Fluval Siena 88 Gallon/340 liter

[Lonkley]

Anyone have experience with the Fluval Siena aquariums?  In a lot of ways it's kind of the perfect tank for me. My biggest problem with my acrylic 45 hex is I can't reach the bottom or sides because the opening is in the middle of the top.  This is the perfect height and a great footprint. (50" tall, tank is 44x22x22) It would be so much easier maintaining the glass and plants.   The glass is nice, 10mm, with nice black silicone.  It's trimmed with brushed aluminum and has a sliding/removable lid made of sandwiched plexi/aluminum. 

Cons.  I was kinda shocked a Fluval tank was nice. It is a kit tank, and it's pretty proprietary. That said, it's not bad equipment. Two track fluval 3.0 lights, fx4, 300w heater (which is probably way overkill, but I have my inkbird).  I've yet to use a cannister, and this is plumbed from below, which is both awesome and terrifying. The price is high but not exorbitant at $1750.

Scared: The stand. It's your typical flatpack pressed board of some variety. A half inch at that. That aside, it's a very nice stand that seems well thought out layout wise.   This seems pretty common with all tanks now, stands made with subpar material. It seems you have to have a lot of faith in it holding up a half ton of weight.  I really need an attractive stand to satisfy the wife, so that pretty much kills any diy solutions. On the plus side, the stand comes with leveling feet all over.

Specs:
https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/shop/product/siena-aquarium-set-88-us-gal-332-l

Edited March 11 by Lonkley

[johnnyxxl]

On 3/11/2024 at 5:30 PM, Lonkley said:

Anyone have experience with the Fluval Siena aquariums?  In a lot of ways it's kind of the perfect tank for me. My biggest problem with my acrylic 45 hex is I can't reach the bottom or sides because the opening is in the middle of the top.  This is the perfect height and a great footprint. (50" tall, tank is 44x22x22) It would be so much easier maintaining the glass and plants.   The glass is nice, 10mm, with nice black silicone.  It's trimmed with brushed aluminum and has a sliding/removable lid made of sandwiched plexi/aluminum. 

Cons.  I was kinda shocked a Fluval tank was nice. It is a kit tank, and it's pretty proprietary. That said, it's not bad equipment. Two track fluval 3.0 lights, fx4, 300w heater (which is probably way overkill, but I have my inkbird).  I've yet to use a cannister, and this is plumbed from below, which is both awesome and terrifying. The price is high but not exorbitant at $1750.

Scared: The stand. It's your typical flatpack pressed board of some variety. A half inch at that. That aside, it's a very nice stand that seems well thought out layout wise.   This seems pretty common with all tanks now, stands made with subpar material. It seems you have to have a lot of faith in it holding up a half ton of weight.  I really need an attractive stand to satisfy the wife, so that pretty much kills any diy solutions. On the plus side, the stand comes with leveling feet all over.

Specs:
https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/shop/product/siena-aquarium-set-88-us-gal-332-l

Nice tank, looks good.  DIY can be basic like the stand appears that I have, mine will be dressed up and closed in eventually.  I just was impatient and tired of waiting for timber to drop prices some more.  You could build the frame like I have and get paneling from the big box store and make a pretty stand that's way stronger and more durable than the flat pack 

[Tony s]

I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with the stand. It’s probably heavily embedded with plastic polymer at the surface. As long as you keep cleaning up water spills you should be good. If the stand was truly subpar, I don’t think they’d offer it for sale, potentially too many lawsuits.Fluval has an excellent reputation for their products. Lots of expensive, but excellent functions. 
 

honestly, this looks like an amazing setup 

[Biotope Biologist]

Really depends on your budget. Doing some cost analysis the fluval equipment listed prices out to $750 so your question now is, is a 88g tank and stand worth $1k to you?

I would imagine fluval used low-iron glass and looking at prices online of other reputable high clarity glass manufacturers, fluval is being quite competitive here.
 

Also it looks like it comes with a magnetic scrubby and some sample products. 

 

Fluval gets a bad rep for being overpriced with little to show for it. But one thing you know is that it is going to be quality. I do wish it came with maybe some glass lily pipes or some acrylic baffles to show its meant to be a high-end aquascape showcase but I can’t fault them on that too much. I like it! 

[Lonkley]

Price is reasonable.

The other higher end brand made of thick glass they carry is Aquarium Masters and a large tank would be around $600, not sure if lid is included, probably not.  $400 for the stand is reasonable if it was a quality stand, and honestly, its design is great. It's just I am so damn leary about materials they make stands out of now. Still liability is a good point, I'll have to see what they warranty it for.

've said it before, I yearn for the "cheap" pine cabinets of when I started, back when oak was the prevalent material.  Part of me realizes material science is kind of amazing but I just look at a half ton over years around water and shudder.

The equipment is a good value in of itself, though it's debatable if I'd buy those items if not bundled. Still all and all good, useable equipment. The only thing that looks cheap is the heater (of course).
 

On 3/12/2024 at 3:02 AM, johnnyxxl said:

DIY can be basic like the stand appears that I have, mine will be dressed up and closed in eventually. 

I've never been crafty. It's debatable if I could make a squared frame, and I'm quasi disabled.  I've thought about trying since it would still be relatively "cheap" to make a standard 2x4 stand. Personally, I'd be happy with cinderblocks or metal shelving. Wife, not so much.

I'm also slow to decide to commit because I'm going to be placing this tank where my existing is and the logistics of setting up and moving over just give me a headache.  Especially since despite my best intentions, there are days I just can't.  And I don't want to rush scaping. So likely I need to move my existing (45 tall hex, bonus CG is precarious) with fish and keep it running.

 

 

Edited March 13 by Lonkley

[Galabar]

I just want to rant that I wish someone would come out with plywood & solid wood construction stands.  Most stands seem to flimsy.

[Tony s]

On 3/13/2024 at 3:37 PM, Galabar said:

I just want to rant that I wish someone would come out with plywood & solid wood construction stands.  Most stands seem to flimsy.

I Think there less flimsy than they appear. as long as basic care is maintained. Most are heavily impregnated with polymer resin. but solid wood would be better. I'm not sure we could afford them though. being as they're incredibly expensive as is.