Need advice from owners of BioCube 29 HQI

I'm thinking of getting a BioCube 29 HQI this fall for my office.

If you have been running one for at least a few months, I'd love to know:

* Is it noisy?
* Does it run hot?
* Is the standard flow adequate?
* Is the bundled skimmer effective?
* Anything else I should know before buying?

 

I've been wondering about these as well. I just don't know if ill be happy with a 29 gallon tank...

 

I can give you some 2nd hand info since I was thinking about getting one, until a friend (who owns one) talked me out of it.
First, the noise. The first hood he got was insanely loud and he had issues with the bulb. They replaced the hood and the bulb was fixed and the new hood was only a bit quieter.
Second, the skimmer is sub par at best and the size and shape of the compartment disallowed upgrading it.
He had other things to say but after about 5 min I decided it wasn't for me. Again, i have no experience with it so I'm just relaying someone elses experience.

 

He is referring to the HQI model which doesn't have the hood or fans on top, it's a glass top tank with a separate light. Your right the stock skimmer isn't any good but for another 50 bucks you can upgrade to something much better. Both the Tunze 9002 and the aquatic life mini protein skimmer will work with this tank in chamber 2 and are much better.

Your prob not going to find any all in one tanks that don't need some kind of modding out of the box besides maybe a redsea. Marinedepot has this tank for 399 right now and the light alone for it is 300, that is a great deal. I get mine tomorrow....cant wait!

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Very helpful.

Ultraner, please keep me posted on your BioCube HQI build.

Anyone else have experience with these tanks?

 

I have problem with tank temperature and troble finding a skimmer that will fit in it.

Also Oceanic filter media is rather expensive and doe'sn't long.

However I'm impressed with built quality and the way my tank run after upgrade some components

 

* Is it noisy? No
* Does it run hot? Yes. You will need to do a lot of playing around and modding to keep consistent temps, or invest in a chiller.
* Is the standard flow adequate? Assuming you want a reef since your looking at the halide model, not even close. Plan on getting a few powerheads as well.
* Is the bundled skimmer effective? No. There is a reason the biocube skimmers are $40. They are about the worse skimmers on the market, period.
* Anything else I should know before buying?

Just make sure to do your research carefully. Honestely, getting a plain tank, adding your own (quality) equipment from the start, will always beat a "turn-key" set-up every time. As you grow with the hobby, you will be making mods, replacing this and that, and pretty soon you just paid a huge lump sum for nothing but the shell since that's all that will be left anyways. If you are truly set on the all in one cube package, take a look at some of the other offerings out there. IMHO, the biocubes are always a little behind the rest of the pack.