Hepper is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more.

5 Best All In One Reef Aquarium Kits: Top Picks & Reviews 2024

Lindsey Stanton Profile Picture

By Lindsey Stanton

reef aquarium

A reef tank is an awesome and stunning type of aquarium to have in your home. They look great, they house some really interesting critters and stunning plants, and they make a fantastic addition to any room in your home.

We’re here today to help you find the best all-in-one reef aquarium kits that your money can buy, so let’s get right to it.

 

A Glance at Our Favorite Picks in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
SCA 50 Gallon Starfire Glass Aquarium SCA 50 Gallon Starfire Glass Aquarium
  • Aquarium is rimless – looks great
  • Included sump
  • Heavy duty cabinet included for storage
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Red Sea 450 Kit Reefer Red Sea 450 Kit Reefer
  • Very strong glass
  • 3 door cabinet for storage
  • Rimless top for beauty
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    133 Gallon Fish Tank Reef Aquarium 133 Gallon Fish Tank Reef Aquarium
  • Comes with a great LED lighting system
  • High powered pump included
  • Hood for closure
  • LED light coral grow marine reef tank LED light coral grow marine reef tank
  • Will fit pretty much anywhere
  • Strong glass
  • Beautiful rimless design
  • R&J Acrylic All in One Aquarium Kit R&J Acrylic All in One Aquarium Kit
  • Looks nice
  • Superior durability
  • Comes with a light and filter
  • The 5 Best All-In-One Reef Aquarium Kits

    1. SCA 50 Gallon Starfire Glass Aquarium

    SCA 50 Gallon Starfire Glass Aquarium

    Check Price on Chewy

    This is in our opinion one of the best all-in-one reef tank options to go with and it is because it comes with everything you need to create a healthy marine environment. You can check the current price on Amazon here.

    First of all, this kit includes a 24 x 24 x 20 glass tank that can hold 50 gallons of water, which is a good size for a large aquarium with many inhabitants. The glass is very durable so you don’t have to worry about cracks or leaks, and it also has 3 holes drilled inside the overflow box in case of water overflow. This model also comes with a heavy-duty cabinet that is 24 x 24 x 31 inches that is equipped with dual-opening doors. The cabinet is a great place to keep your refugium, extra filters, fish food, and other necessary equipment.

    Moreover, this all-in-one reef aquarium kit also comes with its own sump for keeping separate algae, microorganisms, and other biological filtration agents, all things which will help the marine habitat thrive and stay healthy.

    What is really great about this kit is that everything is included. It comes with a heavy-duty protein skimmer to remove excess nutrients and protein, plus it comes with the return pump as well. Moreover, this reef tank also comes with a Durso standpipe, a return T Pipe, bulkheads, tubing, a filter, filter media, and bio-filter media too.

    Pros
    • Large aquarium
    • Heavy-duty glass build
    • Aquarium is rimless
    • Heavy duty cabinet included for storage
    • Included sump
    • Protein skimmer and return pump
    • Comes with filter and all necessary filter media
    Cons
    • No light included
    • Skimmer does not have a removable cup

    2. Red Sea 450 Kit Reefer

    Red Sea 450 Kit Reefer

    This is a great reef aquarium choice for anyone to go with who already has experience with this type of fish tank. This is an absolutely massive reef tank that is made with high-quality shatterproof glass, plus it features a rimless top to make it look simply stunning. This tank can hold 450 liters or about 116 gallons, making it one of the bigger tanks out there.

    This tank also comes with a massive cabinet to hold it up with, a cabinet with 3 doors that can accommodate filters, sumps, refugiums, fish food, and everything else you need for your reef tank.

    Keep in mind that this is a very high-quality reef aquarium that is intended for experts who already know what they are doing. This tank does come with all the necessary plumbing to get you started, but it does not actually come with any electrical components.

    Pros
    • 116 gallons
    • Very strong glass
    • Rimless top
    • 3-door cabinet for storage
    Cons
    • Top is completely open
    • Not ideal for beginners

    3. 133 Gallon Fish Tank Reef Aquarium

    This is another absolutely massive reef aquarium choice to go with, and it actually does come with most of the things you need to get started and let your marine environment thrive. This is a 133-gallon tank, which makes it one of the bigger home reef tanks that you can purchase without needing a new house to put it in.

    First of all, the tank is made with superior quality glass for strength and reliability, plus it also has a rimless design to offer you an unobstructed view of all your aquarium inhabitants.

    This tank also comes with a hood and a complete LED lighting system so you don’t have to buy any lights. The LED lighting is good enough to provide your fish and other marine plants with good illumination and the ability to perform photosynthesis, yet also gentle enough to not blind you, blind the fish, or burn any plants in your aquarium.

    Moreover, this particular reef tank also comes with a filtration system that can handle up to 400 gallons of water per hour. The filtration system is an advanced 3-stage filter that will definitely clean your fish tank water without question. Next, this kit also comes with a huge 4 door cabinet for the aquarium to rest on, a cabinet that can house everything you need for a thriving marine habitat.

