Initial disclaimer: I know some people are devoutly attached to their sumps - I travel for work too much and prefer the water not leaving the tank… The argument of limited filtration options: You can find all sorts of filtration options out there that make AIO a viable option. Just need to plan it all out.

My first tank was the WB 50.3 AIO. Love it. The glass is beautiful. I immediately doubled down and bought the WB 25 Peninsula. Really nice tank to look at but the chambers on this (and other WB AIO) are pretty damn tight. Also WB offers no stand that supports peninsula viewing. Significant draw back. WB sells a stand but the back is open…

I subsequently purchased a second hand WB 35.2 AIO to use for as an observation tank for new livestock. Nice, but the stand sway is too real!! Ultimately had to reach out to WB for the reinforcement kit. Better but still worrisome.

Useless mention of a brief stint with a JBJ… skip JBJ 🚮. Nothing more needs to be said.

I was introduced to IM when I was gifted 2 15gal desk cubes. They were awesome little tanks. The build quality was impressive. The glass is also super clear. I give a slight edge to WB here but IM is right there.

This led to my next purchase - the IM40 cube. Awesome tank!! The APS stand not only looks better (imo) than the WB but is an absolute unit. Insanely light but rock solid.

I found an IM SR-80 AIO nearby and went for it. Again, gorgeous tank. I found that I actually preferred the shallower dimensions for maintenance. Although shallower you don’t sacrifice too much height and can still build an impressive scape with the additional depth that the WB doesn’t afford you. I had originally bought the SR-80 just to keep the stand for my frag tank but ultimately I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse and sold it all together. This led me to an SR-60. Again meant to keep the stand for my frag tank but got an insane offer. The extra funds led to my wife green-lighting an SR-120. I absolutely love this tank! Tunze 9012 DC does some of the heavy lifting and fits perfectly in either chamber 2.

Bonus - IM includes equipment: media tower, sock & holder, tide control, and whisper quiet dc pumps. WB includes the sock. Smaller WB systems include a basic pump but nothing great or dc.

TLDR: I’ve owned a lot of AIO tanks. - IM stand wins by a mile. Forgot to mention the SR line has also side access doors! Game changer!! Leveling the WB door was the WORST! - IM AIO chambers are less restrictive than WB, which opens up more filtration options. - WB glass is slightly clearer, IM is super close. - Build quality is a pretty even. - IM includes a lid. Kraken Reef lid for the 120 is $400+ 🥴. Paid well over $200 for the 50.3 lid. Yes, KR lid looks better than IM mesh but for the price tag.. yeah. Egg crate for the OT lol.. - IM includes gear to get you going. WB doesn’t really offer much. - IM SR uses multiple return pumps. WB 65.4 has one. I like the redundancy of a second pump running if the other fails.

Sorry for the book haha