What are your favorite AIO tanks, and what makes them stand out?

[Daniel@R2R]

What are your favorite AIO tanks? Why do you prefer that one over all the rest? I thought with all the new AIO tanks available in recent years that this might be a fun thread. Let's see your recommendations! Bonus points if you post a photo of yours!!

 

[Clown2020]

Favourite AIO is the fluval flex 32.5 for the simple fact there are no lfs near me that carry marine anything and the freshwater becomes marine with a simple change of lights.

Also it’s a good size for a first tank, no so big that it’s intimidating or has a high salt cost and not so small that it’s hard to keep parameters in check

plus I like the look of a vertical bow front. However it is a pain to photograph through, surprising not to bad to clean.

 

[sotoreef]

New to saltwater and fish keeping overall, so I never had a tank before. Needless to say, love my Nuvo 20. The build quality is excellent! Gonna make a build thread soon with this one

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I've had 2 biocubes and a red sea max. My preference was the Red Sea out of those experiences. I'd like to try an IM or a WaterBox maybe for my next one. There are so many great options now!

 

[Spare time]

I like making my own with fijicube aio diy kits. https://www.fijicube.com/collections/aio-diy-kit

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I like making my own with fijicube aio diy kits. https://www.fijicube.com/collections/aio-diy-kit

Cool! I did not know that was a thing, they look nice and sleek too

 

[Spare time]

Cool! I did not know that was a thing, they look nice and sleek too

I had the 1st edition on my 40 gallon. The newer ones seem nice.

 

[cconnolly]

Currently have a BioCube 32 and an IM Lagoon 25.

The BioCube is about 14 months old and I will say at it was a great way to get myself reacclimatized to the hobby after a decade away. I didn't have to worry about tuning the LEDs or what equipment to put in it since it has very few options if you chose to leave the hood on. So it really allowed me to focus on keeping the water quality where it should be and get back to good habits. That said after about 8 months I realized I wanted to be able to do more and really was missing all the options other tanks offered and the nearly endless array of ways to configure them. I would highly recommend it to someone who just wants to get their feet wet and decide if this hobby is for them to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

The IM Lagoon 25 is about 4 months old now. The build quality and glass quality in particular is night and day with the BioCube. We have them sitting next to each other and it couldn't be more obvious. The most important thing is the flexibility that the Lagoon 25 has. So many options are available. Yes some obvious size limitations since its an AIO but you could even use HOB gear easily if you wanted unlike the BioCube so the permutations of options feels limitless. It took a lot more work to properly research all those options and the possible ways they would interact to create the tank experience I wanted to create with it, but I felt ready to do so after the experience with the BioCube. I definitely would have either felt overwhelmed or been more prone to make mistakes had I started with this tank which would have diminished my enjoyment of the hobby. In particular I chose the Lagoon 25 because I always felt the top 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of my BioCube was very under used by my livestock except at feeding time. Perhaps if I had more vertically focused aquascaping this could have solved this but I liked the idea of a shallower tank based on that experience and I have really enjoyed that maintenance is so much easier with it being shallower. I can quickly and easily reach things on the bottom without getting my arm wet with a pair of tongs or just the lower part of my arm if I use my hand. The footprint is so much wider than you would expect that it feels like a much larger tank than it really is and everyone who comes into our house always thinks its significantly bigger than the BioCube even though its actually smaller.

 

[Haacheew]

Waterbox 20 Cube is the only AIO I have ever had. So far, so good.
My dream tank would be a "modified" IM Lagoon 25 AIO; "IF" its height were 14" I would buy it at once (no customer made tank, too expensive). Anyone knows of such a tank?

 

[ClownSchool]

I like making my own with fijicube aio diy kits. https://www.fijicube.com/collections/aio-diy-kit

I contacted them about a year ago to discover they discontinued their 55 gallon option. I wonder if their 79 gallon against the back wall would work?

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Favourite AIO is the fluval flex 32.5 for the simple fact there are no lfs near me that carry marine anything and the freshwater becomes marine with a simple change of lights.

Also it’s a good size for a first tank, no so big that it’s intimidating or has a high salt cost and not so small that it’s hard to keep parameters in check

plus I like the look of a vertical bow front. However it is a pain to photograph through, surprising not to bad to clean.

That's the tank I bought for my 1st saltwater tank. What have you found works best to clean the glass?

 

[davidcalgary29]

I hate to say it, but the Evo 13.5 either has the best "sump" design, the best peripherals that use it, or some combination of both, of the four AIO tanks I have (RSM250, IM40, and another Evo). Yes, yes, it's far from perfect, but the addition of the inTank media basket, and the flexibility of two chambers, makes it possible to do many things, including scraping off the back of chamber two, installing a light, and turning it into a refugium. And okay, the PS/2 protein skimmer is mediocre at best, but it can actually be put into chamber two (with support), and there are a few other workable options out there.

And given the fact that it's often for sale under $200 CAD ($189 right now at at least one store!), it's a steal.

