The Buzz, CurrentUSA NC, any dirt?

[steelhealr]

Probably..but....gonna have to wait....the present model is not equivalent to the 24G NC. I'm going to have to design one of these myself. No one seems to be able to get it right. SH

[ccjung]

Its wattage is a bit decieving, but I think the lighting output should kick the stock JBJ's butt.

 

They opted to go with Parabolic reflectors as opposed to the flat reflectors of the JBJ. That alone should contribute to more useful light.

 

Also, there are some claims, although I havent run independent tests, that the Sunpaq's have much higher lumen output per watt than others in the industry.

 

I'll have to get it on my bench to find out.

 

Chris

[doveofgrace]

So should i stay with this newer/ improved jbj 24 or look into the aqua? i guess i have about 2-4wks to decide.

 

Wish there was more info to go on.

[Fishfreak218]

well the nanocubes glass is 3 mm thick and this is 5mm thick so there is less chance of it cracking....it is also cheaper (well at my LFS it is..$150 for a freaking 6g. and 200 for 12 and 300 for 24g)..also current is a much better/reliable company IMHO

[emoutz]

Not enough light or value.

 

I could pretty much get an oceanic 30g cube (around 200) and a metal halide lamp (100-150) for what it would cost to buy and upgrade the pod. All you seem to get with the pod is the streamlined look. Anyone up for designing a hood that will fit a 30g oceanic tube and give it a 150w MH and the "nanocube" integrated look?

[emoutz]

PS The POD looks SO much like the nanocube that I smell a lawsuit in the making.

[kinetic]

so the only good thing about this aquapod is that it has thicker glass? that's what I'm collecting from all of this.

 

does it come with filtration systems etc? Or just a tank and lights?

 

can we buy it without the lights?

[Cellenzweig]

PS The POD looks SO much like the nanocube that I smell a lawsuit in the making.

JBJ doesn't make Nano-Cubes, they just import them. There are several other brands sold in China that are exactly the same. From what I understand, Current bought the rights to the design from the manufacturer in China. Is this correct Chris?

[kinetic]

Originally posted by doveofgrace

So should i stay with this newer/ improved jbj 24 or look into the aqua? i guess i have about 2-4wks to decide.

 

Wish there was more info to go on.

 

what's the new one? when's it coming out? what's improved?

[trekbear]

Hey SteelHealer,

 

I think Chris hit the nail on the head here in respects to lighting on the Aquapod.

 

The flat reflector in the JBJ will not produce as much usable light as the Parabolic reflector in the Aquapod. I have seen the CurrentUSA PC lighting next to Coralife PC lighting and though the wattage was less in the Current fixture the light was brighter/more intense. (It could be the combination of 6500K/10000K for dual daylight and the 7100k/O3 Actinic Dual actinic helping in the brightness too).

 

So, I am going to be cautiously optimistic here. I may even put in a Pre-order to have as a back up for the JBJ I have right now

 

HTH,

TrekBear

[icenine]

Well hey, there has been a lot of anticipation regarding the release.... (and a healthy amount of speculation as well) so a little disappointment from some people is to be expected. I hope it does as well drawing new reefers into the hobby as it's competitor had.

So... if Current really wants to heat up the buzz among nanoreefers they will become a sponsor of this board (nr.com being the nano mecca it is) and give a few of these away in a contest or three.

[ccjung]

Whats different about the Current USA line is that they (CurrentUSA) have been involved in the design of the product from the ground up.

 

Where other companys go to china, find a product and relabel, Current has started from a clean slate, addressing many of the shortcomings/disadvantages of the current products available on the market.

 

When looking at wattage, its important to understand that its not always about "watts". Reflectors, lumen output, and spectrum are the name of the game. I can assure you that with thier "Nichia" phosphors and higher lumen output, watt per watt, the Current system will others to the curb.

 

They didnt design this tank to be the end all or the ultimate, they designed it to be an affordable solution that could potentially outperform others on the market.

 

The "end all" is what we do here at nanocustoms.

 

I will have access to many tanks (without lights) that we will be modding the "crap" out of, once they get into our hands.

 

I have also been authorized to post pictures of the "sunpod" unit which currently features 70w HQI, but will also be available with a 150w model.

 

Also, the supercube is under development, with some conceptual designs being kicked around here in the office.

 

This tank (Aquapod) and many other awesome products will be debuted at the "Superzoo" show in vegas next week.

 

Chris

[emoutz]

"When looking at wattage, its important to understand that its not always about "watts". Reflectors, lumen output, and spectrum are the name of the game. I can assure you that with thier "Nichia" phosphors and higher lumen output, watt per watt, the Current system will others to the curb.

 

They didnt design this tank to be the end all or the ultimate, they designed it to be an affordable solution that could potentially outperform others on the market."

 

Not to continue being the voice of criticism, but I think that everyone was anticipating that, with all of the thoughtful mods people have done on their nanocubes, a new design would be much more innovative. How about a built in protien skimmer, better/more flow, much better lighting, slightly bigger capacity (say 30g), built in refugium lighting (which is the only thing most people use the back chambers for anyway), and better cooling/air circulation.

 

What we have here, at this point, looks like a JBJ nanocube with thicker glass and (if the hype - and that is all we have now - is to be believed) slightly better CP lights. They may be good CP lights - but it is still 64w of CP lights over a 24 gallon tank.

 

Basically it looks like CurrentUSA is just trying to make a nanocube that doesnt leak.

 

I dont see any reason, in terms of price and performance, that someone should buy the AquaPod rather than putting together their own system. I mean, it really isnt even a close call in my mind.

