which tank would you pick?

V A R I A N T

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There’s one last thing to consider before buying the tank. It’s not price, it’s not the fish or coral you put it in, and it’s not the gear. The tank is the one thing that doesn’t change. The size, dimensions, clarity of glass, etc. If it costs a bit more for the glass box and you get what you want, you’ll be happier in the long run for doing so. ;)
 
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The Deaf Reefer

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There’s one last thing to consider before buying the tank. It’s not price, it’s not the fish or coral you put it in, and it’s not the gear. The tank is the one thing that doesn’t change. The size, dimensions, clarity of glass, etc. If it costs a bit more for the glass box and you get what you want, you’ll be happier in the long run for doing so. ;)
Yeah I hear ya

I think it a good compromise for this tank to start since it not a forever tank. Get some experience doing this
 

Crustaceon

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I would never buy a nano based on the filtration gear because tbh, it doesn't matter. It's not that hard to do enough of a water change to make up for the differences. You'd get identical results from a petco 10g.
 

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I mean I wouldn't buy one over another just because one has a media chamber and the other does not. Nano and pico tanks are easily ran by simply adjusting water change %. IMO, there is nothing advantageous to having an AIO versus a traditional nano or pico sized tank anyways.
 

Aaron75

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I mean I wouldn't buy one over another just because one has a media chamber and the other does not. Nano and pico tanks are easily ran by simply adjusting water change %. IMO, there is nothing advantageous to having an AIO versus a traditional nano or pico sized tank anyways.
I disagree. Display volume is display volume, agree. But 10 gallon display with chambers is much different than a 10 gallon tank. Chambers allow for some magic.. 1)more volume. 2) room for filtering and heating, albeit small, but non-intrusive to the display. I'd take a 10 gallon with a sump over a 10 gallon aio any day. But I'd take a 10 gallon aio over a plain 10 gallon also.
 

Crustaceon

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Ok....

Don't get the point of your statement... I don't think I was talking about filtration highly
I know pretty much have to remove the lid eventually, upgrade the light, filtration and pump
Don't let filtration on such a small tank be deciding factor or even worry about upgrading it for that matter. It's not a big tank and the only reason why our big tanks are set up with protein skimmers and algae turf scubbers is because it's not as economical/too time consuming to do water changes on large tanks. I'd know, I have a 200g system. I started this hobby with a 29g bowfront. A water change on a nano is what? A gallon? That's easy and pretty much covers all of your nutrient reduction needs. Go beyond that and run a skimmer and a bunch of purigen or whatever and you end up in one of the "I got dinos" thread. This hobby doesn't have to be that hard, but man do people try to make their tanks into some sort of ultra-complicated widget.
 
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Crustaceon

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I disagree. Display volume is display volume, agree. But 10 gallon display with chambers is much different than a 10 gallon tank. Chambers allow for some magic.. 1)more volume. 2) room for filtering and heating, albeit small, but non-intrusive to the display. I'd take a 10 gallon with a sump over a 10 gallon aio any day. But I'd take a 10 gallon aio over a plain 10 gallon also.
1. AIO have less room foot-print wise vs. a plain tank because they have back chambers. 2. You don't need that much filtering when a 20% water change takes no more time to do than a 10% water change on a tank of that size. 3. There are more things to go wrong in an AIO vs. a "plain" tank (return pump, clogged chambers etc.). 4. Why would you bother putting a sump on a 10 gallon?
 

Aaron75

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1. AIO have less room foot-print wise vs. a plain tank because they have back chambers. 2. You don't need that much filtering when a 20% water change takes no more time to do than a 10% water change on a tank of that size. 3. There are more things to go wrong in an AIO vs. a "plain" tank (return pump, clogged chambers etc.). 4. Why would you bother putting a sump on a 10 gallon?
I mentioned display volume. A 15 gallon aio likely has a 10 gallon display, or close to. I would rather have the 15 gallon aio over the 10 gallon tank purely for the aio room. Even if I just run filter floss in one chamber and a heater in another, it's not in my display, which means something.
 

Ben2reef

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intiially I was thinking of doing 20L with fiji cube aio drop in kit but noticed some people wasn't a fan of it and rather get an actual aio tank. which one would you pick out of the 3 options?

