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Ok ok, that might be a little drastic. But is it? Several weeks ago I remember putting my two cent in about fish jumping. My point was that sometimes fish don't always jump because of water quality but because of equipment and pumps. Often times return pumps and powerheads can cause so much noise, that it will literally drive fish crazy.
I started reefing January 2015 and had never had a fish jump on me. My old tank was a 20 gallon standard tall tank with a skimmer. Pretty basic with a couple powerheads and a heater. The noise and vibrations were minimal. The skimmer was a hang on back and the powerheads were changed out for quieter powerheads. Eventually the tank was tolerable not just for my ears but my fish expressed better behavior. Then the time came for an upgrade. I needed a newer, more attractive tank.
It's been more than a year I've owned the 20 gallon standard. Never had an issue. Well, except for tank pests like bryopsis, aiptasia, dinos etc etc. None the less, no fish died or jumped. So I started shopping. Looked at the IM and the red sea series. JBJ was right on budget and I didn't want the sharp 90 degree edge finish like IM Nuvos displayed. JBJ RL 30 it was. Nice look, came with a stand, yada yada. So whats my point? Or you probably already know where i'm going with this. And it's not JBJ in particular that i'm writing this about. More or less, the AIO concept is flawed. Or maybe it's JBJ AIO that is flawed. Of all the research I've done, I didn't consider the noise a return pump would make. IN ADDITION to the skimmer hanging off the back. I suppose you could say it's the pumps fault.
So, I tried switching out pumps. I replaced the dual stock Accela 256g/hr pumps for a Jebao DC3000. The DC3000 still had vibrations so I switched it out for the DCT4000 and its still had vibrations only they were little higher pitch. Since my backup sicce pump was a rattling point of sale, i just wrote the pumps off as having vibrations. It's in the pumps nature. That said, why put a rattling vibrating pump INSIDE the display tank? Then to make matters worse, we strive to create a lid or cover to keep the fish from jumping...LOL. Why not build an environment that will keep the fish happy? Keep it to where they don't want to commit suicide? Oh wait, that's what we believe we are doing...
The DIY lid I switched out for the stock glass lids seemed like a better option. However, the back acrylic overflow wall is bowed so much that there is a gap between the DIY lid rim and the back overflow wall. Either way, I'm not comfortable with this glass cage. Neither are my fish.. In fact my male clownfish ditched his partner for a more comfortable spot on my living room floor. Seemed like a great snack for my cat too. RIP little clown.
Hopefully I will be seeing a new fish tank in the near future. Or I'll just give up on this over priced hobby.
I started reefing January 2015 and had never had a fish jump on me. My old tank was a 20 gallon standard tall tank with a skimmer. Pretty basic with a couple powerheads and a heater. The noise and vibrations were minimal. The skimmer was a hang on back and the powerheads were changed out for quieter powerheads. Eventually the tank was tolerable not just for my ears but my fish expressed better behavior. Then the time came for an upgrade. I needed a newer, more attractive tank.
It's been more than a year I've owned the 20 gallon standard. Never had an issue. Well, except for tank pests like bryopsis, aiptasia, dinos etc etc. None the less, no fish died or jumped. So I started shopping. Looked at the IM and the red sea series. JBJ was right on budget and I didn't want the sharp 90 degree edge finish like IM Nuvos displayed. JBJ RL 30 it was. Nice look, came with a stand, yada yada. So whats my point? Or you probably already know where i'm going with this. And it's not JBJ in particular that i'm writing this about. More or less, the AIO concept is flawed. Or maybe it's JBJ AIO that is flawed. Of all the research I've done, I didn't consider the noise a return pump would make. IN ADDITION to the skimmer hanging off the back. I suppose you could say it's the pumps fault.
So, I tried switching out pumps. I replaced the dual stock Accela 256g/hr pumps for a Jebao DC3000. The DC3000 still had vibrations so I switched it out for the DCT4000 and its still had vibrations only they were little higher pitch. Since my backup sicce pump was a rattling point of sale, i just wrote the pumps off as having vibrations. It's in the pumps nature. That said, why put a rattling vibrating pump INSIDE the display tank? Then to make matters worse, we strive to create a lid or cover to keep the fish from jumping...LOL. Why not build an environment that will keep the fish happy? Keep it to where they don't want to commit suicide? Oh wait, that's what we believe we are doing...
The DIY lid I switched out for the stock glass lids seemed like a better option. However, the back acrylic overflow wall is bowed so much that there is a gap between the DIY lid rim and the back overflow wall. Either way, I'm not comfortable with this glass cage. Neither are my fish.. In fact my male clownfish ditched his partner for a more comfortable spot on my living room floor. Seemed like a great snack for my cat too. RIP little clown.
Hopefully I will be seeing a new fish tank in the near future. Or I'll just give up on this over priced hobby.
