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I'm thinking of getting one of those JBJ 12 gallon Nanocubes but have not heard too much about them. I was wondering what pros, cons and other experiences people have had with them.

Thanks for any help.

pros
- it is a nice shape
- it comes w/ PC lights (although they are the bare minimum for corals, and you will probably upgrade them if you want to keep reef anyways)
- it already comes w/ water circulation
- equipment is nicely hidden out of view

cons
- there is really only 8 gallons of main tank, w/ a 1-2 gallon sump
- JBJ lighting has been known to be...shifty. burnt out ballasts, broken fans, etc.



all in all, i think the nanocube is a pretty nice investment, and its a clean setup. i have a nano reef, but i opted for the minibow 7 instead of the JBJ because i liked the shape of the minibow better. in the end, i think its if you want 7 gallons or 12 gallons. the nanocube is a nifty little thing though, and its worked pretty well w/ other nano reefers (w/ some mods w/ the lighting of course). but if you just want an FO or a FOWLER its pretty much plug and play. good luck!

I've been debating between the minibow 7 and the nanocube 12. It's been a while since I've kept anything marine, so I thought if I could go with something smaller (less expensive) yet somewhat more difficult to keep than something large, I would be able to determine if I'm willing to put the time and, more importantly, the money into a big setup. Enough rambling, got to go convince the wife of my new idea.

The Nano-Cube is what most new-to-nano people go for. It's promising looking I know. But:

- You WILL end up modding it
- Most of the equipment is crap and will be removed/replaced
- The tank has some odd dimensions, making aquascaping hard
- The hood and back compartment severly limit expandability
- The lighting has to be upgraded
- The circulation pump has to be upgraded
- Salt Creep is bad

Esentially, you're paying $100 for a spiffy glass tank. You will want to upgrade the lighting, the circulation pump, add fans, etc. right out of the box to put the nanocube on the level it needs to be.

I say to Nano Cubes.

-Justin


[span class="edited"][Edited by jmt1somr 2004-07-01 10:33][/span]