Which Tank

[reeplay87]

So after spending far too much time and money on the live sale, I have somehow convinced my wife to let me upgrade from my fluval evo. Looking back, I should have gone with a bigger tank to begin with, because after everything from changing the lighting, the returns, adding a algae scrubber, etc., I probably would have come out about the same.

I live in an apartment so space is pretty limited, but I've narrowed down to two.

The Reef Octopus 32 Gallon Lux T60

I have an AI prime on the Evo currently, so I'd likely grab a T5 hybrid and fit the prime onto it. It looks like a beautiful well thought out tank, but info and reviews are really limited. The only thing I've really been able to come up with is that people claim the RO sumps are known to bow.

The second tank I'm looking at is the Red Sea Reefer Deluxe Concept 170

It already has the stronger lighting, but I'll need to purchase a skimmer.

The plan is to build a refugium into whichever sump. There's a few DIY posts for the Red Sea, nothing for the Reef Octopus. I had honestly wanted to get a fleece filter roller, but out of the ones that could possibly be retrofitted into these sumps, the reviews have been pretty hit or miss so I'm sure I'll stick with socks unless a better option comes in the future.

Anyways, I'm fairly new to this hobby so I'd love to hear thoughts or pros/cons from anybody more experienced than myself.

 

[KrisReef]

I have no experience with either of these tanks, but someone in here will have an opinion.
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Edit: I do have a reef octopus skimmer that has been a workhorse for many years. Looking at these 2 set ups, the Octopus tank comes with a return pump and skimmer. I’d lean towards that myself, but again I have not had experience with either tank package.

 

[islander84]

Both are nice looking setups. The more water volume you have, the easier it is to keep parameters stable. I don’t have any personal experience with either of those setups other than the research I did on a larger RS setup I was interested in a couple of years ago, but I’m pretty sure the sumps for the RS are glass and the RO are acrylic which would be why the RO is more prone to bow. Filter socks are a cheap and easy way to filter out a lot of the detritus and larger particle waste. And they are also a good host for bacteria.

 

[Montiman]

O personally feel the Lux stands are way better than the Red Sea ones. Other than that they are very similar in my book.

 

[reeplay87]

Thanks so much for the replies. Still a little torn. Hopefully will have a decision today.

 

[reeplay87]

So after much deliberation over the past few days, I talked with my buddy who originally got me into the hobby. I decided to go with the reefer. I added a ET Vectra S1 return, a ET MP10wQD wave maker, Tunze Osmolator ATO, a Bubble Magus Curve 5 Elite Skimmer.

Because of how well it's been running on my EVO and the smaller footprint, I decided to go with a Algae Scrubber rather than a refugium. I wanted to go with something a bit more professional than my DIY version, and wrestled between a upflow or waterfall version. As space is going to be pretty limited, I decided a hang on the glass scrubber has been working well for me so far so I grabbed the Santa Monica HOG 1.3.

Will try to post an update on the build once everything comes in and gets going. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Bossman]

Very good choice. I've looked at the RO and would expect a decent product. I love their pumps and skimmers that I've used. But I have the RS 170. I bought it originally with the rear sump set up. Then later put an in cabinet sump and eventually added a algae reactor also. I have the 170, 260 and 425 RS tanks.