12 or 24 G Nano Cube

[thomashowardjr]

Hello all, I am about to embark on the nano reef hobby and am trying to decide between the 12 or 24 g nano cube. Is it easier to maintain a larger tank? how much does the additional 12 gallons increase the amount and type of life you can place in the tank? i would appreciate your general thoughts.

 

thanks

[barbadeau]

Definetly go for the larger tank if you have the budget. Larger tanks are always easier to take care of. More tank = more rock, more sand, and more room! Say you spill a capful of coca cola into a 12 gallon tank. It will cause more powerful of a problem than if it was diluted with 24gallons. Or more really. I just bought a 24 gallon, love it so far.

[thomashowardjr]

Thanks. Did you make any mods to your 24g?

[geekreef_05]

Yah, Id say to go with the largest tank that you can afford. You'll have more variety of livestock that you can add and it will be slightly easier to keep/maintain.

[lou52onu]

def. the 24 g. I have the 12 g and there's just not enough light in there and I'm maxed at 2 fish that I can put in there...if you're willing to invest in the hobby don't make the mistake of cheating out of a tank 1/2 the size for ~ 70 bucks. Heck I'd sell mine if i could...

 

 

Food for thought...

[calvin]

what are 24g's going for at your lfs? I think mine is charging $365, but then again they're overpriced on just about everything. Know of a good place to buy one online?

[thomashowardjr]

I can get one here in the DC area for $249.

 

Same as petsolutions.com and no shipping. i think it is a pretty good deal at my lfs.

[calvin]

ever thought of getting a via aqua? very cool looking tanks in my opinion. they even have a 24 gallon version if your heart's set on that. You'll probably want to upgrade the lighting, but you'd probably want to do that with a nanocube as well. Here's the link. http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic...xid=aq-glass-mi

 

the 24 gallon is at the bottom. HTH

[barbadeau]

I only modded the overflow area, covered up a portion of the intake, and notched a bit of teeth to create a spillway onto the sponge. I will eventually do something with the compartments in the back, for now all I have is carbon

[thomashowardjr]

Does the 24 g include a protein skimmer?

[barbadeau]

no skimmer

[thomashowardjr]

Do you reccommend one?

[hesstondc]

I went with the 12 because I already have a 90 gallon and a 24 gallon really pushes the nano idea in general to me. Nano means small and by no means are those things small...LOL

 

Hope that helps

[thomashowardjr]

I was referencing a protein skimmer for the nano cube. 24g.

[Bill35]

bigger is better

[mdt178]

I was not considering a Nano Cube, but I saw the 24G for $175 at a LFS and could not pass it up. Then came the 70W MH kit, replacing the stock pump, moonlight, fugelight, additional fans,...and who knows what!

Funny how much "saving $70" can cost you.

At this point, the cube is still in its wrapping material. I hope to find time for it soon.

[skimmate]

Originally posted by barbadeau

I only modded the overflow area, covered up a portion of the intake, and notched a bit of teeth to create a spillway onto the sponge.  I will eventually do something with the compartments in the back, for now all I have is carbon

 

do you have a pic of how you did this?

 

Did it take care of the surface skimming problem?

[thebrian]

Search for overflow mod. I actually just did this to mine tonight (12g though), and I did it with a sheet metal nibbler from nanocustoms.com. You can probably find these or something similiar at a hardware store though. I then patched the back side of the intake up with a piece of black plastic cut from some backsplash, and secured it with some reef-safe epoxy. If you do the mod, make your slits tall, but narrow, and make lots of them. That way they can handle the flow of your pump, but not let animals through.

 

~Brian