aquarium question

[tidefanjam]

ive been looking at aquarium setups and trying to decide which tank to get,i like the setups with the filtration units built in,just wondering what the advantages/disadvantages were between the all in one units and the seperate systems.i thinking of getting around a 55-60 gallon tank w/live rock,some inverts and fish.havent decided on whether i want some coral or not

 

[snakeblitz33]

Hi,
Well, there are advantages and disadvantages on each setup. The built in filtration units typically don't give you too much extra water volume like you are looking for from a sump/refugium underneath your aquarium. Also, built in units don't give you enough room to work with. You can't really get anything customized, you're just limited to what you can get HOB.
Under the tank setups have to have overflow boxes or overflow siphons. I highly suggest getting the internal overflow box so you never have to worry about loosing siphon. Getting a large sump lets you have more water volume, making your tank more stable. Also, having a sump underneath your tank lets you get larger sized skimmers and hide your equipment easier. If you have the ability, you can attach a float valve into your sump, so you will never have to worry about putting water into the tank.
Anyways, I hope I adequately discussed each type. If you have anymore questions, post again or PM.

 

[lexluethar]

If you can afford it I would definately suggest doing the type of system that is reef ready (pre drilled) or something similar. I'm not totally sure if you are talking about biocubes, which have everytihng (filter and pumps) housed in the back of the aquarium, or if you mean the tanks that are pre drilled that have overflows in the aquarium.
I'm going to suggest going with the reef ready aquarium, where everything is pre drilled and all you have to do is provide the sump,fug,wet/dry, filtration, and pumps which are usually housed under the aquarium. This is good for two reasons, one it is MUCH more flexible in terms of what you can do, you can increase your water volume by doing this and you can also chose the type of filtration that best suits your needs. The second reason is looks, no one likes having a skimmer or filter hanging off the back of their aquariums (i sure don't), so you can hide all of that stuff under the aquarium (or elsewhere) with a reef ready setup. I guess the only downside i see to this setup is possibly cost, sometimes these tanks costs a bit more, but not by much and are well worth the investment - i wish i would have invested before jumping in and purchasing a regular 30 gallon. Now i have all this stuff hanging off the sides of it.
My vote would be a reef ready (pre drilled) tank. Just my 2 cents.

 

[reefkprz]

well my views (opinions) on all in ones vs regular tank are as follows
all in one tanks
pros
1, you get most of the stuff you need in one shot
2, they look pretty good as is (overall esthetics)
3, less hassel setting them up as they come with most of the bells and whistles in place
4 its the easiest route for the first time person in marine tanks
5 most of the equipment is hidden
cons
1 your kind of stuck with the built in filtration even if you grow to not like it.
2 limited on what kind of modifications you can do to the tank unless your a serious DIYer
3 I hate the built in filtration in them
regular tanks
pros
1. unlimited options on how you want to set it up (this is the one and only thing that matters in my mind)
cons
1. you have to buy everything individually
2. set ups can get complicated and messy for begginners
3. its harder to make the tank as estheticly pleasing (i.e. you need a canopy that can fit whatever lighting your going to use (or not if you go with pendants), you need a stand to possibly hide your sump etc.)
thats all I could think of off the top of my head.

 

[swalchemist]

I think you might be talking about a "reef ready" if so it's not realy a filter it's an overflow or water return to the main sump.

 

[tidefanjam]

i was talkin about the ones with the filtration built in the back,but i have been looking at some reef ready also

 

[snakeblitz33]

The one's with the filter in the back doesn't let you have many options, as stated above. It's better to go with reef ready so that you can customize what you want for the life support of your system.
The first time that I bought an aquarium I wish that I had gone with the absolute biggest size possible to start with. I had a 20 gallon, then I moved up to a 55, then a 90, and now I am planning on a 180. ... Buy the biggest to start with and save yourself all of the trouble with the small aquariums. DO IT BIG!

 

[rcreations]

I recommend the sump system with the built-in overflow box. I set one up a month or so ago and while it seemed complicated at first, with some research I was able to do all the plumbing myself, and I'm no plumber. It's not brain surgery.

The sump gives you a lot of advantages like were already mentioned.