Coralife BioCube 14 light/fan hood upgrades

[MikeNYC]

I have a Coralife Biocube 14 and its been working for the past 4 years.  In the summer I have trouble with heat, so i reduce the lighting schedule and the fans are noisy.    I am thinking of replacing the hood with the new BioCube 16 LED canopy. 

 

Does anyone know if the new LED canopy in the biocube 16  ($175) is less noisy and creates less heat?  

 

Also was looking at the NanoBox Retro Kit ($265).   Does anyone have experience with this as well?   Does it work well? How is the heat? 

 

I have a couple of clowns and xenia coral.  Not thinking of going heavy on coral but might want to add a few more pieces.  Finally was thinking of just getting a light and remove hood but am worried about too much evaporation and fish jumping so would go with a plastic clear lid but cant find anything like that.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

 

[seabass]

I have had a clownfish jump before.  So it can happen.  However, I've also kept clownfish in open top aquariums for years without a problem.  I suppose that aggressive tank mates can potentially make jumping worse.  A mesh top is a common (if not prudent) solution.

[Oldsalt01]

Any fish has the potential to jump if properly spooked. I had terrible issues with heat in my 14g non-led. Its just the nature of the cfl’s. I tried a 10mm computer fan on a temp controller attached to one of the holes on the back of the hood. Didn’t work and upped my evap rates. I finally pulled the hood completely and made a cover from Eggcrate which I hinged using zip ties. My evap rates are still high, about 8oz per day but no issues with jumping. The curve on the front of the tank makes using a mesh top problematic. I got a used Hydra 26 with a used controller for $100, and am quite happy with the setup.

[banasophia]

I have the Biocube 16. It had heat issues over the summer so I got a Chill Solutions nano chiller and that took care of the temperature fluctuations. I really like the programmability of the Biocube 16 LED lights, the way the lights ramp up and back down for sunrise and sunset, and with the three different lighting channels on at different times of the day it’s cool how different corals really stand out at different times throughout the day. Growth was pretty slow in my tank with the stock lights, so I intentionally stocked invasive soft corals to compensate.

 

Here’s a thread I did about the chiller a while back:

 

 

[uwharrie]

I have Steve' LEDs in my 29 Biocube ( came second hand that way) If I had a choice I would go with the Nanobox refit.  I still have issues in summer with heat due to the pump. skimmer and GFO running in the back. I just keep the back cover flap open and temp runs about 78. I have cats and do fiber arts ( am a spinner and weaver) so there is always "stuff" in the air. Top keeps stuff out of the tank ( along with keeping fish in)

 

[MikeNYC]

1 hour ago, banasophia said:

I have the Biocube 16. It had heat issues over the summer so I got a Chill Solutions nano chiller and that took care of the temperature fluctuations. I really like the programmability of the Biocube 16 LED lights, the way the lights ramp up and back down for sunrise and sunset, and with the three different lighting channels on at different times of the day it’s cool how different corals really stand out at different times throughout the day. Growth was pretty slow in my tank with the stock lights, so I intentionally stocked invasive soft corals to compensate.

 

Here’s a thread I did about the chiller a while back:

 

 

That's a great idea to keep the temp stable,  I am just worried about the extra hoses to fit in back and the extra pump in the tank as well with any leaks that may happen from the water constantly moving outside the tank.    I am just trying to keep it as simple as possible.  I initially got this tank and the clowns for my kids 4 years ago,  they are bored with them and now I am into the saltwater hobby.  The clowns started making babies about a year ago and have been consistently doing so every 12 days or so, unfortunately they die and i don't have the time or space to feed the fry live rotifers, I wish they would stop having babies.   I also live in an apartment and the building has rules about tanks and sizes etc.

[NanoKen]

I have the 29g version of your tank, I ended up ditching the hood and purchased the Nanobox Duo.  Great light!  I made myself a top using egg-crate, painted it black and looks pretty good.  Evap went up so I purchased an ATO.....goes through about 5 gallons every 7-10 days.  

[banasophia]

2 hours ago, uwharrie said:

I have Steve' LEDs in my 29 Biocube ( came second hand that way) If I had a choice I would go with the Nanobox refit.  I still have issues in summer with heat due to the pump. skimmer and GFO running in the back. I just keep the back cover flap open and temp runs about 78. I have cats and do fiber arts ( am a spinner and weaver) so there is always "stuff" in the air. Top keeps stuff out of the tank ( along with keeping fish in)

 

 

@Wyatt45 got the nanobox retro kit and wasn’t happy with it, ended up recently going back to Biocube 16 stock lights. Maybe he’ll chime in with additional details. 

 

 

[FISHnChix]

Had great luck on my 32 biocube with the nanobox duo in the hood.  Zero heat issues running a tunze 9001 skimmer, return pump, 2 korrliaas, and mp10 .IMO it depends on the tempature of your home. Where I live in the summer there isn’t a day under 100 degrees but we have solar and keep the air set on 69 all day..

[uwharrie]

22 hours ago, banasophia said:

 

@Wyatt45 got the nanobox retro kit and wasn’t happy with it, ended up recently going back to Biocube 16 stock lights. Maybe he’ll chime in with additional details. 

 

 

What did you not like about the nano box?

[banasophia]

3 hours ago, uwharrie said:

What did you not like about the nano box?

Not sure if @Wyatt45 is around, but I think he had issues with the installation and also didn’t like the phases of the lighting as much as the Biocube 16 lights...

[Wyatt45]

Hey there. I had a few issues with the product. If you wish to PM me I will be extremely specific.  However, with the stock lighting you get white light and blue. With the nano you only get blue.  

 

Secondly, and more importantly, I came home to find my water very low, pump gurgling and saw that the LED had burned through the acrylic cover on the hood.  Had I been out longer??? Who knows.  All BAD. 

[Wyatt45]

[uwharrie]

Yikes

 

[rknott]

I just stumbled on this thread and was looking to see how this ended up. @Wyatt45 where did you end up with your melted lid?  Mine looks similar.  I just email Dave Fason to get his thoughts.  At a minimum I need a new shield.  For those of your that took your shield off let me know, I would buy your old/throw away lid if for sale.

 

I bought by bicube 14 back in 2012, awesome setup and running ever since, except the lighting solution that I have never solved.  My corals did better with the T5s.  I went with the retro back in 2017.  Although, it is possible, maybe even likely, this is because I have a black spot blocking NN% of the light.

 

I really like the clean look with the lid installed along with minimal evaporation.  As for heat, I stuck a little fan in the back that I bought for $10 that kept in cooler in the summer when I was running the stock T5s.  It has a crooked head and would hang in the holes in the back of the tank.  I can send a picture if interested.  I haven't used it in recent years because we have AC and it would never get above 82.  And while that is hotter than I usually run, I didn't see impact to the corals.  Albeit I am just running LPS and softies.  Evaporation was significant with the fan running.  Another reason this lazy reefer was willing to let the tank run a little hot.  Thinking about it, I suppose the LED retro is probably the other main reason I don't need it.