Ready to upgrade need some advice

ghostmantank

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I started in this hobby about 6 months ago and have my AIO Aquatop 24 gallon up and running great. So now I want more haha. I want to go to a tank where I can do a bigger reef and have tangs, snowflake ell and just room for some bigger fish and more fish as well as coral. So I started looking around and I see the redsea tanks like the 108 gallon tank, I think this would be a great size for what I want to do and it comes with everything but a skimmer for $3,200 which seems high to me. The biggest problem I have is that my AIO 24 that I have I bought it then had to pretty much change out everything it came with to make the tank stable and good. I changed the light, the filters the return pump so its not even the same tank anymore and I really just bought the glass and the stand. So I need some help here, going into this upgrade to a 100 plus gallon tank if I was to go with the red sea AIO is that a good setup? Would I also need to upgrade everything? Would it be cheaper to part together a tank, if so what would be the best way to part together one? Just any advice or feedback would be great. Thanks for the help.
 

muzikalmatt

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While it would definitely be cheaper to piece together a tank on your own, going with a Red Sea Reefer will likely avoid your need to upgrade the parts as typically they come with very good components. It also takes the guess-work out of making sure everything is compatible and will fit. You're definitely paying a premium for that convenience but if you can afford it, I believe it's worth it especially for newer reefers who aren't as familiar with plumbing and the overall setup of a sump.
 

Subsea

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I started in this hobby about 6 months ago and have my AIO Aquatop 24 gallon up and running great. So now I want more haha. I want to go to a tank where I can do a bigger reef and have tangs, snowflake ell and just room for some bigger fish and more fish as well as coral. So I started looking around and I see the redsea tanks like the 108 gallon tank, I think this would be a great size for what I want to do and it comes with everything but a skimmer for $3,200 which seems high to me. The biggest problem I have is that my AIO 24 that I have I bought it then had to pretty much change out everything it came with to make the tank stable and good. I changed the light, the filters the return pump so its not even the same tank anymore and I really just bought the glass and the stand. So I need some help here, going into this upgrade to a 100 plus gallon tank if I was to go with the red sea AIO is that a good setup? Would I also need to upgrade everything? Would it be cheaper to part together a tank, if so what would be the best way to part together one? Just any advice or feedback would be great. Thanks for the help.
Now that you have 6 months in, do you have a specific thing you like. If so, do research to find what is compatiable with what you want.

That sounds way too much money to me, but I prefer building my own tank to serve a specific biotheme. I build the system with very simple tank equipment but invest much in biodiversity. My two youngest systems at 6 months were set up using uncured diver collected live sand & live rock. Both are skimmerless & sumpless. The 55G reverse flow undergravel filter has a 2” sandbed of 50 lbs of dry aragonite and 50 lbs of real live sand. Also included is cryptic sponge filtration using two high flow cannister filter with mature reef rubble.

The 30G system has 2” sandbed of live sand on glass bottom and on cannister filter as high flow cryptic refugium.

Both tanks were set up as ornamental seaweed lagoons and mixed garden invertebrate tank.

image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg
 
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Little c big D

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I have a smaller Redsea, but I love it and everything is adequate. I went my own way with lights but I hear their l.e.d. are pretty good. One thing I would change is the ATO. But on that larger tank it likley has a better capacity. It's a well put together tank. The newer ones have solid wood stands and not press board which is a plus.
 

mackbamf

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I would suggest you look at some local Facebook groups or other classified sites. With a little research on what your needs are going to be you can find everything you need to build a great system at a fraction of the price. Like most everything else in life, the value drops significantly when selling used. I found a RedSea 750XXL (160 gallon display tank and 40 gallon sump) with all the plumbing, I got it delivered, setup and leveled for $1,800. There is definitely some comfort in buying new and not necessarily the wrong route but there is a ton of money to be saved going used which will help with all the other equipment or goodies you get to put in it.
 

jmichaelh7

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I went from Red Sea 425xl to SCA 150. Stainless steel frame . Love the upgrade and Low iron glass with eurobrace!!

SCA isn’t bad. But Red Sea obviously has plug and play plumbing and cabinets. I had to custom make my magnet cabinets
 

jmichaelh7

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I went from Red Sea 425xl to SCA 150. Stainless steel frame . Love the upgrade and Low iron glass with eurobrace!!

SCA isn’t bad. But Red Sea obviously has plug and play plumbing and cabinets. I had to custom make my magnet cabinets
 

jmichaelh7

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I went from Red Sea 425xl to SCA 150. Stainless steel frame . Love the upgrade and Low iron glass with eurobrace!!

SCA isn’t bad. But Red Sea obviously has plug and play plumbing and cabinets. I had to custom make my magnet cabinets
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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  • None.

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  • Other.

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