Hi, new to a forum, should of did this years ago

[drlyleech]

Hi, my names Mike and I've had aquariums for 30 years, 20 to 40 gal, store bought tanks, undergravel to HOB filters. I just started using a fluval 207 canister about 6 months ago. Moved into a new house and I need help. I want to up my game. I have 36.20.20 Inches to put a tank, I wanted acrylic custom. Heard they bow, yellow, and scratch. Looking at rimless, found a nice JBJ aio 65 that I Can make work, however I cant find any reviews on them, the ones i found were from 4 years ago and mostly bad on smaller setups. does anyone have a jbj? Opinions welcomed, looking to make this my last forever tank if possible, I'm intrigued by the aio setup.

Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum

 

[SomethingsFishy24]

I have a 50g acrylic, it has been up for 7 years now and I have not seen any yellowing or bowing. It is in a diamond/corner tank. I know they scratch easier, I am always careful when cleaning or doing anything with the tank. It is scratch free still and looks as good as the day I bought it. I can't speak for larger tanks or different shaped footprints. I like it as well as my glass tanks, just wish they were not so dang expensive.

I run a canister on this tank and many others I own, I have never had an AIO, so I cannot speak for them.

 

[Lynnzer]

I guess the tank construction is a matter of personal taste more than anything. Glass, especially the glass with a very low iron content, is lovely looking. It's also at a better price than acrylic due mainly to the fact that glass tanks are in much greater demand therefore have a greater production run.
Acrylic can also be lovely to look at, or through, but I doubt if you'd see any great difference.
No matter which you go for, you'll always need to scrape the inside to clean it of, well.... stuff that sticks to it. I have even managed to scratch my glass tanks so acrylic is going to suffer much worse from inadvertent misuse of a scraper.
Perhaps the most important thing for you is the actual weight of the tank. In that case acrylic is way below glass, but on a tank of only a smaller size it probably won't be very important.
Oh, there's a range ot tanks that I discovered on Sunday that have mitred corners, ie not butted together, so that you don't see the join or the glue.
I bought one myself, the Oase Scaperline 60.

 

[wasmewasntit]

I have had several complete kit aquariums over the years. They can be perfectly fine, however the main issue that I had was that the equipment included (filter, heater etc) were basic and would be running at their max for the size of aquarium. As a result I usually ended up buying more powerful filters, heaters and so forth, so as much as the all in one seems like a less expensive option, its doesn't always work out that way.

A few months ago I discovered Diversa which is a subsidiary of the Aquael Group. Diversa give a nice range of aquariums, stands but without the equipment included.

I bought this setup for £290 delivered to the room of choice, its a 200 litre/53 US gallon and yes it is the basic package of stand, aquarium, light and hood but I am pleased with it not just cos it looks brilliant but even with my own equipment choices it still came to far less initial expenditure than a similar sized all in one setup.

DIVERSA Set Aquarium with Lid & Stand - 200L - MB Store

FREE DELIVERY! Order today for delivery on weekend 21-22 January

mbstore.uk

The full range for Diversa is on this link...they have the basic H stand like mine or one with a cupboard and they go larger than mine

Aquarium shops: aquariums for sale, fish tanks and cabinets

Aquarium shop MB STORE an exclusive distributor of Diversa, your number one source for aquariums, fish tanks and cabinets for sale.

mbstore.uk

 

[drlyleech]

I have a 50g acrylic, it has been up for 7 years now and I have not seen any yellowing or bowing. It is in a diamond/corner tank. I know they scratch easier, I am always careful when cleaning or doing anything with the tank. It is scratch free still and looks as good as the day I bought it. I can't speak for larger tanks or different shaped footprints. I like it as well as my glass tanks, just wish they were not so dang expensive.

I run a canister on this tank and many others I own, I have never had an AIO, so I cannot speak for them.

Thanks for the info, I've found acyric to be a lot more in price. Then I found the rimless glass, my only worry with acrylic is that it will be getting some sun in the winter months as it will be between two window. Tenecore and truvue look like they make good tanks. Still exploring, seems word of mouth is the only way to narrow down the search

 

[drlyleech]

I have had several complete kit aquariums over the years. They can be perfectly fine, however the main issue that I had was that the equipment included (filter, heater etc) were basic and would be running at their max for the size of aquarium. As a result I usually ended up buying more powerful filters, heaters and so forth, so as much as the all in one seems like a less expensive option, its doesn't always work out that way.

A few months ago I discovered Diversa which is a subsidiary of the Aquael Group. Diversa give a nice range of aquariums, stands but without the equipment included.

I bought this setup for £290 delivered to the room of choice, its a 200 litre/53 US gallon and yes it is the basic package of stand, aquarium, light and hood but I am pleased with it not just cos it looks brilliant but even with my own equipment choices it still came to far less initial expenditure than a similar sized all in one setup.

DIVERSA Set Aquarium with Lid & Stand - 200L - MB Store

FREE DELIVERY! Order today for delivery on weekend 21-22 January

mbstore.uk

The full range for Diversa is on this link...they have the basic H stand like mine or one with a cupboard and they go larger than mine

Aquarium shops: aquariums for sale, fish tanks and cabinets

Aquarium shop MB STORE an exclusive distributor of Diversa, your number one source for aquariums, fish tanks and cabinets for sale.

mbstore.uk

Great, I will check it out. I pretty much have all the equipment. The store guy said the jbj is more than effective with how it's built. I'm just seeing more of these tanks now. So not sure if they are new or just now showing up because COVID is winding down and they are back in business. The aio set up looks easy to access and I guess I like how open it is

 

[drlyleech]

Heres a picture of a small tank i want to replace.This is where the tank is going to go. I definitely want to upgrade to more height and width. I want the options to do more with the tank than. And have it look amazing. I've checked out red sea, glass cages. All very expensive. The Jbj 65 is 900.00 for 36.20.21. Seems too good. And I'm trying to not be picky but I kinda am. Keep sending me opinions. It's very helpful.

