Yeah, there isn’t much info around on AIO systems for planted tanks. I have a Waterbox mini peninsula 25 and really like it. Lots of room in the box for media, heater, airstone, or whatever else you need, leaving the display clean. The pump chamber will restrict your options a bit, but it hasn’t been a problem for me.

 

Have you checked the Tank Journals section here or used the search function? There are thousands of people running all-in-one planted tanks. There's tons of information about them here. Search. Check journals. For real - you won't be disappointed. Check out several different brand names. Waterbox, Fluval (cheapest of the mix, truly budget tanks), JBJ, UNS, et al. There are tons. I run several.

Fortunately, there's no 'rule' on how much turnover a filter system should provide. In some tanks, 3-4x may be fine. In others? You may need 8. Truly depends upon each tank. Most setups allow you to control pump speed, so you'd adjust it as needed.

There aren't really any downsides with an AIO, per se, it really depends upon what you want. In many ways, AIOs can be easier to manage than canister systems because there's no pump priming necessary and nothing has to be disconnected when rinsing out media. It's easy to add or remove media with multiple filter chambers and equally easy to add or remove a heater.

 

Yes...I've searched but perhaps not very well as not finding what I'd hoped to. Predominantly nano and/or DIY-type stuff.

UNS, Waterbox & Lifegard are most appealing to me, but that's based on specs, not real-life-experience.

I appreciate your feedback & have those same "pluses" I hope to capitalize on. Hoping these AIO aren't "too good to be true".

I have a large oak desk that had 36 gallon bow front on it for a couple years. Canister filter hidden in old-school PC tower cabinet underneath. Has cord cutouts which I used for filter tubes, etc so it's kind of a cool set-up. But the weight of that tank always made me nervous. So I moved the filter to a new 150L rimless tank on a stand. So now looking to fill the empty spot on desk with new tank, ~20-25 gal/~24-30" long. The simplicity of the AIO in this case is pretty appealing, so may just take the leap & see where it takes me. Thank you so much!

 

I may be remembering wrong because I was trying to find info on my particular (peninsula) tank when I was weighing options. Or I just wasn’t searching well.

At any rate, I agree that they are a good option. They provide a lot of the same options as a sump without the space requirements.

Since you’re here, @somewhatshocked, do you thing it would be possible to also put the CO2 diffuser in one of the sections of the chamber?

 

Since you’re here, @somewhatshocked, do you thing it would be possible to also put the CO2 diffuser in one of the sections of the chamber?

I'm sure some people have put CO2 lines near the pump intake in the rear chamber. Some run in-line diffusers on the pump outflow tube in the back. But a lot of people seem to diffuse just beneath the outflow.

I don't run CO2 in any of my AIO tanks but could see all of those methods working well enough.

If it were me, I'd take the easy/lazy route and hide a ceramic diffuser behind hardscape near the back of the tank - likely beneath a flow outlet.

 

Yeah, that’s what I’ve always done. Its hidden, maybe too well, which makes it harder to see the output. It is in the flow from the pump under the outflow.

 

Yeah, I absolutely love mine.

The only Issue I’ve had is that I forgot to turn the heater off once when doing a water change. The water in that chamber overheated and cracked the black glass panel of the overflow box. I patched it with silicone and it didn’t affect the structural Integrity of the tank, but it scared the crap out of me. I now have the heater plugged into the same plug with a switch button I use to turn everything off when I’m draining the tank.

Just something to be aware of.

ETA - yes, I’m using the AI Prime they sell with the freshwater packag. Good results with it. The interface is pretty good if you’re into experimenting with color and intensity. The fan is a little loud when the light is running at higher intensity, but I don’t really notice the white noise most of the time.

 

Innovative Marine sells some great all in one aquariums. They're predominantly marketed towards saltwater tanks, but I used a nuvo fusion 10 and 20 for planted tanks, and they worked quite well. If you're keeping smaller species, you'll want something to go over the surface skimmer. I just used stainless steel mesh for that purpose.

 

I’ve had my eye on the fusion 14 or 20 for a while now. I’d love the lagoon, too, but don’t have a place for it.

