Best bang for your buck?

[Phreek]

it seems alot of people favor setting up an aquarium the old fashion way, rather than purchasing an A-I-O system. I am just curious at to what the best bang for your buck is these days? A-I-O? Regular? And if A-I-O which system is the best?

[rmlevasseur]

A-I-O is a new one for me. I.O.U. however I am very familiar with

[Phreek]

ha ...ha.....All In One system...

[midwestsalt]

there isn't much versitility in an all in one system

[new reefer 03]

AIO tanks such as a bniocube, or redseamax just arent big enough for many reefers. i have a 55 and need ( want ) a 100+g. with smaller tanks come smaller fish. i like big fish so i need a bigger tank. also a big tank allows for easier to control parameters. not to mention more room for Corals!

[BentMyWookie]

I recently set up a 25 gallon tank and had a tough time deciding if I should go with an all in1 or build from scratch. I ended up building from scratch, but here's the pros and cons I came up with for the all in one.

All in one, aquapod, nanocube ect.
Pros: Aesthetically very pleasing (No seams, curved glass, fitted hood, able to hide stuff like heater in back chambers), You usually get a free stand with the 12 and 24 gallon nanocubes which makes it a pretty good deal, simple set up (no need to worry about light fixture dimensions, what pumps to buy ect.)

cons: Hard to upgrade (not impossible, but to keep the stock look of the tank you have to either buy expensive mods, like sapphire skimmers nanotuner lights or be very handy at DIY), Stock lights except for the HQI versions are all on the low wattage side, I worry that heat would be an issue with the fully enclosed hood, im sure you could prop the hood open and run a fan but that defeats the purpose of it. The back chambers take up your display space and I don't think they are all that useful.

So all the pros I could come up with were aesthetic and I knew I would want to have some more light demanding corals so the choice to build from scratch was easy for me.

[Varga]

Originally Posted by Phreek

it seems alot of people favor setting up an aquarium the old fashion way, rather than purchasing an A-I-O system. I am just curious at to what the best bang for your buck is these days? A-I-O? Regular? And if A-I-O which system is the best?

you can save so much by buying a reef ready system off Craigs list.

[mzreenie]

It all depends on the person. An all-in-one system was the best choice for me as I am almost 58 years old, my husband is 65, and he was not that keen on the idea of a tank in the first place. I have no SW experience, just FW years ago - I know nothing about sumps, refugiums, etc. Doing a PWC on my 34 gallon tank is easy for me to handle, I can't imagine doing a PWC on a larger tank. I have no intention of ever upgrading to anything larger, so this all-in-one system is perfect for me. And, as it turns out, my husband spends as much time sitting in front of the tank as I do, and he has a much better appreciation for a SW tank than I ever thought he would.

And as far as the heat issue with the fully enclosed hood, the RSM does come with a cooling fan in addition to the fans that run when the lights are on. I will be adding a chiller in the next few months just to be on the safe side since it gets so hot here in the summer.

I love my tank, and it has certainly kept my mind active these past few months - I mean just reading about water chemistry is enough to fend off Alzheimers for years to come I hope. LOL

[BentMyWookie]

The red sea max are definitely great units and I would say at the top of the list for all in ones. The Elos is crazy nice too but until LEDs come down in price I would have to say its just too expensive.

[BigAl07]

Phreek you know where I stand but just for "Fun" I'll toss it out there in the open for anyone who might be researching this in the future.

I've got and done both ways so I feel I can offer a slightly more "Experienced" twist to this.

I started with a standard 10g system and built it to gain experience and understanding. That system has been up and running now for 2 years and it's still "My Baby". I bought THREE different lights fixtures before I "learned" what I needed (instead of what the LFS needed to sell to me). Then I have added addition power heads but this is because my "Need" for more advanced corals mandated this. Other than the addition of a Fuge I've not added anything else to this system. It's been running exactly AS is now for 18 months. It still has the lobster that I bought the 2nd week of having water in the tank [i][u](this is WELL before I knew what I was doing and NOT a primer into "Setting up a SW tank").


