All in one tanks

[SnailPowered]

Hello all, I have been looking around at some all in one salt water tanks and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I did a search and didn't find anything specifically dedicated to these tanks. As a beginner the all in one tanks are very appealing because they have the filtration built in and are very compact. The one that I am personally most interested in is the Finnex brand.

The Nano Cubes and AquaPods are also interesting but I like the 30 gallon size.

For my first tank I am thinking that I would really like maybe a couple clowns, live rock, an anemone or two, a hermit crab and a shrimp. I have no idea how much I can fit into a 30 gallon aquarium but that is what I am here for, to learn.

To sum it all up, is it better to get one of these all in one set ups or better to build a set up. I am very hands on so the building part sounds like a lot of fun but I would really like to have the fastest possible route to seeing my first SW tank. Thank you for reading this far and I can't wait to hear suggestions!

 

[Aquarium1]

You came to the right place . Just to let you know, anemones require a tank to become established for a year or two before they can be kept, and most species are better left in the ocean. Read a few articles in the article section, to help you out some, especially to learn about cycling your tank. Good luck

 

[SnailPowered]

Hmmm, well I will have my tank for about two years before I have to move again I think lol. If I can't have the anemones I figured that a small all in one would allow me to start my learning process while I prepare to turn my 75g into a sump/refugium for a 150g tank to have in the future. Enjoy the SW experience on a small scale while making DIY live rock, and ensuring that I can actually manage the tank that I want to build. Thank you for your reply!!

What is the average amount of fish I could have in a 30 gallon tank? I DEFINITELY don't want to over stock it!

 

[Aquarium1]

It really depends on the type of fish. I'm not the best with SW stocking so someone else will have to help you with that. A 150g tank sounds awesome! lol I wish I had the room and money for that. Are you planning on making this a reef or a fowlr?

 

[SnailPowered]

Reef definitely. I am pretty stuck on the anemone lol. I will make sure that I get an anemone that does well in captivity. In all honesty this is all planned to culminate in owning a tank that will be a wall in my house and somewhere around 700-1000 gallons. Or so is my dream as a 24 year old aquarium enthusiast lol.

 

[Aquarium1]

Im 10 years younger and i wish i could at least have a 10g reef lol.

 

[harmy4993]

Reef definitely. I am pretty stuck on the anemone lol. I will make sure that I get an anemone that does well in captivity. In all honesty this is all planned to culminate in owning a tank that will be a wall in my house and somewhere around 700-1000 gallons. Or so is my dream as a 24 year old aquarium enthusiast lol.

make sure you do your research and you dont get to stuck on it. if you do dont get to stuck on anything else in your tank. anemones besides being hard to keep and have a very short life in an aquarium, they like to move around on there own. in a small tank it doesnt take much walkign around for them to sting and kill everythign else in the tank. in all honesty if you plan on upgrading tanks your better off waiting till you do upgrade.

its kinda like owning a saint barnard and a really small back yard and saying well we are going to buy a house with a bigger yard. you never know when you will actually get around to it, you dont know if thing s will pop up that will derail the plan for a week, a month or a year. and your fine but the animal is misarable while they wait for there upgrade.

 

[SnailPowered]

You're ten years younger so you probably don't have a job yet. Save and then when you get a job save some more and start a reef tank!

I was looking at that Finnex tank and there is an option with no lights and then two options WITH lights, what is the consensus on the best route?

 

[SnailPowered]

make sure you do your research and you dont get to stuck on it. if you do dont get to stuck on anything else in your tank. anemones besides being hard to keep and have a very short life in an aquarium, they like to move around on there own. in a small tank it doesnt take much walkign around for them to sting and kill everythign else in the tank. in all honesty if you plan on upgrading tanks your better off waiting till you do upgrade.

its kinda like owning a saint barnard and a really small back yard and saying well we are going to buy a house with a bigger yard. you never know when you will actually get around to it, you dont know if thing s will pop up that will derail the plan for a week, a month or a year. and your fine but the animal is misarable while they wait for there upgrade.

Well I don't mean stuck on the anemone in the small tank necessarily, just that I want to have one some day. The only thing that I am really stuck on is having a salt water tank. I have read that clowns are very hardy and that was a large part of wanting them for my first tank. The small is just because I am in the Army and will have to move. I plan on moving to Hawaii when I get out of the Army and at the moment I don't plan on ever leaving. As you said though, who knows what crazy curve balls life will throw at you!

