[gobytron]

I've had a lot of experience with Biocubes and Aquapods.

I have a couple of reccomendations based on my experience.
Others may have differing opinions so ask around as much as possible.

A hydor deflector is the best 12$ you will spend, they can be finnicky but they are still well worth the money and time investment.
Change your pump to a MJ900. You wont need the Koralia Nano then but it will kill any potential dead spots if you do add one.

Forget the media rack.
Waste of money and time.
2 of the chambers in the back should be left empty for easy cleaning and add water volume.

One chamber should be packed with LR rubble, this makes for an insane amount of surface area for bacteria as well as an awesome, safe home for a bustling pod population.

If you do anything with the rear chambers besides this or in addition to it, look up some of the DIY refugeums (with Chaeto, any other algae will like grow to aggressively or go sexual which is doom for a small tank)that people have done, they are cheap, easy and will just add to the ability of your tank to operate seamlessly.

No need for a skimmer either. One wont hurt, but in a tank as small as this, you'll want to keep up with your water changes often enough that skimming will only make a negligible difference.

When you think doing a 1 gallon water change a week should be enough on an 8 gallon tank, you can see why I recommend to just skip a skimmer...especially if you do have a fuge and trim algae for nutrient export.

I am also a big proponent of a dsb (deep sand bed) in small tanks, a good mix of grain size is best...these sand beds are easy to clean and maintain in smaller systems...4 or 5 inches should suffice.

I have been running the same aquapod 12 for 6 or 7 years with this set up...it is completely bullet proof.