New to saltwater looking for tank suggestions

[makita82]

Hi everyone,

I have been considering getting a saltwater aquarium for years and now thinking of taking the plunge. I need help on deciding on a tank.

 

I am looking for something as stylish as the red sea max 400 (which I love) but not as large. A glass aquarium drilled, sump, lighting (led preferred), stand, pumps, skimmer all included to start me out. I am looking for 30-60 gallon tank. I would also like it to be Cube in shape. I would like to spend no more then a $1000 on tank and equipment.

 

Whats going in the tank? I would like to have a little of everything. I would like to house a few SPS and LPS and a lot of soft corals like Zoas. I would also like 1 clam and a half a dozen fish plus CUC.

 

A few tanks that I have considered are:

 

Cadlights I have looked at online is the 50 Gal Artisan II Pro

 

Clear Diamond Aquarium has a 50gal Cube setup but doesn't include any lights.

 

Any others that I need to be looking at or staying away from?

Thanks

[makita82]

No opinions???

[latteslave]

Really depends on what you want to do. What do you plan on keeping? What kind of budget?

[makita82]

Updated my original post

[chrisK]

If you can save up some more money the Elos AIO tanks are pretty dam clean.

[flypenfly]

Reef Octopus makes a very nice line that are surprisingly affordable along with matching stands.

 

There's also the discontinued Solana 60g. Besides constantly adjusting to kill the waterfall noise on my Solana 34, no real complaints. Oh the stock skimmer sucks too.

[jestep]

Cadlights tanks are actually really nice, probably some of the best bang for the buck.

 

If I were going to start out again, I would go rimless, rectangle shape, must be glass. My tank would have an external calflo overflow and a decent sized sump. I've had 3 cube tanks, and would not get one again. Difficult to scape and their front-back depth makes them less space efficient for the volume you get. It also makes it very difficult to get a decent sump. This is just a personal preference.

 

If you are going to go with a sump, I would recommend not getting an AIO. You lose tank space to the rear chamber which is unnecessary and redundant since you have a sump.

 

Realistically, I would make a list of what's most important. Build some option on a spreadsheet, AIO types, off the shelf tanks, higher end brands (Mr Aqua, ADA, Do Aqua, GLA), etc., and find what setup best fits the look and the budget.