Do Any San Antonio Stores Carry Finnex M Tanks?

[swjim]

The CAD systems are nice too, but they were a bit more $$$ than I wanted to spend. I ended up ordering the Finnex with 6x24 T5 yesterday, now I need to start building a stand...

[des]

Understand your choice of Finnex- I researched AIO's for a while and Finnex was one of my top choices. Finally bought a 28 HQI Nanocube and I couldn't be happier. The light is fantastic, everything worked, there's more of a customer base for discussion and parts availability, and I was able to modify the rear chamber to grow Chaetomorpha for nitrate/phosphate removal. The skimmer is the weak link, but does an ok job. Look at it again- you can buy it locally and it makes a beautiful system.

[des]

Oh and the Nanocube comes with a choice of slick-looking stands- taller with no built-in cabinets, or slightly shorter with built-in storage.

[swjim]

Thanks for the input Des. I completely agree that there is a lot more info out there on the Nanocube, Red Sea Max, Aquapods and to a lesser extent, the Solana. I went with the Finnex primarily because from what I've read there aren't a lot of mods required. I do have a 135 (unfortunately not currently set up) with overflow, sump, etc as well that I've fully put together and maintained myself in the past so I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, but for this one I wanted something simple that hopefully will just work. I do realize that there are mixed reviews on the Finnex skimmer, but I could easily swap that out if it doesn't meet my needs. As far as the stand goes, I am putting this in my dining room and my wife wants the stand should match our dining room table, so I'm in the process of building it now.

My biggest concern is that this is my first tank that I will attempt to light with only T5 lighting. I upgraded the standard Finnex 4x24 to their 6x24 model. Neither model comes with individual reflectors and from what I understand there is only enough room in the fixture to install them on every other bulb if I choose to in the future. I could have gone with an aquactinics or other fixture instead, but it would have been quite a bit more expensive. We'll see how it goes, if the lack of reflectors is a real problem then I could dismantle the fixture and retrofit it into a hood that matches the stand or change out the fixture altogether, but I'll figure that out as I go.

The tank is in transit now, should be here early next week. I'm excited!

Thanks again.

Jim