New tank set up advise

[Girldad3120]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for some opinions on starting a new tank. I am a first time reefer and am looking at getting into this hobby with my girls. We recently inherited a freshwater tank and my kids are obsessed with it so I thought this would be a great addition for us.

I have a lot of forums about choosing the right fish tank and I get tons of differing opinions (which I know some of it is preference). I know how important it is to choose the right tank so I want to make sure I am doing all the research I can. I a looking at starting out with a 100-120 gallon tank. The local fish store suggested the prostar tank, the others I am looking at are the IM ext, and the Fiji 108. I was looking at the Red Sea as well but I have had multiple people say stay away from them and others say they love them. I don’t understand why people say to stay away from them.

My question is does anyone have good/bad experiences with them or any suggestions of other options I should look into?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

No personal experience with these brands myself, but from what I've heard most people like them. The Redsea tank thing is a hot topic; long story short, they had a line of tanks with a design flaw that caused the front panel to eventually fail. A lot of people have had those and some newer ("fixed") Redsea tanks fail in that way, so it's really done damage to the brand's name. The argument at this point is really just are the "fixed" newer tanks actually fixed, and is the number of Redsea tank failures actually significant (i.e. a ton of people use Redsea tanks, so people wonder if the number of failures is because of bad design or because there are more people with Redsea tanks than other brands).

For other brands, GlassCages does custom tanks, and I've heard very few bad things about them (lots of good things though).

That said, hopefully others will chime in for you soon here.

 

[Uncle99]

Welcome to R2R!

I have the Pro-Star 180 4 years now.
Well constructed but heavy with 19mm low iron glass.
Aluminum frame stand fits seemlessly to the tank.

Very happy.

 

[Girldad3120]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

No personal experience with these brands myself, but from what I've heard most people like them. The Redsea tank thing is a hot topic; long story short, they had a line of tanks with a design flaw that caused the front panel to eventually fail. A lot of people have had those and some newer ("fixed") Redsea tanks fail in that way, so it's really done damage to the brand's name. The argument at this point is really just are the "fixed" newer tanks actually fixed, and is the number of Redsea tank failures actually significant (i.e. a ton of people use Redsea tanks, so people wonder if the number of failures is because of bad design or because there are more people with Redsea tanks than other brands).

For other brands, GlassCages does custom tanks, and I've heard very few bad things about them (lots of good things though).

That said, hopefully others will chime in for you soon here.

Thank you so much for the insight. I really do like those tanks and I see them ALL over. I just want to ensure I get a good tank that’s going to last. I can and probably will change out equipment and stuff but I can’t change the glass so I want to make sure I get something that will last. I will look into glass cages a bit more I just kind of skimmed through their glass.

 

[Girldad3120]

Welcome to R2R!

I have the Pro-Star 180 4 years now.
Well constructed but heavy with 19mm low iron glass.
Aluminum frame stand fits seemlessly to the tank.

Very happy.

That’s a really nice tank!! How have you felt the quality has been with the seams do you feel it’s got another 5-10 years in it? I know it’s hard to say but in your opinion?

 

[jda]

Welcome.

Red sea tanks had failures - like they had seams blow apart all of a sudden.

Marketplace. Get a used setup for pennies on the dollar. Don't get cheap junk, but you can find quality systems for cheaper. Make sure that it is drilled and has a sump. If you find one that you like, post it on here for help with the equipment. Large sump - you can also use thrift store or marketplace used aquariums for this.

Some local stores will have used setups for sale too. Don't pay too much - they are not really worth much.

Paint the back, if not already done. Lots of people regret this having to look at drips, salt creek and cords. I use black.

I am in Colorado. If you need help with local stores, then hollar.

 

[Girldad3120]

Welcome.

Red sea tanks had failures - like they had seams blow apart all of a sudden.

Marketplace. Get a used setup for pennies on the dollar. Don't get cheap junk, but you can find quality systems for cheaper. Make sure that it is drilled and has a sump. If you find one that you like, post it on here for help with the equipment. Large sump - you can also use thrift store or marketplace used aquariums for this.

Some local stores will have used setups for sale too. Don't pay too much - they are not really worth much.

Paint the back, if not already done. Lots of people regret this having to look at drips, salt creek and cords. I use black.

I am in Colorado. If you need help with local stores, then hollar.

Thank Jda,

We are located over on the western slope so there is not a lot of good options for us over here. I like to be able to see something and look things over before purchasing.

I am open to the idea you have but I have the funds to purchase new and get everything set up I just want to find something that is going to last. I know nothing lasts forever and is very true now a days. I am really thinking about the pro star we have one locally here and it looks like a decent tank.

 

[littlefoxx]

Thank you so much for the insight. I really do like those tanks and I see them ALL over. I just want to ensure I get a good tank that’s going to last. I can and probably will change out equipment and stuff but I can’t change the glass so I want to make sure I get something that will last. I will look into glass cages a bit more I just kind of skimmed through their glass.

Dont get a red sea… I have one and Im not a fan of it really. My aqueon is way nicer and no where near the cost. I have an IM nano, really like that one

 

[Uncle99]

That’s a really nice tank!! How have you felt the quality has been with the seams do you feel it’s got another 5-10 years in it? I know it’s hard to say but in your opinion?

Seams look new after 4 years. I want 20 years from tanks, that’s not unrealistic, my cheap Aqueon 65g still leak proof after 13 years.

Some of the leaks we’ve fixed in other tanks was due to reefer using a metal scraper right to the corner, and some of the internal seals were cut.

It’s important to clean the front glass very carefully at the edge and the leaks we’ve seen have all been in the front so far anyways.

I leave 1/8” untouched in each corner when cleaning.

Pro-Star uses two overflows with silencers and one return split into two at waters edge in there Centre weir box.

The glass sump that it comes with is OK, but I added my own sump.

Came with everything to complete the set up.

Happy with this tank and its was certainly better priced than others.

 

[exnisstech]

I have 2 redsea tanks and am very happy with them. But they are smaller, reefer 170 and 300. The 170 I've had for maybe 5 years and the 300 only 10 months. My oldest tank (shown in my aquarium showcase) is just an aqueon 180g and DIY stand with 2 hob overflows and a sump in the basement. A lot depends on how much work you want to to put into plumbing and such. Tanks such as redsea, innovative marine and waterbox (the 3 that come to mind) all offer plug and play systems that just require some minor assembly.

EDIT : Plug & Play wasn't really the correct term. You still have to buy equipment unless you go with a redsea max which I think comes with everything.

 

[Girldad3120]

Thank you everyone for the advise. I think I am going to pick up the prostar 150. I am not a fan of the sump but i will change around the glass to accommodate a few things but overall seems like a good tank. My only concern is the silicone on the seams appear to be really thin I don’t know if I should be concerned with this or not. I am half tempted to add another larger bead to this

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

My only concern is the silicone on the seams appear to be really thin I don’t know if I should be concerned with this or not. I am half tempted to add another larger bead to this

Just adding more silicone wouldn't help with structure of the tank, as fresh silicone doesn't bond to cured silicone, but if you're concerned, you could give the tank armored seams (i.e. silicone a small strip of glass over/onto the seams - the glass should be as thick or thicker than the tank's glass to be able to handle the water pressure effectively) and that should reinforce the tank's structural integrity.