midnightexpress Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 can anyone give any info on these tanks good or bad. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepperfish Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 There good if you want an all in one package.. That being tank, lighting, filter and stand.. Curved glass some people like and dislike.. Personally I dont mind them but id like a traditional glass - rectangle box tank.. Ive seen 3 foot tank, aqua one filter, stand and light for $550 from LFS.. HTH... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barra Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 i personally dont like them. curved glass is unsightly and you can't personalise the filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Ive had an AR620 two years they work well mine has filterwool matrix and ceramic noodles and purigen and coralsand in the filter so much for personalising. They do have problems with water makeing its way out from the hood and weeping down the backcorners mainly due to stingy silicone around the top edge.This causes the particle board stand to swell.It would be best fixed before filling. In general they are good as display tanks, even though Ive had eyellows ,rusties,dwarf aratus and bristlenose breed next to our meals table .But traditional tanks make more sense in groups ie racks and fishsheds .they also distort one fish into three fishinthe corners. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 I've got an AR150. Within a month I replaced the powerhead with a more powerfull model and replaced all the media with bioballs and 2 layers of filter wool. The nice thing about the larger ones is the furniture looks very nice with simialr household furniture. The main tank in my lounge room is a great feature. Even people who have been into fish for years say it looks quite special. I also have normal tanks. An image of an AR150 (a little old) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 4 bad things i could think of with aqua one tanks are 1/ if you use salt in your tank, water tends to leak/evaporates from the sides and corners as mentioned by my man Neil... thus leaves dry water/salt marks on the cover hood and glass... 2/ with the powerhead leading to the OH Filter situated near waterlevel - you cant really lower the water if you have say some tankbusters that often jumps... 3/ the filter conectors are made plastic there can be very easy to break just gotta be careful 4/ when doing major maintenance/ feeding you have to lift the whole hood off even though you can move the hood abit forward to have a gap... If you know what i mean... but they are good tanks Tam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 2/ with the powerhead leading to the OH Filter situated near waterlevel - you cant really lower the water if you have say some tankbusters that often jumps... 3/ the filter conectors are made plastic there can be very easy to break just gotta be careful I agree with these points. I replaced the powerhead with a sump pump on the end of a tube about 4 cm off the bottom. The powerhead that came with mine did not work at all if it was not mostly submerged and it was at the top of the tube. I'm much more confident with it with the clip and crack plastic bits replaced with stiff but flexible 3cm acrylic tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 One more thing the fluro tubes are not standard length so they cost more and are not easily found at times. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 ive found they are good, the filters in them do the job well IMO, and you can always run another powerfilter if need be. The tanks them selves are not designed for salt, however they are alot better than Jebo's for this. I have seen jebos with completely melted hoods because someone tried to use it as a marine tank. At work we have had an aqua one running as a marine tank with no problems (not that i recomend this), yet i have seen on more than one occasion where the jebos have been destroyed by salt (i.e. calcium/salt buildup around wires). Anthony PS: sorry if i got off track a bit, but you get my point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Gun_Riff Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 IME they scratch easy and after awhile are better off as grow ups instead of display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EcHo2134 Posted October 17, 2004 Share Posted October 17, 2004 Hi i think aqua one tanks are great, i'm using mine for saltwater for 3 months with no problems. i use seachem martrix and some bioballs for filtration. don't seem to have any problems with salt creep (as i have to change 1 bucket of water every week, it doesn't take long) so i give the hood a quick wipe. no complaints about noise, the powerhead is super quiet....and i can sleep well at night (unlike my eheim 2260 filter). and the best part, the stand and tank look really co-hesive..esp in my bedroom. it would've been better though, if the tank was a little wider. Regards Ernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 p.s. the 30 inch lights that came in mine standard (Dega) lasted 700, 950, 1100 and 1300 hours before total failure. I have mine on timers so I know the run time. Those MTBF rates are way below industry standard (i.e. 1/10 of the normal 10,000 hours). Don't expect your LFS or Kongs to care (insert expletives here) just replace them with another brand when they fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnightexpress Posted October 18, 2004 Author Share Posted October 18, 2004 thanks for the help guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 I've had a AR-150 (5-footer) for almost 6 months now. I think they make a perfect display tank - the tank, lights, filter and stand all match perfectly and look very tidy . The powerhead is a little less powerful than I would like but it is quiet, the only noise is the water flowing back into the tank from the overhead filter. There is plenty of opportunity to personalise the filter, I'm running ceramic noodles, shell grit, filter wool and coarse sponge. I do notice some salt deposits around the filter and lighting unit but it wipes off easily, the lighting unit is a pain to lift on and off when doing water changes. It's not a perfect tank but I give it , add up what a 5'x20"x22" (10mm glass all round) tank, 1600lph cannister filter, matching stand and hood (with 2 or 3 rows of fluros) will cost you and the aqua one tanks starts to look even better. