first post, BC29 LED hood vs nanobox retro

[river2strokes]

hello - i did my best to search for this topic and haven't come up with much info regarding the BC32/LED hood replacement vs the nanobox retro large plus. I recently am back into the hobby and picked up a dirt cheap PC version of the coralife biocube 29. after calculating the cost of replacement fans (loud), replacement bulbs (hot, but decent output), replace moon LED (flickers even after contact cleaning), and had intended on adding the x4 additional LED bars for supplemental and additional controller - i've come to the conclusion that my money is best spent on an LED conversion/upgrade to solve most, if not all of my current issues.

 

mostly concerned with output and control

the LED 32 hood/replacement seems quite nice out of the box. i like that the control is built in, but i fear it may be lacking vs what the nanobox may offer.

 

the nanobox looks easy and awesome. I am mostly curious if i can set up a schedule with the app (sunup, sundown, moon) like i would be able to with the LED/replacement hood. also seeing that i may be able to keep some coral that require better than stock lighting, would certainly like to verify this.

 

thanks all!

[MarieH]

I like the 32cube but the hood and light output gets very bad reviews only 50 par at bottom.  The nanobox retrofit looks really impressive.  I'm not sure about the programming, but I believe it can be programmed using your phone app.  I would go with nanobox at any rate for the much better lighting regardless. Same cost.

[river2strokes]

Thanks for the insight. I'm leaning towards the nanobox. the LFS didn't have much to say regarding either of the two options, just that they preferred LED lighting. 

 

If i can program the nanobox i believe I'm sold - i do see that it lists what coral it will support which seems to be a bit better than the stock LED hood, marketing is always at play in these situations though

[MarieH]

You should always go higher than you think you need unless you can control your wants well and stick to what you can keep!  This is always an issue for new reefers, the eye candy is tempting, me included! Good luck whatever you decide, even lowerlight reefs can be awesome, remember that. There are still lots of beautiful softies that can grow well under the stock light.

[river2strokes]

yep completely agree. for several years i worked at a LFS in college. maintained several tanks though the most memorable was a 75gal swimmer with 30gal sump. after that i went a little smaller due to a move and had a 46BF with 20gal sump, 150W MH+ icecap and some PC supplements. it was terribly fun but right now the BC29 seems to be a perfect fit as far as footprint and 'look' in the living room, and thus far my wallet has been extremely happy.

 

i plan on stocking it very slowly. a small swimmer and goby or blenny, a few shrimp and snails. nothing crazy, looking for mild interaction and good color. as for coral i'll be doing that very slowly since I'm uncertain on lighting. cooking up some rock while a few snails enjoy an open cycled tank. found a few bits nearby, media basket, fuge, 115 skimmer and sump light, but was told the tunze 9001 is the best skimmer for the BC29 with the 115 a close competitor. 

 

i'll likely go with the nanobox, as soon as i find out more info on programming.. hoping someone with first hand experience will chime in as well, though it being a holiday weekend i'm sure not much will go on until next week.. oh well.. off to LFS for some food and possibly small bits of rock

 

thanks for the input!

[Lawnman]

Throw that hood in the garbage and open up your options. 

[river2strokes]

I'm aware i would have a lot more possibilities with no hood, but to be honest its in the living room and having the hood has helped with evap rates and keeps the smell at bay (for now), so that's kept me at looking at hood options for the time being. 

[Lawnman]

2 minutes ago, river2strokes said:

I'm aware i would have a lot more possibilities with no hood, but to be honest its in the living room and having the hood has helped with evap rates and keeps the smell at bay (for now), so that's kept me at looking at hood options for the time being. 

Smell  ? If you can smell your tank something isn't right. I can put my face right over my open top and all I smell is saltwater. 

[DaveFason]

1 hour ago, river2strokes said:

I'm aware i would have a lot more possibilities with no hood, but to be honest its in the living room and having the hood has helped with evap rates and keeps the smell at bay (for now), so that's kept me at looking at hood options for the time being. 

Smell you want to run carbon! 

 

As for the kit. The RETRO kit will be a HUGE upgrade. SPS, clams, anemones, etc will be no problem to keep and grow. You can program everything you would need and some.

 

http://www.nanoboxreef.com/videos.html

[fishfreak0114]

I have a nanobox retro on my bc29 and it's great.  Very controllable, and you can grow anything you want.  I find the bluefish app very easy to use as well.

[MarieH]

I leaning toward a biocube 32 using the hood.  Later I might go open top with a hang on prime hd.  It's easy to make a screen top and an ato  solves evaporation prob.  It's a nice tank.  You have a few options. Smell should not be an issue if it's kept clean.

[river2strokes]

No 'bad' smells, appreciate the advice on th nanobox. also have a curious cat and the hood does also keep him out of the tank. I'm not saying the hood is great or anything, but for the time being I think it's my best option. 

 

Thanks!

[river2strokes]

I'm realizing I'm likely smelling the previous owners/residents leftovers. purchased this and the stand used from Facebook marketplace

[kcamp317]

I haven't checked out the nanobox kit but I will now.  The used bio cube 29 I recently purchased had the PCs in it as well, cheap version.   The deal came with a Steves LEDs retro kit that hadn't been installed yet.  I installed it into the lid but I just didn't like all the excessive wiring, controllers, external power supply, etc that was involved with the kit.  I'm sure its a good kit but its just way too much "stuff" hanging around for the clean and simple look I'm wanting to achieve.   I'll probably sell it along with the stock PC lid I installed it into.   I happened upon an almost new stock Biocube LED lid at a local LFS and stuck it on for now.....it's at least better than the cheapo PC lid I had.   Maybe down the line I'll look into a much simpler retrofit kit but I'm not planning on a wild SPS or extreme light demanding setup...at least not for now and I also want to keep the lid on the tank.

[river2strokes]

please post your thoughts, sounds like you have experience in the areas i need answers in

 

recently picked up used inTank media basket, fuge, 115 skimmer - nice to have proper filtration. tank is on week 6, not in a hurry on the lighting as i don't even have a fish yet, 2 very small nassarius, 2 reg sized star snails are the only inhabitants thus far. i don't plan on having any coral for months so I'm in no rush on the lighting end of the setup just yet. the stock PCs are working, but i fear they are older and need replaced for proper growth to happen. i don't see why i would replace them at this point if i plan to do the retro fit in the near future.

 

also started a QT/macro tank in the basement from an old pro clear aquatics media sump i somehow kept over the years. had plenty of extra sand, a small fluval pump and small stealth heater leftover from the glory days, and have always wanted to grow some macro for kicks (and a safe haven for pods and the like). the tank came with a small chunk of LR with a patch of chaedo which is now starting to grow. it will get WC water and once the chaedo has gotten big enough i plan to fill my fuge upstairs with some homegrown  

 

one quick question that is off thread topic - i'd like to stock the QT tank with something that will help with the biological system, maybe play in the sand a bit to move things around. snails obviously would work great, just wondering what else is 'sick fish safe', thought maybe a brittle star but even those could grab a sick fish I'm sure. there's got to be a small critter that is helpful in some way..

 

thanks all!