquapod
- Thread starter bears
- Start date
fenrir
Member
It's good, if you can find an oceanic BioCube at 29 gallons for a similar price I would go with that one for the couple extra gallons. Also keep in mind when they say 24 or 29 its counting it as a whole you will probably end up with 20 gallons for the aquapod and 24 with the biocube.
seannmelly
Active Member
ah yea....your not going to find 1 for 50 dollars
seannmelly
Active Member
im confused......
seannmelly
Active Member
oh ok got ya
seannmelly
Active Member
i think they are good you can buy them with a 72 watt hqi did you know that?
clay12340
Member
You can use a standard 29 gallon tank and set the whole thing up a lot cheaper as well as have more space. If you are going reef there isn't really much advantage to the built in filtration on the aquapods. You are just going to pull the media out and it will basically be dead space or a container for LR rubble. The hood will also prevent you from using a reasonable skimmer unless you are willing to cut it up as well.
If you just absolutely love the look of the Aquapods I'd say go for it, otherwise you are overpaying for the power compact versions. The 24g aquapod with the 150w HQI fixture is more expensive at $299, but it is a better deal for what you are getting in my opinion. It also doesn't have the hood so you can actually put equipment in the tank without needing a saw.
If you just absolutely love the look of the Aquapods I'd say go for it, otherwise you are overpaying for the power compact versions. The 24g aquapod with the 150w HQI fixture is more expensive at $299, but it is a better deal for what you are getting in my opinion. It also doesn't have the hood so you can actually put equipment in the tank without needing a saw.
rabid frog
Active Member
Clay is absoultely correct. The aquapods are a waste imo, you would be better off buying a 29 gal tank, hqi lights/pc lights, skimmer and still come out about the same price w/o a overated system.
Basically all the remains of my original aquapod is the glass tank itself. I pulled the crappy hood off, you will notice your pod will run about 84 degrees, nothing you can do about that other than buying a iceprobe (I think that is what is called) It is basically a nano chiller. I took all the flitration out of it, it causes high nitrates. The filtration is crap and you will most likely want to replace the powerhead it comes with. Especially if you are thinking about going the SPS route ( they like an extreme amount of flow). You have to plug up the bottom slots of the intake part of the filtration to make the top slots actually surface skim. the system as a whole is flawed.
Make up your own mind, but I think you will find that most people have modded the crap out of their pods. You would be better off just starting with a normal tank.
Basically all the remains of my original aquapod is the glass tank itself. I pulled the crappy hood off, you will notice your pod will run about 84 degrees, nothing you can do about that other than buying a iceprobe (I think that is what is called) It is basically a nano chiller. I took all the flitration out of it, it causes high nitrates. The filtration is crap and you will most likely want to replace the powerhead it comes with. Especially if you are thinking about going the SPS route ( they like an extreme amount of flow). You have to plug up the bottom slots of the intake part of the filtration to make the top slots actually surface skim. the system as a whole is flawed.
Make up your own mind, but I think you will find that most people have modded the crap out of their pods. You would be better off just starting with a normal tank.
clay12340
Member
I wouldn't call it a complete waste of money. I like mine well enough, but you are definitely correct about the modding. Right out of the box they simply arn't well enough designed to run as a reef tank. The value for the money on the HQI setups isn't bad and I really like the Current HQI fixture.
Things I would do on day 1 would be:
A.) drill a bulkhead in the back acrylic panel to install an ice probe or drill a few more to plumb a sump. Even if you don't use this you can put a cheap fixture to seal it and have it for later without emptying your tank.
B.) Seal a piece of black acrylic over the bottom intakes and try to fill in the holes with a black sealant.
C.) Remove the lock lines and add a hydor flow or some other wave making device.
D.) Drill another hole in the front panel to allow for a second output.
E.) Add a Maxijet 1200 or some other PH.
F.) Possibly add a third output hole and Maxijet 1200 if you need the flow rate.
While that is 6 changes and sounds like a lot keep in mind that you could do it all in a few hours and for under $50, so it really isn't that bad and they are very slick looking tanks. I'm reasonably pleased with my 12 gallon. I just wish I had spent $40 more and got the 24g with a 150w HQI and thought of doing those things before I started the tank. If you're looking for reef tank on the cheap this isn't the way to go, but they do look nice. A little DIY work will save you a ton and teach you more than a pre-boxed solution ever could.
Things I would do on day 1 would be:
A.) drill a bulkhead in the back acrylic panel to install an ice probe or drill a few more to plumb a sump. Even if you don't use this you can put a cheap fixture to seal it and have it for later without emptying your tank.
B.) Seal a piece of black acrylic over the bottom intakes and try to fill in the holes with a black sealant.
C.) Remove the lock lines and add a hydor flow or some other wave making device.
D.) Drill another hole in the front panel to allow for a second output.
E.) Add a Maxijet 1200 or some other PH.
F.) Possibly add a third output hole and Maxijet 1200 if you need the flow rate.
While that is 6 changes and sounds like a lot keep in mind that you could do it all in a few hours and for under $50, so it really isn't that bad and they are very slick looking tanks. I'm reasonably pleased with my 12 gallon. I just wish I had spent $40 more and got the 24g with a 150w HQI and thought of doing those things before I started the tank. If you're looking for reef tank on the cheap this isn't the way to go, but they do look nice. A little DIY work will save you a ton and teach you more than a pre-boxed solution ever could.
petjunkie
Active Member
I have the 12 gallon pod and really like it so far, I have the halide over it and when I bought it the light was $220 by itself and the tank with it was $280. You could do it cheaper by buying all the components and diy but I was tired of looking at hang on stuff so I bought this. The only mod I made was to change the powerhead to a Maxijet. I hate the idea of buying an all in one tank and modding the crap out of it, defeats the purpose completely. If you're looking at SPS though you might want to just set up a tank so you can customize flow and lighting better and add a separate fuge.
bears
Member
Ok well I think I will just try to make my own with my I think 20 gal. tank, it is (I think) 24" long 12" wide, if anyone knows a place that you can get cheap MH lighting can you please e-mail me it mine is ahhhhhbears@hotmail.com
Thanks
Thanks
chellie4u2
Member
I have a 24g aquapod and love it!!!