Cheap nanocube?

[Juck]

>>To me half the fun of owning a tank is building it,

Oh,, i agree 100% ,, but half the fun of being loaded is having someone else do stuff for you

I enjoyed doing it,,, even though it wasn't for me. This guy kept Fish Only tanks for a long time so he's not a total beginner,,, but the only thing he still had left fom his old setup was a little fish net.

Maybe he'll come back in a few months and want me to set up a big tank,, I'll be charging him for that though.

The only thing I worry about is that he'll overdose something into the tank,,, with all the LR in there there can't be more than 6gallons of actual water,, no room for error.

 

[Anonymous]

No one ever said this hobby was cheap...but another approach is like srbayless..checking ebay and garage sales and stuff like that...even DIY...id rather spend a few hundred versus a few thousand...

 

[Anonymous]

*sings*
It takes diff'rnt strokes, diff'rnt strokes, it takes diff'rnt strokes to mooOOoooove the world!

i liked my nano being all prebuilt. i absolutely detest the building part. i like being able to purchase a prebuilt aquarium that will positively affect the presentation of my little ocean. it's an added bonus that there's a filter in it.

 

[Anonymous]

Jeez, a grand....
Most of the 'free' stuff is favors for helping people move their tanks, or I gave them free frags once, etc.

I love the building part, as long as it looks OK. My 125 was basically plumbed and made reef ready by me from scratch, and it looks just like any other 125. I saved a lot of money. The 6 gallon is kind of hideous if it were sitting in a living room though.

FWIW, I'm going to list some prices for a DIY 20 gallon tank including some upgrades on the nanocube:

20 gallon *acrylic* tank, with glued in black acrylic divider: $35 wholesale, IIRC
65W 50/50 PC bulb, ballast, hood: $45
maxijet 1200 pump (295 gph, compared to 106 gph): $20

Total cost, around $100, which is pretty close in price. It doesn't include the cheapo filter stuff, but most of us throw this out anyway. It's also a huge upgrade in lighting, size, and flow.

 

[Meloco14]

Matt, that's an interesting idea for a new project, I love the DIY stuff, where would someone without the hookups like me get a 20 gallon acrylic tank for $35? The way you laid it out it really makes sense to built it when all you really need to do is add a divider and hood...

 

[Anonymous]

Um, it would be hard to get one that cheap w/o a retail license. I think glass 20Ls are substantially cheaper. I like the covered tops on acrylic tanks, but one could easily silicone on a piece of acrylic to the top frame with a square cut out for access, then cover that square with a nice PC hood. Then glue in the black divider as well. There are lots of online sites that can probably provide the DIY materials for this.

 

[Anonymous]

Matt you need to be the DIY forum moderator...hope Louie doesnt get mad :wink:

 

[hillbilly]

I was looking around wal-mart yesterday and they had several sizes of the nano cube cheap as hell. Of course they come with useless filters and crap, but still cheaper than online. Just something to think about.

 

[Anonymous]

what? not a JBJ brand, something else, right? quick, explain, gimme a link!

 

[hillbilly]

Not JBJ brand, but the cube type tanks. I think they were made by Marineland.

 

[SaltyMist]

If there made by marineland, then they are quite probably the Eclipse lineup. I believe that JBJ's NanoCube only comes in one size currently, whereas the marineland eclipses comes in varying sizes.

 

[Juck]

Bollocks,,, the silly old fart was rearranging his LR today and cracked his nanocube. The crack went clear from the top to bottom on one side,,, can't believe it held together.

Just finished rescuing his livestock and ripping out the lighting (hey,, free lighting upgrade for me!).

 

[lbonser]

hmmm my nano cost lets see

89 + shipping (I think we bought em from the same guy)

had spare heater, power head, timer, all in a bucket in my garage

sand and rock from my existing tanks

mushrooms and polyps from my existing reef

total cost about 115

I now have a mini reef in my office for not a lot of money, however there is the seveal thousand I have sunk into my other two tanks. if you already have most of the equipment then it is really not that much to set up a nano, but if you had to start one from scratch ....ouch

 

[Sprattoo]

I know this tank was for someone else with so much money it makes my bills ache.. but I agree with all the DIYers.

not just for cost but there is a big satisfaction to setting up a tank you have done on your own. Mu Nano is going to be:

10G tank cost... Maybe 8-$10.. it's left over from my guppy breeding ambition when i first had an aquarium.
A piece of plexiglass I had to make a divider/ intank sump.
LR I made and grew out in my tank cost... $1.00 per pound?
Sand.... I might buy a little bit $5-$10
lighting- none. I'm setting up in my window that gets direct sunlight most all day.
Maxijet power head $20

Total cost might end up being $40 or $60. Stocking it will be a matter of moving a few select guys from my 75G in.

If I didn't have the window I would probably have gone with a single PC bulb.

I like the neat contained look of the nano cube though. It would look neater than my 7-10G home-made version. But I like mine bestest.