Is a reef-ready tank really necessary?

[hubsocket]

Brand new to the hobby. Been reading The Conscientious Aquarist and as many threads as I can on the web. I have purchased no equipment yet as I would like to really understand as much as I can while waiting for the ideal setup to find me (can't hurt to wish right).

I'd like to go with a 4' tank, thinking ideally a 90, although a 120 would be cool as well.

Question is; with a tank this size is purchasing a "reef-ready" tank really necessary? I've read about making your own overflows with acrylic and drilling the tank etc. Seems all the reef-ready used tanks sell for way over the standard non-drilled, non-reef-ready tank.

I plan to set it up with a sump and fuge, keeping the deep sand bed out of the main tank keeping only maybe 1" sand bed in the tank. Will be fish and live rock only although I'm probably kidding myself and will add later on some coral or at least an anenome for some clowns.

Thank you.

 

[auqua man]

If I could go back in time I would get the reef ready tank.
P.S. make sure you are happy with the cabnet saves a lot of work later lol.

 

[Grey Legion]

I would have to agree having a reef read tank may cost a bit more now but will save you so much time in the future and alloe your hobby to grow without having to buy a new main tank. 90G is a great size..

Have fun !!

 

[Scooterman]

How much of a DIYer are you?
Personally the more holes you have through the glass the better
If you plan on a sump I'd get a tank with pre-drilled holes, more is good in this case, If your really good then you could buy a regular tank, buy a bit & drill your own holes & risk it, also make the overflows etc but really if this is your first I'd go RR. If you want to save money build your own stand & hood, that will save you a ton!
Look at the Members showcase forums here & get some tank ideas & ask many questions up front before you buy. This will save you lots of headaches & money.
Also; Welcome to RF!

 

[Brenden]

I agree A reef ready is def the way to go. Drilling holes in glass can be tricky. You can by my tank it is RR and still running

 

[LakeEd]

Hubsocket,

1st... WELCOME TO REEF FRONTIERS!!!

Is it necessary? Nothing in this hobby is "necessary"... too many different ways to do something.

However, I wouldn't try a tank larger than possiblly a 24gallon nano, without a sump... and having a tank that is "Reef Ready" sure helps when it comes to getting water from tank to sump to tank again!

 

[jsmkmavity]

i learn everything the hard way and reefing is no exception. the one thing that has caused me the most trouble in terms of time and money is getting a 125 that was not reef ready.

 

[diablo]

#1st Like every one else welcome to reef frontiers!

#2nd Sounds like you done alittle reading which I will have to say is alot more than most.

#3rd you found Reef Frontiers!! great job!!!

ok now with that out of the way.

Well from experiance a drilled tank is the only way to go with saltwater fish only or a reef. gets to be a pain with a undrilled tank trying to surface skim. the pre drilled overflows do that already.

Also have you seen tanks with heaters and Hang on back skimmers?? They take up too much room and they are noticable. With a pre drilled tank you will have a refugium, wet dry, or just a basic sump (water in water out). This will allow you to put most of your system below the tank. So the main tank will be focused on your inhabitants not your hardware. If you do a refugium its like having a tottaly different tank within your system you can almost find more things living in your "fuge" than in the main tank. Plus all the benifits it creates.

This is a great start asking question before you buy! great game plan!

One bit of advise is to make shure you spend the money wisely. Dont buy a expensive peice of crap because it may save you money now. You will end up buying the right peice later and your money from the first experiance will be gone. Now you are costing yourself twice as much which if you bought the good stuff in the first place thats money later for more upgrades!

look into beckett skimmers, metal halides (for reef tanks), chiller, and a good upgrade later will be a calcium reactor.

I would go bigger if you could. It opens up so many more possiblities, as far as fish selection, corals, over all a more stable system.

best of luck to you! keep us posted on what you choose!

 

[DaBrowns]

Well from one newbie to another...listen to these guys advice!! We spent MANY hours talking to folks here before setting ours up and @ one time had decided to put it off completely because our "dream tank" was simply to expensive. Less than a week later we found it used with a stand for hundreds less than we thought it would be...suddenly we were back in the game.

Two things to keep in mind as you move forward...1st is buy the big stuff used, but from someone you trust. (EVERYONE in this hobby is USUALLY always looking to improve upon what they have) this means they will be selling their stuff and it's a great way to get a deal. 2nd carefully consider the location of the tank in your living space...then go as big as possible. You will not regret it. It would be unfortunate to have to add your name to the LONG list of "I wish we'd went bigger" threads here. You'll save a ton of dough by spending a little time deciding on exactly the right size. Kinda like buying a 1bdrm house knowing you want a family. You will ALWAYS want to grow your Ecosystem. SIZE IS FLEXIBILITY!!

