Help me decide

debbie

debbie

Active Member
Okay I recently moved everything from my 3 gal into a 5 gal, (water, sand, filter media etc) I am not happy.....

My little fixture 9" coralife is okay but did better on the smaller tank of course. The other thing I hate is the filter, I love the AQ and have the mini running on this tank but they give off a touch of splash just enough to cover the darn light cover that protects the bulb. Not a big deal I wash it often but it irriates me.
So now I am left with a big decision and see if any of you can help me with this.
1. Keep the current system, replace the fixture with the 18" current usa nova extreme 2 x 18 watt t5 HO.
2. Buy the 8 gal oceanic biocube aquarium
Wanting lots of feed back here please, which one would you choose and why??
 
turbo_teg98

turbo_teg98

Member
I would go with the biocube simply because I'm a fan of the biocubes and I also like the idea of having a bigger tank. But thats just me.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
Deb,
as you know i have the 3g and the t5 fixture is doing amazing! people say you can or cant keep sps with that light and my sps are doing amazing

remember every tank is different. i have the steps to mod the aquaclear into a refugium and the t5 will be amazing!
 
jtt

jtt

Member
you know, if it were me, I would upgrade to the 8 gallon tank, you can fit a lot more mini corals in there, you have room to expand, and depending on the bio load, you could fit a few little fish in there too, maybe an army of clown gobies.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
I say upgrade to the biocube.
Reasons-
1- more fish
2- more corals
3- back chamber can also be modded into a fuge that WONT splash like you say it does now
4- won't make salt creep on light (well, it will, but you know what I mean... Its contained)
5- nice looking tank, rounded corners, etc...
There are a few more reasons. I just think that it is really nice looking and I think it'll make you a lot happier.
JMO
 
halamaya

halamaya

Member
If you have the money to spare i would go to the biocube also. My LFS had an 8 gal setup on their counter. It was amazing, they had it loaded. I switched from a 3 gal with the 18 watt coral life light to a 10 gal. So I could keep some fish. I have a Purple firefish, green clown goby, tailspot blennie, Rainfords goby, and a yellow cleaner goby. Big difference in what you can keep.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
So let me ask for the biocube folks here, how much actual water area in gal is the 8 gal bio when you take out the room for the filter area??
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
Originally Posted by Debbie
http:///forum/post/3229812
Nissan can you give me the steps for the aquaclear fuge??
  • Your first step will be to remove the media basket and cut off the sides. Regular scissors worked fine. I then trimmed the two longer edges of the bottom portion to get rid of the ridge. Not necessary, but I did it anyway.
  • Next, apply a bead of Aquarium silicone to the two short edges of the grey mesh grid.
    Place the grid on the inside edge of the main chamber of the filter. This will keep the chaeto or whatever macro you'll be using from spilling out into the tank.

[hr]
IMO if you already have the 5gallon then why would you waste more on the 8gallon. yea the reason they gave above are great dont get me wrong but arnt the biocubes in canada cost more????
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Thanks Nissan for that info and I am going to print it out so I do have it on hand.
Yes i would be gaining nothing more with the biocube so that is out and they are quite expensive here too. The other issue with them is their ballast system and fans are crap from what I have found out today.
On the more bad news side, that light you have. Our lfs has 4 huge beautiful saltwater tanks in their home and all of them had the current usa nova extreme lights of course alot bigger than the 36 watt one and they have had nothing but issues with them. They are right now fighting with the company for some sort of compensation for these lights as they spend thousands of dollars on them. The big complaint is their ballast system fails after a short while.
I wonder if we get different lights than you all do in the USA maybe they send the crap into Canada, would not suprise me.
They have told me they will not order this light for me as they are not willing to put up with another return and more fighting with the company. So now this is 6 different people here that have had issues. So I am going to stay with what I have for the time being till something better if it does comes along.
I sure hope yours will be good and you don't have these problems.
I am going to move everything back to the 3 gal tonight. I have had it, I am going to keep my rics and zoas and the rest can go. My critters wills stay but I am just not willing to spend anymore on this hobby if we cannot get decend stuff here.
I don't mean to sound harsh but its so darn frusterating.
It was working for me just great so I guess "if it aint broke don't fix it" as the saying goes.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
I am thinking about that too. The cost of the replacement bulbs are just about the same as the fixture.....

But I can get them cheaper at a place in Vancouver when I go there the fixture i have to order from Ontario.
Now let me ask you this, if my tank is 16" across the top. I order the 12" coralife pc with legs will this work over my tank or not??
The wattage of this fixture is the same as the t5 being 36 watts. The only difference is that its a pc not t5 and different company too.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Hello, I am going with the 12" aqualight 2 x 18 watt pc 50/50 for one main reason only. I can get bulbs for this fixture at 4 different places including here in my home town. It takes the same lights as the biocube tanks and as long as they are still selling those then bulbs are easy to get.
The T5 fixture I have to have those bulbs shipped to me as no one here or close by sells this fixture nor those bulbs so it really does not make sense to buy something one cannot get the bulbs easy for.
I just posted a question about the mounting legs though with the pc fixture.
The tank is 16" across, the fixture is 12" across if I get the mounting leggs for this fixture will it still fit the tank??
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Oh Nissan you are just so tickled pink that I have gone with the T5's you just cannot control yourself......

I am very excited to about it, hubby won't be though, see how long it takes him to notice a new light fixture...

I just got a new frag of zoas for free, they are a lovely colony for sure and about 30 of them. He said they were eagle eyes, will see when they open. I also bought some live rock pieces today so I can get these zoas spreading on them.
Got a fish to but will pm you about that
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
kk.
im going crazy about the lights

cant wait to see pics of the zoas! i also got zoas myself

and more lr the better meaning more corals

woohoo!!!!
 
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