# Hagen made a nano cube



## leviathan0 (Oct 6, 2007)

I saw these a few months ago, they're pretty weird. They have a sort of box in the middle?


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Yeah, I opened one to look at it. Theres a little square where you put the gravel and rocks, but if I were to get one, I'd cover the hole with gravel anyway.


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

Just picked one up today. It's a pretty neat kit... Comes with gravel, 3 rocks, betta food and some kind of conditioner. The silly printed background is removable... You could turn it over for a white back or paint or use sign vinyl in any color you want. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to add filtration however, as the cover has a 1" lip all around. I think I'm going to make a nice wooden canopy and stand... Maybe stick a sump in the bottom. Dunno yet. Not bad for $10.


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## jphan (Mar 2, 2008)

i see these all the time where i work lol they look cool but to small


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

$10?? My LFS sold it for $14.. rip offs.. =(

Macnut, if you do make a stand/canopy/sump, please tell me how it goes. I dunno about filtration/ lightning either. Maybe undergravel or sponge filter.


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

It's $14 at my local Petco. How much water does it hold?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

NeonShrimp said:


> It's $14 at my local Petco. How much water does it hold?


1/2 a gallon, as mentioned in the opening post


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

For those local to LA, I got it at Allan's Aquarium on Lincoln in Venice. Sale priced at $9.99. They had all 4 versions. IMO, These are not for livestock... way too small even for a betta (at least a healthy betta). The display unit they had had a dead betta in it. it was quite sad.

OhNo123: If i do make the stand/canopy/sump, I'll document with pics. I have an idea about how to do the sump filter :icon_bigg

I already have the lighting for the canopy.


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

I've been having some fun with this thing!



















Gravel and background are temporary and plastic plants for placement visualization only. Lights will mount in canopy.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

I agree, very nice. Could you please tell us what kind of lights those are? Thank you for sharing your work.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Very nice so far! Do you have pictures of the tank empty? I'm curious what this "box in the middle" is.


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

The LED lights are from Ikea, Model Name: "Lack", $25. I also have a cooler version that I'm going to modify so no canopy necessary to mount.

I'll try to take more pics when I empty the tank. You can see the blue gravel filled "box" in the first pic ohno123 posted. Its a plastic lip that extends about 1/2" above and drops 1/2" below the tank bottom-which also holds the tank to the stand. Seems kind of silly but looks kind of cool in that pic. I'll probably end up dremeling the extended lip off though.


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

The lights look like they are enough for this tank. Thank you, I will look for the lights the next time I am in Ikea.


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## Austinv (Jan 8, 2008)

what kelvin rating are the lights?


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

I just checked the box and it says 6500 K.


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## Sticky230 (Mar 30, 2008)

don't mean to threadjack, but would these be ok if installed inside acanopy over a 12g for supllemental lighting?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10128381

keep up updated on the nano!


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

Sticky230 said:


> don't mean to threadjack, but would these be ok if installed inside acanopy over a 12g for supllemental lighting?
> 
> http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10128381
> 
> keep up updated on the nano!


I would never use halogens in a canopy for a nano tank... They get way too hot. Look for LED solutions for supplemental canopy lighting or use the desk lamp halogens that can be arranged high above the tank w/no canopy.

In fact I had those lights you linked and the plastic housing melted from the heat... swedish engineering at it's finest :icon_lol:


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## Sticky230 (Mar 30, 2008)

thanks for the heads up. i'll stick low tech. 

i might have to pick up one of htese nano tanks. - or a 10 gallon from petland which is ten bucks also.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

I'm going to pick up one also. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but it looks interesting. What are the dimesions? I might have a light that will work.


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## Austinv (Jan 8, 2008)

So what would the wattage be on them. Are you going to go lowtech?


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

The light I have, that I might use, its 8w. Yeah, I'm probably going lowtech.


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

OhNo123 said:


> I'm going to pick up one also. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but it looks interesting. What are the dimesions? I might have a light that will work.



I dunno, like 5.5 square (I don't have a ruler handy).

It's the exact same size as a CD jewelcase


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Oh I see. Lol, then my light will work


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

Aren't the sides of these glass with a plastic top/bottom? Or is it all plastic?


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Its all plastic, so is the stand.


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## Sticky230 (Mar 30, 2008)

updated pix? all this nano talk is making me want one of those 5 gallon tanks to play with.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Lol sticky, I'm going to get one of these this week, maybe. I have a 4g-5g cube


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

Hmm. Saw one of these at the LFS for $12, but the wife said "NO MORE DAMNED TANKS!" Heh... I'm sure some of you can empathize.

However, there's always room at work... 

If someone could post better pics of the unit right out of the box with the lid and everything I'll bet someone can figure out a filter setup.


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## Luichenwai (May 16, 2006)

I'm not understanding the hole in the tank and all.
Also how hard was it to take off the top trim? I'm going to go pick one of these guys up today. for a nice shrimp tank!  I have the red sea nano HOB filter. Will it work on this?


