AIO or sump for clowns and nem?

[yanni]

Hey all,

need a bit of advice, I’m going to get a 120L/30Gallon tank for two clownfish and a nem/some corals eventually, and was wondering whether it’d be best to get an AIO system, or a sump? This will be my first ever marine tank, although I do have some experience from keeping bettas and various other freshwater fish with filtration, water parameters etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as well as downsides and upsides to each?

I’ll of course have a CUC in my tank, but not sure exactly what ones in specific.

an AIO would be good since I can place it anywhere essentially, whereas a sump I’ll have to find a place for its cabinet as well.

 

[drewwCh]

I've had both a sumpless and sumped tank and I would always go with a sumped tank. Sumps provide you with a place many of your equipment. While I have never owned an AIO system, I think that the equipment you can use is very limited.

+1 to sump

 

[yanni]

I've had both a sumpless and sumped tank and I would always go with a sumped tank. Sumps provide you with a place many of your equipment. While I have never owned an AIO system, I think that the equipment you can use is very limited.

+1 to sump

Will keep this in mind, thanks man!

 

[kutcha]

AIO are ok but they take away alot of retail space in the display tank, 9/10 times I would go with a sump not only does it give you a place to put your equipment but it also increases your water volume.

 

[Azedenkae]

Hey all,

need a bit of advice, I’m going to get a 120L/30Gallon tank for two clownfish and a nem/some corals eventually, and was wondering whether it’d be best to get an AIO system, or a sump? This will be my first ever marine tank, although I do have some experience from keeping bettas and various other freshwater fish with filtration, water parameters etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as well as downsides and upsides to each?

I’ll of course have a CUC in my tank, but not sure exactly what ones in specific.

an AIO would be good since I can place it anywhere essentially, whereas a sump I’ll have to find a place for its cabinet as well.

If it is just gonna be mainly the anemone and two clowns, then an AIO is perfectly fine. A sump does increase water volume, but then you have to work with plumbing and all that.

At the end of the day, it depends on what you plan/use with filtration. If you are 'minimalistic' then may as well go for an AIO to save the hassle, rather than having to have the sdd on work of maintaining the sump. But if you want to add quite a bit to your system, such as a 'proper' refugium and want to increase your water volume and so on, then having a sump is the way to go.

 

[Sarcazian]

This is my personal preference, but I prefer AIO due to simplicity and less noise. I may have done overflows incorrectly in the past, but the noise, flooding risks, etc was not worth it for a clown/nem tank.

I know that you can throw controllers, sensors, etc at the problem and minimize flooding risks. My AIO is just set it and forget it.

 

[yanni]

If it is just gonna be mainly the anemone and two clowns, then an AIO is perfectly fine. A sump does increase water volume, but then you have to work with plumbing and all that.

At the end of the day, it depends on what you plan/use with filtration. If you are 'minimalistic' then may as well go for an AIO to save the hassle, rather than having to have the sdd on work of maintaining the sump. But if you want to add quite a bit to your system, such as a 'proper' refugium and want to increase your water volume and so on, then having a sump is the way to go.

Planning to add a few corals and that’s it. Going for a simple mini reef, so just my nem, clowns, and maybe a few soft corals. Would an AIO be okay for that?

 

[yanni]

Wh

This is my personal preference, but I prefer AIO due to simplicity and less noise. I may have done overflows incorrectly in the past, but the noise, flooding risks, etc was not worth it for a clown/nem tank.

I know that you can throw controllers, sensors, etc at the problem and minimize flooding risks. My AIO is just set it and forget it.

what Flooding risks are there??

 

[Azedenkae]

Wh

what Flooding risks are there??

If your water levels in the sump is too high and the pump suddenly stops working, water flows backwards into the sump and can flood.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

AIO.

I have all equipment in the back chambers and nothing in the display. I have a sump and its great for larger tanks and fuge setups but I will always love my AIO tank.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Also would like to add a sump won't flood with a drilled setup, some measuring and calculations and overflow box. HOB overflows are prone to flooding as @Azedenkae described but not drilled setups that account for this water volume.

 

[yanni]

AIO.

I have all equipment in the back chambers and nothing in the display. I have a sump and its great for larger tanks and fuge setups but I will always love my AIO tank.

Would you perhaps to be able to send a photo of it? And is 30gallons too big for an AIO, or would it be okay? I’m very set on making sure my tank has adequate filtration.

 

[Jekyl]

Sump is better. More room for chaeto, heaters and a skimmer. Also it will be close to a year before the tank will be ready for an anemone. I'm sure in that time you'll want to add some other things.

 

[Tamberav]

For smaller tanks, I like AIO better. Easier to keep clean and they can run silent so make good bedroom tanks too.

I have a 25g AIO in my bedroom. Tanks this size don't need large fuges or skimmers (although they do make ones to fit) and crap... that is just harmful of stripping too many nutrients.

I sold my red sea 20g with a sump and kept the 25g AIO

 

[yanni]

For smaller tanks, I like AIO better. Easier to keep clean and they can run silent so make good bedroom tanks too.

I have a 25g AIO in my bedroom. Tanks this size don't need large fuges or skimmers (although they do make ones to fit) and crap... that is just harmful of stripping too many nutrients.

I sold my red sea 20g with a sump and kept the 25g AIO

Out of my options what do you think is best? A friend recommended me the sump, and he has a ton of experience. Keep in mind this is my first marine tank.

 

[Tamberav]

Out of my options what do you think is best? A friend recommended me the sump, and he has a ton of experience. Keep in mind this is my first marine tank.

AIO is what I love on my smaller tanks.

In the end, either can be successful. The tank itself hardly matters... some people don't have any filtration at all besides a powerhead and live rock... no sump or AIO and they are still successful. It is just a glass box that holds water.

Your maintenance, ability to keep parameters stable, diversity, and just plain dumb luck is what will make or break the success.

 

[Sarcazian]

Also would like to add a sump won't flood with a drilled setup, some measuring and calculations and overflow box. HOB overflows are prone to flooding as @Azedenkae described but not drilled setups that account for this water volume.

I have never setup a setup with drilled tanks - I did drilled tanks side-by-side like you see in fish stores. I will tell you that my HOB flooded in two ways over the years...

#1. HOB U Tube broke siphon and sump overflowed the tank
#2. Power outage and then sump overflowed.

These were both, arguably, newbie errors that I think most people went through back in the day. In this day and age, it's super simple to just place return pumps on a controller or plug with a float sensor.

I never had issue #1 once I learned, but I would never run a drilled or HOB overflow without redundancies: ever again. IMHO, 3 pipes or bust.

So, for me, AIO was easier due to my requirements and costs.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

For a 30 gallon I don't have recommendations but you could do something as simple as a Fiji Cube insert into a standard 40 breeder tank or a IM cube. My first tank was a AIO and I don't regret it at all.

 

[yanni]

For a 30 gallon I don't have recommendations but you could do something as simple as a Fiji Cube insert into a standard 40 breeder tank or a IM cube. My first tank was a AIO and I don't regret it at all.

Ooooh okay I’ll keep that in mind