Thinking of upgrading

[Stusdesktop]

Well the first tank has been a relative success for us. It was rescued from CL and while not perfect it let us get our feet wet in the hobby. The most disappointing thing is that everything is HOB so we run with an open top .... last week our 18 month old mandarin went carpet surfing. Seeing as he was the other half's favourite fish it's upgrade time.

We're constrained to a 36 inch footprint so have looked at going from our current 40 gallon up to a reef ready 65 gallon along with a 29 gallon sump. Lots of pros to this route including being able to use our existing lighting (at least initially). Will also allow us to have a real refuge and skimmer as opposed to the HOB stuff we have now. Major cons seem to be the stands we've seen, they appear to be too short for our tastes and I have some concerns over the lighting given the greater depth and width of the 65. We run a 4 x 39w fixture with ATI bulbs right now and are seeing lots of growth on the LPS/Zoa/Shroom combo we have.

Another option I have been tossing around is a 92 gallon corner tank. We can still do reef ready, will fit in the 3ft footprint available and we will gain a much larger water volume upgrade. The major cons I see here are the shape will be more awkward to get good lighting (although a diy LED build is a possibility). Sump size and placement in the stand and cleaning the curved glass front.

Any thoughts/input greatly appreciated.

 

[pascal32]

With good bulbs and reflectors (good fixture) 4 bulbs should get you by on on an 18" tank at 24" deep for LPS and mushrooms.

when looking at stands make sure the skimmer you choose fits, AND you can get the lid off. If you select the skimmer before putting baffles into the sump then you can set the correct height for your skimmer - in some cases the heights are lower than you would expect. Balance that with the return area so there is enough water volume there, yet you have enough room for water to run back when the system is turned off.

IMO you should always run an open top, thought a 1/4" netting over the top is a good idea to prevent carpet surfing (though I had a couple darts get through mine and go net surfing (not sure how they made it through)

the 29 gallon sump at 30" could have a refugium, though it would be pretty small. skimmers take up a lot of space (and at 12" of space in a 29G you will likely have the pump running lengthwise) and you want to keep the return area decent sized so you have some room for topoff or in case the ATO fails. the other part is at 18" tall make sure you have enough room for water to run back from the display. for a 65 expect 6 gallons of backflow or so which is 4" in a 29G. I would recommend baffle height of about 9" which gives you plenty of room

as far as the corner thank, they look great, though I'm partial to a flat pane of glass. makes cleaning easier and photography easier.

 

[EllieSuz]

I have space restrictions too, so I understand how frustrating that is. My advice is go as big as you can, so the 90 corner would be my pick. If you go with the 65 at 36" long, how tall would it be? I would never buy another tank where I couldn't reach the bottom.

 

[Stusdesktop]

To answer a couple of the comments,

EllieSuz,

The 65 gallon is 36" long, 18" wide and 24" high, the height is one of those niggling things holding me back. Not so much getting to the sand bed but more of the overall look of the tank itself, the ratios of side/length/height are just not doing it for me (conversely the 120 dimensions of 48" x 24" x 24" hit me perfectly for some reason).

Blurry,

29 gallon sump, rough dimensions would be a 10" x 12" skimmer, 10" x 12" refuge and a 12" x 8" return. We'd look at doing the return/refuge wall with 50/50 glass and eggcrate which would allow the refuge to feed the return section as well. Looking at either 9" or 10" wall totals will give us enough room for water from the DT if we have a problem and being able to go to that height will give us a lot of skimmer options. Stand height is one of those things that we need to work on, ideally 30" - 32" height works so maybe we do a diy stand as well (although I am no woodworker).

Thanks for the comments and input.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I've gone custom on 2 different stands. One from Caribbean Forrest in Rich, and one from the guys @ ABC in Syracuse. Having it your way, at the height you choose is infinitely better than the standard sizes offered by many manufacturers, if its a concern.

Joeswoodworks in Buffalo does great work at a price that would surprise you, in a good way. Price quotes are free! Just ask Joe.

Never been a fan of the 65 because of the ratios you talk about. Briefly had a 70 that was similar and it was a PITA to work on. What are the dimensions of those Rimless 58s? They're pretty sweet. What about a custom job? Below 100 gallons, I think they're more reasonable than you'd think.

Just thinkin out loud. Hope its of some use.

 

[Stusdesktop]

And now I'm torn on multiple levels,

Family Christmas yesterday ended with me taking home a 900gph Eshopps overflow for the back of the tank.

We spent the day wandering around the house looking at spots, investigating the basement and have come up with a furniture plan that will allow us a 48" footprint. Decisions, decisions, decisions ........ right now it looks like we will do a custom stand with either me building it or getting assistance from some wood working guru's we know.

How does everyone like their 90 gallon and 120 gallon tank dimensions?

 

[Capt_Cully]

90s are nice, but 120s are much nicer if you have the space.

 

[pascal32]

Both are fantastic - like Cully said - if you can do the 120 you will not regret it!

 

[zooman72]

My vote goes for the 120g...

 

[spinoleo]

love my 120g 4x2x2 upgrade from the 75g.The 4' long fit perfect in my house

 

[backdraft79]

I went from a 55 to a 90 RR tank. I loved the 90RR bc everything was contained in the 48"x18". My dream tank will be a 180 when I get back into the salt water hobby.

 

[Stusdesktop]

I really really like the 120's footprint and size but the room doesn't. We've decided to go with a 90 and not totally overpower the living room with the tank.

Over the next month or two we'll grab a nice new tank, sort out a stand and sump and get it set up an cycling. Once everything is set we'll move the current stock over to the big new tank.

Current shopping list in no particular order,

90 tank
Stand (custom build as we'll likely go oversized on it)
Sump (diy for this)
ATO
t5 lighting (6 bulb 54w)
Reef Angel controller
Return pump

and all the other supplies to get it going. We'll probably buy all new equipment this time around and take our time getting things exactly where we want them.