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## innerchi89 (Mar 30, 2008)

the same day i saw this thread, my friend at work gave away the same cube lol. I then ask her where she got it and she said got it from Petco.


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

I can't find pics of these to save my life - it keeps pulling up the old style oval "Hagen Marine Betta" kit.


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## Luichenwai (May 16, 2006)

Petsmart got them too. 



$10!! 

I'm picking up 1 or 2 today. I'll post up my findings.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Luichenwai said:


> Petsmart got them too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


$10?!? I have to check mine then! My petco sold them for $15, so I passed that deal. I guess I'll be going to Petsmart sometime soon.

The hole in the middle, btw, does nothing for the tank, its only for looks. The top lid is a peice of plastic, it can be easily removed just as if you lift up the hood for your tank.

A red sea nano filter will work on that tank, but only if the lid is off.


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

Dealer price is 9 bucks on these when not on special. If Petsmart is selling them for ten, they're either buying tons of them and getting a volume break or not concerned about profiting on them (loss-leader).


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## Luichenwai (May 16, 2006)

I just picked mine up !!
I will make new thread with pics!


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

Please be sure to post a link to it in this thread!



Edit: here's a decent product pic I found on the aforementioned big-box store site -


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

That is so nice! I think I will try one if I get a chance


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

Yeah, it's not so bad. Not sure if I'd keep the arty backgrounds.

If you could rig up a little MiniJet 404 powerhead over some floss filter-media, you could probably keep a lot bigger variety of life in there.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

I just got one too! , I don't know what I'm going to do with filtration though.


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## Luichenwai (May 16, 2006)

I returned mine. 
can't really put much in there. So I opted for a 5 1/2 gal with about 30 RCS.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Luichenwai said:


> I returned mine.
> can't really put much in there. So I opted for a 5 1/2 gal with about 30 RCS.


I would have gotten a 5 1/2gal tank, but I have no where to stick it. Plus this nano cube looks cool . I don't know what Im going to stick in there yet, but i'm thinking of a few shrimp or snails.


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## macnut (Mar 2, 2008)

Started a new thread for the update to my Hagen

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/65112-hagen-nano-update.html

Check it out!


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## Sticky230 (Mar 30, 2008)

hehe i was looking at this also, but when i was in the store, a 5.5 gallon for 8 bucks sounded like a great deal. plus my betta will feel like a king.


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## chadly (May 17, 2005)

Just bought one of these today from petsmart.... 9.99 w/ club card. Not sure what I'll do w/ it yet cus I just got a 2.5 gal too and I'm scaping that tonight....


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## mannyp1313 (Oct 10, 2005)

Do you have a link to the "big-box store site"? I can't seem to find the product online and I would like to purchase. Thanks!



alphacat said:


> Please be sure to post a link to it in this thread!
> 
> 
> 
> Edit: here's a decent product pic I found on the aforementioned big-box store site -


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Try ThatFishPlace.com, I think they would have it.


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

mannyp1313 said:


> Do you have a link to the "big-box store site"? I can't seem to find the product online and I would like to purchase. Thanks!


You know, it was a complete pain in the you-know-what to find this on said big-box site! Not listed with the rest of the aquariums, nor locatable by any of the search terms "betta" "cube" "marina" or "hagen" - it's like they don't want anyone to buy this. In fact the same problem occurs in a larger sense when you google any combo of these terms... it's like the Hagen people don't want to sell any of these. Sheesh.

That said, I don't think anybody should buy from big-box pet stores anyway given how they treat fish AND customers. If you're intent on locating that particular item though, check http://tinyurl.com/6gx954. I couldn't find it on thatfishplace.com either. Would LOVE to find somewhere else to buy one for this price, but as mentioned earlier they're probably taking a hit on these to make sure the local mom & pop pet stores don't compete with 'em. Jerks.


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## crimsontsavo (Feb 29, 2004)

Dont know if anyone mentioned this or not but...
That "dish" in the center could be used to control some more invasive species of 
plants.
This is the neatest little tank, really.


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

Hmm.. I got mine already and planted it with some extra plants. I need to get the filter working. I'll post pics as soon as I get it to work


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

OhNo123 said:


> Hmm.. I got mine already and planted it with some extra plants. I need to get the filter working. I'll post pics as soon as I get it to work


Anyone has more photos or update on this cube? I am thinking of getting one for my office desk


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

~~~~~~~~~~bumpity!~~~~~~~~~~


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## lekyiscool (May 27, 2008)

1/2 gallon of water for a betta thats sad, cant belive they market this things for bettas poor fellas


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## seAdams (Jun 2, 2008)

> 1/2 gallon of water for a betta thats sad, cant belive they market this things for bettas poor fellas


Oh, they make much worse torture chambers for bettas. Just Google "IPond".:angryfire 

Concerning the little nano tanks, like the one in this thread: It's going to be very nice, but how on earth do you keep the plants from becoming overgrown with algae?


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