I think they are no better or no worse than other tanks. The concept is not new, DutchAquariums has been doing this for a while. The problem I have is where to add other equipment you might find necessary later. It's easy to do it with a sump, if it's for FW apps and you were going to have HOB filters or cannisters etc...I think it is a viable (possibly better) (certainly more expensive) alternative.