Peninsula AIO, custom or AIO and toss the stand?

[Edp251]

Hey All,

I am thinking about an upgrade to a peninsula setup for my main display and am debating a semi-custom approach.

I currently own a Red Sea Max-E 170 and a Red Sea Max-E Nano. Both have been wonderful platforms for getting to know the hobby.

With respect to a 120-gallon-ish peninsula, the tanks by both manufacturers are clearly very high quality and worth the price. Most of the complaints I see here on R2R are related to the stands versus the tank, sump etc.. It feels like the value is in the tanks and components. If I am honest, the stands on both my Red Sea are the least attractive features.

As an experienced hobbyist woodworker and cabinet maker, I would love to make my own stand but I would also like to take advantage of the plumbing and other AIO features.

I guess I could purchase the tank alone and go full custom or I could purchase an AIO and simply use the cabinet pieces as templates to build a better stand, which, even cloaked in solid hardwoods, would not cost all that much in comparison. So my questions are:

1. Has anyone done this? Other ideas?

2. Do people really love their Red Sea or Waterbox stands?

3. How do the AIO plumbing and components stack up compared to DIY? I assume the cost is roughly a wash.

As always, thanks for all your advice!

Cheers, Eric

 

[Peace River]

You have the skills to upgrade your stand to a look that you would prefer so it makes sense for you to work on the stand. The benefit for an AIO is that everything is there and it is plug-and-play. The benefit of a DIY is that you can configure the system around the parts that you choose and you end up learning how everything works in the process (with an AIO you don't have to think about GPH, head pressure, etc.). Whichever way that you go, we look forward to being part of your adventure!