Then I decided I "Needed" a tank for my office. Due to limited room and the need for a "clean Closed" look I went with an A-I-O 12g Nano-Cube Deluxe (upgraded lights.. .well sort of). I set it up and first thing had to (per another forum) replace the stock pump. The "stocker" produced too much heat and didn't put out enough "Ummph" for a Reef tank. Then a couple of months I decided that the "Upgraded Lights" needed another upgrade so I order the Upgrade to the Upgrade from a 3rd party company. This was a 2 night process which meant taking the existing hood & ballasts home, systematically cutting MANY wires out, putting new wires in, adding light fixture, reflector, new fans (sounds like a Jet Airplane landing) and putting it all back together only to find out I have accidentally pinched/cut a wire and had to go in and RE-Do some of my "handy work". Now I have 3x the "standard" lights so I could really do some AMAZING corals (insert sarcasm here). Then I decided I needed MORE flow so I go and buy another powerhead for IN the tank. Then I got really TIRED of the "Jet Engine" sitting here on my desk so I had to "adapt" an adjustable power supply to be able to regulate the fan speed/Noise! Now it's only a jet doing a fly-by instead of landing on my desk. That was the last of my upgrades (for now) but looking back I can tell you this about the NC 12gDX:

Cons

• a) Paid too much for it to begin with to get "Everything in the box"
• b) Every aspect of it is a compromise between quality of parts and economics.
• c) I have spent MUCH more money upgrading it above "Standard" that would have been saved if I had taken the time to just "Build it myself".
• d) It's still mediocre as far a light goes but the enclosed hood wouldn't be very GOOD for a MH upgrade in my system/setting
• e) It needs MORE flow in the tank still
• f) the "Curved" edges look really good UNTIL Mr. Coralline Algae comes to visit. Talk about a Pain in the Tail-Feathers! Thank goodness for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!! Whew!

Pros:

• A) Clean looks
• B) Ease of maintenance (less salt creep)
• C) Quiet operation (Now)
• D) Was easy to order ONE thing and get everything I need to "Get Wet".

So then I decided to try another "Kit" tank build. I planned, designed and built/had built my current 90g system. I LOVE IT! I learned so much on tanks 1 & 2 that I was able to save money and get a SWEET system that works like a charm (knock on wood) and it's worry free. It's enclosed and clean looking (thanks to a good friend who makes amazing furniture and cabinets) and I was able to get so much MORE "Bang for the Buck".

Now in conclusion:

The nice clean LOOK of an A-I-O is very attractive to many people. In fact I can honestly say that seeing these A-I-O all set up with a "Nemo" on the counter of many a LFS has gotten MANY MANY people into this hobby that otherwise wouldn't have been in it. That's good AND bad. So many times we buy an A-I-O and have NO idea about what components are in it let alone what they do. It allows people to "get started" without doing the "Work" that is needed (being research and knowledge gathering.)

If you're wanting the most "Bang for your Buck" you'll want to build it yourself. This way you can pick out the equipment that your system NEEDS instead of what will "Fit" and is least expensive. If you're wanting a "Plug-N-Play" system that you just add water and watch then get an A-I-O with the understanding it's a box full of marginal components and a compromise between quality, economy and fitting into a small area and looking "Clean & tidy".

Of all the A-I-O units available I think I like the RSM best just from what I've heard. I have a NanoCube 12gDX and a NanoCube 6g (6g is being shipped out today to another reefer) and I can say I've bought my last A-I-O .

Hope that helps someone and doesn't just "Muddy the Waters" more!!

[michael_cb_125]

The ultimate all in one is an Elos. The filtration is not built into the tank, but if you order the system, it includes everything you need. I currently have an Elos system 70 and my girlfriend has an Elos Mini. These are the finest tanks made. All parts are hand made in Italy, and they can customize every aspect of the system.

The system comes with the following:
Rimless Crystal Tank
Stand
Rimless Sump
Skimmer (these skimmers are AMAZING)
Osmocontroller (ATO)
All Pumps (2)
All Plumbing.

The Elos products are expensive, but for the monsy they cannot be beat IMO.
Also, they have dry overflows which are SILENT>

~Michael

[michael_cb_125]

Here is the Mini

This is Megan's Mini


Here is my System 70

[michael_cb_125]

Here is an internal shot of the mini



Another shot of mine

[michael_cb_125]

[Phreek]

how many gallons is the mini? and how much was it lol, pardon my language but thats ske*t worthy right there