Beginner tank selection

[rhorn67]

I'm new to this forum but man talk about a great site with tons of great information. I had a reef setup 10 years ago and really enjoyed it. I am getting back into the hobby and would like some advice on the type of tank I purchase. Like I said I had a reef setup years ago but would am considering myself a beginner starting from scratch.

 

Questions:

 

Advantages/Disadvantages of a tall tank such as the IM Fusion Mini 40 (Is this considered a nano tank) versus a wider tank such as the IM Fusion 20?

 

Opinion on the JBJ rimless 30 / IM Fusion 20/40 / Nano16

 

I have looked at the NanoCube but am concerned about the lighting and limiting what I can put into the tank down the road.

 

Any help will be appreciated.

 

Ron

 

 

[najluni15]

Have you looked into the SC Aquariums tanks? They're really nice for the price.

[rhorn67]

I actually did. It looks like they have one tank that can be used without a separate sump but the site is short on information for the tank.

 

I am looking to purchase a self-contained system like the Nuvo/Nano to keep it on the simpler side. Forgive me if "self-contained" is not the correct description.

[WhiteWulfe]

The term I believe you're thinking of is "all in one", commonly abbreviated as "AIO", where everything is in a single package. ^_^ While I don't have a reef tank yet myself, it is something I'm planning on getting eventually (and more than likely, I'll be starting with a Fluval Edge II/12g, assuming I don't change my mind again, it could very well be the Fusion 30L or Fusion 40, I've flip-flopped so many times on this).

 

There are a number of pros and cons associated with choosing an all in one tank, but I feel they can best be summarised as follows (bullet form first, with a longer explanation of my thoughts and opinions afterwards):

 

-=Pros=-

- No additional plumbing.

- No additional space required

- Maintenance can be just as easy (or in some cases easier) than a more "traditional" setup with a sump

- False wall allows you to conceal most, or in some cases all, of your equipment

- They almost always come with a circulation pump to provide some circulation

- A wide variety of lighting solutions have elegant mounting mechanisms to keep the tank's sleek look (and lack of visible wires)

- Can be rather useful if you move somewhat often due to compact size

 

-=Cons=-

- Not as flexible as, and less overall water volume when compared to a traditional sump setup

- Equipment options can be limited with some AIO tanks

- Not all powerhead types or brands will work effectively/well with AIOs

- Expansion requires either upgrading the AIO tank, or running various hoses

- A number of AIO's tend to require benefit from additional cash up front in upgrades to stock components

 

 

I personally feel that one of the biggest perks right out of the gate with the all in one tanks is simply the fact that EVERYTHING is right then and there. There is no tubing to run (and re-run as you change things), and there's really only one risk of leaking (the tank itself springing a leak, which is a rare thing) compared to multiple with a traditional setup. Additionally, a lot of the AIO tanks are designed to have a minimal profile in the back - that is, most if not all of the gear you put in the mini-sump in the back is INVISIBLE to the average look (assuming a small amount of cable management is done), even when looking almost head on from the side.

 

With the maintenance side of things, they're pretty much as easy to maintain as a traditional sump, but the best part is they don't require you to get on your knees and/or bend over when doing such tasks, although with some of the deeper ones (say the Red Sea RSM, Innovative marine Lagoon 50, etc) you will want to leave room on each side of the tank so you can more easily reach the rear sump. Even cleaning/vacuuming out the middle chamber in most AIO's is simple for those of average height if you leave room on each side (unless we're talking about the Innovative Marine SR-120, where such is probably a lot harder, but the cost of that tank is rather high).

