Best reef ready tank deal of 2024 - whose looking for a new tank?

[Fish Fan]

I agree with you but if there’s something I want to be overkill its my reefs stand

I don't disagree. And recently, I heard that Than Thien (sp.?) from Tidal Gardens remarked that:

"Over built is a matter of opinion, but underbuilt is a matter of fact", and as someone who likes to build aquarium stands, I took this statement to heart.

I am not arguing against this tank, or the more experienced reefers who are telling me it's a great value. I just need to make sure it's right for my house

Thanks guys!

 

[JoJosReef]

This conversation brings me to another topic--eurobracing. Anyone know if eurobracing on the bottom of the tank is a good or bad idea? I also have no idea how that would work. Get cut glass panels, a massive amount of silicone and glue the whole bottoms and sides to the tank? I hate to think what that would cost. I just spent $25 on a 1/4" thick 15 5/8th x 4 inch piece of glass for my sump weir wall.

 

[Fish Fan]

This conversation brings me to another topic--eurobracing. Anyone know if eurobracing on the bottom of the tank is a good or bad idea? I also have no idea how that would work. Get cut glass panels, a massive amount of silicone and glue the whole bottoms and sides to the tank? I hate to think what that would cost. I just spent $25 on a 1/4" thick 15 5/8th x 4 inch piece of glass for my sump weir wall.

I was so going to ask this, but I felt that I already WAY overstepped my posting here.

But what does Euorbracing on the bottom do? Please, and thanks!

 

[JoJosReef]

I was so going to ask this, but I felt that I already WAY overstepped my posting here.

But what does Euorbracing on the bottom do? Please, and thanks!

I don't think it's overstepping. This thread is a good place to discuss ways to mod out this tank.

I've never had a eurobraced tank, because all of my tanks have been rimless nanos (including the 40gal).

I understand that 80gal is still in the relatively safe zone for rimless tanks, but not by much.

For the seam failures I've seen, they seem to be mostly on the bottom seams. I understand the eurobracing the top helps distribute the pressure of the water against the glass, but I also understand that doing so on the bottom of the tank also strengthens the resistance against the weight of the water. I'm just imagining that since seam ruptures tend to happen on the bottom, why not reinforce the bottom? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Fish Fan]

When you say it like that, yeah, why don't they reinforce the bottom??

But are bottom, Euro-braced tanks a thing? I've never heard of that. And, I'm very interested in a Eurobraced tank for his purchase, whether it's glass or acrylic.

Thank you very, very much for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[Tamberav]

Because I really want a more contemporary looking tank. I really don't want a standard framed tank, and I'm hoping for the clearer, low-iron glass. Rimless or Eurobraced, I don't care (leaning Eurobraced, actually). That's just what I'm looking for with this purchase, no offense to anyone or their tanks because I know standard tanks can be beautiful!

I am something of a woodworker, and could build a stand and canopy for a standard tank (which I can buy cheap at an LFS - I saw a 210 for $1000 today!). Again, I mean no offense, but I've been looking at these tanks for 40 something years lol! I want one of the newer, more contemporary looking tanks.

Thanks for your suggestion and for letting me rant lol!

Both the tanks I mentioned come in low iron and rimless, that is why I mentioned them

My 80g deep blue had a rimless top and low iron front and it was around $400. The silicone isn’t as clean though but not terrible. The bottom rim is covered by a stand.

The freshwater tanks are low iron and clean all around including 45 degree seams so you don’t even see any silicone. They make our “fancy” reef tanks look like garbage imo with those 45 degree corners and no silicone to be found. I am talking about ultum nature system (UNS) tanks and similar.

I am not talking about petco.

I am not talking about saving tons of money but you might be able to get exactly what you want and still come out at a similar price point since you can build the stand yourself.

If you can make your own stand, there are places you can just buy the low iron rimless tank. You just need to be comfortable with drilling and plumbing the stand. Most people are not, so they buy pre made or custom.

Something like this which you do your own overflow, internal, external, premade, whatever you want then make your own stand. This is the 36" one, you may be able to order cheaper through a local distributor. I would certainly contact UNS to double check if they use tempered glass but everything I found says they do not.

Ofc drilling a $700 tank is not for the faint of heart though I find drilling glass easy. I would probably practice on some scrap glass first

UNS 90U - 68 Gallon Ultra Clear Rimless Aquarium

These rimless aquariums are carefully crafted using 91% clarity Diamant glass, a highly transparent extra clear glass with very little residual green color. The low iron content in the glass provides uninterrupted crystal clear visibility. The 45° mitered edges are bonded together using high...

buceplant.com

Tigahboy uses them for his tanks, they are beautifully made rimless tanks.

Build Thread - Tigahboy's Macroalgae Tank(s)

This is a love story. About a [tigah]boy who fell in love with macroalgae... So I became totally enamored with macroalgae when I added them to a couple of my prior reef tanks (you can find them here in this thread), and I've always been drawn to the freshwater planted tank/scape aesthetic, so...

www.reef2reef.com

By the way, I agree with you that the stand is not attractive, not that it's ugly in itself but it would not match anything in most peoples houses. I think that is why all black or all white is popular because it can match other furniture in anyone's house.

