I’ve just ordered my new fish tank. I’m planning on setting up a marine mixed reef , and the first thing I needed was a tank. Marine tanks are a little bit more involved in just grabbing a tank, throwing in some water and fish. I’ve spent the past 6 months searching for different types of tanks, different filtration methods, sump designs, etc and have settled on getting a BioLife from Reef Octopus.

4ft Biolife Tank

Why did I choose this tank over another? I didn’t want a complete all-in-one solution as I have used those in the past, and I find them very limiting after a while as you can’t change the way it works very easily. I also didn’t want a ‘build everything from scratch’ tank either as the tank was to be positioned as the centerpiece of the house, it had to look stylish (and match the rest of the decor of the room).

The BioLife sells the concept of an ‘open source’ tank, where they supply the basic tank and sump (with the wier and plumbing included) but doesn’t force you to use a particular brand skimmer or pumps.

That appealed to me, as I can get the best of both worlds of a nicely constructed and nice looking tank, while allowing me the freedom to ‘play’ with the design and layout.

Well, the deposit is now down, and it will be arriving soon. I just need to get off my butt and clear out the space in the room for where it is going to go.