Fluval Flex VS Fluval Flex Sea 32.5 gal... could you convert the freshwater version for marine use?

[Sink_or_Swim]

I'm not so sure about the SeaClear 29 gal I have (still in box). I'm not loving the small cutouts in the top of the tank as the only access, and am super interested in an all-in-one systems I've seen. Which brings me to this question - can the regular Fluval Flex be modified for saltwater use?
I understand the LED lights in the regular version are for freshwater and won't be strong enough for most corals, but is the light the only reason it wouldn't be ok? Is there any reason I'm not seeing? If not, could an additional (marine LED) light maybe be added for coral growth? (I plan to start a reef tank).
The reason I ask is I found they have a white version of the freshwater 32.5 and I LOVE the way it looks compared to the black. It would just blend better with my living room. Does anyone know if you can pop the existing light out of the hood and put the Marine 3.0 in there, effectively creating a white version of the Fluval Flex Sea?
I'd love some opinions for or against, either way! I'm very heavily leaning towards returning the SeaClear and stand I bought and purchasing the Fluval 32.5, even if I can't modify the white freshwater version for saltwater.
I already spent a lot on the SeaClear 29 gal... and I STILL have to now buy all the filtration, heater, lights, etc (the light it comes with is crap in my opinion). By the time that all adds up, I figure I might as well go with the all-in-one, even at a higher price point. It'll probably be a wash.
TIA!

 

[mforde]

The white background will quickly become brown. You’ll never get it clean.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

The white background will quickly become brown. You’ll never get it clean.

I started thinking about that and I think I'm going to go with the black. Also just don't want the hassle of upgrading the lights.

 

[JNalley]

The Fresh comes in both Black and White. Yes, you can use the Fresh as salt, you just need to change the lighting. I have the 32.5, and since I upgraded my lights almost straight away, I am kicking myself in the butt for not just buying the Freshwater version and saving myself some cash. Besides the lighting, I think they are identical (I also changed out my filtration to InTank media baskets but unsure what the freshwater version uses for filtration).

Edit: Sorry, yes, the Marine 3.0 Light should fit into the same slot as the Aquasky light that is included. But to be fair, the Marine 3.0 light is kind of garbage, you'll want to swap the lid for a Kraken Lid or a Top Lids cover and run 2 AI Primes or something similar (Maxspect Jumps, Kessils, Radions, whatever).

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

The Fresh comes in both Black and White. Yes, you can use the Fresh as salt, you just need to change the lighting. I have the 32.5, and since I upgraded my lights almost straight away, I am kicking myself in the butt for not just buying the Freshwater version and saving myself some cash. Besides the lighting, I think they are identical (I also changed out my filtration to InTank media baskets but unsure what the freshwater version uses for filtration).

Edit: Sorry, yes, the Marine 3.0 Light should fit into the same slot as the Aquasky light that is included. But to be fair, the Marine 3.0 light is kind of garbage, you'll want to swap the lid for a Kraken Lid or a Top Lids cover and run 2 AI Primes or something similar (Maxspect Jumps, Kessils, Radions, whatever).

Thanks! I was looking at the price of the Marine 3.0 and realized that the money I'd save by buying the freshwater flex would really be a moot point once I purchased the marine light to replace the aquasky anyway, lol. Someone else's comment about the white showing way more dirt and grime swayed my decision too, so I went ahead and ordered the black saltwater version.
I looked at the back filtration area online of both models, and they look identical other than for the freshwater model they put the heater where the skimmer would go. You can still see that the space is identical, so I think it WOULD have been workable. I am also not a fan of stock filtration media and I'm glad to see you can remove one or both sides and put whatever you want in there.
Good to know that the light will still need upgrading eventually! I've only kept planted freshwater tanks personally (the reef tank we had when I was growing up was my dad's baby). I do hope to be able to grow some beginner corals at first - in your experience would the included light be sufficient for that? Then I can upgrade it later if I want to try some more "needy" corals?
Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[dedragon]

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I would look into this tank, filtration is set up much better and you can add on an orphek or3 led strip (way better and stronger than the fluval lights, can grow more coral varieties with the or3. The curve on the fluval also makes some distortion look in the tank, its not a bad tank by any means though just something to look into as well, happy holidays

 

[dedragon]

These lights have also been getting great reviews if you like control

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Fiji Cube 32 Gallon Rimless AIO Glass Nano Tank

Unique design and craftsmanship are in the details of Fiji Cube AIO Nano Tank Series. All Fiji Cube tanks are built with ultra-clear low iron glass. The Fiji Cube AIO Nano Tank comes with unique features that the hobbyists love about aquarium keeping. Fiji Cube uses next level up glass thickness...

www.fijicube.com

Merry Christmas from Orphek with 10% to 30% discounts!