 

I have had 3 Fluval all-in-ones now: Spec III, Spec V, and Flex 15. Each had great aspects. I like the simplicity and customizable nature of the tanks. The Specs have that nice see-through look as the filtration is all contained on the side. They now have a Spec 13.5, also.

I set up my newest, a Flex 15, mid-January. I've added a small bag of Purigen right under the biomax rings. Added a couple of bio sponges and a bag of Biomax prefilter media in the first compartment. Probably filtration overkill, but the water is pristinely clear, and have had no ammonia spikes since I upgraded the filtration a bit. (Had one very minor spike early in the process, and inappropriately freaked out, hence spending too much on extra filtration. Ha ha ha.😆😆)

The glass is nice and thick. The silicone work is tidy. The bow-front is kinda nifty. We have an aquarium size-limit in our rental, so I picked the Flex as the bow-front really does give the illusion of a larger tank.

There are LOTS of after-market things available on Etsy (lidpropz and waterwerks). See links in my profile. I lifted the intake level with a "snorkel"2 or 3 inches so I could grade the substrate higher in back. Also bought chamber covers and light lifters when I took the tank lidless.

A couple of things I don't like about the Fluval Flex: the intake compartment (compartment #1) has these little shelves on the right hand side corner... like a corner shelving unit I suppose. The mesh media bag gets caught on them when I take it out or push it back in after maintenance. I'm sure there is a reason for the shelves. Maybe specific Fluval filtration and media slides in there??... but I don't know what those shelves are for.

Second is nit-picky: I don't like the look of the black plastic back wall. It has a slight texture that catches substrate dust after water changes/substrate cleaning. It can look messy. I wipe it off frequently, but it just always looks dirty. The stem plants have nearly filled in completely and it is mostly obscured. I would even prefer a smoky glass back wall that gave a muted view of the filtration compartment over the back plastic. Then again, the kit is not prohibitively expensive, and I'm sure the plastic construction keeps the cost down.

But my fish are generally happy (except for Mean Gourami who met an untimely death, and a group of guppies from P*t*o that must have been sick, because 4 of the 5 died within 2 days, and had zero ammonia and nitrites.) The filtration is good, the output direction is adjustable two ways, and the stock hood light is decent. I ditched the lid about a month ago, though, and got a Fluval Plant 3.0 light because I wanted higher light plants.

Recommend? Yes. As-is it is great if you want low-demand plants like Java fern and anubias, the stock light is perfectly adequate and has those nifty colored LED lights. It doesn't have a built-in timer, which would have been a great idea. I got decent growth on the tissue culture s. repens and lobelia cardinallis, (could be the CO2 setup too, though) with the stock light, but they really filled out and became healthy when I took off the hood and switched to the stronger light. (The super cool Flex 32 has a light that can definitely handle high-light plants.)

Sorry I'm super wordy...

 

I have had 3 Fluval all-in-ones now: Spec III, Spec V, and Flex 15. Each had great aspects. I like the simplicity and customizable nature of the tanks. The Specs have that nice see-through look as the filtration is all contained on the side. They now have a Spec 13.5, also.

I set up my newest, a Flex 15, mid-January. I've added a small bag of Purigen right under the biomax rings. Added a couple of bio sponges and a bag of Biomax prefilter media in the first compartment. Probably filtration overkill, but the water is pristinely clear, and have had no ammonia spikes since I upgraded the filtration a bit. (Had one very minor spike early in the process, and inappropriately freaked out, hence spending too much on extra filtration. Ha ha ha.😆😆)

The glass is nice and thick. The silicone work is tidy. The bow-front is kinda nifty. We have an aquarium size-limit in our rental, so I picked the Flex as the bow-front really does give the illusion of a larger tank.

There are LOTS of after-market things available on Etsy (lidpropz and waterwerks). See links in my profile. I lifted the intake level with a "snorkel"2 or 3 inches so I could grade the substrate higher in back. Also bought chamber covers and light lifters when I took the tank lidless.

A couple of things I don't like about the Fluval Flex: the intake compartment (compartment #1) has these little shelves on the right hand side corner... like a corner shelving unit I suppose. The mesh media bag gets caught on them when I take it out or push it back in after maintenance. I'm sure there is a reason for the shelves. Maybe specific Fluval filtration and media slides in there??... but I don't know what those shelves are for.

