Getting back into hobby....which setup would you choose?

[nathansdad04]

Been out of the hobby for awhile and have forgotten a lot... So I need some advice.

I'd rather not start from scratch so I going the "used route. I'm torn between these 2 setups (being sold on CL):

1: Asking price $600 (and he's an hour away from me)
55 gallon w/ stand
3200 gph powerhead
prism pro skimmer
whisper hang-on filter
spectrum LED lights
hang-on overflow (not being used currently)
return pump (unknown model)
buckets
misc cleaning stuff etc (don't have exact list...seller getting out of hobby)

 

[nathansdad04]

Option #2

90 gallon bow front
48" T5 lights (actinic/day/night)
heater
Marineland C-530 canister filter
2 clown fish, a star fish, diamond watchman goby and turbo snail
Fan
cleaning supplies, sea salt, tubing etc

Seller firm at $650 delivered to my door (he's 90 mins away)

55 gallon tank
Pros:
well established and simple. Seller obviously is doing something right to have that kind of growth etc

Cons:
Smaller tank...less stable than a 90 gallon (in theory anyway)
tank and equipment are pretty cheap compared to the 90 gallon setup

90 gallon:
Pros:
Much more expensive tank and hood
good coralline growth
canister filter (more expensive than hang-on)
Delivered to my door

Cons:
Not nearly as established as the 55 gallon
No guarantees sellers will transport tank/fish etc properly


Any/all advice welcome

 

[nuttyd]

Personally, neither. would wait to find a drilled tank with a sump. both will kinda limit the corals you can put in later. The 55 seems nice, maybe buying the setup and trying to find a drilled 55 you can add a sump to later. I found my drilled 55 with corner overflow for only 40 bucks on CL.

 

[TangingOut]

Be patience and you'll definitely find better setups. I wouldn't take either one of those for free. Not trying to sound snobbish, but I don't see the value in those two to go through the trouble of replacing pretty much all the equipment.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I agree keep looking but of the tow I'd take the 90 for obvious reasons and because the 55 is only 12" front to back. Makes it tight when aquascaping looks much better to have space in front of your corals and more room for the fish to swim. You also have many more fish choices with the 90.

 

[nathansdad04]

Be patience and you'll definitely find better setups. I wouldn't take either one of those for free. Not trying to sound snobbish, but I don't see the value in those two to go through the trouble of replacing pretty much all the equipment.

Def not the answer I was expecting.

I am NOT looking to start from scratch....and I'm not sure I want to go the sump route again.

My last setup was 75 gallon w/sump, skimmer, and VHO....and I couldn't grow coralline to save my life. Spent a ton of time and money on that setup. Had some decent success, but also had a bunch of failure. Seemed as though the 55 gallon seller must be doing something right.


Very few (if any) drilled tanks for sale locally. Not looking to dive in and blow $1000 bucks right off the bat.

 

[Frostyfishman]

I would forget them both and get something drilled. You won't regret it.

 

[Deftones2015]

If you're set on getting one, get the one that has the corals you like the most.

Another route you could go is to look for someone parting out and get a tank and stand cheap and live rock cheap light etc.

I like the look of the 90 better personally, can't really see in the tank though. You could always ask if he would drop the price if you can move it, or ask him how he plans on moving it. Sucks trying to aquascape though with a bunch of rock that have corals already attached. Just my opinion though.:bounce3:

 

[davocean]

I'd keep looking, that first one was outdated junk, and that stand is a failure waiting to happen.
Personally I don't like bowfronts, but at least that has a solid stand.
For around that much you can find something used that is better and more up to date

 

[Aframomum]

Not what you want to hear but I too would wait. Neither of the two look worthwhile and in the long run, I believe you would have buyers remorse down the road.

May want to spend some time brushing up on reef basics and also on the new stuff out there, ie. beananimal and plumbing (never know when you may want to do sumps again), LED/T5/MH (some are using a combination of all 3), DC pumps, gyre wavemakers, automation units - just to name a few new things for me when I got back after being out for some years.

 

[CStrickland]

same.
Have you connected to your local reef club? I got my first tank off CL, and my second from the local. It was a night and day difference.

As far as starting from scratch, IMO it's more realistic to kind of expect everything to die in transit, and anything that survives is a bonus. You are going to want fresh sand, there's probably going to be a cycle, who knows how old the bulbs are etc.

good luck, and welcome back!
I think $1000 is a fine budget after everything is said and done

 

[timnem70]

Is everyone missing the fact that this person lives 1-2 hours awAy from the sellers. Listen my friend. By the time those get drained, loaded into your ride and taken back to where you live, nothing will be alive anyway. Re filling with water and re establishing either of those tanks is, as you say you wanna avoid,"starting over". By any tank you want new and start you system the way YOU want it. Inheriting someone else's stuff like that might just be harder than you think. Especially without a sump/ propper reef equipment. Good luck no matter what's decided.

