Aio vs sump on nano

cojo8888 · Jan 7, 2019

First of all I've never used aio before.
They do look good, seeing lot of amazing builds on aio tanks

So I was wondering which one is ideal for me.

Right now im running 24x18x8 shallow acrylic reef with 5g sump underneath.

What I dont like is eventhough I have a sump, I can't really put all of my reactors, skimmers, refugium, filter media in sump because sump by itself dosent have enough space. (20x12x15)

It's just socks filter, live rock, heater, and return pump. Maybe sachet or gfo and carbon depends on parameters.

My question is if I can't afford all of those unique features that sump can have ( refugium, reactors) in my sump, wouldn't it be better just go to aio? If you compare lagoon 25 water volume and mine it's pretty much close water volume.

Keep it simple wc once in a week
Low bioload on fish and boom. same I think.
What do you think?

Taking out live rocks and media from sump and cleaning bottom is lot of additional work I think.

Waters · Jan 7, 2019

cojo8888 said:
First of all I've never used aio before.
They do look good, seeing lot of amazing builds on aio tanks

So I was wondering which one is ideal for me.

Right now im running 24x18x8 shallow acrylic reef with 5g sump underneath.

What I dont like is eventhough I have a sump, I can't really put all of my reactors, skimmers, refugium, filter media in sump because sump by itself dosent have enough space. (20x12x15)

It's just socks filter, live rock, heater, and return pump. Maybe sachet or gfo and carbon depends on parameters.

My question is if I can't afford all of those unique features that sump can have ( refugium, reactors) in my sump, wouldn't it be better just go to aio? If you compare lagoon 25 water volume and mine it's pretty much close water volume.

Keep it simple wc once in a week
Low bioload on fish and boom. same I think.
What do you think?

Taking out live rocks and media from sump and cleaning bottom is lot of additional work I think.

They both will provide the same function. Anything you will be able to do in the AIO, you can do in your current setup. Assuming you buy the same size tank you currently have, you will actually lose DT room due to the AIO. For what it is worth, I have a 26 gallon sump and still run my reactors externally, do not have a refugium, and do not have any live rock in my sump. You do not have to run live rock in your sump........if that is giving you a bunch of extra work, I would just remove it (assuming you have enough rock in your DT for biological filtration).