Need Help!!! 75 or 90 gallon build

A

armyretired

New member
Been away from the hobby for over 16 years. Had a saltwater tank when I was in the Army and had to give everything away when I retired and moved. Really never got back into it until now.. Looking at putting together a 75 or 90 gallon.. I know a lot of things have changed since I had my 38 gallon saltwater tank. What would be the best equipment for the price for a 75 or 90 gallon.

I know I would like to Fish with live rock and maybe some corals a little later down the road.
 
Either tank.. Drilled with a bean animal overflow.. into a 40 breeder sump to hide all the equipment and potential refugium..
Pick up a nice skimmer and some LED fixtures or T5 HO bulbs when you move to corals.. ATO system.. powerheads/wavemakers.. a few 250W Eheim Jager heaters.. decent reef controller to automate lights/ato/heater, etc..

Of course budget..types of corals..types of fish,etc... lots of missing information..
Just way to many options on equipment to say "best" without any metrics to judge it by..

I'd suggest reading the "how to setup" topic in the newbie forum to refresh yourself on the basics..

With some "appropriate for my specific system" choices you can get something up for under $1000 or skies the limit..
 
When you talk about budget, I have about $800 to $1000 to start with.

Really don't know much about Corals but will be doing some research.

I live in a very rural area and would have to travel about 2 hours to a bigger city to purchase any equipment or purchase on line..

Would you purchase a tank on line? If so, can you recommend a site. thanks for your help...
 
Living in a rural area- sign up for Amazon Prime. Not sure you a tank that way, but you can get sand and salt delivered to your door in two days. Totally worth it.


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Need Help!!! 75 or 90 gallon build

+Skimmer
Test kits
Refractometer


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Anybody ever used Glasscages.com to order an Aquarium. This place is about 4 hours from me and my wife and I are going to spend a few days in Nashville at the end of August.


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armyretired said:
Anybody ever used Glasscages.com to order an Aquarium. This place is about 4 hours from me and my wife and I are going to spend a few days in Nashville at the end of August.


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Click to expand...

Consensus is usually that yes they do make a cheap (low cost) tank.. Its not the best craftsmanship but not the worst either.. some are fine with it.. others complain... Delivery seems to be a pain with them but if you are local and can pick it up that will help..

and yes.. sorry.. had to go eat dinner (wife calling) so I had to cut my list/response short... lets try again..
-Salt ($50+)
-Water (you really need a RO/DI system.. roughly $150-200)
-Aquarium ($4-600)
-Heaters ($100)
-lights ($30-900)
-skimmer ($100-300) (can wait a bit)
-ato setup ($50-200) (can wait a bit)
-rock ($200-500.. 100lbs x $2-5/lb)
-sand ($75-100)
-stand ($100-400+)

So only the basics and you are already at $1000 or more and thats not including any fish
 
You can find some deals on Facebook if you look for local fish groups. Wait until after some sever storms, and youll find people exiting the hobby after their tanks crash because they had no power backup. I know thats harsh to say, but it is what it is.
 
Need Help!!! 75 or 90 gallon build

Just had someone at work give me a 55 gallon tank/stand/hood that they have used for freshwater if I want it. It's about a year old. Question, would this be a good tank to start with and allow more of my money to purchase equipment , etc. or, would you go ahead and get the tank I want and just wait on some of equipment.


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Last edited:
armyretired said:
Just had someone at work give me a 55 gallon tank/stand/hood that they have used for freshwater if I want it. It's about a year old. Question, would this be a good tank to start with and allow more of my money to purchase equipment , etc. or, would you go ahead and get the tank I want and just wait on some of equipment.


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Click to expand...

Thats your decision..

Personally a regular 55gallon makes a horrible reef tank.. Just too narrow front to back..

Are you planning on doing a sump too? (and drilling the display tank for a bean animal overflow?)
For some reason I think that the 55G tanks might be tempered on all panes so drilling might be out of the question too.. Not sure though.. They might be ok though (tempered bottom only)
 
I'm kinda in the same boat. I had a 55 when I was at Schofield Barracks but then moved to WI where there are in fact....NO CORAL REEFS. Go with 120 you earned it. Drop the idea of 75/90. I was in that window for a bit and you will always question why you didn't invest in the extra 6 inches of surface area and you'll get all of the chicks. Also if you do get a 75 Psmart has them instore for $199.
 
reef thief said:
I'm kinda in the same boat. I had a 55 when I was at Schofield Barracks but then moved to WI where there are in fact....NO CORAL REEFS. Go with 120 you earned it. Drop the idea of 75/90. I was in that window for a bit and you will always question why you didn't invest in the extra 6 inches of surface area and you'll get all of the chicks. Also if you do get a 75 Psmart has them instore for $199.
Click to expand...



I'm probably pushing it with the 75/90 gal with my wife.

I do have a question about drilling of the tank. Is this something I need or nice to have due to overflow protection. Didn't have any problems before with my 38 gallon. Thanks for all your help


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If there is a Petsmart within distance of you, keep an eye on the sales. They have the 75g with lids and single bulb flourescent fixture on sale all the time. The fixture is pretty much worthless for a saltwater setup but it will get you by for fish only until you get a chance to upgrade. They run these specials where you get from 10 to 25% off if you buy online and pick up in the store. Doesn't get much cheaper for a 75g. Also, the tanks have the store brand 'Topfin' on them but they are actually made by Aqueon.

Only the bottom on the 75 is tempered so you can drill the sides for an overflow if you like.
 
Keep in mind, if someone ever used a tank for FW there is a chance they may have dosed copper at some point. Common medication for FW tanks -- poison for reef tank inverts.

It will leach into the silicon in the tank.

So FW tank -> SW tank is an 'at your own risk' type of a thing.
 
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