whitemoose Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 The Small Reef Experiment This is meant to be a list of nano(less than 30 gallons) all in one tanks to help me pick one out. All In One (AIO) means a sump is built into the tank. This will be a link to the specs i can find Disclaimer: I have not used any of these. a tank is only as good as its keeper. I'm trying to size out the right aquarium This is what I have found while praying to the google gods. Common tanks: fluval 5 and 13.5 5 manual: https://www.fluvalaquatics.com/manuals/fluval-10528-evo-aquarium-5g-instruction-manual-int.pdf 13.5 manual: https://www.fluvalaquatics.com/manuals/fluval-10531-evo-aquarium13.5g-manual-eng-na.pdf nuvo fusion pro 10, 14p, 20p, 20 manual:https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/22dc9f_01de1fcfb50446f8917efc329bd96c15.pdf nuvo concept pro 20 and 20p a unique style but i believe it leads to wasted space manual: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/22dc9f_01de1fcfb50446f8917efc329bd96c15.pdf redsea nano 20 gallon to costly for my budget but looks amazing. redsea manual: https://5w56d28u4co20frgwagf5y18-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/MAX-NANO-Manuals.pdf vca starfire 24 very sharp looking website: http://www.scaquariums.com/SCA-24-Gallon-Starfire-Tank-p/sca-24g.htm coralife biocube 16 and 32 classics manual 16: https://coralifeproducts.com/Files/Product/manual-cor-ledbiocube16-15661.pdf manual 32: https://coralifeproducts.com/Files/Product/manual-cor-ledbiocube32-15662.pdf jbj nanocube 28 manual: http://jbjaquarium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MT-604_Manual.pdf jbj rimless 25 jbj rimless manual: http://jbjaquarium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/RF-254565_Manual.pdf lifegard full view 5 and 7 website with manual: https://www.lifegardaquatics.com/products/lifegard-full-view-aquariums-with-back-filter/ lifegard crystal 24, 10, 4, and 14p, 7.5p, 4p website: https://www.lifegardaquatics.com/products/lifegard-crystal-aquariums/ waterbox cube 10 and 20 website: https://www.waterboxaquariums.com/freshwater/cube/ waterbox aio 28, 30 website: https://www.waterboxaquariums.com/freshwater/all-in-one/ cobalt aquaitcs cvue 18, 26 website: https://www.cobaltaquatics.com/collections/aquariums/products/c-vue-aquarium-kit fiji cube nano 11, 18.5, 22.5, 30 website with measurement of tanks: https://www.fijicube.com/collections/glass-all-in-one-aquarium/products/22-4-gallon-rimless-aio-glass-nano-tank-fiji-cube All of these tanks are suitable for what I'm looking for. Planning to run a soft coral tank to stat and see if it grows. I'm planing to keep it low tech. Filter: Floss to sponge to bio medium. push as much marine pure into low flow area in sump, change floss ever other day. manual twice a day topoffs. I plan on stating out with just water changes and move on to dosing if my testing says so plan 1.this tank is mostly start some growing mushrooms and zoanthis, 2.plant to add green star polyp or Kenya tree (something hardy) to increase my load on tank 3. as bioload grows i will improve my testing and dosing abilities and become better at keeping stability in larger bio loads along the way i want to find the best nano all in one tank If there are any design flaws to avoid in any tanks listed please let me know Any other advise on picking between these would also be useful Please leave a list of any other equipment that is a must for a nano tank Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Is this your first tank? I'd ditch the sponge in the filter, it's really a nutrient trap and can't be cleaned properly/completely. I don't use bio media myself, rely completely on liverock. Some like to use it, others don't. I have 2 IM tanks. Love them both. Love the thick glass, the design, ease of use. Would definitely buy another. I have a fluval spec- hate the sump area, very poorly designed, never works properly and the stock pump sucked. The evo's are nice looking. Lighting is often upgraded by many. Waterbox is becoming popular. Biocubes are classic. Some don't like the curved glass, it gives a distorted appearance and may be difficult to clean. Otherwise it's a popular choice. Red sea are gorgeous and have a very good reputation. Things for a nano tank Powethead/wavemaker Good light Good heater Heater controller Liverock/dryrock Media basket Additional heater&pump for mixing water 1 Quote Link to comment
whitemoose Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 I have a 2 55l fresh water aquascape tanks and a shrimp tank and am thinking about making a larger saltwater tank in the future. Not an expert but i do my research first. Thank you for your in put. I will look in to the bio medium vs rock. also thank you for the note on the sponge. Have you heard any thing about the lifegard tanks? Also what IM tanks do you have? I'm looking at mainly the nuvo 20 vs the nuvo 20peninsula, It looks as though a lot of the sum p in the the 20 will have dead flow spot where as the Nuvo 20pensinsula looks to have more flow in general. Am i missing a benefit that is added with having the two entrances to the back or will there just have to be more filters to replace? Really quite a shame as the regular nuvo 20 whould fit my fish room much nicer. Quote Link to comment
colinadam Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I have only had nano/bio cubes and just got an IM 30L to setup next. The problems with cubes is that they are tougher to aquascape and seem to fill up more. I am really looking forward to the 30L, after seeing the build quality I dont think you can go wrong with an IM brand tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 35 minutes ago, colinadam said: I have only had nano/bio cubes and just got an IM 30L to setup next. The problems with cubes is that they are tougher to aquascape and seem to fill up more. I am really looking forward to the 30L, after seeing the build quality I dont think you can go wrong with an IM brand tank. I have a 25 lagoon and 10g nano, I have to agree, the aquascaping in the 10g cube was more limited to the lagoon. I love the lagoon. 47 minutes ago, whitemoose said: I have a 2 55l fresh water aquascape tanks and a shrimp tank and am thinking about making a larger saltwater tank in the future. Not an expert but i do my research first. Thank you for your in put. I will look in to the bio medium vs rock. also thank you for the note on the sponge. Have you heard any thing about the lifegard tanks? Also what IM tanks do you have? I'm looking at mainly the nuvo 20 vs the nuvo 20peninsula, It looks as though a lot of the sum p in the the 20 will have dead flow spot where as the Nuvo 20pensinsula looks to have more flow in general. Am i missing a benefit that is added with having the two entrances to the back or will there just have to be more filters to replace? Really quite a shame as the regular nuvo 20 whould fit my fish room much nicer. I have not seen the Lifeguard tanks, they aren't sold here. I have the 25 lagoon and the 10g nuvo. I have not had issues with dead zones in either. I upgraded my pumps to the mighty jets. The 20g has 2 overflows because of the dimensions of the tank, same with the lagoon. Because of the shape, there is better filteration with 2 returns. The peninsula is a long tank and often with the peninsula's, there is only 1 return. The IM's are really nice tanks. Quote Link to comment
whitemoose Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 With the IM peninsula vs the lagoon styles do you think the 2nd skimmer is useful on the 20. I could see it taking extra maintenance and it would remove area from the display side. I'm wondering if you think the 2nd skimmer is worth it at this size. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Any tank + a Tunze Reefpack could go on the list. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 1:17 AM, whitemoose said: With the IM peninsula vs the lagoon styles do you think the 2nd skimmer is useful on the 20. I could see it taking extra maintenance and it would remove area from the display side. I'm wondering if you think the 2nd skimmer is worth it at this size. I don't use any skimmer on my tanks. They are beneficial on some systems but not all and definitely 2 skimmers on a nano is over kill Quote Link to comment
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