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I would look into this tank, filtration is set up much better and you can add on an orphek or3 led strip (way better and stronger than the fluval lights, can grow more coral varieties with the or3. The curve on the fluval also makes some distortion look in the tank, its not a bad tank by any means though just something to look into as well, happy holidays

That's a nice setup, thanks for the idea! I think I'm going to go ahead and stick with the Fluval, BUT, I'm removing the stock filter basket from one side and going to put different media in there. Also going to upgrade the pump per a couple other people's advice.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

These lights have also been getting great reviews if you like control

Thank you, I just added this to my "fish stuff" list on Amazon.

 

[JNalley]

So, the stock filtration is a poor design (Talking about Media AND Chamber design), BUT it can be fixed. My Recommendation is to get the InTank Media Baskets or the 3Deep ones, the 3Deep are supposedly better, but they only ship from England so transit time and shipping will put them about $20 over the InTank option. Also, get yourself 2 pieces of plexiglass or acrylic, as well as some silicone, and you'll want to reinforce the AIO chambers. As this tank stands, water leaks in from everywhere and has no clear "path". It's easy to correct when the tank is dry, but after you fill it, you either have to drain it or just live with it.

The problem stems from 2 places, 1st and probably the biggest issue is that water can seep in from everywhere because it's not totally sealed. This is where the silicone comes into play, you can view the diagram below. Problem 2 stems from their use of Sponge Baskets, they opted to perforate the sides of the filter chambers to allow water to flow willy-nilly into them, which isn't good. Problem 2 is where the Plexi-glass and some more silicone comes in. You want to block the perforations to force water to have to go through just the top 2, into the next chamber (the filter media chamber), let it flow down through your filter media, and out of the bottom into the return chamber. This will make the filtration as good as it can be.

The green is the most critical part to be sealed, you could also seal the filtration area as well if you were so inclined. The pink boxes show you where the perforations are, they run the entire length of the sponge filter boxes. The InTanks try to correct this by creating a shielding to force more water up, but water is still able to get in and go down, which sort of defeats the purpose, by blocking the perforations you're making life easier on yourself and the water flow path.

Personally, these are the mods I've made to mine:

Kraken Lid
2x AI Prime HD
Sicce Syncra SDC 3.0 Return Pump
IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer
InTank Media Baskets

And since I already did the Sicce SDC pump, I opted to go with the Sicce XStream SDC wavemakers so that they're all controlled via the same app (feed time I can shut off all pumps in one app instead of needing 2).

As far as beginner corals, the short answer is yes, you can keep softies, some LPS, and NPS under the Marine 3.0 Lights, BUT you have to place them higher up typically (Middle of tank and higher). This means if you ever do upgrade your lights, you'll likely have to move them down to the bottom 3rd most likely. Just something to consider.

 

[dedragon]

Kraken Lid
2x AI Prime HD
Sicce Syncra SDC 3.0 Return Pump
IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer
InTank Media Baskets

These are all great upgrades to have as well, definitely do the light upgrade (lots of options for that), fijicube has the same sort of media baskets and can be done for cheaper i found, pump can be replaced but doesnt need to be on the fijicube, cheap jebao dc pumps are act pretty reliable for return pumps especially with zero head pressure. Best to calculate costs on what you want to add now to save the most money and get the best equipment in the end.
Oh and add a heater controller $30 and when your heater dies (it will happen) you get an audible loud alarm that lets you know something is wrong

inTank Media Basket for Fluval Flex 32.5 | Fluval Flex 123L

inTank aquarium-specific designed Media Baskets help improve the filtration and clarity of your aquarium while making maintenance extremely easy.

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Fiji Cube Modular Media Basket

Modular media basket that can be used as a substitute for all our 2.75 filter sock baskets. Works in all our AIO tanks and AIO Box All-in-One Kit up to the 40g size.

