Nano Tank Upgrade Recommendations

[Captain45]

Ive had my Fluval 13.5 up for about 5 months now and its doing great, went through some growing pains with UL Nutrients, dosing, Dinos, etc but its been super stable for a few months now. My Ricordea has split three times now and I have good coral growth with stock lights (with some extra blue LED strips added to the hood). I have a healthy population of pods and beneficial hitchikers and lately good coraline algae growth. Its almost at the point where Im afraid to upgrade since its stable however the itch is there for something larger, mainly because I'm just not that fond of the peninsula layout and where I have the tank is under a cabinet that doesn't allow for me to mount better lighting.

I've been eyeing the IM Nuvo 20 as I like the look of it on a stand, it has that art gallery presentation look to it and its more of a rectangular layout allowing for more horizontal realestate for coral placement. It just seems most posts and journals of the IM Nuvo 20 are from like 5 years ago, so I'm just curious if there are better or newer options out there? I checked out the waterbox but not too fond of the cube/square designs.

Any other tank recommendations out there? I'm all ears. I am looking for an AIO as I dont really want the maintenance of a sump, prefer filter floss over socks and aim to go skimmer less still and low volume cause I like the ease of small water changes. Thanks!

Pic of my Fluval, not much stocked really as I know I want to head into something else

 

[Spare time]

I personally would not do a 20 simply because its such a small step up. You should check out the fiji cube aio kits. What about a 40 gallon? You could even get a rimless low iron glass 40 gallon with the fiji cube aio kit and make your own IM tank.


BTW, sumps are way less maintenance than an AIO. You can use filter floss or pads in sumps, and some even have trays built in for it. Others allow you to use media cups. You can even get a mesh sock and add floss into it (mesh is super easy to clean).

 

[MONTANTK]

I really like IM tanks since I have owned a bunch of them so you can’t go wrong but they can be pricey. Fiji Cube might be worth a look. They just came out with a 35 (I think?) AIO and it’s a really nice looking tank

 

[mckinney0171]

sumps are convenient but I had a couple of close calls where mine would overflow onto my floor and it always was a fear if we would be away on vacation or something. It’s a big step to move from an AIO to a sump system. Maybe try a lagoon AIO from IM next?

 

[Captain45]

I personally would not do a 20 simply because its such a small step up. You should check out the fiji cube aio kits. What about a 40 gallon? You could even get a rimless low iron glass 40 gallon with the fiji cube aio kit and make your own IM tank.


BTW, sumps are way less maintenance than an AIO. You can use filter floss or pads in sumps, and some even have trays built in for it. Others allow you to use media cups. You can even get a mesh sock and add floss into it (mesh is super easy to clean).

Ill check out the Fiji AIO's. Thanks.

Do you find a sump is fairly noisy if its in a tall cabinet like the ones for IM and Waterbox? I think my preference for AIO comes down to familiarity mostly. Ive mostly only ran Biocubes and smaller AIO nanos throughout time. Sumps intimidate me a bit with all the extra parts and plumbing.

I really like IM tanks since I have owned a bunch of them so you can’t go wrong but they can be pricey. Fiji Cube might be worth a look. They just came out with a 35 (I think?) AIO and it’s a really nice looking tank

I just checked the the Fiji 32 AIO, with the stand it looks like a really slick setup. Appears there's media baskets available for it too. Im going to have to do some more research, this may be a contender since the IM20 is a little small still. 32g might be a sweet spot where I can still do 10%-15% waterchanges with a single 5g bucket.

 

[MONTANTK]

Ill check out the Fiji AIO's. Thanks.

Do you find a sump is fairly noisy if its in a tall cabinet like the ones for IM and Waterbox? I think my preference for AIO comes down to familiarity mostly. Ive mostly only ran Biocubes and smaller AIO nanos throughout time. Sumps intimidate me a bit with all the extra parts and plumbing.



I just checked the the Fiji 32 AIO, with the stand it looks like a really slick setup. Appears there's media baskets available for it too. Im going to have to do some more research, this may be a contender since the IM20 is a little small still. 32g might be a sweet spot where I can still do 10%-15% waterchanges with a single 5g bucket.

