- Today in the five minute salt water aquarium guide,
we answer what type of tank is best for a new reefer,
glass boxes, reef ready, or all-in-ones.
All that's coming up.
(drum music playing)
Hey I'm Ryan, your host of BRStv.
The goal of the five minute guide
is providing a solid recipe and technique
that produces reproduceable, high-percentage paths
to successful reef tanks you can be proud of.
Today we answer what type of tank is right for you.
At the end of this, I am confident
you'll be able to make the decision
that's right for your desires.
There are three basic options.
The simple glass box,
a glass box plumbed to a sump down below,
often referred to as reef ready,
or an all-in-one or AOI, which has the sump incorporated
in the back of the tank.
All very different approaches to a saltwater tank.
I think 80 percent or so
of the multi-year reefers out there
have an aquarium with overflows that go down to a sump
where all the filtration is, or a reef ready tank,
that's often more of a journey than it is a starting point.
Starting with a simple glass box,
I can tell you my first tank was a 90 gallon glass box
with no sump and just some hang on gear.
I think it's likely fairly common
because it's dramatically less expensive
when you look at the total system cost.
With the no sump approach, the filters hang
on the back of the tank.
Heaters and other equipment go directly in the tank.
Usually not the most attractive approach,
but it could be less than a half to a third of the cost
and eliminates the complexity of plumbing a tank.
Again, I did this on my first 90
as well as my first 40 gallon breeder at my house.
It's just a easy, affordable path
to starting reefing.
The 40 gallon breeder we actually drilled
for an overflow later and upgraded to a sump,
so there is an upgrade path down the road.
Second tank type is a reef ready tank
with the overflows and the sump.
This approach will achieve the following three things
for your tank.
One, you get all the heaters and most of the cords
out of the tank, as well as all the hang on gear,
and hide them down below the tank in the sump.
Two, the sump or reef ready approach
will allow you to use higher-performance gear
and different types of filters
that don't work as well as hang-on versions,
like refugiems, lager protein skimmers,
filter socks and fleece rollers.
Third, it increases the water volume
which makes the tank more stable.
With something like a 40 gallon,
it might increase the water volume
by as much as 50 percent,
meaning 50 percent more stable.
That effect tends to scale down and be less pronounced
as the tanks get larger.
There are two common ways to do a sump-based tank.
One, buy it with a reef ready tower already installed,
or drill a tank and add an external overflow.
Drilling a tank is really easy
and there are a hundred videos out there on how to do it,
so don't let that intimidate you.
Between those two, I think the choice is
do I want a tower in the tank, which takes up space,
but I can mount the tank flush with the wall,
or do I want an external overflow
where there's almost no footprint inside the tank itself,
but the tank needs to be a few inches from the wall.
It's just your choice, but I normally take the time
to drill the holes and go external
just because I find the larger towers
take up more room than I'd like in the tank.
Now looking at the all-in-one or AOI approach
where the sump is in the back of the tank,
or a hybrid approach.
In this case, it's a compartment in the back
that houses most of your pumps, heaters and filters.
It also makes it easier
to run bags of carbon or other filter media,
even filter socks or UV down the road.
All-in-one tanks cost a lot more
than a standard tank of the same size,
but also much cheaper than an overall sump-based approach.
The Innovative Marine Nuvo series,
specifically the 40 gallon fusion,
being a great starter tank.
The E-Series from Red Sea being what I call
the best all-in-one approach
and the simplest tank to set up,
comes with a protein skimmer, a stand,
filter socks, filter media bag solution,
a return pump, power management solution,
and even a light which will work
for almost any type of coral you'd like to maintain.
Also the cleanest-looking because there's a flip up guard
that hides almost all of the equipment.
The E-Series also a bit more future proof
because it comes pre-drilled and plumbed
if you ever want to add a traditional sump down below.
End of the day, a simple glass box aquarium,
reef ready with sump, or all-in-one,
it all just comes down to what you want to put into this
in terms of time and resources.
I know simple aquarium with hang on equipment
is what I did with my first couple of tanks
just because it fit my budget
and I bet the most common path.
However if you're asking what is the best solution
or what I believe to be the highest percentage
path to success,
not just in terms of a thriving reef tank
but also avoiding the costs of perpetual upgrades,
I think it's the E-Series from Red Sea.
These all-in-one tanks come with stands,
look sharp in any room, hide all the gear
so they look clean, avoid the complexity and noise
of plumbing a tank,
and other than sand, rock and a heater,
come with everything needed to get started
so a new reefer doesn't have to get lost
in all the gear choices.
The 45 gallon E-170 is ideal for kitchens,
office, similar rooms.
And the 69 gallon E-260 ideal for living rooms,
finished basements and entryways
that can support larger tanks.
The E-series are just a good mix
of size, ease and aesthetics
for a first tank that lasts a long time.
That of course leads to the next logical question:
once I actually have the actual tank,
what kind of other gear do I need
to set up a salt water aquarium?
The entire salt water aquarium guide
is always available here in this playlist for binge watching
but the list for the most important gear
for a reef tank and next steps
is here, so check it out.