Azoo Sweet Match advice...please help

[wcostin]

Howdy all,

 

This is my first message here on your board. I had a large saltwater aquarium several years ago (about 8 years!!) and have been wanting to setup a desktop tank for a couple of years now. My question, well first, I have read all the messages on here pertaining to the Azoo sweet match tank. Everyone has been mostly talking about what they don't like and how to retrofit it. Well, I don't really want a "reef" tank, as much as I just want a small saltwater tank with eventually a clown or two and some live rock. With that said, has anyone had any experience with the Azoo straight out of the box and used this way? I do not plan to keep anything else and just want something small on my desk at work and I do not want to put more money into it. Has anyone not retrofited it, but used different media in the compartments with any luck? I would greatly appreciate any advice given.

 

Thanks

[katydidit]

I was considering getting an azoo sweet match like you, and asked around everywhere what people thought of it. What I got from it was that the existing filter in it was very loud and inefficient, and the powerhead did a better job making noise than anything else. What i did was get the AGA 7g minibow (with a stock14w flourescent light) for about 30 bucks cheaper than the azoo. All i had to do was buy a powerhead (which was 20) and a heater (another 10, which isnt included in the azoo package) and it is pretty much the same price. Another thing that people have told me about the azoo is that the aquarium itself is only really 5.5g, the wet/dry filter takes up the rest. So all in all, if you are looking for a small tank that size, it is much more cost efficient (and quieter) to get a minibow. IMO, it is much more attractive to have the bowfront, and it is WAY easier to get one. Everywhere i looked, the azoo was sold out. This is just my two cents, but if you are looking for a tank with no coral, the natural filtraton method of just LR and LS will be just as good, if not better, than the filter on the azoo. I hope that helps ya out.

[Raise]

Most tanks arent good enough "out of the box".... I have no personal experience with that tank though so I dont know from experience.

[fishbabies]

hello wcostin...i posted that picture page on the azoo sweet match. i would really not recommend this tank if you want to keep fish.....especially 2. i was all prepared to use it, but ended up returning it. besides the loud pump, my bigger concern was the combination of plastic and glass. glass is fairly rigid, and the plasic used for the tank is not thick enough to be as nearly as rigid as the glass. the slightest torque put on this tank and you will rupture the silicone as the 2 materials will bend differently. i thought the lighting that came with the tank was sufficient for the depth and size of the tank, but i was surprised that azoo didn't include a smartlamp. in my opinion this tank would be great for a hospital/quarantine tank or if you wanted to keep shrooms and other "easy" corals and some small inverts. the design of the tank gives it a claustrophibic appearance....like a miniature stage for your fish to go round and round and round. with such a small stage you might need a lot of color ( as in corals ) to brighten up the tank. i think azoo really needs to rework this tank. the filter allows too much water bypass to be effective. i did see the tank in a lfs and it looked great as a small coral specimen tank. i posted myoriginal thread because pictures speak a thousand words and i felt like a lot of people would be disappointed if they bought this tank through a catalog based on the promotional pix. it sure is a "sweet" design though.

 

hope my rambling helps....don't want you to be sad with any future purchases