What tank to buy?

[RogueGrown]

Im shopping for a new tank right now and have narrowed my options down to 3.

RS reefer 170

Pros: Starfire glass
Nicest stand of the three
Comes with ATO (though it will need to be upgraded
No need to replace or mod plumbing to make work
Emergency overflow
Very well known for quality and praised by the owners of any size reefer series.

Cons: Price
Smaller display
Smaller 9g sump
Does not come with return pump
No room in sump for fuge (though my HOB will fit next to it along with one or two HOB reactors)


Cadlights Versa 42

Pros: Price
Starfire glass
Longer display
Larger 16g sump
Room for fuge in sump
Comes with a return pump (shotty at best)
Comes with lid

Cons: MDF stand
No emergency overflow
Plumbing looks cheesy and would need to be modified
Customer service has very poor ratings
Corner overflow (aesthetically displeasing)
No room in stand for other equipment with sump
Cant find much info on the versa series as far as reviews or customer feedback.


SCA 50

Pros: Best price of the three
Largest display
Starfire glass
Larger sump than Reefer amount of gallons I cant find
Comes with return pump (also shotty)
Comes with small skimmer (I hear its ok but will be repaced also)

Cons: MDF stand
Plumbing also cheesy and needs to be replaced
Cant find any info on Emergency overflow (older version did not have this)
Short stand makes room tight in sump area
Only sold from maker or on amazon (makes me worry as its not offered buy larger vendors)
Cant find much info on this tank. I saw one @ the LFS in Burbank and it looked really nice but they replaced the entire sump with a 4 stage and put a larger skimmer on it. Also it was plumbed with PVC if Im not mistaken.


These are the tanks Ive been looking into if anyone has any feed back on any of the three Id love to hear about it!!! Ive been beating my head into the wall trying to decide :headwally: Thanks in advance :beer:

 

[LQT]

You can get the SCA 50 with an upgraded 36" tall matte black plywood stand for $150 extra.

 

[RogueGrown]

You can get the SCA 50 with an upgraded 36" tall matte black plywood stand for $150 extra.

That puts me @ $845 and still needing to replace the plumbing to be worth while.I can get the reefer from a local store here for $875 and not worry about it. I am still however going to investigate this option.

 

[RogueGrown]

Anyone else have any input?

 

[dyazdani]

I'm honestly not familiar with the 3 options, but I would suggest you avoid getting what you don't want to save a couple of hundred. This is a long-term hobby and it's worth the money to get it right the first time.

 

[LQT]

Call SCA and ask them to just price out what you want... if I were going for the 50 cube, I'd ask them to price out just the tank, drilled for the Synergy Reef Shadow overflow and the plywood stand... nothing else. That way I'd be able to customize everything else exactly how I'd want it.

A member here, cpllonjk, just upgraded from a Reefer 170 and got just the SCA 50 gallon tank only, custom drilled for the Synergy Reef overflow and customized everything else to his specs and it looks great. Here's his build thread...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2620000

 

[ashish]

I just got a custom tank from CTC eurobraced 42LX26WX24H.. This is the largest size i could fit in my apartment but wanted to do a 200+gallon. I researched many options and can share my thoughts but need to know your budget for the tank, stand, and overflow.

Redsea is nice but for a rimless the size thickness of glass reputable companies would do is 3/4". anything less do 1/2 eurobraced.

 

[RogueGrown]

Call SCA and ask them to just price out what you want... if I were going for the 50 cube, I'd ask them to price out just the tank, drilled for the Synergy Reef Shadow overflow and the plywood stand... nothing else. That way I'd be able to customize everything else exactly how I'd want it.

A member here, cpllonjk, just upgraded from a Reefer 170 and got just the SCA 50 gallon tank only, custom drilled for the Synergy Reef overflow and customized everything else to his specs and it looks great. Here's his build thread...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2620000

This is a very nice looking set up for sure. I could see me wanting to do something like this in the future. I'm not sure how much of the DIY I want to get involved in right now though as I havent got the time or tools to make a nice stand. That's why I'm looking into doing something PNP. If I have to replace some clear tubing with PVC and an adjustable valve that's not bad to have to do at all. I really do like the SCA 50 its a very nice size display. I'm curious as to if this set up has an emergency overflow built into it or not. The older versions did not but I think I remember the guy at the LFS saying you can hook one up but they didn't do it. Not sure if its aftermarket thing or not.

 

[RogueGrown]

I just got a custom tank from CTC eurobraced 42LX26WX24H.. This is the largest size i could fit in my apartment but wanted to do a 200+gallon. I researched many options and can share my thoughts but need to know your budget for the tank, stand, and overflow.

Redsea is nice but for a rimless the size thickness of glass reputable companies would do is 3/4". anything less do 1/2 eurobraced.

I'm looking to keep it around a $1000 for tank stand and sump, unless I can get a smokin deal on a Reefer 250. other than that Id like to keep it there.I already have lights flow and heat. The only thing Id need to add is the PS and an ATO if its not already part of the system.

Are you saying the Reefer 170 glass is too thin for the application?

 

[LQT]

The newer SCA tanks are all drilled with 3 holes, 2 for the drain (so you could set up a herbie) and one for the return. If you're not into DIY, get the tank, plywood stand and sump. You may be able to knock a few bucks off and you'd be able to select your own return pump and skimmer. According to the "SC Aquariums owners thread on here, Steve the go to guy over at SCA is pretty accommodating and excellent to work with. It can never hurt to ask to cut a deal for what you want specifically.

