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Marine Aquarium spec aquariums

Andrew Butler

Andrew Butler

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Joined
1 Feb 2016
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Location
Banbury, Oxfordshire
Why do we not have anything like the Red Sea Max models for planted aquariums, surely they would be much easier to use with the in built filtration etc?

Look at this little number for example the Red Sea Max Nano - all contained in one.
Black silicone but it's aimed at Marines which is why it also has the skimmer etc built in so pushes the price up
 
I've only played with marine AIO's but I dislike them with a passion. They do look good for the most part but they can be extremely limiting if you don't have the same opinion of how to run a tank as the manufacturer. The back compartments tend to be too small for you to get your hand in easily but the perfect size for fish to jump into or for the pump connectors to fall off. i'm also not a fan of being tied to one company and often its hard to retrofit other manufacturers parts to said system. I had the largest red sea s-650 when I was in the shop and it put most people off buying one, not because they aren't nice looking tanks but its easy to se the limitations (it was actually the best custom aquarium advertiser I could have had).

This might not be the same with freshwater systems where you need to fit in less but the average hang on the back isn't much different, more easy to deal with if less aesthetically pleasing. This is from a diy lover and I get more pleasure and fun out of building the complete system even if it isn't anywhere near as pleasing to the eye, if you are more into the aesthetics then you might not see any problems with them but i'd advise you to try and see one in the flesh so you could asses whether its a good fit for you.

Innovative marine do a couple of AIO tanks that come with pumps, filter sock and mesh lid I think called something like nuvo fusion but they have other more expensive ranges.

I think the fluval flex range are an easy to get option as well.
 
It seems like with the nano you can take the protein skimmer out and change the pump easily enough.
I think it's the slimmer intake that's a big + for me but I've not seen one in person yet.
It's easy enough to put a mesh or glass screen on them too.
 
The Red Sea Aquariums do look very nice - I’ve considered them off and on for a few years
But
- the cabinet is press board rather than wood (at least so I was told by shop staff) and at that price, I expect not to have to worry about splashes
- black silicon which though nicely done always outlines the aquarium edges like a photo frame and interferes with any corner viewing
- note the glass thickness (if you’re planning to use lights etc which rest on the glass edges)

You can select and compare models

The Reefer series doesn’t include any protein skimmer, lights etc
 
I’ve set up a few Flex tanks now (for friends) and recently wanted to have one on my own - I have a 34litre “loaner” in white
It’s a lot of fun - I don’t find the back filter section too small at all, it’s a decent compromise of accessibility vs space taken away from display/livestock area (I’d prefer an inch less there and added to the display area)
I’ve planted it a bit more optimistically 😉
(especially as it’s non-CO2, though I may breakdown and add Seachem Excel - especially as I end up running long hours of light)
It also motivated me to set up one of my 30cm ADA cubes, CO2, onf flat nano +, Eheim mini up filter, more demanding plants

The Flex has the black/white back wall but then nothing is visible in tank

If the ADA rep would bring in ADA AIO tanks I’d get one for sure - but that probability is less than zero ... he won’t even bring in pinsettes as the Warehouse Inventory shows one in stock ... for the last 3 years :banghead:
(that I’ve had one “on order”)
 
Andrew Butler said:
I never knew this.
Is it just the overall area you have left as the display section that puts you off? If not what else don't you like about it?
Click to expand...

The front to back depth is tough. Causing lighting to be limited and flow to be hard to set up. I have an IM Fusion 40 and the pump chamber is hard t even place their own pumps in it.
There are just limits that you run into
Constantly with an AIO tank. You don’t see it till you own one and have take care of the maintenance of the tank.
I got this tank because my tank cracked and had to replace one in a hurry. I am taking down the tank in the next month. Will be glad when it is gone.
 