I definitely would have preferred a longer sump. I can tell you right now my skimmer from my previous 80g would not have a prayer of fitting in there and no room for a fudge.

The baffles are super skinny and it doesn't look particularly fun to clean. Generally that many bubble trap baffles isn't even needed. I am not even sure why they did under over before the socks, seems unneeded and just a skinny area to try and clean if you want to get the debris out. The first baffle could just be removed so it drops in then next is the filter socks, would give decent room. Pretty sure Banshea sump is set up without any extra baffle there, it doesn't matter if a bubble goes into your filter sock... why would you need a bubble trap before a filter sock?

I assume that central wood piece provides structure to prevent sags and can't be removed.


Sorry, I am nit picking. If I bought this set up, I would just modify it. The sump being glass, I can just cut out the unneeded baffles because tight spaces bug me from a maintenance perspective.

 

[Tamberav]

When you say it like that, yeah, why don't they reinforce the bottom??

But are bottom, Euro-braced tanks a thing? I've never heard of that. And, I'm very interested in a Eurobraced tank for his purchase, whether it's glass or acrylic.

Thank you very, very much for your help, I really appreciate it!

Bottom Eurobrace is a thing with some custom tanks.

It adds weight and cost to the build, maybe it doesn’t increase sales to have it.

 

[mch1984]

Well. According to CurrentUSA: other brand stands used on rimless tanks were improperly designed and allowed flex / sagging and that leads to panel failure from unnecessary stress on the silicon seams. Most brand are using 2 to 3 vertical weight bearing supports and we worked with a cabinet maker and overbuilt the stand beyond the weight of the aquarium it supports. There is an industry leading 4 vertical full length supports to prevent any sagging / flexing in the stand


A trade off for security and safety….I’ll work around it and I appreciate the effort and research they did

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it just restricts what you can do with the inside. It's a beautiful tank, just not sure it fits my needs because of the stand.

 

[JoJosReef]

Both the tanks I mentioned come in low iron and rimless, that is why I mentioned them

My 80g deep blue had a rimless top and low iron front and it was around $400. The silicone isn’t as clean though but not terrible. The bottom rim is covered by a stand.

The freshwater tanks are low iron and clean all around including 45 degree seams so you don’t even see any silicone. They make our “fancy” reef tanks look like garbage imo with those 45 degree corners and no silicone to be found. I am talking about ultum nature system (UNS) tanks and similar.

I am not talking about petco.

I am not talking about saving tons of money but you might be able to get exactly what you want and still come out at a similar price point since you can build the stand yourself.

If you can make your own stand, there are places you can just buy the low iron rimless tank. You just need to be comfortable with drilling and plumbing the stand. Most people are not, so they buy pre made or custom.

Something like this which you do your own overflow, internal, external, premade, whatever you want then make your own stand. This is the 36" one, you may be able to order cheaper through a local distributor. I would certainly contact UNS to double check if they use tempered glass but everything I found says they do not.

Ofc drilling a $700 tank is not for the faint of heart though I find drilling glass easy. I would probably practice on some scrap glass first

UNS 90U - 68 Gallon Ultra Clear Rimless Aquarium

These rimless aquariums are carefully crafted using 91% clarity Diamant glass, a highly transparent extra clear glass with very little residual green color. The low iron content in the glass provides uninterrupted crystal clear visibility. The 45° mitered edges are bonded together using high...

buceplant.com

Tigahboy uses them for his tanks, they are beautifully made rimless tanks.

Build Thread - Tigahboy's Macroalgae Tank(s)

This is a love story. About a [tigah]boy who fell in love with macroalgae... So I became totally enamored with macroalgae when I added them to a couple of my prior reef tanks (you can find them here in this thread), and I've always been drawn to the freshwater planted tank/scape aesthetic, so...

www.reef2reef.com

By the way, I agree with you that the stand is not attractive, not that it's ugly in itself but it would not match anything in most peoples houses. I think that is why all black or all white is popular because it can match other furniture in anyone's house.

I definitely would have preferred a longer sump. I can tell you right now my skimmer from my previous 80g would not have a prayer of fitting in there and no room for a fudge.

The baffles are super skinny and it doesn't look particularly fun to clean. Generally that many bubble trap baffles isn't even needed. I am not even sure why they did under over before the socks, seems unneeded and just a skinny area to try and clean if you want to get the debris out. The first baffle could just be removed so it drops in then next is the filter socks, would give decent room. Pretty sure Banshea sump is set up without any extra baffle there, it doesn't matter if a bubble goes into your filter sock... why would you need a bubble trap before a filter sock?

I assume that central wood piece provides structure to prevent sags and can't be removed.


Sorry, I am nit picking. If I bought this set up, I would just modify it. The sump being glass, I can just cut out the unneeded baffles because tight spaces bug me from a maintenance perspective.

Yup, that center piece is definitely load bearing.

