Noob Sayin hello and a quick Q

[MadGriff]

Hey guys, Ive been hangin out in the Chat room for a little while now and I thought Id make a post to say hello. I have a 12 G Bowfront Eclipse running fresh water for a few months( I know...some of you think fw is lame, but its so easy!) a 12G Nano reef tank (running for a couple months), and a 14 G Biocube mantis tank. So far Ive really enjoyed reading all the information and opinions on the forums. I hope to be able to contribute in any way I can.

Now for my question: I am wanting to get a little more room for my reef tank, and as you can see I like the nano's. Right now Im trying to decide between the JBJ Nano cube 28g CF and the JBJ 28g HQI. The biocubes are out of my price range. I know the HQI has heat issues but I have read some people have had success placing a fan on the exposed filter tanks. Does anyone have experience with either of these two tanks? If so what has your experience been? Im not in a position to purchase an expensive chiller right now for the HQI. I also will probably only keep soft corals and LPS initially because they are lower maintenance and cheaper. The reason I am interested in the HQI is the lighting seems to bring out the colors of corals a little better. Thanks for your opinions!

[chatfouz]

i have not used those tanks but i do have experience with fans. they make a ton of water evaporate, or they did on my tank. the nights i went out with buddies then the 4 hour dinner turns into a 30 hour sidetrack... i come home and the tank would be really messed up, lot of water gone, salt levels way too high, fish looking terrible. So personally i try to avoid fans if i can, but if your not the college student like i am and can make your regularly check ups on the tank then go for it. but if your noobish to reef tanks don't over complicate it with fans and heating issues.

[MadGriff]

i have not used those tanks but i do have experience with fans. they make a ton of water evaporate, or they did on my tank. the nights i went out with buddies then the 4 hour dinner turns into a 30 hour sidetrack... i come home and the tank would be really messed up, lot of water gone, salt levels way too high, fish looking terrible. So personally i try to avoid fans if i can, but if your not the college student like i am and can make your regularly check ups on the tank then go for it. but if your noobish to reef tanks don't over complicate it with fans and heating issues.

Thanks for the advice bro, time is definitely something I do not have a lot of

[mooric]

I have the JBJ 28G HQI. Yes it runs hot. I replaced the feeding cover with a dual fan until attached by velcro. I also have an ATO so I don't have to worry about evaporation. The ATO is attached to a 2.5G plastic gas can inside the stand that I refill every 3-4 days. As for the lighting....I added 2 - 18watt Actinic PC lights inside the canopy that I purchased from nanotuners.com overall I have enjoyed this tank and think it's a greating starter tank. Now I am at the point where I want to upgrade to something in the 75-90g range. Best of luck whatever you decide.

[MadGriff]

I decided to go with a 58 RR oceanic

Thanks everyone for the advice!

[+dapettit]

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