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 one big design fault ,if the filter blocks the first you know is a flooded room, for what they cost you can have a really good setup with a normal tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 one big design fault ,if the filter blocks the first you know is a flooded room, for what they cost you can have a really good setup with a normal tank On the AR150, if the overhead filter outlet gets blocked there is an overflow channel next to the outlet that drops the water back into the tank. If that gets blocked (unlikely) the weir on the other wide of the tank is lower than the sides and the water will flow back into the tank. For the little tanks with the flow through filters, if the filter blocks the weir on the end of the filter (the far end from the pump) will overflow and the water will end up back in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 my son has an AR 380 and when the flter starts to block the water starts to overflow the weir and instead of running over the edge and back into the tank runs along the edge of the tank and onto the floor!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetfish Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 These aqua one tanks are very expensive!!! They are built for people who don’t want to spend much time on maintenance and is pretty much self contained. Change the filter media and some water now and then and u wouldn’t have many problems with them. For my money I would buy a traditional set up. For the same price you can get a larger tank with better quality filter system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 your right on the money wetfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepperfish Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 Depends on where you go, some aqua one tanks are very reasonable priced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 These aqua one tanks are very expensive!!! I can only vouch for the bigger tanks since I haven't compared prices on the smaller tanks but I think the larger tanks are great value as display tanks, at first you think I'd be to pay that much but then consider what you get. You get the glass, a matching cabinet and hood with integrated lighting, an overhead filter and powerhead. I went to every LFS and tank builder in the ACT and for a "traditional" display tank set-up (60"x18"x24" 12mm all round) I was looking at over $1600 before you even think about filtration and heating. I got a much better deal than that on my AR-150 and I just had to add water . Change the filter media and some water now and then and u wouldn’t have many problems with them. Regular water changes and check the filter media ever couple of months - isn't that how all "traditional" tanks running cannisters or sumps are supposed to be? I like mine, I think it is an excellent display tank, not bad value but there are somethings that could be different/better. They're not for everyoneor every purpose, each to their own etc. That's my 2 cents Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaley Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I have a 4 foot JEBO which I am qi=uite happy with except frot the following: As mentioned earlier they leak around the top and dribble down the glass. The glass seems to scratch easily. I always make sure I have a clean plastic type scouring pad and I dont use much force but it still seems to scratch. The hinges have a semi circular resistance doodad which keeps the lid held upright when opened...This cracked on both sides early on and no one wants to know about repairing it. Otherwise its a real eye catcher! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 mike , why would you want a standard 6 footer in 12mm glass! your talking hundreds of kilos empty! ive priced my next tank 4x2x2 10mm glass ,heritage cabinet & hood-$599.00+heater $35 filter $200-im not a mathametician(i cant spll either) but you wouldnt get an aqua one for this price, and your severly limited with your filter options etc as you can tell im not a fan of these tanks , im more hands on and enjoy tinkering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetfish Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 It comes down to personal taste and what u consider to be value for money. I've seen great looking aqua one tanks but I find them restrictive when it comes to personalising your set up. In a dollar for dollar comparison, I feel the aqua one doesn’t have equal value for money. I don’t know where u priced your tank from (Skippy), but I know from my experiences when shopping around I could get a bigger tank and more reliable components for the same price as a aqua one. I guess it all comes down to the amount of tinkering u want to do. For some a lot and for others none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 I think there is a place for all 3 types. I have an AR-150 community display tank, a fully custom tank with sump (built by St George) and a 3 ft made in China, off the rack from Monacco. Each is different. The AR-150 looks very nice in my lounge with the beech stand (the tank builder from St George thought so too when he came over with the custom tank). The custom tank is made for a shelf/divider in the dining area. It looks great there and an aqua-one would not fit or be suitable. As it is on a bench sort of area it does not need any stand. The standard off the rack tank in my home office is on grey TV stand with smoked glass. It looks nice too. They all have different filter systems and number 3 has different substrate the Geophagus. To me the AR-150 was worth what I paid for it to me. The custom tank was worth it (which was a good price anyway) and the off the rack is great for the price. I have to maintain all 3 so I do have a feeling for the differences. Each is different but it takes much the same effort proportional to the size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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