Survey .....Does size really matter ?

[Rich-n-poor]

Get your mind outta the gutter Im talking about Tank Size here ......

Ok how big is your tank ? do you want a bigger one ? and if so how big of one do you want ?

please remember you answer influence my ability to convince my wife to get a bigger tank. I am currently considering either a 90 or 125 gallon tank and may or may not convert my 37 gallon to a sump for use with it. Come on people convince my wife that size matters. ROFLMAO

_________________
Mercedes C11

 

[Goldmoon]

I have a 20 gallon tank and I do not plan to upgrade it. I love it the way it is

Just big enough for what I have and/or plan to have.
My hubby has a 46 gallon tank and he is planning to upgrade to a 180g in the near future.

Yes mrs Rich-n-poor SIZE matters

When you start with a bigger tank I guess you do not feel the urge to get a bigger one as fast.. but you might still get the urge to get another one though (and another one, and another one, and another....)

 

[Carpentersreef]

ONE of my dream setups would be: a 50 refuge flowing into a 180g (seahorses) flowing into a 50g refug into a 180g (FOWLR) into a 50g refuge into a 180g (corals) into a 180g sump! Oh yeah, THEN it would start over at the top, which would be a cascading planktonic feeding system! All the different refugiums would be for playing around and experimenting with.
(now where did I put that 2nd mortgage application?)
Right now all I have is a 180 into a 50 refug into a 20 sump.

Mitch

 

[Ocyurus]

I'm sticking with my 37 for a while I think its great good size looks nice good shape,. Uh, I mean its not very good I am definetly going to upgrade it to something over a 100gl

much easier to hand because the animals are so much happier in it and look much better too!

 

[esmithiii]

just got my 180 and it still seems big. Ask me again in a year.

E

 

[Hal1]

Dang it, my 150 doesn't even have water in it and I've just seen a beautiful 225. My wife says I can get it in 5 years if I still want it. Oct, 2006, here I come!

 

[ZeroMaintenance]

I had a 75 with a 20 sump and was forced to get rid of it because it was just not big enough. I moved on to a 180 with a 135 sump. It's incredible how much more there is to see when you have a bigger tank. With a bigger sump/refug, the amount of life in there is just unbelievable. My wife is already suggesting that we should redesign out fish room with a yet bigger tank. Currently our 180 is mounted in a wall that is in our famliy room. To close, like my wife always says "Bigger is better".

 

[jdeets]

I started in the hobby with a 115 gallon tank. I upgraded a few months later to a 180. The extra two feet of length made a world of difference, both for the fish and in the number of corals I can cram in there. I'm very happy with this tank size and am not planning to upgrade anytime soon.

 

[Merkur]

I have a 90 with 50 gallon sump and 30 gallon refuge in my apartment now. we are house shopping right now, one of the points we are looking for in the house is a place to put a 180 or 225 with a utility room behind for the 90 gallon refuge and 90 gallon sump.

it seemed pretty big for about 6 months, now 1 1/2 years later the 90 seems small. espeically when my fiance has a 180 for her koi, which are of course, looking farward to having a pond.

 

[WWiley]

Keep in mind that with big water can come big problems. I have a 240gal with about 350-380gal total system volume. Last week I poisoned my tank with homemade buffer. I used way to much.Since friday I've changed 225gal right about now I wish I had a 70. WWiley

[ October 10, 2001: Message edited by: WWiley ]

 

[Anonymous]

Depending on what you want to keep, size matters!

I have a 100gal (4 ft) tank that is plenty big enough for the corals I want to keep. It is not big enough to let all those corals grow to large sizes. It isn't big enough for large fish or anemones, either.

That's why I'm upgrading to a 7ft 300gal tank! I thought about what I wanted to keep (several anthias and a tang) and decided on a size I could fit in the room, afford, that will hopefully keep my fish happy.

I'm already worried that the 300 will be too tiny (it's being built next week - I have two more days to call and beg for a bigger one, it is hard to resist!), but once I actually see it in the room I have a feeling that it'll hold me for several years.

A good way to get a feel for the tank size you want is to see others' tanks. Local shops have large (200-300 gal) tanks I looked at. I also liked looking through the numerous tanks in the back of TMCRA vol. 3 to get an idea of what other people used to set up their tanks (both their fish load and choices, and their equipment so I could estimate costs).

jayo

 

[JohnD]

I is not really the size of the tank that is the issue, it is the size of the wallet/purse that is the issue!!

Like Bob Fenner says, the cost of the tank and stand become secondary to the cost of upkeep.

 

[ecugman]

Hey Jayo - What book are you refering to (TMCRA vol 3)?

Everyone - I'll be adding a room onto my house soon and would like to incorporate a tank into the design. Any ideas, pictures, do's and don'ts would be greatly appreciated.

I currently have a 46 bow front and want at least a 150 for the new room.

 

[Anonymous]

The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium, vol. 3 by Fossa and Neilsen. It covers 'critters' - worms, crabs, shrimps, etc. At the back it has pictures and some info on about 40 or 50 tanks from around the world.

jayo

 

[Modo]

I have a 29g right now, but once I move on to a bigger and better living space of my own I am thinking 75 or 90g.

My problem right now is like a kid in a candy store......my eyes are bigger than my wallet!!!

 

[64Ivy]

I have a 500 gallon full blown reef and while my maintenence time has actually gone DOWN from the days I had several (4) smaller tanks, I still find myself falling prey to the 'if I only had a little more room' syndrome. So I guess my response would depend on the reason you want a bigger tank. If you think you're ever going to be content with your 'real estate', forget about it. If you want appropriate room for a given species, like tangs, go for it.

 

[Gatortailale1]

I have a 125 now and wish I would of spent the extra 500+ for a 180 (tank price rock, sand, ect.) Same length, but tank is deeper front to back and top to bottom. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had done that. A 180 would be an aZZ Kicker. Give you more water depth to vary level you place corals. If you are into sps or clams, then get MH lights. You will wish you had if you don't get then first time.

Gator

 

[Jase]

Rich-n-poor,
Rather than a 90 or a 125, take a look at the 2x2x4 120G. The extra depth, front to back is worth every penny, and dramaticalyy increases perspective.IMO, the squarer the tank the better.

 

[Christyf5]

I've had my 29G up for 5 months and already I want a bigger tank. The cash flow is pretty low tho, so I am gonna kick my african cichlids out of their 48G and switch that over to SW. Hopefully that will stem the tide for now and I won't want a bigger one for awhile.

Christy

 

[hurrifan]

I started out with a 15 nano, almost immediately (3 months) upgraded to a 55 (1 year), and just recently finished setting up a 180. I am already dreaming of a bigger tank. When the house gets built (5 years) the plans will include several 180's in the garage and 500 main tank in the living room.