Looking to upgrade to 90 gallon

S

summitk

New member
Hey all,

After having a tank with mostly softies, and after acquiring an ATI Sunpower 6x54w fixture, I think I'm ready to upgrade to a 90 gallon tank. I would have preferred a 120, but that may be the next future upgrade. Does anyone have a 90 gallong tank with stand and canopy around? Drilled is preferred, but I am willing to try drilling on my own as a project also. Also, I'll be looking for a sump upgrade, as I have a 20 Long under my 65 gallon at the time. What's the biggest sump that is practical (e.g., enough room to troubleshoot a skimmer, swap out pumps, etc) to keep under a 90?

Thanks!

Summit
 
Summit,
Not sure what you have now, but I would just do it and go for a 120 or even 150. There are a bunch on craigslist. I had a 75 and grew out of that within 5 months and upgraded to a 175g bow front and I am already wishing i would have went with the 220g.
 
I just don't have the real estate to go bigger. The 65 was a hard sell, and the 90 is also. I can't imagine 150 in my place, though I do dream it occasionally.
 
If she doesn't know the exact dimensions just get a 120 and tell her it's a 90 since they are both 4 ft tanks...:lmao:
 
NaClH2Opgh said:
If she doesn't know the exact dimensions just get a 120 and tell her it's a 90 since they are both 4 ft tanks...:lmao:
Click to expand...

The only difference is that the 120 comes out into the room about 6 more inches from front to back. In a room, that isn't even noticable, but when you're aquascaping, the difference is enormous. I would NEVER set up a standard 55 or 90 for the sheer purpose that the 120 is (IMO) an awesome sized setup.

As for the sump, I would think that a 40 or 50 breeder would be the way to go if you're looking for a large sump. (this would only work with the 120 btw...otherwise breeder would be too big from back to front to fix in the stand unless you built your stand oversized.)

Trust me, everyone may be seeming to "push" you into getting the 120 instead of a 90, but the difference is that big. 1 year from now, I promise you that you'll be upgrading a 90.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^

Saw it in person when I bought a scopas from the guy. I don't like the extra height, so I wasn't looking too terribly critically at the tank itself, but nothing jumped out at me as far as scratches or damages are concerned. The canopy isn't worth-while...it really didn't look nice
 
I have a 120 and could easily fit a 40g breeder in the stand but opted for a 30g breeder so that I could have more room to work.

In a 75/90g stand I would think you could fit a 30g long tank.

I upgraded from a 75 to a 120 and the difference front to back is incredible (for aquascaping) without taking up much more room. It is only 2 square feet difference in size in the room, but that is 33% more room for aquascaping.
 
raynist said:
I have a 120 and could easily fit a 40g breeder in the stand but opted for a 30g breeder so that I could have more room to work.

In a 75/90g stand I would think you could fit a 30g long tank.

I upgraded from a 75 to a 120 and the difference front to back is incredible (for aquascaping) without taking up much more room. It is only 2 square feet difference in size in the room, but that is 33% more room for aquascaping.
Click to expand...

I have a 30 long under my 75. I had to cut the side of the stand out to get it in there. I couldn't work it in through the front with the center brace.
 
I have a 90g (36x24x24, 1/2"glass, eurobraced, 3 holes in the short end) sitting in my basement with sand, some rock and a heater. The stand was homemade, but sheeted in oak finish ply and oak trim. It was laid out for a peninsula approach, with the plumbing on the short side. It needs some work, the hinges rusted and the doors are a little warped, and some of the trim needs to be re-poly'd, but it would be better than starting from scratch. I never had a hood, I had a MH/fluorescent pendant above it.
Theres a large unbaffled glass sump (30x20 maybe) beneath it, one bulkhead for external return pump.
If you are interested in a different sort of 90 that needs some work, let me know and i'll get some pics.
 
bnmir said:
I have a 90g (36x24x24, 1/2"glass, eurobraced, 3 holes in the short end) sitting in my basement with sand, some rock and a heater. The stand was homemade, but sheeted in oak finish ply and oak trim. It was laid out for a peninsula approach, with the plumbing on the short side. It needs some work, the hinges rusted and the doors are a little warped, and some of the trim needs to be re-poly'd, but it would be better than starting from scratch. I never had a hood, I had a MH/fluorescent pendant above it.
Theres a large unbaffled glass sump (30x20 maybe) beneath it, one bulkhead for external return pump.
If you are interested in a different sort of 90 that needs some work, let me know and i'll get some pics.
Click to expand...

how much were you looking to get out of it? i might be interested
 
I have been very happy with my standard size 4 ft 90 gallon for 5 years now- "bigger is better" is not always true- considering room limitations, noise, all costs including but not limited to lighting (currently growing out everything with just VHO/T5 with no heat issues in a nice looking canopy) , power, salt, etc. - I even have my 4 ft 180 starfire tank in my shed, but have not set it up due to costs,time,etc. There is no doubt that the bigger the tank the more options you have with fish, aqauscaping, etc. but that is very individual balance act. So, do your research , decide what fish you want, etc. then look for the best size for both initial cost output, and monthly maintainance costs.
 
Thanks for the input. The little voices in my head agree with those of you telling me to go bigger, but I think that a gently used 120 may be harder to find than a 90.

The ATI Sunpower is incredible, by the way. I feel like I could light a 5 foot tank with it, though that is probably a few upgrades away:).

I'm trying to plan everything out for my future tank, and I was wondering what your experiences are with the best way to keep a whisper quiet tank are. I'll try my hand at drilling the tank, as I think my overflow box us partially to blame. I have read several pages online, and realize there are several ways to skin a cat. It's just nice to hear from locals with access to local materials.


Thanks,
Summit
 
it is really easy to drill the tank. I drilled eight 1"holes in my 90gal tank in about 15min the other week. I took it outside, put a towel in the bottem, had my wife apply a steady stream of water with the hose, and just started drilling. You can't even see the wear on my bit. If you need some bits I have a few I could sell you for like $5 each. Good luck with you project.
 
summitk said:
Thanks for the input. The little voices in my head agree with those of you telling me to go bigger, but I think that a gently used 120 may be harder to find than a 90.

The ATI Sunpower is incredible, by the way. I feel like I could light a 5 foot tank with it, though that is probably a few upgrades away:).

I'm trying to plan everything out for my future tank, and I was wondering what your experiences are with the best way to keep a whisper quiet tank are. I'll try my hand at drilling the tank, as I think my overflow box us partially to blame. I have read several pages online, and realize there are several ways to skin a cat. It's just nice to hear from locals with access to local materials.


Thanks,
Summit
Click to expand...

I consider my tank to run VERY quietly, and have had several comments to that effect. One of the things that I do is run quiet powerheads. My Koralias make next to no noise. I've heard that pumps like Vortecs are great, but tend to be a little louder. The other place where you get noise is from water falling from the display to the sump. This is the one place where I get noise too. That's mostly due to using a return pump that's pushing 100gph up to the display, then falling about 2.5' straight down into an elbow through a 1.5" PVC pipe. If I had stepped it down a bit, and gotten it to run closer to a syphon, it might have run a lot quieter.
 
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