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how many of you have a janky tank as their primary tank?


Friendly

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I can get a rimmed 20 gal for $70 or a rimless 12 gal for $135. 

 

in all honesty, i really want a rimless 22 gal, but they’re unobtanium in Canada it seems and they’re 3x the price of the 20 gal janky. i’m debating if the high clarity glass n clean look is worth the price premium.

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44 minutes ago, falcooo said:

Go rimless. If you're going to do it, do it how you want it.

issue is, the 22 gallon appear to be unobtanium up here in Canuckistan. 😞

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i'm still shocked by $70 for a 20L. I know that's monopoly money vs USD, but that's a premium. we have dollar gallon sales on those tanks down here.

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They all hold water in the end...if you can't fit your fish and coral stock in a 12g than go with the rimmed. Besides most people have tops on their rimless tanks and just take them off for photoshoots or you end up with fish jerky. 

 

 

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Honestly, I'd rather go big than go rimless at the current state of prices here in the US, not sure how they do things up in syrupland but around here it's pretty pricy for a moderately sized rimless. I almost went for a 22 or 30 rimless, but with kids and a cat I wanted a lid anyway- so I'm upgrading my Aqueon 20 long (janky boi) to a 40 breeder. The Petco dollar per gallon sale made the 40 breeder half price, so for ~$50USD i have much, much more usable space and volume for only a few inches more space utilized in each direction.  It also gave me an excuse to build a  swooky new stand to do double duty as a bookshelf, since I'm not going for a sump 🙂

 

large.IMG_20190415_164150.jpg.836c29e655e77e5a5b8204ec9883c4dd.jpg

 

 

Even including the ~$100USD I've got into the stand I'm at a lower price point than I would have spent on a smaller rimless tank, and I feel that the money is better spent here.

 

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For me, I keep my tanks in the basement, so there is little need for me to go rimless.  However, if the tank itself was on display, I could see going with the beauty of a low iron rimless tank.

 

You have to consider the cost versus the aesthetics.  Also the function.  Also other equipment like lighting (will it also be sleek).

 

I know that we've termed the word janky tank.  And while certainly some are, many are well constructed (just not as pretty).

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Honestly, it's still a bit difficult for me to really like the look of most rimless setups. Maybe it's because I started out in freshwater, and saw the tank itself as a more utilitarian sort of thing, but I honestly usually prefer a good lid and a canopy on larger setups. Evap costs money. Fish jump out. I find rimless can and does look good if done right, but it isn't my thing most of the time, unless going for the ADA/Amano style with driftwood or rock protruding from the water, and super minimal equipment visible...

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I want good aesthetics as the aquarium will be a centerpiece in the living room.

 

I just realized I can get IM tanks...so I could get something from the Nuvo Black. just debating the IM 20 (non-peninsula) or the 30L.

 

when you guys got into fish keeping, did you start small or jump in big?

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I was into 10s and 20s primarily for the longest time, and pretty much put one on every flat surface of the house 🙂 

 

High school came around and I got into nano-reef, and started liking tiny tanks- my first reef was a 2.5G AGA. Then I started to grab any bigger used tank I could find for a growing addiction to breeding african cichlids. I eventually ended up with a 180 with freshwater stingrays and Bichirs. Started to move a bunch, went small again, and recently got the 40 breeder project going.

 

If I had to pick a favorite I would say 20 gallon long to 33 gallon long is my ideal size, with 40 breeder being top end as far as size. Hard to not have a tiny tank somewhere though, I didn't realise how much I missed having a pico until the 2.5 gallon contest got me a reason to set up another tiny reef.

 

Honestly go for the 30L. Nice shape.

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I really like the idea of the rimmed 30 gallon breeder, but due to it's size it's classified as a non-shipable item, so I can't get it. I live in the middle of nowhere that takes 2 days of driving to get here.

 

I have a couple concerns with going bigger...a) being overwhelmed and b) having extra expenses due to the size.

 

if I start small, I can use 1 gal distilled water for the changes, so don't need to worry about buying and setting up a RODI system. I can't exactly do what my grand plan would be, but it would let me get something up, gain experience and hopefully delight the grand kids when they visit.

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1 minute ago, Lingwendil said:

does Bulkreefsupply ship up that way?

they do...but what do you think the chance of survival is for something as fragile as an aquarium?

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19 minutes ago, Friendly said:

they do...but what do you think the chance of survival is for something as fragile as an aquarium?

Won't they just ship you a new one if it breaks?

 

I got my IM25 lagoon from them, was packed in about a 1000 layers of styrofoam. 

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well, just confirmed that MarineDepot won't ship aquariums to Canada, due to breakage. I can order from BRS, but freight is half the price of the 22 gallon long...making it almost $500 CAD.

 

 

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10 hours ago, Friendly said:

when you guys got into fish keeping, did you start small or jump in big?

I went 5 1/2 gallon - > 10 gallon - > 29 gallon - > 75 gallon - > 34 gallon - > 20 gallon.  I learned the ropes with the smaller tanks, got the biggest size because I kept freshwater Oscars and now only keep what I feel is a nice smaller sized saltwater aquarium for my home office.  

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Hi! I'm also in canada! Yup everything is more expensive here...even maple sirop is not that cheap lol. I have a 30g FO tank with canopy. I figured the mesh lid wouldn't survive 2 x 9lbs kittens soon to be around 15 pounds cats each lol. I did have an IM10 and evo 13.5 before that though. Have you checked reef supplies ? They ship all across Canada 🙂 they carry the IM serie 

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IMO, make or buy a rimless tank, buy some nice glass and the place might even cut it for you.  I've gotten so frustrated with having cobbled together equipment or budget reefing supplies it might be better to wait until one is available. I've come so close to quitting reefing so many times because my tank crashed or stuff died cause I built something wrong or it was cheap.  I've learned at least if you're going to do something in this hobby, do it in a way you enjoy it, otherwise it's not worth the stress, get the tank you want :)

 

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JuicyJJuice

I purchased an IM tank from Reef Supplies in Montreal shipped to Vancouver. I also know J&L Aquarium in Vancouver carry IM tanks and ship in Canada as well. 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Is a biocube janky? I had an old aquapod in my kitchen until about 2 months ago when it started slowly leaking. Quickly replaced it with a used (looks like new) biocube 29 which is a way better design aio than the aquapod could ever be, but I kept the old sunpod mh fixture from the aquapod. Imo it looks great, it sort of divided the kitchen from my living room and I try to keep all the reef stuff food, filters etc we accumulate put away so it doesn’t detract from the look. But the 2- 5 gallon buckets next to the stand for top offs do look janky. My plan is to build a nice fancy new stand for it with a granite top to match the kitchen counters, and be big enough for a 10-15 gallon ato container hidden from view.

 

now the 40b in my bedroom is jank city. I hate that tank. I beefed up a tall dresser to support it so I can lay in bed and watch it like tv, but I need a ladder to do anything in it. Eventually I’ll be building a new stand for it too.

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My tank is a standard $20 20 gallon tall sitting atop a cheap mdf stand made for a slightly smaller bowfront that's been beefed up with 2×1s. Has a HOB overflow and diy 10g sump that I cracked moving and just patched up with half a tube of silicone. My ATO resovoir is an orange homer bucket. I've got a giant ranco controller and Wal-Mart power strip nailed to the outside of my stand. It's janky.

20190429_223703.jpg

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