haven't even bought the tank yet...

[audge27]

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to get some opinions before i get back into this hobby....I plan on setting up a reef tank...not too big ~20 -30 gallons. I had a 46 gal bowed front glass setup before, but I'm looking into other options.

I wanted to know the pros/cons of buying a tank with everything "up under the hood" like a nano...or if it's better to put all the tank parts together (skimmer, filter, lights, etc).
Is it more expensive either way? or is it harder to fix/replace parts on the one's that come together? or do they just look better without all the filters/skimmers sticking outside?

I'm still going back and forth about glass vs. acrylic too....are all the "nanos" acrylic? anyone seen any glass all inclusive tanks out there?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[rookie reefer]

you could get a 24gal nano cube for about $219 with everything.

[chrischris]

the red sea max is a 34 gallon glass nano

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by audge27

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to get some opinions before i get back into this hobby....I plan on setting up a reef tank...not too big ~20 -30 gallons. I had a 46 gal bowed front glass setup before, but I'm looking into other options.

I wanted to know the pros/cons of buying a tank with everything "up under the hood" like a nano...or if it's better to put all the tank parts together (skimmer, filter, lights, etc).
Is it more expensive either way? or is it harder to fix/replace parts on the one's that come together? or do they just look better without all the filters/skimmers sticking outside?

I'm still going back and forth about glass vs. acrylic too....are all the "nanos" acrylic? anyone seen any glass all inclusive tanks out there?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

I looked at a nano tank in an LFS here that was glass. Think it was Bio-Cube but don't remember for sure. As for an all-in-one, that is what my 12G nano is and I have regretted it since the day after I bought it. It has a single 9W PC bulb in it. To add more, I have to just about redesign the entire canopy because of the way everything fits in it. Major pain to modify it. The filtration? It sucks. If I had it to do over again, I won't ever buy another all-in-one kit. Too many problems with it and not enough benefits for me.

If I get another one, it will be tank only and I will add what I want to it instead of what the kit manufacturer thinks will sell the best.

[audge27]

wow...that really helps a lot!! I kinda thought that....but hadn't ever had it confirmed...lol...

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by audge27

wow...that really helps a lot!! I kinda thought that....but hadn't ever had it confirmed...lol...

Mine is an Instant Ocean brand. To be fair about it, the glass one I looked at was the same price. It had 3 different lights in it. One Actinic, One 10K bulb and moonlight LED's all built in to the hood. Even had individual switches for the lights to put them on seperate timers. It also had a built-in sump of sorts that had a true overflow for skimming the top of the water. Same price as the one I bought. Had I not let my impatience get the best of me and shopped around before I bought it, the only reservation I would have about the glass tank is not being able to drill it.

As it is, I am going to build an overflow system for my nano, add a 10G sump to it, a different light setup, a different skimmer. And keep the HOB style filter for carbon, phosphate or any other kind of filtration I might need to use in it.

If you can stomach the entire thread and find the posts, I posted about the problems with my tank and how I intend to attempt to solve them in this thread:

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=112499