    Pros
    • Great for huge marine environments
    • Very durable glass
    • Rimless design for an unobstructed view
    • Comes with a great LED lighting system
    • Hood for closure
    • High-powered pump included
    Cons
    • May be too big for some
    • Very heavy
    • Takes a while to assemble

    4. LED Light Coral Grow Marine Reef Tank

    LED light coral grow marine reef tank

    This is a really small aquarium option to go with. This reef aquarium option can hold just a few gallons of water, but that just makes it preferable for beginners and small-time hobbyists who want a reef aquarium but don’t want all of the work that comes with some of the larger options discussed above.

    This tank is 26 x 12 x 2.7 cm in size, making it ideal for having on your desk, on a shelf, or even in your child’s room. The small size makes this reef aquarium ideal for some very small fish or displaying small coral growths. You will definitely like the fact that this thing comes with a complete LED light kit that includes white, red, green, blue, and purple lights.

    Also, there is a controller included so you can change the light setting on your own, or you can also set it to realize different daytimes such as dawn, sunrise, daytime, noon, sunset, and night time too.

    Pros
    • Ideal for beginners and small marine environments
    • Comes with a complete lighting system
    • Will fit pretty much anywhere
    • Strong glass
    • Beautiful rimless design
    Cons
    • No filtration system
    • Not large enough for most fish

    5. R&J Acrylic All-in-One Aquarium Kit

    R&J Acrylic All in One Aquarium Kit

    If you are looking for a decent all-in-one saltwater tank, the R&J Acrylic All-in-One Aquarium Kit is a good option to keep in mind. This is a 29-gallon acrylic aquarium, so it has a pretty decent size to fit quite a few fish, plants, and decorations. It can be used for reef aquariums and freshwater tanks alike. What is really nice about this option is that it comes with built-in filtration, which is hidden behind a blacked-out layer, just to make things look a little nicer.

    The filter pump can deal with nearly 400 gallons per hour, and the filtration media includes some mechanical and biological filtration, so it should be way more than good enough for this average-size tank. Keep in mind that it’s not the best for chemical filtration, but you can make some media substitutions if necessary. You also get an LED light included here, although it’s nothing overly special.

    If you are a beginner looking for something decent that comes with a few accessories, will last some time, and looks nice too, the R&J Acrylic All-in-One Aquarium Kit is a good option.

    Pros
    • Looks great
    • Superior durability
    • Comes with a light and filter
    • Filter is very powerful
    Cons
    • Could use more chemical filtration

    aquarium plant divider

    FAQs

    What is the best all-in-one saltwater aquarium?

    When it comes down to it, we would say that the best option to go with is the SCA 50 Gallon Starfire Glass Aquariums Complete Package.

    It’s got plenty of room on the interior for a fairly large reef, plus it does look really nice. It comes with an included cabinet stand, so you don’t need one separately, and the cabinet has more than enough room for accessories.

    This option comes complete with a fully functional filtration unit, which is a big bonus, plus the included protein skimmer definitely doesn’t hurt either. Just get a light, some fish, plants, and decorations, and you’re good to go.

    What is a nano reef tank?

    A nano reef tank is simply a reef tank that is very small. Nano, roughly translated, means very small or mini, so if we are talking about a reef tank, it means a small reef tank, a very small one.

    Reefs are oceanic landscapes, underwater coral reefs. So, think of a coral reef in a fish tank, usually 10 gallons or less, sometimes as small as 5 gallons.

    Is a protein skimmer necessary for a nano reef?

    Yes, you do need to get a protein skimmer for a nano reef aquarium. Funny enough, it’s actually more important to get a high-quality protein skimmer for a very small tank than for a larger one. Due to there being lots of sensitive organisms in a very tight place with minimal water, proteins, fish waste, and other things to build-up and concentrate quickly.

    So yes, you need a good protein skimmer for a nano reef tank.

    What are the advantages of getting an all-in-one saltwater aquarium kit?

    Simply put, you get everything that you need in one package. If you get a good product, you should get at the very least a tank, a filter, filter media, a hook, and a light, with some products also including a protein skimmer and aeration accessories too.

    It usually ends up being far more cost-effective to purchase an all-in-one saltwater aquarium kit than it is to buy everything separately.

    aquarium plant divider

    Conclusion

    No matter which of the above choices you end up going with, if any of them at all, we are sure that you will be more than pleased with them.

    If you want a great reef aquarium in your home, you should definitely check out the above options because they are in our opinion some of the best. These tanks are beautiful and they definitely provide you with a whole lot of fun.


    Featured Image Credit: Vojce, Shutterstock

    Related Articles

    Further Reading

    Vet Articles

    Latest Vet Answers

    The latest veterinarians' answers to questions from our database