 

One area that AIO tanks can run into issues though is filtration. Some tanks have outright silly filtration when stock. Thankfully there's Steve @ InTank with his media baskets for a wide variety of tanks and his acrylic filtration basics are not only gorgeous, they also (according to pretty much everyone who's run one) completely outclass the stock ones so much so that the best words I can use the summarise the stock ones (going to pick on Innovative Marine here) is that the stock ones would be in the 3/$1 bin at the dollar store. Seriously, the stock filtration baskets that are included with the Fusion 10/20/30/40/SR60 are a joke. They're tiny, can't really hold anything (even the ones on the SR-60!!), and have a bad habit of being pushed out of the way from even a moderate flow of water. The media baskets from InTank are pretty much considered a "required" upgrade by many as they're versatile (you can put whatever media you want in them, first of all, and secondly for the Fusion 20/30/40 you can set up one basket to have your chemical filtration, and the second to have a small fuge in it). While Innovative Marine does produce the Custom Caddy, most builds I've seen here on the forums that originally had them wound up switching up to the InTank ones sooner than later simply because the Custom Caddy inserts - while providing better filtration than stock - do not have the best of flow or customisation options InTank ones do.

 

As for equipment, the reason why I say it can be limited is that a number of products offered by other companies might not fit in the tank without modification. Once again I'll "pick on" Innovative Marine, simply because of the fact that they're the ones I've spent the most amount of time looking into (oh, and their Fusion line is also rather popular here on the forums). If you want a skimmer that is concealed, one of the only options is Innovative Marine's Ghost series of skimmer, which sort of seems to have a hit or miss relationship. It has seen quality control issues, noise problems, and issues with taking weeks to fully break in and produce reasonable skimmate. Others have commented that it always skimmed wet, while others have had no problems even three days in. If you want a skimmer that's from another company, options can be limited simply due to just how small the skimmer sections can be in some models (especially the Fusion 10/20, which share similar sizing for those chambers).

 

In regards to powerheads, some tanks don't play too well with the Maxspect Gyre series, simply due to height. If you're running a Fusion 30 with a sand bed (as an example), it can be difficult to set it up so that the water is flowing smoothly without disrupting your sand bed. Some powerheads seem comically large in the Fusion line (Hydor Koralia 2nd generation come to mind). Tying into such, in some cases people have found that there just isn't enough flow from the stock return pump, and upgrade that for better flow. Some are able to run without additional powerheads, some aren't - it seems to depend as to precisely what's in the tank and their preferences.

 

With my comment on expansion, I'm referring to the simple fact that if you want to swap from a 2' wide tank to a 3' wide tank, it isn't necessarily as "easy" as it can be with a traditional setup, where you could potentially just keep all the equipment you've purchased over time and just change out the tank (and deal with all the tank transfer fun). Since your sump is attached to the tank, there's the additional cost of having to "replace" that as well. Also, if you switch from a Fusion 10/20 up to the 30 or 40, the chamber sizes are different so previously purchased media baskets, skimmers, and media reactors (if you purchased any) might not fit, might not filter properly, or might not be able to handle the bio-loads of the newer, larger tank. While this is technically a risk one has to look at with any tank, in my eyes it's even more important with an all in one simply because you wind up being "locked in" to a small list of compatible parts that cannot always be used in other models in the same lineup.

 

 

 

 

As for the particular tanks you listed, I personally wound up taking the JBJ's off of my list but that was because I can't readily source them locally as well as I'm not that much of a fan of rounded corners. Some find the longer, shallow reef style tanks (Innovative Marine Fusion 20, Fusion 30L) to be easier to do aquascaping on as they can go with longer, flowing islands more readily, whereas the more cubic in dimension tanks (Fusion 10, Fusion 40) can require additional forethought due to cubes arguably being slightly harder to aquascape because traditional perspective tricks aren't as easy to pull off. Cube type tanks can look downright gorgeous though if time is taken to plan not only a lovely aquascape that is viewable from multiple sides, but also has plenty of room for a diverse range of corals (and of course hidey holes and caves for fish to swim in and out of).

 

In the end, I've found with my freshwater experience that different types of tanks bring about their own challenges, and my preference seems to lie towards whatever will work with my budget, the space I'm putting it in, the fish I would like to stock, and most importantly my budget (again). Oh, right, and whatever will let me make the most use of whatever particular lighting I have chosen to go with the tank, which kind of falls more into overall budget but still.