Do the bubble trap baffles reduce noise? I am actually adding a baffle in the center chamber (4" tall piece of glass) that will allow me to fill that center chamber with 2-3" of mud/sand.

So after the cups, will go under then over a short baffle into the refugium.

To help with algae in those thin strips of glass, I'm adding a black vinyl film to the left and right glass of the fuge, so no light bleeding through.

With a black plexiglass lid covering the back half, will have a macro section and a cryptic section.

Small, but hopefully a nice breeding zone for pods and filter feeders.

 

[Tamberav]

Yup, that center piece is definitely load bearing.

Do the bubble trap baffles reduce noise? I am actually adding a baffle in the center chamber (4" tall piece of glass) that will allow me to fill that center chamber with 2-3" of mud/sand.

So after the cups, will go under then over a short baffle into the refugium.

To help with algae in those thin strips of glass, I'm adding a black vinyl film to the left and right glass of the fuge, so no light bleeding through.

With a black plexiglass lid covering the back half, will have a macro section and a cryptic section.

Small, but hopefully a nice breeding zone for pods and filter feeders.

Noise is generally from falling water and vibration so no imo.

You will likely still get light spill on the return side. Can use a scraper between there though.

I am not sure that the back half will be blocked enough to call it cryptic but maybe a few sponges will find it appealing enough. They will grow in your first compartment too where all the debris comes in.

With it being so tiny of a space, I’d probably do fuge or cryptic but not both. That’s just me. I think sometimes people try to do too much in the back of AIOs and this tiny space reminds me of that. Like half doing both instead of doing one right.

Are you able to get the cords through the holes they provided at the bottom middle support? I can’t tell if they are too small or not.

 

[mch1984]

Noise is generally from falling water and vibration so no imo.

You will likely still get light spill on the return side. Can use a scraper between there though.

I am not sure that the back half will be blocked enough to call it cryptic but maybe a few sponges will find it appealing enough. They will grow in your first compartment too where all the debris comes in.

With it being so tiny of a space, I’d probably do fuge or cryptic but not both. That’s just me. I think sometimes people try to do too much in the back of AIOs and this tiny space reminds me of that. Like half doing both instead of doing one right.

Are you able to get the cords through the holes they provided at the bottom middle support? I can’t tell if they are too small or not.

It is a small sump, nice but small.

 

[VintageReefer]

Just an update

They have 7 of these setups left after today and are only offering additional discounts if you do local pickup. If you can pickup locally from their Cali warehouse, send them a message to let them know and they will give you a custom discounted price

You can still get the eflux 1900 DC return pump at a discount if you buy the bundle. The pump is normally $180 but if you buy the bundle they will include it at a flat rate of $100. Just message them if you want to include the return pump

Also message them to let them know you are from the forum and would like the overflow plumbing to have the strainer setup. They will do this upgrade at no charge for forum members but you have to ask and let them know ahead of time

 

[JoJosReef]

A potential snag in my plans. I noticed this week as I started working in the "control board" part of the stand that the back panel, which I assumed was load-bearing, is sagging on one corner. You can see light coming through:

Other side of the stand looks fine:

I have no idea what the implications of this are. Naturally, I don't want any corner of the tank to start sagging, so I am worried that this is going to necessitate one of two things: 1) bracing the entire inside of the stand with T slots, or 2) build a new stand out of T slots only.

 

[Reefer Brent]

A potential snag in my plans. I noticed this week as I started working in the "control board" part of the stand that the back panel, which I assumed was load-bearing, is sagging on one corner. You can see light coming through:

Other side of the stand looks fine:

I have no idea what the implications of this are. Naturally, I don't want any corner of the tank to start sagging, so I am worried that this is going to necessitate one of two things: 1) bracing the entire inside of the stand with T slots, or 2) build a new stand out of T slots only.

What does it look like from the back? Is that one solid piece of plywood I'm guessing?

 

[JoJosReef]

What does it look like from the back? Is that one solid piece of plywood I'm guessing?

One solid piece.

 

[Reefer Brent]

One solid piece.

Part of me is thinking since they notched the other side for the plumbing then it SHOULD be ok. But the other part of me....

 

[JoJosReef]

Part of me is thinking since they notched the other side for the plumbing then it SHOULD be ok. But the other part of me....

Yeah, I got that part of me, too. I'm thinking the easiest will be to just get some aluminum T slots and build internal supports for the top of the stand so it can't sag. Tack that onto my ever expanding expenses!

 

[alindell]

This still available

 

[JoJosReef]

This still available

Best reef ready tank deal of 2024 - whose looking for a new tank?

I agree with you but if there’s something I want to be overkill its my reefs stand :) I don't disagree. And recently, I heard that Than Thien (sp.?) from Tidal Gardens remarked that: "Over built is a matter of opinion, but underbuilt is a matter of fact", and as someone who likes to build...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Reefer Brent]

Yeah, I got that part of me, too. I'm thinking the easiest will be to just get some aluminum T slots and build internal supports for the top of the stand so it can't sag. Tack that onto my ever expanding expenses!

Not sure how it's all tacked together but you could essentially build the stand and use the existing plywood as skin