hello and help

[flipit13]

i am new to this hobby cause my daughters saw a friends tank and have a few questions.

i have decided between 2 nano cubes.
jbj with hqi light & the oceanic biocube

i have been told by a few people the jbj will need a chiller is this true and is it that much better than the biocube from oceanic. i had a 140 custom tank many years ago which was a fish only. but now i want to really wow my girls and see if they dont loose interest in the hobby. that is why i am going with a small tank

any help would be great
thanks
rick

 

[SaltyFlip]

IMO it all depends on your lighting and the power of your pump. I have a JBJ 12g nano cube dx and I upgraded my pumps and my lights are 2 10K 50/50 PC lights so with those things it can raise the temp a little bit...the fan on the hood of my JBJ helps and a small fan facing the top ( I crack the hood open a little bit ). For hooded tank like these it's best to make sure you have space where heat can dissipate or else be sure your tank can and will get hot.

 

[flipit13]

thanks saltyflip. its the unit that has 4 fans i guess i might be ok. i just dont want the extra spending on a chiller if i dont have to. the 2 places i went to today said i dont need that kind of light cause it will get to hot. i just like the deal i can get on it and would hate to get it and then have to spend more later on upgrading the light
thanks
rick

 

[jck16]

I personally think the Biocube is more than enough. It all depends on what you want to keep really. You could keep quite a number of photosynthetic corals in that thing under compact fluorescents. If this is the first time you've kept a nano, keeping the temperature relatively constant in that small amount of water can be a bit of a challenge, especially during the summer. You'll need to keep a constant eye on the temperature and even more so with the HQI. And, if the water still overheats despite your best efforts, you'll need to get a chiller. However, if you're will to deal with that, then the best of luck to you.

Besides, it's noble that you want to do this for your daughter, but in my experiences with children, I think even just having one "Nemo" fish of their own is more than enough to impress them.

 

[DrCooper]

I just bought the 28 gallon JBJ with 150 HQI and temperature is fine in the high 70's. I actually put a heater to keep it around 79

Everyone keeps telling me i will need a chiller in the real hot months but we will see

 

[flipit13]

thanks for the info jck16. my place stays at about 75 even during the summer. well you know what they say you have to keep the women in your life happy or your finished. and its 3 daughters lol and basically i do love fish so its kinda for both all of us lol.

 

[KathyC]

Best to keep the new tank in a room with A/C if you don't want to have to add a chiller.
I see you didn't mention what type of fish you'd like to keep, but if you are considering clowns for your girls, you'd need the 28g tank rather than a 12. The 12's are too small to keep clowns in

..and welcome to MR!

 

[flipit13]

thank you kathy
i am going with the 28 jbj hqi. and you are right the clowns are the ones they want lol. i also ordered the atinic? light conversion so i can have a total dusk,dawn,and night on a timer so i dont have to plug and unplug.
tank should be here next week and i hope i dont have to wait to long for the lfs to get the live rock in. i really havent liked and of the other rock i have seen in some of the local shops. i am being picky cause i want a nice shelf and cave design. and also not going with the 30 lbs. of rock more like 15 - 18 just for better flow so i dont have to add an additional pump half way down.

thanks for all the info guys and gals
rick