Are There Any Problems With 24 Gallon Nano Cube's?

[john777]

I am looking at purchasing a 24 gallon Nano Cube and was wondering how the quality of the product is? Is there any defect's, manufacturing issues, or just pro's and con's in general. I have read a couple of comments about a possible pump issue where the pump rusts and goes bad frequently and possible tank crashes. Also very concerned with its filtration and wether or not I can raise corals or if I would need a protein skimmer to do so? And, if skimmer is need how would that work with the hood of the tank? If anyone could give me some info on the subject I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Matt

[Illuminati]

Older nanocubes had issues with the glass cracking but JBJ went and made newer nanocubes with thicker glass. You can tell if it's a newer unit with the thicker glass if you see a serial number on the back of the unit. No issues of the thicker glass cracking.

Most everyone upgrades the pump to a maxijet1200 for a variety of reasons. My main reason was reliability. The stock pump does a good job mixing saltwater for me :)

No skimmer needed if you want to do waterchanges but there is a new skimmer out I've heard about but haven't heard any reviews on. It's called a saphire skimmer.
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=356&osCsid=1aad80817910320944f0052b2de466bf

I do weekly 5 gallon water changes and don't have a skimmer.

Filtration-
Comes with Bioballs, 3 sponges, carbon & rings.
I tossed it all.

There are 3 chambers in the back, water goes past a surface skimmer and into chamber 1. I have filter floss on the top to catch any debris. Under that is chemi-pure (fancy carbon). The water then flows to chamber 2 and I have a product called purigen in there (water polisher, nitrate remover, etc... awesome product in nano's). I also have my heater in chamber 2.
Water then flows to chamber 3 where I have my maxijet1200 and gets pumped back into the display.

Here is a link to my tank build if it helps:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=942829

[john777]

Great info.....couple questions though....why get rid of the carbon, sponges and bioballs? Don't they do the same thing as the filter floss, chemi-pure and purigen? What are the cost of these and how essential are they? Again, thanks for the help and I checked out your tank and it looks great. Hope you don't mind if I copy your tank.

Matt

[john777]

Couple other questions I just thought of....Would you suggest a skimmer? And how long have you had your tank up? Thanks

Matt

[Illuminati]

I have had my tank setup since around March of this year.

Bioballs are notorious for being nitrate (waste) traps that can throw your water quality in the crapper.
Same with the sponge. Once you see them you will realize they are impossible to clean because they are so thick. I have heard of people cutting the sponge in half and making it easier to get the debris out of it but for me it's much easier to simply pull out the used filter floss when I do my weekly water changes and replace it with new filter floss than it is to worry about the sponge.

Of course there is more than 1 way to run these setups and I'm sure people use some of the media that comes with the nano's but for me this makes sense.

Here's a bit on both purigen & chemi-pure (info from Dr. Foster & Smith where I buy these products):

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Shop.cfm?N=2004

Purigen
A macro-porous, synthetic polymer that removes proteins, nitrite and nitrate, ammonia, and a broad spectrum of organics at a rate and capacity that exceeds all others by over 500%. It significantly raises redox and polishes water clarity.

Chemi-Pure
* Easily remove dissolved organics and enjoy sparkling water
* Maintain a perfect pH level in any water type
* Enjoy minimal replacement hassles

Your fish will live a healthier life – up to 4 times longer. Works equally well in marine or freshwater aquariums to remove heavy metals, copper, phenol, ammonia and other nitrogenous waste. Helps keep pH at a consistently safe range and your water sparkling clear. Fantastic for use with African Cichlids and Discus. Use one 10 ounce unit, already packed in a filter bag, for up to 40 gallons. Remains active for 4-6 months.


Regular carbon in no way even comes close to doing half of what these do. Plus the purigen can be regenerated and the chemi-pure has a longer life than regular carbon.
I started off with just chemi-pure and after adding the purigen I noticed a huge change in the water quality, I'll never go without :)

I'd go skimmerless to start. If you feel that you need the skimmer later you can always add it.

Again though, with these tanks if you ask 100 people how they run them you will get 100 unique answers.

[john777]

I see the purigen comes in 100ml pre packaged and treats 100 gal for 6 months and is rechargable. Do you break the bag down into smaller portions or do you put the whole 100 ml bag in? How long do you run the amount you put in? How do you recharge the purigen? Thanks.

Matt

[Illuminati]

Yeah I just toss the entire bag in. I ran it for about 5 months before I got around to recharging it. I think it yellows when it's time to recharge it, then it goes back to brown.

To recharge it you need to basically let it soak in a bleach water solution for 24 hours then soak it in freshwater with a dechlorinator (like Prime which is available at most fish stores).

Walk through instructions are on the packaging and it tells you what to look for to see when it needs recharged, etc...
I keep 2 around so when I recharge one I just put the new one in.

It does say on there if you use some medications the medications will bond with the purigen and make it impossible to recharge in the future but it's a good idea to remove all carbon/chemical media when using medications in your tank to get the full effect of the medication.