 

[Lynnzer]

Something else to think about. Do you need a cabinet? If not then just go for a bare tank then buy the add-ons you need. This is the way I'm doing it with the mitre corner Oase Scaperline. To be honest, I have seen, I have considered and I have bought, when I had plenty of other in-store top-notch alternatives,
If you do need a cabinet then the Oase ones are superb as they have a slide in/out tray for a canister filter, holes already in the cabinet to accomodate the hoses and other things. It's a cabinet with character. You really need to look at the videos.
Also, and this is something many people will overlook, is, what's your water supply like?
I have hard water that always leaves a calcium tide-mark at the intersection of the air and the water. Under normal conditions this doesn't affect me with the tanks I have with a top lip/frame as the top water level is hidden from view but on the new rimless I have, that I'm in the process of setting up, I intend to use water much lower in hardness. Most probably bottled spring water.
As the rimless tanks are generally filled to within 5mm of the tank brim it becomes a nightmare trying to clean the calcium off. You will inevitably make some motion that'll create slop over the edges. The only way to avoid this would be to clean the rim when you do a water change, ie partially empty. However, the calcium line will still be on show until each water change.
Rimless is beautiful but less so with a damn great white calcium line.
Also, and I think this is something newbies to the hobby don't consider much either, is the quality of the lighting. When I ordered my own Oase tank at Horizon Aquatics I was knocked out at the vivid reds and greens in the display tanks. The tiny chili rasboras looked amazing as did the red plants. A gorgeous red. I have them myself and they just don't look anywhere near the same fish.
Nicole, the owner, told me it isn't the fish but the light overhead. She had a Chihiros Vivid light that she can control via an app on her mobile phone. She can set it to show deeper red, greens, blues or any colour she wants. I have one on order. For £220 this is twice the price of a normal light but hey, it's like comparing a Picaso to a kids nursery painting.

 

[kiko]

honestly I have a 45gal at 24" height and trust me..it's annoying sticking your arm in there to get things in their places...
also...I hate the noise from hang on backs..sponge filters bubble popping and the air pump just going bzzzzzzzzzzzz 24/h
to me nothing beats the silence of a sump...there's no trickling..no bubble popping no humming noises...even my 10gal shrimp tank has an internal sump...

 

[Lynnzer]

The problem with an in-tank filter in a filled to the brimg tank, is that it creates surface movement that could also mean spillage. Even a bubble sponge filter creates surface motion. And a hang on the back isn't a nice tidy way to do it and spoils the effect. A canister filter is what I use on one of my large tanks, and I'll be getting another for my tank too.
Also, glass inlet/outlet tubes for the filter makes a hell of a difference to the look.

 

[wasmewasntit]

My 200 litre aquarium is rimless and has two internal filters fitted. It gets filled to around an inch from the top and I have zero spillage despite significant surface ripples from the filters, I criss-cross the flows and one one filter the direction gizmo faces to the rear and on the other one it faces upwards, both have active venturi fittings.

The only bugbear as far as I am concerned with a rimless is the often deluge of condensation when removing the hood, this can be sorted by the way I pick it up, I pivot it so that the condensation goes into the aquarium and not all over me (learnt that the wet/hard way after having rimmed aquariums for years and being lulled into a sense of false security by them)

 

[drlyleech]

Thanks Lynnzer, the Oase is a beautiful tank and gives me another option. I definitely do not need a stand, I will be using the cabinet in the picture. I had a water softner at my old house and not I have mountain spring water, which hardness is a bit more, but to be honest I'm don't really think I've ever had calcium buildup. Though I just moved here in February, so it's too early to tell. Currently running a hob with my canister because the canister is still new. I have a finnex 24/7 programmable light which I love and can adjust to my needs. I know I want big and build quality and something new. It's annoying sifting thru all the inter web trying to find options, they tailor it to selling what they want u to buy. I like your suggestion and will add it to the list

 

[drlyleech]

I have had several complete kit aquariums over the years. They can be perfectly fine, however the main issue that I had was that the equipment included (filter, heater etc) were basic and would be running at their max for the size of aquarium. As a result I usually ended up buying more powerful filters, heaters and so forth, so as much as the all in one seems like a less expensive option, its doesn't always work out that way.

A few months ago I discovered Diversa which is a subsidiary of the Aquael Group. Diversa give a nice range of aquariums, stands but without the equipment included.

I bought this setup for £290 delivered to the room of choice, its a 200 litre/53 US gallon and yes it is the basic package of stand, aquarium, light and hood but I am pleased with it not just cos it looks brilliant but even with my own equipment choices it still came to far less initial expenditure than a similar sized all in one setup.

DIVERSA Set Aquarium with Lid & Stand - 200L - MB Store

FREE DELIVERY! Order today for delivery on weekend 21-22 January

mbstore.uk

The full range for Diversa is on this link...they have the basic H stand like mine or one with a cupboard and they go larger than mine

Aquarium shops: aquariums for sale, fish tanks and cabinets

Aquarium shop MB STORE an exclusive distributor of Diversa, your number one source for aquariums, fish tanks and cabinets for sale.

mbstore.uk

Thanks for the link, very helpful, checking them out

 

[emeraldking]

Welcome to the forum, Mike...
And a nice looking tank you've got there...