Been out of the hobby for too long...

[MikeyZO]

So I’ve been out of the reef hobby for quite some time, prob more than 10 years. That said, I finally want to start up a new tank. So my general question is, should I invest the money in a really good AIO like a Waterbox or Red Sea or should I build everything myself? Is it even cheaper TO buy all the pieces separately? I wanna go for a mixed reef with both LPS and SPS So I know I’m going to need good LED lighting as well, and from what I can tell, adding Radions to the Waterbox seems to be roughly the same as purchasing them on the side. Thoughts?

 

[S.R. Reefing]

Waterbox and Red sea is cheap vs high end custom builder. Easier and faster too. So....if u don't need a odd size to fit ur living room then just go with either waterbox or red sea.

 

[MikeyZO]

Waterbox and Red sea is cheap vs high end custom builder. Easier and faster too. So....if u don't need a odd size to fit ur living room then just go with either waterbox or red sea.

how are their overall quality? Does cheap = lower quality than a custom build?

 

[Tiny's Nano]

how are their overall quality? Does cheap = lower quality than a custom build?

Waterbox are preferred and a great tank investment. I currently run a 20g cube and love it

 

[A4edwin]

Cheap as it doesn’t cost as much as a custom tank. If you have the coin to buy it one shot go with any waterbox, Red Sea, innovative marine, JBJ, Fiji cube.