[doveofgrace]

koden

 

When i reported my broken nc to the seller (rep. ebay seller), he informed me that: Great, Well good news and bad news. Good news is you got one of the older units without the serial # which means when we get you out another one it will be a newer model.

 

Bad news if it was a 24 gal I am 100% out and will be for 3 more weeks as the next container has not arrived to JBJ with the newest models. I can get it shipped out as soon as they arrive but this is the first shipment of the newest models which are going to have a different glue and stress tessed before leaving the factory. NOBODY has any of these in stock as the first overseas shipment has not made it to jbj yet.

 

So i'm not sure if they changes the glass or if there are any other bells and whistles. I'm also having to keep the old lighting system and media stuff (they're only sending the tank.

 

One more thing to add: it might have different molding.

[doveofgrace]

Well i decided to see what i could find out about the sunpaqs so i could get a lil better idea.

 

lighting chart

 

It lists Aquarium Size(length X width X depth),Reef Tank with Soft Corals and Live Rock Only, Reef Tank with Soft Corals, LPS Corals and Live Rock, and Reef Tank with Soft Corals, LPS & SPS Corals and Live Rock.

 

I don't know if this helps or not ..since they dont say specifically what two lamps/ bulbs they use in the aquapods( i could be wrong.)

[Fliger]

Did I miss it or are there any other pix other than the one stock photo? I'd love to pre-order one but man, I wish I could get more info. Also I'm confused on the 70W MH. There's an Aquapod 12G with 70W MH? What's the cost?

 

Can we get pix of the back chambers? The underside of the light? The ballast? Just wondering how moddable these are. Is the fan better than the stock JBJ? The pump not as hot? Does the skimmer create evap water drop only in the last chamber? Are the dims any different than the NC?

 

Thanks,

 

David

[steelhealr]

Chris...still just a little disappointed here. I was hoping that CurrentUSA was going to come out with a better cube that was going to reduce some of the modifications necessary and just come out with an introductory cube that was more of a bang than JBJ's.

 

Thicker glass is definitely a plus as this will ease many people's fear of cracking and catastrophic failure. However, the present lighting design still seems to keep the new AquaPod in the 'low to moderate' category (sorry for the label). This is still restrictive for people wanting a simple system to enter the nano marine world that will allow them the flexibility to advance their skills with regards to many types of livestock (eg, SPS or clams). So..what is the circulation setup on this...pump types? water turnover? Without a third chamber, will buyers still be able to create a refugium?

 

Please help out Chris...can you measure the light intensity between the various AquaPod sizes and the NanoCubes and print them here so we can make an educated decision? I'd hate to change from 72 watts/gallon, down to 64 watts/gallon and lose my corals. Not trying to be a pain...just looking for a safe EQUIVALENT option for those WITH a 24G NC looking for a parallel escape route. SH

[kinetic]

I don't think Chris has these guys yet to show us. He's taking preorders and doesn't even have the official press release. I think we're asking too much of him right now. Bottom line seems like this aquapod really isn't up to the hype that's been going on.

 

It looks like it just has a thicker wall, and the other features are kind of lacking in comparison to the nanocube.

 

dissapointing...

[Fishfreak218]

SH:

if you want better lights than just get the 70w MH set-up...or wait and get the 150w MH..

[steelhealr]

Hi..Chris has been a one of the most helpful people here at Nano Reef...AND to me pesonally. If went out of his way to help me over the phone with regards to my cracking 24G. This was not meant to overburden him. The new AquaPod seems reinforced enough to allay fears with regards to cracking. SH

[Fishfreak218]

IMHO this tank is soo much better than the JBJ cube for a fiew reasons:

Light: Quality is better than quantity..its not always the wpg (watt per gallon)... the reflector is going to help and from what i hear there is a better lumen rating (or sumthing like that)

Filtration: it is better because it already comes with a surface skimmer

Tank: another reason why i would get this is because it has thicker glass and still has the sleek look..

Overall IMO (not saying all NC's are bad but Current USA is a much more reliable dealer than JBJ

thats my opinion on the whole thing and i am pretty sure i will be getting one

[Fliger]

I definitely think its better, and probably worth it. I just wanna see it before I go and order ....

[embryoguy]

you have to keep in mind, this company will not make money if they target only high end users. and prob wont sell alot of tanks for 200-400 dollars. im sure they could easily build an amazing tank. but to start out , it seems like a good introductory tank that is better than the nc.

[shao-lin nano]

It seems like there might be a lot of high end users that want premium equipment to come stock with their nanos but I think it was smart for them to come out with a NanoCube equivalent to compete with JBJ who have had a successful monopoly over this segment of the reefing community. Didn't JBJ claim that they've sold over 100K(?) units in their official thread?

 

I'm sure there will be many people satisfied with the suspected stock lighting/filtration/circulation of the aquapod. For the rest of us that are high(er) end users we can just wait a little longer for chirs to test and market some upgrades or venture into doing it ourselves. It's like the stock aquapod is the standard BMW 3-series. Then you can get options like skimmer or chiller (i.e. ICA) and that's like DVD nav system with upgraded stereo. But to get the MH and better circulation would be like the M-3. Or you can just tune it yourself and still have a kick ass system. The price difference will be apparent between the different systems and although everyone would like to have the "M3" most people will settle for the base model.

[stoney waters]

These are all good points. I would venture to guess that the majority of the Aquapods and Nano-Cubes will be sold to FW hobbyists who wouldn't have a need for such upgrades as MH and protein skimmers. It wouldn't make much business sense to develop a system solely for us reef keepers who are clearly in the minority. At least not in the beginning.