How important is a "reef ready" tank?

[bishop]

Importance of drip wet/dry w/sump
I can see why having a large sump area could help. You could add a lot of equipment right to the sump instead of the tank making your tank look better. But how important is it to have a "reef ready" tank? The reason I ask is, it seems difficult to find a decent reef ready tank in my area. Most of the tanks i see are standard bow or rectangle. I have asked about special orders for reef ready but they were very expensive.

 

[scsinet]

I myself have always used conventional tanks with Continuous Siphon Overflows (CSOs). They provide the same thing, but they can be problematic and loud (gushing, slurping, etc). I am in the process of setting up a new acrylic tank with built in overflows (reef ready, commonly), so I'll see soon how that is.
Don't try to talk yourself out of a sump. If you need to, buy a conventional tank and use a CSO, but don't skimp out of a sump entirely. You want the sump. It makes things easier for a large number of reasons.

 

[lion_crazz]

I would always recommend a reef ready tank, but that is my opinion. If you really cannot find them anywhere, you will have to take what you can get I guess.

 

[dburr]

Now that I have one, I wouldn't do without it. No more "wondering"

when away from home.