 

[soulpatch]

I would take the cadlights off the list immediately. If you search on here there are enough problems and cadlights customer service is pretty much nonexistant.

I have a larger SC tanka nd stand in full disclosure.

That all said I think you are over thinking the need to replace the plumbing with the SC. If you are ok with the tube fittings and such that the Red Sea uses in the stand then the in stand plumbing of the SC woudl be similar. It is the plumbing in the overflow some have swapped out in the SC BUT, and this is a big but, Steve just changed that out to be herbie style as opposed to his older durso with emergency he was sending. Regardless even if you swapped the overflow plumbing for the drain and emergency (the return is ok) you are talking $3 in PVC.

There is an entire SC owners thread on here that has multiple pics and links to current build threads. If you go into the tank journal sectionyou will also see numerous threads.


I have nothign against Red Sea and if you can get for around the same price of the SC cool. I personally dont like being limited in equipment wheich you start to bump into as you get into AIO systems which I consider the Red Sea...

 

[RogueGrown]

The newer SCA tanks are all drilled with 3 holes, 2 for the drain (so you could set up a herbie) and one for the return. If you're not into DIY, get the tank, plywood stand and sump. You may be able to knock a few bucks off and you'd be able to select your own return pump and skimmer. According to the "SC Aquariums owners thread on here, Steve the go to guy over at SCA is pretty accommodating and excellent to work with. It can never hurt to ask to cut a deal for what you want specifically.

I'll have to email them today. I wonder if I could get the tank stand and sump with all the plumbing, that way all Id need would be the return pump a skimmer and an ATO. Thank you for the advise.

Im still open to hearing other suggestions as well. Im in no huge hurry to get a set up I just want to know when I get it it'll be exactly what I desire

 

[soulpatch]

I bought only the tank stand and dine kessils from him so you can adjust as needed

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[Janetsplanet]

I'm extremely happy with my Reefer(s). I've had two reefer's thus far, the 250 and the 425xl and I don't find the 1/2" glass to be an issue at all. There's zero bowing on my 425xl.

Some notes about the Reefer...

The stand is high density MDF also, but it's covered with a heavy veneer and I've experienced zero water issues despite splashing. So far I feel like the RedSea service has been solid. I had to ask for two new replacement doors for the stand on the new reefer. They both showed up within a week.

I will say the integrated auto top off while it's a nice thought doesn't hold nearly enough water. I have to top up every other day or so.

The down flow is silent once you get it tuned in. It does take time and micro adjustments to tune, and then has to be retuned as your pumps change or break in.

The filter socks need to be changed every three days and aren't really a standard size. I buy the redsea filter socks, and rinse them out but I did try to buy from another source and had to modify the filter socks to make them fit.

There's not much space for a fuge in the 250 unless you get super creative. In my 425xl there's loads of space, and I modified with egg crate and some plexi to make a fuge.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with my reefer, but have zero experience with the other two brands you're looking at. I've heard repeated negative experiences with CAD Lights, which is why I went Reefer.

Hope this helps!

 

[Zacktosterone]

Why don't you just do it the right way, save a little money up and go custom

 

[ashish]

I'm looking to keep it around a $1000 for tank stand and sump, unless I can get a smokin deal on a Reefer 250. other than that Id like to keep it there.I already have lights flow and heat. The only thing Id need to add is the PS and an ATO if its not already part of the system.

Are you saying the Reefer 170 glass is too thin for the application?

Sorry I was not sure how many gallons the reefer 170 is. i've got an idea now.. I am sure they are fine because of the size of the tank - anything over 100 gallons has to be much thicker...like everything in this hobby its made at price point on what you would pay. Red sea I trust over many vendors so you should be fine.. However, you might be able to find a good deal on a custom tank and get a T slot stand for under $1000.. Best part is you can probably make it larger so you get the most out of your equipment. I went from wanted a 36"L X 24L to 40L X24 to finallly 42LX26" wide.. Price was not that much more. I spend $480 on a t slot alumium stand kit designed for my tank.. do you research take your time $1000 is a good amount of money spend it on the tank and save elsewhere.

 

[Greaser9999]

I will never go with an MDF stand again, no matter how much the retailer could assure me that it's waterproof. I recently tore down my almost 2yr old 66g due to a damaged MDF stand, first thing that caught my eye was the corroding door hinges. 2nd thing I noticed was the hardware holding the stand together started corroding as well. 3rd, although the MDF is covered with vynil laminate, saltwater can still makes its way in eventually or if something more serious happened and there was a bad spill. Wood at minimum, it can get wet plenty and withstand it. When I first bought the tank, the stand was solid, I was in shock on how weak it was after I tore the tank down. I'm positive I was red lining the tank coming down one way or another

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[RogueGrown]

Thank you for the tips. I think I'm going to try to get a hold of this Steve guy. I was looking on their website and it looks like I can get the 50g and sump with a plywood stand for an extra $150. That puts me $50 less than going through the LFS here for the RS170. I'm curious as to if they will remove the simmer and return pump and give me the tank stand and sump for the price of the entire set up. Basically call it a wash.

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[BryanS4]

Thank you for the tips. I think I'm going to try to get a hold of this Steve guy. I was looking on their website and it looks like I can get the 50g and sump with a plywood stand for an extra $150. That puts me $50 less than going through the LFS here for the RS170. I'm curious as to if they will remove the simmer and return pump and give me the tank stand and sump for the price of the entire set up. Basically call it a wash.

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Just buy the tank and build the stand yourself, that's the way to go. You'll be happy with Sc, I have a 150 myself.