 

[Latte]

I've only got the one tank so I can't compare but I've been really happy with my red sea max nano so far. Size is a bit restrictive (can't have things like tangs, mandarins without major effort etc.) But it is perfect for my current situation (in small apartment and likely to move in a year) and I am really happy with my choice.

The skimmer and lights that came with it both work great, the included ATO is pretty rubbish (just a small gravity fed reservoir that only lasts me a couple days) but I doubt it takes up more than $15-20 of the price so I didn't mind throwing it out for an actual ATO and it was great to keep salinity stable before I could get the ATO I actually wanted.

I wish it had space for things like a real refugium and a rollermat, but that'd probably need to at LEAST double the size of the back, so I very much understand why that's not possible.

 

[jcolliii]

IM!

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I currently use a Lifeguard Aquatics, however I am working on an upgrade to a IM 30l. I really have no complaints with the lifeguard, its pretty basic and there are really not filter sock or skimmer options, but for a 10g tank none of that is really needed. The IM tank seems really nice, and there are tons of add ons built for it, however the black cover for the AIO chamber is this thin plastic film that tears and gets holes in it whenever you mount anything to the back, and the divider between the tank and AIO is acrylic, which will make it a pain to clean withought scratching.

overall, both great tanks, both have their flaws.

 

[Cheeze]

I have the Fiji Cube AIO 38 gallon Peninsula.

Just realized I've had it for a year this month! Good footprint for the space in my studio apartment, construction is solid, glass gorgeous and the chambers, while tight, seem to do their job for filtration as (knock on wood) I haven't had any water issues yet.

But what really made me go with this tank in the first place is the shape & size, it being simple (no need for a sump) and the AIO feature of course.

 

[hllb]

Currently have a BioCube 32 and an IM Lagoon 25.

The BioCube is about 14 months old and I will say at it was a great way to get myself reacclimatized to the hobby after a decade away. I didn't have to worry about tuning the LEDs or what equipment to put in it since it has very few options if you chose to leave the hood on. So it really allowed me to focus on keeping the water quality where it should be and get back to good habits. That said after about 8 months I realized I wanted to be able to do more and really was missing all the options other tanks offered and the nearly endless array of ways to configure them. I would highly recommend it to someone who just wants to get their feet wet and decide if this hobby is for them to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

The IM Lagoon 25 is about 4 months old now. The build quality and glass quality in particular is night and day with the BioCube. We have them sitting next to each other and it couldn't be more obvious. The most important thing is the flexibility that the Lagoon 25 has. So many options are available. Yes some obvious size limitations since its an AIO but you could even use HOB gear easily if you wanted unlike the BioCube so the permutations of options feels limitless. It took a lot more work to properly research all those options and the possible ways they would interact to create the tank experience I wanted to create with it, but I felt ready to do so after the experience with the BioCube. I definitely would have either felt overwhelmed or been more prone to make mistakes had I started with this tank which would have diminished my enjoyment of the hobby. In particular I chose the Lagoon 25 because I always felt the top 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of my BioCube was very under used by my livestock except at feeding time. Perhaps if I had more vertically focused aquascaping this could have solved this but I liked the idea of a shallower tank based on that experience and I have really enjoyed that maintenance is so much easier with it being shallower. I can quickly and easily reach things on the bottom without getting my arm wet with a pair of tongs or just the lower part of my arm if I use my hand. The footprint is so much wider than you would expect that it feels like a much larger tank than it really is and everyone who comes into our house always thinks its significantly bigger than the BioCube even though its actually smaller.

Well, I guess I don't have to post now LOL, even down to wanting a shorter tank for ease of cleaning and being out of the hobby a long time (15 yrs for me)....I started with a 32g biocube and really liked it. I've since upgraded to a custom acrylic tank, but also have a 10g IM Nuvo AIO running in my son's room. Really impressed with the quality of that tank. Love that it comes with a mesh lid where other AIOs don't. I really considered one of their larger AIOs for my new tank but ultimately wanted a canopy and wasn't comfortable doing that on a rimless tank.

 

[Johnnyrainbowreefer]

COBALT CVUE 40 AND 50 SEE PICS

 

[muzikalmatt]

I love my Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 40. The rear chambers are extremely flexible with how you want to run your filtration. You can go filter socks or floss, any sort of filter media like GFO/Carbon/Chemipure/etc, you can fit small nano skimmers, media reactors, or even a small refugium. Currently I'm running an inTank media basket with filter floss, GFO and Chemipure Blue, a refugium with the IM Chaetomax fuge light and the IM Ghost skimmer. The build quality is excellent and it's reasonably priced imo.

 

[X-37B]

Only aio I have ever had is this used 18" cubed Aquatop I picked up awhile ago. 4 chambers with the third having 3 baskets.
Return pump was cheap and I replaced it with a Sicci 1.5.
Added a Tunze ato, a couple 16HD's, and an ow-25.
A few pieces of live rock from my others systems and im good to go.
Not a bad aio so far as I am just getting it setup now.