Second is nit-picky: I don't like the look of the black plastic back wall. It has a slight texture that catches substrate dust after water changes/substrate cleaning. It can look messy. I wipe it off frequently, but it just always looks dirty. The stem plants have nearly filled in completely and it is mostly obscured. I would even prefer a smoky glass back wall that gave a muted view of the filtration compartment over the back plastic. Then again, the kit is not prohibitively expensive, and I'm sure the plastic construction keeps the cost down.

But my fish are generally happy (except for Mean Gourami who met an untimely death, and a group of guppies from P*t*o that must have been sick, because 4 of the 5 died within 2 days, and had zero ammonia and nitrites.) The filtration is good, the output direction is adjustable two ways, and the stock hood light is decent. I ditched the lid about a month ago, though, and got a Fluval Plant 3.0 light because I wanted higher light plants.

Recommend? Yes. As-is it is great if you want low-demand plants like Java fern and anubias, the stock light is perfectly adequate and has those nifty colored LED lights. It doesn't have a built-in timer, which would have been a great idea. I got decent growth on the tissue culture s. repens and lobelia cardinallis, (could be the CO2 setup too, though) with the stock light, but they really filled out and became healthy when I took off the hood and switched to the stronger light. (The super cool Flex 32 has a light that can definitely handle high-light plants.)

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Sorry I'm super wordy...

Thank you @BikeBookBread for the great pics & feedback on the Fluval Kits. If they offered a Flex 22 with aquasky (like the 32), I'd go for it!

I have a Fluval Plant 3.0 LED on my main tank and love it...Now anything less in a plant light is disappointing, lol. My high light plants are happy, my fish & I like sunrise/sunset capabilities, and I've fine-tuned spectrum & daytime to where algae has been largely a non-issue 15 months in.

There are some nice AIO options out there...Leaning towards UNS 60A & getting another Fluval Plant 3.0 LED.

 

I have the Waterbox 20g Cube. I like it except the outflow is up near the top and if I don't top off the tank every day or two all three rear chambers get too low. The cut outs are also too large for super small fish and shrimp. I tried to put some mesh there, but again if I didn't clean the mesh EVERY day I risked emptying the rear chambers and overflowing the tank.

Once I got used to dealing with those two issues it's been a good little tank.

 

if I didn't clean the mesh EVERY day I risked emptying the rear chambers and overflowing the tank.

Have you tried getting a large piece of course sponge to use wedged into the chamber to block critters from getting in? I do that in some of my tanks because it's easier to squeeze out a sponge every few days.

That said, I rarely have anything that can collect in large enough quantities to block flow. Do you have a lot of waste in the tank? Detritus?

Another option is to have a piece of sponge large enough to squeeze into the chamber just beneath where water flows in. That allows water to move in more quickly and for crud to collect without letting critters get down into the rest of the filter. You may have to shoo them out on occasion but it's easier than fishing them out all the time.

 

AIO's can most certainly be used for planted tanks. I think the greatest benefit of them is the ability to hide your equipment.

I've stayed away from AIO's or drilled tanks for my planted tanks because the urge to turn them into reef tanks is too great lol. If I want a reef tank now, I'll need to set up another tank rather than looking at my planted tanks.

 

I did exactly what you are considering.

I have a lifeguard aquatics 60 (24.6 gal) and a co2art in-line diffuser and it is running well. The only issue I see are 1 floating plants gather at overflow and 2juvenile shrimp can get through the overflow slats.
I love having zero equipment in my tank and if I do another tank will do an all in one.

Im new to FW so take my advice with caution.

 

I like the simplicity of the all in ones...I started with a spec V...went well and still going well. I then purchased a innovative marine peninsula 20g. It is a great all in one with very high quality construction. If anything, flow was too much on the stock pump...then went on to purchase smaller pumps...high flow continues to be a problem. I recently added a Spinstream, which is a nozzle that sweeps around powered by the flow...and that has cut down on flow more and disperses it.

Anyhow, I can't see how you could go wrong with an all in one. I keep stopping myself from purchasing a third. Those UNS tanks look great...and I see them in person at the store continuously. I will prob eventually break down and get one.