Since you're planning a sump/fuge system - definetely go w/ a reef ready tank. It's just to easy for you or someone else to make the smallest mistake when you DIY and it might not reveal itself for a very long time. Then your whole investment could literally go down the drain...not to mention flooding a floor, basement, etc.

Sorry for the long post...just one more thing: build your own stand!! It's easy, still relatively cheap. Build the cabinet at LEAST 6" taller than you think you'll need. The guy who built mine did a good job...but it's tight underneath with a standard 55g sump/fuge, and the plumbing is cumbersome to work around. (You'll be in there ALOT)

Last thing - PLAN AND DO THE ELECTRICAL FIRST!! I can't stress this enough. It was my biggest mistake. People can say what they want, but in the end your entire system is dependent and limited by the amount of juice you can give it. It's WAY easier to plug everything in before the tanks are full. I learned this the hard way.

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF! Sounds like you've gotten some good replies already IMO, a reef ready tank isn't necessary. As they say, "There are more ways to skin a cat in this hobby" BUT...It all depends on how you want to go about things. A RR tank will make life easier, but you can buy hang on prefilters/overflows to connect to your sump and you can add flow into your tank with powerheads like Tunzes that will give you all the flow you need without having to drill your tank. However, some people like the "stealth" look and so they go for the drilled tank with built in overflows and call it a day. It's all up to how you want to go about it though, but by no means do you need a RR tank, to have a saltwater setup

 

[roblou]

Hi hubsocket: like others have already mentioned, I would suggest getting a predrilled tank (reef ready) to begin with. Even once you make that decision, there are a lot of different options as far as overflow location, predrilling for closed-loop, etc.

In regards to size, if you're debating between 90g & 120g, assuming you have the space & budget, I would recommend getting the 120g. I currently have a 90g (4' x 18" x 24"), and if I could do it all over again I would get the 120. The extra 6 inches of depth (18" vs 24") IMO is much more aesthetically pleasing and provides a lot more options for aquascaping.

hth & good luck!
rob

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I ran my 90 AGA (all glass aquarium)for over a decade with a large hang on overflow. Worked fine. I could never understand why, when out of town, my adult kids or wife had such a hard time keeping it primed or cleaning out the sponges to prevent a spill. Never really saw all the destruction of the wall and carpet from salt creep till it was removed. Never really noticed how loud it typically was. It performed quite well. I Have one on my 72 bow front right now. As soon as the fish get moved into the 180, I will drill it. Will never go back to HOB overflow, never.

 

[shallowreef]

i ran a hang on the back overflow it was such a pain to clean and it looked nasty not to mention the noise. In my opinion reef ready is the best way to go. It looks great and is a lot more quiet.

 

[hubsocket]

Thanks for all the help folks.

Will do my best to read and search as much as I can before posting and/or buying.

 

[dmo]

I've read that 'reef ready' designs by all-glass aren't the greatest in terms of bulkhead sizes, finding (generic) replacement parts, etc. Is this really a problem? Are RR tanks by other manufacturers better?

 

[Krish]

I think custom RR tanks are best (eg like the acrylic ones you see people have built) because you can design it to suit your needs. An all glass tank comes with standard overflows only good for 600 gph per overflow

 

[hubsocket]

I think custom RR tanks are best (eg like the acrylic ones you see people have built) because you can design it to suit your needs. An all glass tank comes with standard overflows only good for 600 gph per overflow

Hmm, building my own acrylic rr tank is not something I've considered. Well, I work on my own vehicles and don't mind doing some work, so I'll have to see if I can dig up some info on that. The main thing that always worried me about that was bowing of the sides.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

One can drill most tanks including AGAs. Some custom acrylic tanks have blown their seams and scratch easier. Pluses and minuses with all.

 

[Reefdaddy1]

I was on the phone recently with AGA, all thier tanks are drillable on the back and sides for up to 150 Gallon. The bottoms are only tempered. So gettting a AGA would not prohibit reefing at all with a little DIY.

 

[J-dub]

My 55 gallon tank is not reef ready and I hate looking at that stupid overflow box in my tank. It hangs down so far, very unsightly. When I get some money thats the only way I'll go, is reef ready when I upgrade. Besides only the cool kids have reef ready tanks