Firstly I've not set out to defend Red Sea as I would never have had one as a marine aquarium although I know things have changed since I was running marines.
alto said:
the cabinet is press board rather than wood (at least so I was told by shop staff) and at that price, I expect not to have to worry about splashes
Click to expand...
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by press board but I do know most of these cheap reconstituted sheet materials are held together with some great waterproof glues that are often very strong indeed.
The nano doesn't have to have a cabinet which is a +1 for me, I think the others do though.
alto said:
black silicon which though nicely done always outlines the aquarium edges like a photo frame and interferes with any corner viewing
Click to expand...
I think there's 2 opinions here, I know if I were to look at the corner of any of the aquariums then I would get 2 different or overlapping views as the glass but yes you are right clear can look better, just not hide the dirt as well!
The best aquarium I ever had was with black silicone BUT it had mitred corners at the front, that really made it look great.
alto said:
note the glass thickness (if you’re planning to use lights etc which rest on the glass edges)
Click to expand...
at the moment I have suspended lights and plan to stick to that method.
alto said:
The Reefer series doesn’t include any protein skimmer, lights etc
Click to expand...
But does include a separate sump, something I don't want - it then just makes it an aquarium with a weir really.

alto said:
Flex tanks
Click to expand...
If they made a bigger selection of sizes, maybe rimless and without the curved front that could be a good choice! :lol:
alto said:
If the ADA rep would bring in ADA AIO tanks I’d get one for sure
Click to expand...
There's not too much info out there on them from what a very quick search showed yesterday.
ADA is getting harder to get anything of but AG have started getting a few bits here in the UK.

Ed Wiser said:
In the states Waterbox has a freshwater AIO line
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They ship to the UK too but no real detail on dimensions aside from overall, again a very quick look.
Ed Wiser said:
The front to back depth is tough. Causing lighting to be limited and flow to be hard to set up. I have an IM Fusion 40 and the pump chamber is hard t even place their own pumps in it.
There are just limits that you run into
Constantly with an AIO tank. You don’t see it till you own one and have take care of the maintenance of the tank.
I got this tank because my tank cracked and had to replace one in a hurry. I am taking down the tank in the next month. Will be glad when it is gone.
Click to expand...
It seems you're not a fan of it either and shipping it to the UK from the USA to find it's a load of junk isn't a chance I'm willing to take, especially after your review 😉

pepedopolous said:
https://www.greenaqua.hu/en/beta-co...-hatso-polcos-szuressel.html?___from_store=hu

This one still keeps the full front to back depth of the aquarium. Some places sell a white version.
Click to expand...
I'm after something bigger; 90-100cm but thanks

It seems an AIO with there being a rear filtration compartment for a planted tank in a bigger size simply doesn't exist in the UK, then again maybe it doesn't really for a marine aquarium aside from a couple of exceptions.
 
The AIO tank is generally the first tank people buy now days in the states. That doesn’t make it a great tank. The back chamber design doesn’t take into account that you might want to maybe add things to help with your tank maintenance.
 
The problem is the chambers become hard to reach if you have a tank against a wall. The bag sinks down and then you have to reach over and down into a small space to reach it. An the chambers are good settling spots for waste do to the way flow is thru the rear.
 
Are you only looking for tanks with the full back compartment Andrew? If not I think juwel could be described as all in one and although they aren't always the best looking tanks, they tend to be pretty good if you can put up with the ugly filter.
 
mort said:
Are you only looking for tanks with the full back compartment Andrew?
Click to expand...
I'm not necessarily looking for any tank in particular, it was more of wondering why as they just seem an easier option in certain ways. I think the restrictive lighting options are what put me off a lot of 'pre-packaged' aquariums.
The idea of having a surface skimmer built into the aquarium through means of a weir to a certain extent is a big winner for me.
I've toyed with the idea of a sump and an external weir but if now or at any point in the future I do decide to run CO2 it's a big negative from what I'm told.
 
Andrew Butler said:
to run CO2 it's a big negative from what I'm told.
Click to expand...
It’s just a consideration in that you usually want(need) to add more CO2 to maintain levels

Looking at Green Aqua 90cm cube style tanks, one runs on a canister, other runs on a sump

As long as the sump is well designed (to prevent leaks etc) and easily accessible, it should be easier to manage than a canister and offer a lot of versatility
With the back compartment filters, shrimp & livestock entering the back area always happens (just as in a sump)
I don’t find much debris collects in the Flex or Spec, it’s easy enough to vacuum the chambers with a syphon hose if needed
Innovative Marine developed media baskets in response to customer demand
 
@alto I know nothing really about planted sumps and from what I do understand they are very different from marines, my biggest concern being increased noise.
I think sumps are a great thing to have to hide away your heating, dosing, ATO etc.
Then there's the fact you have a built in surface skimmer if you configure your pipes correctly in the weir and returns tend to look better.
Maybe I'm wrong about all of this?!
 
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