Aquapod 24 gallon review:

[icenine]

********Important addendum to this review in post number 12*********

 

 

 

Aquapod review:

Here is the 24 gallon version of the Aquapod with the 64 watt PC hood. Box it came in from F&S; the packaging is rather disspointing. Just a few pieces of styrofoam protecting the outer edges of the tank and hood on two sides. Much of the tank is only protected by the cardboard walls of the box. There was another box around the "shelf" packaging, but no additional packing material.

 

 

 

The first tank that was sent to me was cracked and with this packaging it is easy to see why that happened. There was not much in the way of visible damage to the outer box, but obviously it had been knocked around during shipping. F&S got another one out to me right away... so far I am a fan of the customer service there.

 

 

Here is the crack, again the portion of the glass that was cracked only had cardboard protecting it:

 

 

 

The second tank I recived. No obvious cracks, but I'm looking over it very, very carefully.

 

 

Looks to be OK. No visible cracks, bubbles or creases in the glass. ...but does that mean anything? lol.

 

There were some complaints about the seals posted here and some other forums.... these look pretty good IMO. I also think the laminate backing on the rear of the tank looks OK, that's been an issue for some as well.

Here is the back:

 

 

The hood... no clicking when the hood is opened as some have reported with the 12 gallon. There are three rocker switches that work each dual sunpac bulb and the LED independently, even on a single outlet timer. (whew!) If just one lighting cord is plugged in the other is not carrying a current. (double whew! these were the issues some have seen with the 12 gallon version).

 

 

When the hood is down I'm not seeing the light bleed through around the edges that I've seen on the 12 gallon.

 

Lights on:

 

 

There is one fan (I'll be adding another or trying nano customs IAC chiller.

 

The plastic the hood is constructed of seems a bit thin. I would put the material on on par with the JBJ tank, but that is not saying much for it. I fear the hinges will not last long. They operate smoothly, but just seem rather fragile to me.

The rear chambers are laid out to my liking, however they could be a little wider. I'm going to try a DIY skimmer to fit back here at some point.

 

Some rough measurements:

(I would not start building any stands or modifications based on these, I'm posting them just to give you an idea of the proportions of the tank):

 

Outside length, width, height (including hood): 17L x 20W x 20H

Inside display and rear chamber measurements:

 

 

Water volume without rock or sand: (only the stock pump is present in the rear chambers, sponges were removed) Approx: 22.5 gallons. I filled the tank with one gallon jugs to make this estimate. The display volume I would estimate at around 18 gallons.

 

Overall, thumbs up for the 24 gallon aquapod (or should it be 22.5? ..lol). It's pretty much what I expected and in general a solid tank, esp at the price it's generally offered. The packaging and hood material are the only real disappointments.

There are a few changes I'm going to make. I can see that I'm going to have to "fish proof" the false wall. There is a gap at the top that will allow fish, shrimp, snails etc to wander into the overflow. The lighting could have been a little more intense. Yes, I know there are MH versions of this tank but I really want a hood on our reef (a child and a cat would be the reason). But.... it's my softie reef that is getting transferred into here, the lighting I am currently running there is pretty much equivalent. I'm going to add an extra outlet to the display for more flow and stick a hydor on the existing outlet.

Now the question is.... how will it hold up? I'm going to hold onto my old 15 gal set up for a while just in case. (and keep things plugged into a GFI)

 

I hope this post helps you out if you are debating as to whether or not the 24 gallon aquapod is the right system for you. I know that these systems are just hitting the market within the past month, so since I took the plunge early on this one I figured I would post as much detail as I could to help those of you just thinking about it.

[Donovan]

Do a leak test for several days before transferring.

 

How much sand if any will u be adding?

 

Keep us posted.

[chieferich]

thanks for this post!

 

please keep us updated.

[icenine]

Do a leak test for several days before transferring.

 

How much sand if any will u be adding?

 

Keep us posted.

 

 

 

SH suggested the multi day leak test as well.... I'll fill it up friday, run it over the weekend and hopefully get the transfer done monday.

 

The sand bed will be thin.... just an inch or so. Maybe 20 lbs total?

[DevilBoy]

did u purchase the locline seperately or did that come with the tank?

[icenine]

Oh, sorry the locline was a seperate purchase... not included. The hydor was not inlcuded either. I was just itching to start making the mods I had intended.