It’s worth it. It gives you a sizeable upgrade too. The IM20 is kind of tight. I’ve been eyeballing the new IM40L

 

[Captain45]

It’s worth it. It gives you a sizeable upgrade too. The IM20 is kind of tight. I’ve been eyeballing the new IM40L

I hear that. Man I'm kinda looking at the IM30L now as well as the im20 & fiji32. I really like the extended long landscape design of the 30L. My next tank whatever I end up choosing is going in my foyer so I want something that has nice presence to it but not too large

 

[MONTANTK]

I hear that. Man I'm kinda looking at the IM30L now as well as the im20 & fiji32. I really like the extended long landscape design of the 30L. My next tank whatever I end up choosing is going in my foyer so I want something that has nice presence to it but not too large

If I’m not mistaken IM currently has the white stand package with the 30L on sale right now

 

[Captain45]

Getting close to making my purchase, does anyone know how much of an increase in evaporation going from say something like an IM20 or similar to a long lagoon like the IM30L. Obviously environment dictates the evap rate but Im curious if evaporation in general is much higher on a long tank with more water surface area. I plan to put in a 5g ATO but I also dont want to be topping that thing off every few days with RO. any insight is appreciated. If its relatively the same rate between the two sizes. I'll probably swing for the 30L

 

[X-37B]

My 20g Aquatop aio nano cube is the simplest reef tank of all I have had over 30+ years.
I use a 5g bucket for my tunze ato. This lasts close to 2 weeks before refill.
3 media baskests, no skimmer, 1 cup rox in a bag, small filterfloss basket.
2g WC once a month.
1 tablespoon of gfo in a nylon bag to control po4.
The only issue with small nanos is space.
I have 33 corals at last count. No room for more so its in growout mode.
Tank is 5 months old and 95% sps.

 

[Captain45]

My 20g Aquatop aio nano cube is the simplest reef tank of all I have had over 30+ years.
I use a 5g bucket for my tunze ato. This lasts close to 2 weeks before refill.
3 media baskests, no skimmer, 1 cup rox in a bag, small filterfloss basket.
2g WC once a month.
1 tablespoon of gfo in a nylon bag to control po4.
The only issue with small nanos is space.
I have 33 corals at last count. No room for more so its in growout mode.
Tank is 5 months old and 95% sps.

That looks nice. Yeah that's essentially what I'm looking for, a healthy balance of real-estate and ease of maintenance. I want to maintain a tank without a skimmer that requires constant fiddling with, manageable water changes (single bucket) and evaporation that's reasonable (probably 1-2 weeks before 5g reservoir topoff). Simple filter floss trays and bags of chem filtration when required is desireable.

I think I may forgo the 30L and just swing for the IM Nuvo 20 and see how I feel about everything. The 20g isnt a huge upgrade from the Fluval 13.5 in volume and space, however its design is much more esthetically pleasing and should fit my home decor better.

 

[minus9]

sumps are convenient but I had a couple of close calls where mine would overflow onto my floor and it always was a fear if we would be away on vacation or something. It’s a big step to move from an AIO to a sump system. Maybe try a lagoon AIO from IM next?

A properly set up sump would never do this and you should have fail safes to prevent that from happening to start with, siphon breaks on returns, not too much level in sump (always leave room for displacement), etc.

 

[Jekyl]

I personally would not do a 20 simply because its such a small step up. You should check out the fiji cube aio kits. What about a 40 gallon? You could even get a rimless low iron glass 40 gallon with the fiji cube aio kit and make your own IM tank.


BTW, sumps are way less maintenance than an AIO. You can use filter floss or pads in sumps, and some even have trays built in for it. Others allow you to use media cups. You can even get a mesh sock and add floss into it (mesh is super easy to clean).

Solid advice here

 

[Spare time]

That looks nice. Yeah that's essentially what I'm looking for, a healthy balance of real-estate and ease of maintenance. I want to maintain a tank without a skimmer that requires constant fiddling with, manageable water changes (single bucket) and evaporation that's reasonable (probably 1-2 weeks before 5g reservoir topoff). Simple filter floss trays and bags of chem filtration when required is desireable.

I think I may forgo the 30L and just swing for the IM Nuvo 20 and see how I feel about everything. The 20g isnt a huge upgrade from the Fluval 13.5 in volume and space, however its design is much more esthetically pleasing and should fit my home decor better.

Keep in mind that larger tanks may need less water changes in general. For example, I don't do any water changes on mine for traditional purposes. My refugium, socks, and carbon handle it all. However, I do the occasional 3 or 4 gallons here and there to clean up my overflow, the sump, and sections of the sandbed. Smaller tanks, especially those without sumps, are always more work.