Aquaone And Other All-In-One Type Deals (Tanks)

[Raticataticus]

Hi everyone, am relatively new to fish keeping and I was wondering what all of you experienced guys think of the all-in-one type deals, namely the AquaOne brand.
 
I am really considering something like this one. http/www.aquaone.co.uk/aquastylelarge.php (the 165L)
 
And I am definitely going to get a smaller one (around 50L or something) as soon as I can get my hands on one.
 
Does anyone own one of these? Are they good/bad? And as far as the lighting goes, is it suitable for live plants? 
 
Thanks!

 

[the_lock_man]

I think they are a good way to learn the hobby - but I s'pose I have to say that, as my first two tanks (and indeed one that I still own) are AquaOnes. What it does do is to make it easy to set it up - when I got my newer tank, with a separate filter and lighting rig, I still found it a little awkward to set up.
 
I'm not a huge fan of the AquaOne trickle filters. In my shrimp tank, I have had to drill additional holes in the filter outlet, to stop the filter overflowing, especially as that then trickled around the top of the tank, underneath the hood, and out down the side, leaving me with a massive puddle on the shelf. In fairness, I never suffered that problem with my original tank.
 
The lighting is decent enough, but you have to be careful, AquaOne only have like 2 or 3 different lighting systems, which they build their hoods around. With my smaller tank, this puts in me in high tech territory (where I don't really want to be) and I do have a bit of an algae problem in there - you just need to check the watts/litre.
 
I don't think I'd buy another AquaOne tank, myself, but I would certainly recommend them to inexperienced aquarists.

 

[Gruntle]

I bought an AR620T as my first tank. I'd say it's now been replaced by their new range but the basics are the same, by the looks.

Never had a problem with the tank, other than the duck bill on the filter outlet. I set it up according to the picture and created a swift current, causing fish loss (juveniles having nowhere in the tank to escape the vortex). I've also found out relatively recently that I've been wasting a fortune buying the carbon filter replacements instead of a piece of filter wool that's about 1/4 the price and should last many times longer.

Other than that, it's a breeze to do water changes and filter maintenance, and the slight bowfront gives it that point of difference. I love it.

 

[simplyfish]

My first proper tank was the 620T which I loved at the time. Easy to maintain and the filtration was adequate. 
 
The only flaw with that particular tank was a lack of surface area for the volume so I was always concerned about oxygenation and felt I couldn't really stock to the full water volume. The lighting was really strong enough for the depth of the tank so I always struggled with anything apart from Amazon swords.
 
Overall I thought build quality was good and I would have a different tank from their range, just not the tall tank.