[reffer9391]

I've had mine for a while and ever thing seems fine. I am nice to the hood though. Mine didnt come cracked and hasnt had a "water" problem

[DevilBoy]

you were saying how you were disappointed with the packaging. I believe they get shipped from Current just in the regular AquaPod box. And then the retailer does the rest. Because when my 12g got shipped to me and was broke, the people i bought from asked me about the packaging and styrofoam. And they told me it is a new product and they are still finding out a good and safe why to pack them for when they are in transit.

[icenine]

I was really disapinted with both the shelf packaging from current (too much glass to close or even touching sides and corners) and the shipping packaging from F&S (just a carboard wrapper around the shelf box really). The second pod came shipped in the same fashion, but made it intact.

[bigbabich]

I bought an aquapod 24 about 3 weeks ago.

I'm pretty happy with it but a reef newb, so what do I know.

It does run a bit warm though. I'm at 81 without the heater.

You should switch the fan to switch on with the actinic lights though.

If you are timing the actinics to switch on before the others (and presumably turn them off after) your tank will heat up a bit with no fan running.

As I said, I'm a reef newb and I don't even know some of the acronyms bandied about but I can see some things that could use tweaking or downright modding.

[icenine]

81 is fine and dandy in my book. You will want a heater to keep the temp stable while lights are off. I have not run it full for long enough to get an idea about heat issues yet. That will come this weekend.

[icenine]

Important addendum to this review:

 

The pod sprung a leak in the upper right hand corner. ...now there is no visible crack, it's begun to drip from under the rim.

I noticed a salt stain this morning, but figured I was just sloppy closing the hood or something. ...but this afternoon I noticed that it was back again, and this time I saw the source. It was a slow but steady drip from under that rim. Bad news. A new droplette was forming every minute or so, and you know that is not going to get any better.

 

The good news is that I didn not transfer everything as planned. ...and I am really, really glad that I tested this system for a few days.

 

anyway.... I'm done with the pod. While there was a hydor and another pump added I really don't think that would have been to blame for the leak. The tank was level, so that does not come into play either.

 

I snapped a pic of the leak, I'll get that up sometime soon.

[icenine]

Here are a few shots of the drip, sorry for the poor quality I was kinda in a hurry to empty the thing by that point.

 

 

A closer shot.... I don't know if you can tell, but the bead of water was developing from under the rim.

 

 

 

[kyle102565]

its leaking because your filling it to the rim. take some water out of it.

[icenine]

Nope, it was below the rim. Any lower and the water line is visible outside the display.

[kyle102565]

ahh i see, i run my 12g pod below the black rim. guess if i fill it to the top it may leak also. i like the pod for what it is, it has been a great entry level test of my getting into the sw hobby. got a 50 gallon acrylic on the way now though. these things are made in China for next to nothing, i'm not suprised at the problems. its a shame.

[icenine]

What it would seem was happening was water had begun to syphon up the silicone under the rim. Keeping the water level that low would work but just isn't an acceptable solution for me. Plenty of glass tanks I've run that have not had to have a water line that low. While this may have been a rare instance, I'm not inclined to give the 'pod another chance.

[inked]

Mine is also leakiking under the rim on both sides. My Tank is about 3 years old though. My water line is visable from the outside of the tank at this point and it still leaks. I am going to get in touch with current and see what they say. I have a feeling the only fix will be to tape it off and match the black silicon seal at the bottom.

[djchristone]

why don't you just go to a lfs and buy one instead of having it shipped? -.-

[gonzo1683]

ok so im new to this forum and new to the idea of owning a salt water tank ive been reading alot about these nano reefs ive always been intrested in having a salt water tank right now i own a 1 or 2 gallon tank with 1 beta and a 55gal tank with 4baloon mollies 2 dolmation mollies 1 tricolor shark 1 angel fish 2 sword tails 2 kuhli loaches 2 pearl lerris 1 pineapple something i forgot what it was small little guy and 2 fry mollies inside a breeding net

with a few live plants... anyway

so i read a bunch of the posts and a good 5 pages of the noob guide before starting a nano...

also go to read the argument about skimmers or not... that was not helpful at all sorry to say... lol but i get the idea...

 

now i was looking into this specific 24gallon tank

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...;s=lh&r=490

 

which i think is the review u guys gave on it.. after reading ur review im thinking maybe not that one...

so i was gonna up my idea if the wife oks the spending lol to

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...21183&rel=1

 

if anyone has any reviews about either or, or can help me decide on which one that would be cool id perfer not to spend that much but like i was saying im still looking into it n researching it if i do get the bigger one ill spend the money for the skimmer the lfs was gonna sell me a kit for like 300 bucks a tank filter n lights n it was only a 14gallon ro 12 gallon . so i figured i can get one online cheaper .. if i was to do it thanks for your help!