I mean, 4 gallons in this case is almost 1.5x water volume so it’s not an insignificant amount of water, but in terms of stability, a 14 isn’t going to be materially more stable than a 10. The stability/maintenance needs on both are going to be similar. I’d still go with the 14 just for the sake of the bit of extra space.
Yeah I've been thinking this myself (all this time, since this post is from October lol). I think the extra space equates to more stuff in the display, I was (And still kind of am) looking at the
Fiji Cube 10 gallon rimless, but it looks like the rear area takes up a good bit of the space in terms of the overall volume.
You didn’t specify exact models of tanks, so my recommendation is reefs look better with more length and width than height. So finding one with dimensions that you like and that fits your space that will give you the look you want is going to matter more than the total tank volume.
My bad, here's a quick list. I've also recently considered not getting an AIO kit, and utilizing HOB style equipment, but I haven't finished looking at equipment costs/viability on that. Not sure if that's worth it, costwise, compared to an AIO started kit:
AIO:
Fiji Cube 10 gallon rimless - PRO series
Waterbox Cube 15 peninsula
Innovative Marine 15 NUVO Fusion
14 NUVO Fusion Peninsula PRO 2 AIO
Standalone tank:
Mr Aqua 12 gallon rimless
This.
If the dimensions of each will fit your space similarly, then always go as big as you can.
I asked the same question, got the reply 14g is 40% bigger than 10g which made it clear to me that 14g was the way to go so yes there is a huge difference, 10g with sand and rock displacement will be nearer 7-8g, not a lot of water at all, 14g will give you more room for corals and mean you can have more than 1 fish, do yourself a favour, go 14g.
Both of those make sense. I'll try to keep that in mind!
Here’s my UNS 10 gallon. Only 7” tall. Lots of real estate for a nano. Home to 3 happy fish, 2 shrimps and a few coral. Can’t go wrong with either. I agree to maximize length and width
That looks really nice! I'm looking at AIO's for the moment, but when I move back into a house I'm definitely getting something that I can use a sump on.
I have a Fijicube 10g
Upsides:
Maintenance is a 1/3 cheaper
AI prime will cover the whole tank
add a MP10 and flow is SPS quality with no dead spots.
Spend less money to fill your tank with corals.
Downsides:
The tank will get maxed out very quickly.
you have to run a ATO
Will absolutely be running an ATO.
an AI prime isn't overkill? I'm having some trouble on the lighting side, I really want something that has the various modes (daytime/moonlight, etc) but don't want something too powerful for the size of tank I'm starting with. I know I'll be re-using it in the future too, so I'm not worried about a big purchase and only using it on one tank.
RE MP10, I have to figure out dimensions and what fits in the AIO equipment space, seems like there are some clever things you can fit in that area (saw some protein skimmers that would fit, I was surprised.). I'd really like to install some things that would help alleviate maintenance, when I have my brother-in-law stay at the house while we go away, I don't want him to have to worry about all this haha. And that helps me spend less time maintaining, and more time enjoying the tank view!