1. Fluval 13.5g - $249.99 CDN

size: 22” x 11.5” x 15”

I know pretty much have to remove the lid eventually, upgrade the light, filtration and pump. the only thing worth keeping is pretty much just the tank itself, I assumed

I don't get why fluval have the bigger area than IM cube since they have the same height. fluval have less gallon with 13.5 than IM with 15g

2. IM fusion cube 15g - preorder sale for $150 CDN

size: 15” x 15” x 15”

Built-in Acrylic Overflow Wall
Integrated Emergency Overflow
(1) - Removable 200 Micron Filter Sock
(1) - Adjustable 130 GPH DC Return Pump 5W/24V
Includes: Flexible hose, Return Elbow and Directional Flow Nozzle

3. Reef Casa studio 12g - it a new company, came out in august, created by a LFS, no reviews yet on them so i'm not sure yet

size: 15” x 16” x 11”

two situation directions.. tank/ light only or starter kit package with the tank

- just the tank with these items list below is $209 CDN… or add light option: $249 beam light, $299 halo light or $569 AI prime 16hd plus 18” mount

https://reefcasa.com/product/reef-casa-studio-12-all-in-one-aquarium/
3 x Custom sized filter floss squares (76mmx76mm)
1 x 75g Bag of high purity carbon
1 x Self levelling matt
1 x Return pump (200 gallons/hour)
1 x Plumbing for Return Pump
1 x Directional nozzle

- it a starter kit package for the tank … everything you see below plus one of the light options: $449CDN with beam light, $499 with halo light or $749 with AI prime black

1 x Studio 12 All In One Aquarium ( Includes Self levelling matt, Return pump (200 gallons/hour), Plumbing for Return Pump, Directional nozzle)
6lbs of Reef Casa Sand (1” Coverage)
9-10lbs Dry Rock
1 x Bottle of Ammonia Chloride (12 gallon premeasured)
1 x xBottle Life Bacteria (12 gallon premeasured)
1 x 50ml Seachem Prime Water Conditioner
1 x 50w Heater (120v/North American Socket)
1 x Battery Operate Digital Thermometer
1 x 16 Gallon Of Reef Salt
1 x Salt Measuring Hydrometer
3 Month Supply Of Filter Floss
3 Month Supply of Activated Carbon
Reef Casa Bacteria Hotel Blocks
I just set up the reef casa and I'm a decent friend of March, the owner of fragbox, and I can tell you genuinely it has been the best sub 20 gallon experience I've ever had. I'm biased because I know the guy but the team at fragbox put so much effort into creating the perfect tank, and actually took the time to hear out suggestions from comments and implement them directly into the tank. For instance, the dimensions of the tank were tweeked several times such that the actual tank space looks much much bigger than what the 12g appears to hold. The pump that comes included is a no frills sicce and the amount of flow with on additions is certainly better than the fluval base, but I have no comment on how the IM Aio holds. The glass seem work is exceptional, and I mean it. Its a labor of love and you can feel it in the finished project, not to mention the unprecedented care you get with the tank, an email to the fragbox team gets a response within the day and with some of the best advice I've seen in the hobby (including here!). Again I'm biased but I think any reefer can really tell how quality the tank is once you get your hands on it ;)
 
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The Deaf Reefer

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I just set up the reef casa and I'm a decent friend of March, the owner of fragbox, and I can tell you genuinely it has been the best sub 20 gallon experience I've ever had. I'm biased because I know the guy but the team at fragbox put so much effort into creating the perfect tank, and actually took the time to hear out suggestions from comments and implement them directly into the tank. For instance, the dimensions of the tank were tweeked several times such that the actual tank space looks much much bigger than what the 12g appears to hold. The pump that comes included is a no frills sicce and the amount of flow with on additions is certainly better than the fluval base, but I have no comment on how the IM Aio holds. The glass seem work is exceptional, and I mean it. Its a labor of love and you can feel it in the finished project, not to mention the unprecedented care you get with the tank, an email to the fragbox team gets a response within the day and with some of the best advice I've seen in the hobby (including here!). Again I'm biased but I think any reefer can really tell how quality the tank is once you get your hands on it ;)
You killing me man lol

IM is like $50 cheaper, 3 gallon more and it a known brand among red sea and waterbox. So quality obviously good

Reef casa is a wild card, it is craeted by hobbyists and they talk a bit on their youtube channel with their recent update like a day or 2 ago...very early stage of release, very little reviews beside yours, it has a wider view by 1" and shorter than IM like 3".

Nobody picked reef casa beside you and someone else who said it cool if I want to support a LFS
 

Crustaceon

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I mentioned display volume. A 15 gallon aio likely has a 10 gallon display, or close to. I would rather have the 15 gallon aio over the 10 gallon tank purely for the aio room. Even if I just run filter floss in one chamber and a heater in another, it's not in my display, which means something.
Run what you want then. I don’t care. The “ten gallon” wasn’t me being literal. I’d take a 15 gallon normal tank over a 15 gallon AIO because you have a larger footprint with the AIO.
 

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