 

[timnem70]

same.
Have you connected to your local reef club? I got my first tank off CL, and my second from the local. It was a night and day difference.

As far as starting from scratch, IMO it's more realistic to kind of expect everything to die in transit, and anything that survives is a bonus. You are going to want fresh sand, there's probably going to be a cycle, who knows how old the bulbs are etc.

good luck, and welcome back!
I think $1000 is a fine budget after everything is said and done

+1 on the tansit thing

 

[timnem70]

+1 on the tansit thing

Sorry I didn't read this post before I said the same stuff... But you may need to hear it twice anyway.[emoji4] good luck

 

[reeftanknewbie]

I know it's discouraging to here this feedback but I agree with everyone on here. Take your time and wait and you will find something that you will not regret later on. sometimes upgrading older systems are more costly then starting over or working on buying used to create something of your own. IMO a sump is a great way to hold extra water volume, equipment (especially over time you will want to try or use new/different things). sumpless tanks I believe are limited.

 

[nathansdad04]

I know it's discouraging to here this feedback but I agree with everyone on here. Take your time and wait and you will find something that you will not regret later on. sometimes upgrading older systems are more costly then starting over or working on buying used to create something of your own. IMO a sump is a great way to hold extra water volume, equipment (especially over time you will want to try or use new/different things). sumpless tanks I believe are limited.

Ya. I'm now on the search for a 75-100 gallon drilled tank.

Only a few available for sale on CL (i searched CL ads within 3 hour drive)...most sellers asking too much money imo.

Doing a bunch of reading to try and re-learn everything that I've forgotten about the hobby.

Going to start out as FOWLR and then down the road add simple coral/shrooms etc

I do need recommendations for the basics:

- lighting (LED maybe?)
- what kind of live(or dead) rock is best to start with(and best place to buy)
- type of substrate/sand is best and easiest to maintain

 

[CStrickland]

- lighting (LED maybe?)
- what kind of live(or dead) rock is best to start with(and best place to buy)
- type of substrate/sand is best and easiest to maintain

Well, since you e been gone the hobby has changed in some ways but some things are the same. There are still a lot of ways to have a successful tank, and opinions on the "best" set up

I run a pretty cheap, no frills system.
- lights http://m.ebay.com/itm/165w-MarsAqua...ull-Spectrum-LPS-SPS-Coral-Reef-/370857093101 one of those lights a 2' square well enough to grow coral for $80. You can look for threads about "Chinese led" or "eBay black box led" to learn about them. There are different manufacturers, but the design is pretty standard. There's a long thread in the lighting subforum about the marsaquas specifically.

- you can control your budget a lot by what rocks you buy. The dry rock mined from the ground is the cheapest at $2/# with free shipping, and the other end of it is fake rock that is sat in the Gulf of Mexico for a while until it is covered in critters, then shipped in water to the airport where you go pick it up at the cargo bay for like $6/#. Diff rocks are "best" for diff reasons, both have pros and cons. Reefcleaners.org is a good vendor for dry, tampabaysaltwater sells the primo live rock.

-regular aragonite sand is the standard. Not so small that it blows around, not so big that poop gets caught between the rubble and fouls the water. You don't see very many deep sand tanks anymore. I like just enough for the animals that dig and sleep in it, ~2" does the trick, my wrasse sleeps in the corner where it has piled up to 3". Unless you have your heart set on something that needs deeper like a jawfish. Tanks without any sand seem really easy to manage, but I like some sand critters.

 

[nathansdad04]

I found a 125 gallon drilled w/dual overflows(including stand and hood).....with a fully plumbed sump for $400

Is going to a 125 a huge jump in equipment/operating cost over a 90gallon?

 

[Arkayne Reefer]

If you are talking the cost of running it, it shouldn't be that much. Depends on the lights that come with it. This are what really pull in the electricity. The rest of the equipment won't coat that much over a 90

The lights will pull a significant amount of watts depending what you get tho. Leds are higher startup lower long run mh halides and t5i have a lower startup but you have to buy bulbs yearly and they use more energy.

Unless you go crazy on equip, dosing and wwater changes a 125 isn't going to be a huge jump in cost from a 90

 

[CStrickland]

+1
Also, a standard 125 is a standard 90 that's 2' longer. A 6' by 2' tank is like adding a couch to the room so you'll want to consider where you'll put it.

That's a great price... almost too great? Make sure it holds water etc