 

As for a Fusion 20/40 comparison.... My own preference would lean towards the Fusion 40, simply because I want one of the smaller dragonet breeds (the red body with yellow pectoral fins) alongside several other fish, plus a wide selection of coral, and there have been some seriously amazing builds ( Addinalis' build come to mind as my first though on insanely gorgeous http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/360298-addinalis-fusion-40-nanobox-duo-new-pictures/ ...But there are several more on the forums) .....And that's from someone who tends to have issues doing cube tanks (although I suppose one of my betta's tanks didn't look that bad in the grand scheme of things).

 

 

 

What might help get you a few more answers from other members:

 

- Where in the world are you located? Not all companies ship to all countries, or there are local/regional alternatives that aren't always known

- What kind of coral are you looking to have?

- Are there any particular fish on your "Must have" list?

- What kind of space do you have to work with?

- What kind of budget are you looking at?

- Is it strictly an all-in-one tank setup you're looking at, or are you flexible with tank selection? (perhaps even wanting to go sumpless, like some of the recent TOTM (tank of the month) winners?)

- Are you looking at a more laid back/lower maintenace tank, or do you want to fiddle/tweak with every single variable?

[rhorn67]

WOW lots of great information and certainly a lot to think about.

 

As far as your questions.

 

I am located 40 miles north of LA. There are a few lfs that I have been in and out of once I decided to get a tank going. Unfortunately none of them have much along the lines of inventory for me to look at.

 

I will start with hardy beginner corals then once established will look into adding lps if my setup allows. I would love to add clams down the road but am well aware of the lighting requirements. Those lighting requirements are most likely out of my budget today.

 

I don't have a "must have" as far as fish are concerned. Nothing crazy clowns, cardinals, blennys's etc. maybe some invertebrates as well.

 

I live in an apt so wall space is at a premium.That has me leaning toward more of a cube setup like the JBJ rimless RL30. My budget is around $1000-1200 to start the tank.

 

I am completely flexible on my setup. I have not made any purchases and want to do it right the first time.

 

I enjoy tinkering, modifying and playing with the tank to make it the best it can be. Watching the tank evolve and helping it evolve is one of the things I most enjoyed with my first tank. Having said that I have a Daughter very active in sports so I do have a busy schedule. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. I want a tank I can play with, tweak etc.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Ron

[rhorn67]

BTW this is the setup I am thinking about. It's my first stab at it so I'm sure there are better setups, options, suggestions so please let me hear them.

 

JBJ rimless 30

Hydra 26 HD

Hydor nano 425 ph

InTank media rack

Cobalt neo-therm 100w heater

30 lbs aquamaxx pukani dry live rock

CB arag-alive reef sand

 

Ron

[Elizabeth94]

The Nuvo Fusions seem to be very nice. I had a 29gal with all the bells and whistles. It seemed like a nice small tank to start on and it was going strong for a while. However my evaporation and the amount of water that I needed for water changes kind of tired me out and made it less enjoyable. Everyone is different though.

 

I just picked up a Nuvo Fusion 10gal and its a really nice size if you are looking for something small. It seems to be built well and are popular systems. I am looking forward to the smaller water changes thats for sure. There are so many people with this tank and I think there is even a nuvo 10 club on this site. So there are many people who can offer great knowledge on equipment you can use for this tank.

 

However, it really depends on what you feel comfortable with. I saw a Nuvo 20 the other day and if I had the room I would have gotten that. I would skip the stock lights of any of them though and use that money toward a better light if you plan to keep coral.

[HarryPotter]

BTW this is the setup I am thinking about. It's my first stab at it so I'm sure there are better setups, options, suggestions so please let me hear them.

 

JBJ rimless 30

Hydra 26 HD

Hydor nano 425 ph

InTank media rack

Cobalt neo-therm 100w heater

30 lbs aquamaxx pukani dry live rock

CB arag-alive reef sand

 

Ron

Sounds awesome! Might want to change that powerhead to a Jebao RW-4 if you want some controllability

[rhorn67]

Thanks for the replies. I went with the JBJ RL30 and really like it so far. I am going to start a new thread with teh new tank setup and pictures.