75 vs 90 gal startup.
- Thread starter Conor_K
- Start date
Shawn O
Active member
One thing to look for is whether it's drilled (has overflows) or not. If it's not drilled, check to see if it's tempered glass on the back and/or bottom. Can't drill tempered. Also check the seams from the outside. There should be no bubbles (or only a few very small ones) in the silicone between the glass panels.
If you choose not to go with the 75 you're looking at, and are fixed with the 48" length, I'd second the 120 gallon suggestion. To my eye, there needs to be a balance between length, width and height. The 24 high by 24 deep just looks right, up to about 8' long. 8'+ tanks just seem too skinny if less than 30" high and 30" deep.
Either way, post up some pics when you get something set up.
If you choose not to go with the 75 you're looking at, and are fixed with the 48" length, I'd second the 120 gallon suggestion. To my eye, there needs to be a balance between length, width and height. The 24 high by 24 deep just looks right, up to about 8' long. 8'+ tanks just seem too skinny if less than 30" high and 30" deep.
Either way, post up some pics when you get something set up.
Last edited:
3dees
New member
120gals. is not a big tank. mine is a converted discus tank and my softie/lps reef is so much easier. I would say that with a 75 or 90 as soon as you start scaping your going to wish you went with the 120. then again there are some beautiful 75's and 90's out there. just don't think that the extra 30 gals. is going to make much difference in equipment or maintenance. I wish I had room for a 6 or 8 foot tank but my "man cave" only allows for four feet. with the 120 I couldn't be happier.
mattgumaer
New member
Another thing to consider is lighting. Different lights will be able to penetrate better than others. With a deeper tank, it may be harder to get bright light all the way down to the bottom if you want to keep high light loving corals on the bottom. On the other hand, the extra depth of a 90 will give you a marginally broader range of light levels from top to bottom, giving you a somewhat broader range of placement options in terms of light intensity for your corals.
Either tank should be great. A 120 would be even better long term probably because the greater depth front to back is easier to aquascape IMHO. I went from an 8 gallon biocube, to a 90 to a 180 over the course of a little over a year so my judgment probably should be questioned..........
Good luck and have fun. Buying used is a great way to start out because you don't need to pay top dollar for things before you're really sure what you want/need.
Matt
Either tank should be great. A 120 would be even better long term probably because the greater depth front to back is easier to aquascape IMHO. I went from an 8 gallon biocube, to a 90 to a 180 over the course of a little over a year so my judgment probably should be questioned..........
Good luck and have fun. Buying used is a great way to start out because you don't need to pay top dollar for things before you're really sure what you want/need.
Matt
There is some misinformation in this thread .....
Assuming standard dimensions, all three tanks (75, 90 and 120 gallon) are 48" long. The 75 and 90 are 18" deep (front to back) with the former 20/21" tall and the latter 24" tall. The 120 is also 24" tall, but adds an extra 6" of depth (front to back). I have owned multiples of all three tanks and the 120 is the hands-down winner. There isn't all that much practical difference between a 75 and a 90, frankly.
Assuming standard dimensions, all three tanks (75, 90 and 120 gallon) are 48" long. The 75 and 90 are 18" deep (front to back) with the former 20/21" tall and the latter 24" tall. The 120 is also 24" tall, but adds an extra 6" of depth (front to back). I have owned multiples of all three tanks and the 120 is the hands-down winner. There isn't all that much practical difference between a 75 and a 90, frankly.
JMorris271
New member
IT's no big deal to peel off overflow boxes and scrape the old sealant off of the glass. Two ways to do this.You can use bulkheads in the bottom holes with short pieces of pipe and cap off, Or cover holes with glass and seal down with silicone. Easy peesy.
Shawn O
Active member
Or remove o-flows, use flex PVC running up to a bottom-drilled C2C and cover with a DIY rock wall. You could even just plumb it with clear PVC and not try to hide it, you'd just have to be very accurate with hole locations in the C2C. Probably lay the bottom C2C glass in the bottom of the tank and use a sharpie (from below the tank) to trace the bottom holes onto the C2C glass.
+1 to that. I bought a 72 bowfront and thought the glass was ok but the scratches turned out to be worse than I thought. Don't make that mistake.
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