Re: Fluval Studio 900.
Gary Nelson said:
Hi
How are you finding the 'Fluval Studio 900' I have been thinking very seriously in getting one as the dimensions are the perfect size for our lounge, but cant seem to find any stores nearby that actually have one on display for me to inspect. I really like the black and silver look and the lighting. I was tempted to go for a rio 180 in white, but not that keen on the cabinet.
What do you think of the build quality, lighting and so on... any info would be great or any problems you may have found?
Hi Gary,
i have to say overall im very pleased with the studio tank and cabinet. My reason for choosing it was it fitted the style and colour combo (black gloss and brushed aluminium) of our front room perfectly, plus i thought it to be a much more modern take on aquarium styling compared with the juwel tanks. My old tank was a rio 180 on dark wood and it served me well, the new white gloss is nice but i feel they could have altered the stands to 'modernise' them and give some extra storeage space also.
Ive taken a few shots of the tank/stand in situ for you to have a look at. I know that its never the same as seeing one in the flesh, but it may help.
Full tank/stand showing gloss level of the stand (reflection of skirting).
The gloss level is really high and the finish excellent.
The stand itself is really solid, much better quality than some of the recent fluval stands! It, like the tank, is very weighty and instills confidence immediately and door adjusments are accurate so you can get perfect symmetry.
The under cabinet area is also large with two equally sized 'cupboards' big enough for any amount of clutter. With a 70cm height, co2 and filter equipment have little restriction.
The lighting is neat and includes an integrated reflector... which it needs, 2x 39w ho t5 tubes on 180l isnt high light, but also it has to penetrate the glass sliding covers and condensation as shown below! I personally like the glass covers as they prevent things being thrown in, evaporation and importantly fish jumping out! You can of course remove them. My only real issue with the lighting is when fixed on the sliders, there is no height adjustment so the lighting sits quite close to the water surface and with the shape of the lighting unit the light spread isnt wide so you tend to get 'dark spots' for about an inch water depth at the front and rear water surface. The lighting unit does incorporate two neat little hooks so you can suspend from the ceiling if you like which would eliminate this problem (....but then blind you when you sat down on your sofa!!!) Also you could purchase an additional lighting unit and run 2 on the top which again would eliminate this problem and give extra light depending upon requirements.
Below is an image of the tank in a dark room to show the light dissipation from the tank.... much different from a closed top tank.
I really like the tank and stand and they are both solid designs, the tank made from 10mm glass. The drilled base is already plumbed and simple to attach piping too. I wish the drilled base came with a sided option though as i would have preferred my pipes at right hand side! This may not be an issue for you. Obviously when you buy a tank design like this you cant add glassware so are stuck with the filter uplifts as they are (unless you capped the drilled base fixings and added seperate hoses etc)... but i presume like myself you like the simplicity of the internal plumbing which also makes filter priming easy due to gravity!!! There is no spray bar attachment available, and i think the piping is an unusual size so you might have to be a bit of an engineer to cobble something up if you wanted this option.
Like i said at the beginning of my journal, its not opti white nor ADA quality, but i love it.. its not die hard aquascaper material, but its a much more contemporary design than most all in ones out there and bridges the gap i feel.
Sorry for being a bit long winded, i hope theres something useful there for you and its always nice to get something new!
😀
Cheerio for now.
Ady.