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[dedragon]

protein skimmer isnt necessary but is mostly nice to add O2 and help with pH stability, less so than organics control on a 30

 

[JNalley]

Oh and add a heater controller $30 and when your heater dies (it will happen) you get an audible loud alarm that lets you know something is wrong

The Sicce SDC line has built-in Temp Sensors that will make an alarm/alert your phone when the temperature goes too low or too high (user sets the temp thresholds). But a controller is a good idea as it can also have the ability to shut off your heater.

 

[dedragon]

I have a sicce sdc pump too its a nice feature to have but i almost never check that app tbh

 

[dedragon]

personally, these are the mods I've made to mine:

Kraken Lid
2x AI Prime HD
Sicce Syncra SDC 3.0 Return Pump
IceCap K1-Nano Protein Skimmer
InTank Media Baskets

Can you still fit a heater and other components to hide back there or is the whole area full? Seeing which place im moving into soon and if im doing aio like 30-40 gallon size or full size (120) doubt i can though. Personally would you say it would have been easier/cheaper going with the fijicube just based on design or would you still prefer the fluval, just your opinion on it, if you dont mind

 

[JNalley]

Can you still fit a heater and other components to hide back there or is the whole area full? Seeing which place im moving into soon and if im doing aio like 30-40 gallon size or full size (120) doubt i can though. Personally would you say it would have been easier/cheaper going with the fijicube just based on design or would you still prefer the fluval, just your opinion on it, if you dont mind

So, to answer the first part, everything I have is hidden in the AIO chambers. The heater sits in the intake chambers (extreme left/right), the protein skimmer sits in the return chamber with the return pump, and the baskets replace the sponge filters. The lid has a cutout for the AIO Chamber design, so you can also still use the black cover that comes with the tank (although I don't use this).

The second part is a little harder to answer. I think the best way I can say this is, the Fijicube designs, especially around filtration, are better than the Fluval design. BUT I think the Fluval has an edge looks-wise with the unique vertical bow that I kind of like, I also like the honeycomb pattern on the waterline much more than I thought I would. And if I was looking to do this all over again, I think I'd actually pick up a 40-breeder, and one of the FijiCube AIO boxes for it (I didn't know these existed before I bought the Flex). But my reasons for this are 1) It's a bigger tank, but not so much bigger it's a hindrance. 2) I prefer a Peninsula Style Layout, which the Fijicube box is made for (though the box can be placed back center glass if you wish), and 3) It's FAR Cheaper going this route since I've replaced nearly everything on this tank with the exception of the AIO chamber itself.

I have a sicce sdc pump too its a nice feature to have but i almost never check that app tbh

No need to check, if you open the app and set your temperature thresholds in the settings, it will alert you if it goes higher or lower than your temp with a vibration+sound Notification.

 

[dedragon]

interesting input, appreciate it

 

[JNalley]

interesting input, appreciate it

Yeh, no worries. The Flex is my 2-year-old daughter's tank. It's essentially her nightlight (The most expensive nightlight on the planet, but worth its weight in gold as far as I am concerned, she has slept through the entire night ever since I got it for her). But, I'm looking at getting a tank in my room, cause I spend most of my time in here, and I am strongly leaning towards the 40-breeder w/ AIO insert option because it would only be $150 total to get the tank and box.

 

[dedragon]

oh i have sdc set out like 2.5 degrees above and beyond the regular temp and my temp controller at 1.5 so it will go off way beforehand, but i will get a notification if it drops too far out and Im also not home which is nice to have as a third backup. The small jebao dc are actually pretty decent if you only want to control speed. The sicce sdc 3.0 is awesome and may be overkill but you can use it as your main wavemaker due to its different functions on the app, which is pretty cool as well (those other modes dont work for a return pump for a non aio tank, they would just mess with my flow so i went with a hydor dc pump(same as jebao)

 

[dedragon]

Yeh, no worries. The Flex is my 2-year-old daughter's tank. It's essentially her nightlight (The most expensive nightlight on the planet, but worth its weight in gold as far as I am concerned, she has slept through the entire night ever since I got it for her). But, I'm looking at getting a tank in my room, cause I spend most of my time in here, and I am strongly leaning towards the 40-breeder w/ AIO insert option because it would only be $150 total to get the tank and box.

I would also remove the whole brace using a heated knife and eurobrace it with leftovers from the local glass maker, I love a rimless look myself