Comparing Stock Filters of Aquapod, Biocube, Nanocube

[GreenBarb]

Hello to everyone!

 

I've been doing about 3 months of research to get back into freshwater fish. My small dorm will only allow small tanks (e.g. 14 gallons or less), and I was trying to compare the filtration set-up for the three all-in-one set-ups.

 

I understand that there are many upgrades possible (e.g. the pump, types of materials, etc.) but I wanted to know everyones opinion on the filtration out-of-the-box

 

The aquapod has 4 chambers

1.) Sponge

2.) Ceramics and Carbon

3.) Bio-balls

4.) Pump for water return (160gph)

 

 

The biocube has 3 chambers

1.) The replaceable filter (mechanical + carbon) filtration, which seems to be exactly the same as the hang-on-the-back power filters

2.) Bio-balls

3.) Pump for water return (137gph)

 

 

The nanocube has 3 chambers (I dont know the set-up, just guessing)

1st.) Sponge filter --> Ceramic --> Carbon

2.) Bio-balls

3.) Pump for water return (106gph)

 

I really couldnt find a picture on how the filtration is set up for the nanocube online (can anyone find one, or paint one?)

 

It seems to me that the Biocube has the easiest filtration set up to maintain because you simply have to just replace the mechanical/carbon filter every couple of weeks.

 

I do like aquapod's 4 chamber set up more than the Biocube's because you can simply just add any bags of whatever to the other chambers.

 

It seems that all of the 3 all-in-one aquariums are made of glass, have switches for the 3 types of lights (daytime, nighttime, LEDs), and basically have a religious following by different people.

 

Oh, and the Biocube and Aquapod both allow flow of water into the filtration area near the top and at the bottom (e.g. Two intake holes), while the Nanocube has 1 intake hole near the top.

 

Has anyone had any problems with fish getting trapped in the back by either swimming through the holes, or with falling into the Aquapods built in protein-skimmer?

 

So in the end, which filter is best stock, and which one is the best or easiest to upgrade?

 

Again, I think the aquapod's filtration set-up lends itself easily for upgrades due to it's use of walls/barriers to manipulate flow.