 

[harmy4993]

there are alot of other things clowns will host. as you will read in your research clowns will host just about anything and putting an anemone in your tank doesnt mean your clown will like it. its like buying a home(again with the home anology lol) you may like the mansion someone else may like the apartment/condo. clowns will host, anemone, frog spawns, hammers, mushrooms, zoes, rics, powerheads, algee, sand. you name it the clown may host it. ther are many storys of people buying anemones expecting the clown to host it and the clowns wouldnt touch it with a 10 foot pole. clowns are weird which makes them cool

 

[SnailPowered]

there are alot of other things clowns will host. as you will read in your research clowns will host just about anything and putting an anemone in your tank doesnt mean your clown will like it. its like buying a home(again with the home anology lol) you may like the mansion someone else may like the apartment/condo. clowns will host, anemone, frog spawns, hammers, mushrooms, zoes, rics, powerheads, algee, sand. you name it the clown may host it. ther are many storys of people buying anemones expecting the clown to host it and the clowns wouldnt touch it with a 10 foot pole. clowns are weird which makes them cool

Hmmm, well what would be a good candidate for a 30 gallon tank? I just like the tentacle look lol. Really just about anything in SW fascinates me because they are so pretty. I did see a pin cushion urchin, I would like to have one of those!!

 

[harmy4993]

i like the tentacle look to as it sways in the current. and i also like the urchins and star fish and clowns and blue tangs and i like finding nemo and umm ya i like sw tanks too. =)

 

[SnailPowered]

So, does anyone have any suggestions on having a small tank to start with? Let's put it this way, I am going to get a small tank that I will have for about two years. In that time I will be building live rock and curing it and prepping everything for a much larger tank. Harmy, I haven't even had a SW tank and I already have the bug lol. I think it is only going to get worse! Thank you a ton for your inoput, I have read a number of your posts and I know that you have a good amount of experience!

 

[harmy4993]

actually i have no experiance with sw. haha. im putting my first sw together now. i had a planted freshwater in the past. i just do alot of reading so i can learn. so my knowledge comes from other people and there experiances.

as for what to get. nanos awe awesome. they require alot of work thou. big tank vs small tank = lots of work for both lol. nano tanks are more day to day maintance. less water valume = more water parameter swings. so you have to pay attention more on a day to day. bigger tanks require more work in weekly/ bi weekly maintance cause there is more to clean and look after. but i think personally the nanos pop out more with the colors. i think they look amazing. so dont get scared off by the day to day maintance part of it(not that i think you will)

do note all in one isnt always all in one. you may end up havign to upgrade parts to get what is really needed to take care of a reef, or you may need to modify things to get the best use out of them. so just go into it knowing all in one doesnt always mean ready for fish or no more money spent. also alot of times you can save money by peicing your own together. its not as hard as it seems. and with people here they can help you compare equipment and make sure you get what you really need.

if you can find zeros build he has a 25 gallon cube. awesome size and awesoem look and not expensive really. get your own equipment and good lighting and you can get anythign you want in it. something you cant always do with all in ones.

 

[SnailPowered]

Yeah, I was looking at that and the one that I want seems to have the possibility to be upgraded. My other option I was thinking of was to get a 30 gallon and a 10 gallon and make my own stand and drill the 30g myself to add Dorso standpipes. I like the customization aspect lol. I guess realistically the 30g build up would be better because I am doing it myself and I can design it to MY parameters.

 

[harmy4993]

ya and a stand isnt hard to make as i just found out. and you can make it to match the area its going in. kinda helps give it a show peice look.

 

[thincat]

Well I don't mean stuck on the anemone in the small tank necessarily, just that I want to have one some day. The only thing that I am really stuck on is having a salt water tank. I have read that clowns are very hardy and that was a large part of wanting them for my first tank. The small is just because I am in the Army and will have to move. I plan on moving to Hawaii when I get out of the Army and at the moment I don't plan on ever leaving. As you said though, who knows what crazy curve balls life will throw at you!

You will be really limited as to what you can have in a reef tank in Hawaii. The laws do not permit any "Hard corals" and you will be stuck with mostly Zoas and One or two common anemones. You would be better served with a Fish only with live rock tank.

 

[harmy4993]

they dont want people throwing them back into the ocean or they dont want people collecting from the ocean?

 

[SnailPowered]

Well...that bites. The laws don't permit you to order them even? I didn't plan on taking any of the fish in my tank from the ocean. I would rather just order the fish. There are a lot of pretty worms and fish and urchins and crabs...I am all about the pretty colors lol. I don't think I would last long with a FOWLR tank before I put the one or two common anemones in it lol. I don't think I can convince the girl I like to not move to Hawaii, I am a desert boy so being on a small island in the middle of the ocean isn't real appealing but I think I am going to have to put up with it.

 

[thincat]

either way, The laws prevent you from collecting from the wild and throwing them back into the wild. Hawaii is so isolated that any introduction into it's ecosystem is devestating. So they are really keen on not having anything taken out or put into it. They don't allow any import or export of any corals, inverts or fish. Check that, they do allow one or two companys fo export but not to sell locally.