Starting a new tank

cooperdude916 · May 27, 2020

Hi, I'm new on here and I've decided I wanted to get a little involved while I start a new tank. I've had a couple of basic tanks in the past but this time I decided I want to go with something a little nicer. As of right now I am looking at buying a Waterbox Cube 20. Does anybody here have experience with this tank or something similar? Also, are there any similarly sized tanks around the same price ($200)? Thank you very much! I look forward to this new adventure.

Spare time · May 28, 2020

What about a biocube 32? They are pretty cheap which leaves you room to upgrade the light if you prefer.

Spare time · May 28, 2020

What about a biocube 32? They are pretty cheap which leaves you room to upgrade the light if you prefer.

cooperdude916 · May 28, 2020

Spare time said:
What about a biocube 32? They are pretty cheap which leaves you room to upgrade the light if you prefer.

That biocube is pretty nice. Do you know how the quality compares to the waterbox? Also, I have an AI prime light from my previous tank. Thats partially why I wanna start a cube

Bo. · May 28, 2020

Have you looked into fijicube?

Fiji Cube 22.4 Gallon Cube Rimless AIO Glass Nano Tank

Unique design and craftsmanship are in the details of Fiji Cube AIO Nano Tank Series. All Fiji Cube tanks are built with ultra-clear low iron glass. The Fiji Cube AIO Nano Tank comes with unique features that the hobbyists love about aquarium keeping. Fiji Cube uses next level up glass thickness...

www.fijicube.com

cooperdude916 · May 28, 2020

Bo Lin said:
Have you looked into fijicube?

Fiji Cube 22.4 Gallon Cube Rimless AIO Glass Nano Tank

Unique design and craftsmanship are in the details of Fiji Cube AIO Nano Tank Series. All Fiji Cube tanks are built with ultra-clear low iron glass. The Fiji Cube AIO Nano Tank comes with unique features that the hobbyists love about aquarium keeping. Fiji Cube uses next level up glass thickness...

www.fijicube.com

I've never heard of fijicube. That looks very nice. It looks very similar to the waterbox one.

Auquanut · May 28, 2020

Welcome to R2R!
Both the Waterbox and Figicube seem like great options. I'm leaning toward the Figicube, but not crazy about the wait time.

I have a Biocube 29 sitting empty in my shop. The AIO filter is alright, but I'm not fond of the curved acrylic display. I'd definitely go with flat panel glass. Just personal preference.

NS Mike D · May 28, 2020

I really like that dual weir design in the fijicube and the filter sock capability. I modded a basic nano tank with two sumps for this reason. I put an after market HOB fuge initially as my filtration but I didn't like that I could not add a filter sock to remove detritus and that would accumulate in the fuge and since it was a HOB , it wouldn't skim the surface so an oily film would develop.

AIO have the weir to do this, and the fijicube can accommodate filter socks.

So I added a weir and a DIY under the tank sump. But I noticed a lot of the detritus I would stir up wouldn't make it up to the weir, so I lowered in the intake pump a few inched above the sand bed,

The fuji cube as a second weir lower in the tank. Since there is no sump below the tank, overflow is not an issue permitting the use if a lower intake. I love this option.

IMO, that fijicube will do a better job and filtering out the detritus keeping your sand bed cleaner

cooperdude916 · May 28, 2020

Auquanut said:
Welcome to R2R!
Both the Waterbox and Figicube seem like great options. I'm leaning toward the Figicube, but not crazy about the wait time. I have a Biocube 29 sitting empty in my shop. The AIO filter is alright, but I'm not fond of the curved acrylic display. I'd definitely go with flat panel glass. Just personal preference.

Yeah I'm in the same boat. One of my LFSs had a 29g biocube set up for awhile and i wasn't too big of a fan of the curved display. I think I might just bite the bullet and buy the waterbox this weekend.

cooperdude916 · May 28, 2020

NS Mike D said:
I really like that dual weir design in the fijicube and the filter sock capability. I modded a basic nano tank with two sumps for this reason. I put an after market HOB fuge initially as my filtration but I didn't like that I could not add a filter sock to remove detritus and that would accumulate in the fuge and since it was a HOB , it wouldn't skim the surface so an oily film would develop.

AIO have the weir to do this, and the fijicube can accommodate filter socks.

So I added a weir and a DIY under the tank sump. But I noticed a lot of the detritus I would stir up wouldn't make it up to the weir, so I lowered in the intake pump a few inched above the sand bed,

The fuji cube as a second weir lower in the tank. Since there is no sump below the tank, overflow is not an issue permitting the use if a lower intake. I love this option.

IMO, that fijicube will do a better job and filtering out the detritus keeping your sand bed cleaner

How big of a difference will this make over the Waterbox one? I really like the design of both of them but the wait time on the fijicube is quite awhile. I'd really like to get a tank up a little sooner than that.

NS Mike D · May 28, 2020

cooperdude916 said:
How big of a difference will this make over the Waterbox one? I really like the design of both of them but the wait time on the fijicube is quite awhile. I'd really like to get a tank up a little sooner than that.

both will be fine.

cooperdude916 · May 28, 2020

NS Mike D said:
both will be fine.

Okay, sounds great!

Spare time · May 28, 2020

cooperdude916 said:
That biocube is pretty nice. Do you know how the quality compares to the waterbox? Also, I have an AI prime light from my previous tank. Thats partially why I wanna start a cube

I like the biocubes. They aren't as "luxurious" as tanks made by companies like waterbox or red sea in terms of having that ultra low iron glass and rimless look, but they are pretty competitive when it comes to price. I guess it more or less depends how much you want to spend and what kind of look you are going for.

Spare time · May 28, 2020

Also, I like Fijicube as a company!

cooperdude916 · May 28, 2020

Spare time said:
I like the biocubes. They aren't as "luxurious" as tanks made by companies like waterbox or red sea in terms of having that ultra low iron glass and rimless look, but they are pretty competitive when it comes to price. I guess it more or less depends how much you want to spend and what kind of look you are going for.

I looked on Amazon earlier today and I couldn't seem to find any of the biocubes for under $360. Im guessing thats way more than they should be as I'm pretty sure I've seen the 32g one for closer to $250 in the past. I did read somewhere earlier that fijicube uses the same supplier as waterbox for the cubes. If that's actually true I might just go with the waterbox since the fijicube is backordered into July.

Spare time · May 28, 2020

cooperdude916 said:
I looked on Amazon earlier today and I couldn't seem to find any of the biocubes for under $360. Im guessing thats way more than they should be as I'm pretty sure I've seen the 32g one for closer to $250 in the past. I did read somewhere earlier that fijicube uses the same supplier as waterbox for the cubes. If that's actually true I might just go with the waterbox since the fijicube is backordered into July.

It could be because of the whole covid thing. A lot of things are backed up.