Biocube 29 HQI mods and opinions?

[Hammcd]

Right now I have a biocube 14 with stock return pump, korelia 425 in tank, "in-tank" media basket and sunpod 70w...i have the chance to buy a biocube 29 HQI for $275..i have wanted to upgrade for awhile but want to make sure this is a good choice.

 

has anyone had good experiences with the hqi setup...is the light good?...have u had heat issues?..also do u have to have a fuge in it?....there arent a lot of mods yet for this tank..what extras are peeps adding..more powerheads, etc?...do u pull false floors out, remove sponges, etc etc..id be very interested in peoples current setups that they think are working well and problems they have had so far with this HQI setup

 

thanks

[Euphyllia]

The lighting is amazing and I can already see changes (good changes) in color of my zoas, which are about 2ft below the light on the sandbed. There are covers over the filter chambers and they connect in a way where it is impossible for any fish to jump into the back or out of the tank. There are no heating issues at all what so ever. I keep my tank at 74F (night), but it rises to 75F when the lights are on. The only issue I have noticed is that when I feed the tank, the tiny bits of food that goes uneaten floats around in the aquarium for close to an hour. I'm going to upgrade the pumps, but that's the only flaw I see in the design, however it could just be how my rock structure is set up. HTH.

 

EDIT: Overall, I think it's one of the best AIO tanks. I would definitely get it for $275. I got mine for $500 and to me it's worth every penny.

 

Also, they took out the false floor in this model and the filter pad goes horizontally in the middle chamber instead of vertically in the first. If you want to keep SPS the happiest they can be, you should upgrade the pump to something more powerful, which is what I'm going to do. I'm also going to get the Aquaticlife Mini Internal Skimmer thing, which I hear is really good for what it costs.

[Formula462]

The lighting is amazing and I can already see changes (good changes) in color of my zoas, which are about 2ft below the light on the sandbed. There are covers over the filter chambers and they connect in a way where it is impossible for any fish to jump into the back or out of the tank. There are no heating issues at all what so ever. I keep my tank at 74F (night), but it rises to 75F when the lights are on. The only issue I have noticed is that when I feed the tank, the tiny bits of food that goes uneaten floats around in the aquarium for close to an hour. I'm going to upgrade the pumps, but that's the only flaw I see in the design, however it could just be how my rock structure is set up. HTH.

 

EDIT: Overall, I think it's one of the best AIO tanks. I would definitely get it for $275. I got mine for $500 and to me it's worth every penny.

 

Also, they took out the false floor in this model and the filter pad goes horizontally in the middle chamber instead of vertically in the first. If you want to keep SPS the happiest they can be, you should upgrade the pump to something more powerful, which is what I'm going to do. I'm also going to get the Aquaticlife Mini Internal Skimmer thing, which I hear is really good for what it costs.

 

is your tank a temperate water tank?

[Hammcd]

i ran cheatoh and live rock rubble in my biocube 14 for awhile but because i am a neat freak it was too emssy for me...is there a way to run the fuge area without the macro algae...like just filter floss, chemi-pure elite and purigen and having the second half just open possibly ..i dont have a good idea how the flow goes through there and if thats even possible...

 

also i am in atlanta and had heat issues last summer when iw as using the stock biocube pc lights with the hood closed...i have since upgraded to a sunpod 70w and have been worried about the impending summer and the heat asociated with it..im running my 14 open top right now with a poly mesh on it...i guess i am worried ill cook my tank with the glass top provided by the stock hqi tank

 

also does the hqi light itself have glass around it or is the only glass between the bulb and the water the glass that sits on top of the tank?

[Euphyllia]

is your tank a temperate water tank?

 

The only fish I have is a Blue Spot Jawfish. They are collected out of the Sea of Cortez and the temperatures there swings between 60F & 80F during the year. I tried to balance the temperature between a happy jawfish and healthy coral growth.

 

also does the hqi light itself have glass around it or is the only glass between the bulb and the water the glass that sits on top of the tank?

 

It has a little curved glass thingy that is supposed to block too much light from bleaching the corals. I've had no issues with it so far, so I'd say it does its job.

[Hammcd]

so the curved glass thing is actually a pane of glass on the light itself?...how loud is the fan on the HQI?

[Euphyllia]

so the curved glass thing is actually a pane of glass on the light itself?...how loud is the fan on the HQI?

 

Not very loud. It's relatively quiet compared to my BioCube 14 and my RSM 130. The fan really helps cool the light off, and I leave it running 24/7. The tank is in my room and I sleep just fine with the pumps and the fan running.