Best Larger Tank Choices!

[CaseyC33]

Hi Everyone!

I have been keeping fish since I was in grade school, so I am not new to the hobby.

What I am new to (and wish to acquire) is a larger tank (I am ideally looking for a 55/75/90 gallon aquarium.) I do understand the time commitment of water changes, filtering RO/DI water etc... so I am not concerned about that and everyone says larger tanks are "easier" although I usually take that to mean water quality is easier to maintain, not necessarily the work it takes to maintain.

In the past, I have kept smaller "nano" tanks of 29 gallons and have successfully kept a FOWLR tank with some clowns and a royal gramma etc. The only reason I chose smaller tanks was because my parents would not let me kept a big tank, but now I am grown up where I make the rules (expect where my fiance says no!) The setup was just a HOB Aquaclear, powerhead and HOB protein skimmer.

The world of sumps and large protein skimmers are new to me and I am interested in seeing what people recommend for setting up larger FOWLR (and eventually reef) tanks.

I have been doing some rudimentary research and have stumbled across the all in one Red Sea tanks. While expensive, it appears to be that these would be good options for exploring sumps (love the auto-top off feature as I always found this to be a pain.) I don't like that these don't have tops, but I have seen several options for tops from other companies online.

I am just wondering if this is what someone would recommend to a "newbie" to larger tanks who does not have experience with sumps/ larger filtration systems.

My end goal is a reef tank and I REALLY want to be able to have some smaller (or one) tangs like a tomini tang. So i'd be looking more for a 75+ gallon tank.

Thanks in advance!

Casey

 

[JumboShrimp]

I like your plan of thinking of your end-game (especially fish stocking / compatibility) and reverse engineering what you need from there. Best wishes.

PS: I am fond of the classic Reef Octopus “recirculating” skimmers.

 

[Reeferjunkie]

Welcome to r2r and you got a great start and 75 or 90 are both a great start same dimensions besides height 21 and 24 inches so the 75 would be easier for lighting. Good luck keep us posted

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

The thing I hated about my 90 gallon was the inside measurement from front to back was 17-1/4”. When the rock work was set, there wasn’t much room between it and the front glass.

 

[nereefpat]

Standard 55s are bad tanks for a reef, because of the width front to back. 75/90 is a great tank. If you have the room, a 120 (4x2x2) is great, and it doesn't really require more equipment in terms of lighting and flow.

I would always buy a standard rimmed tank and drill it for an overflow and make my own sump. It's cheaper, safer, and I can do it exactly as I want. But most people apparently don't share my opinion on that.

 

[CaseyC33]

Can’t say I want to attempt drilling glass in conjunction with gluing plumbing and making sure it doesn’t leak!

the waterbox tanks come with plumbing that is glue free, so I like that option

 

[bnord]

for up and ready to go, I really (really) am fond of my Cade(s)

really

 

[Super Fly]

IMO go as big as your budget and space allows... I regret going from 65 to 94 and not having gone bigger.

 

[Lavey29]

IMO go as big as your budget and space allows... I regret going from 65 to 94 and not having gone bigger.

Agree, get the biggest you can afford.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hi Everyone!

I have been keeping fish since I was in grade school, so I am not new to the hobby.

What I am new to (and wish to acquire) is a larger tank (I am ideally looking for a 55/75/90 gallon aquarium.) I do understand the time commitment of water changes, filtering RO/DI water etc... so I am not concerned about that and everyone says larger tanks are "easier" although I usually take that to mean water quality is easier to maintain, not necessarily the work it takes to maintain.

In the past, I have kept smaller "nano" tanks of 29 gallons and have successfully kept a FOWLR tank with some clowns and a royal gramma etc. The only reason I chose smaller tanks was because my parents would not let me kept a big tank, but now I am grown up where I make the rules (expect where my fiance says no!) The setup was just a HOB Aquaclear, powerhead and HOB protein skimmer.

The world of sumps and large protein skimmers are new to me and I am interested in seeing what people recommend for setting up larger FOWLR (and eventually reef) tanks.

I have been doing some rudimentary research and have stumbled across the all in one Red Sea tanks. While expensive, it appears to be that these would be good options for exploring sumps (love the auto-top off feature as I always found this to be a pain.) I don't like that these don't have tops, but I have seen several options for tops from other companies online.

I am just wondering if this is what someone would recommend to a "newbie" to larger tanks who does not have experience with sumps/ larger filtration systems.

My end goal is a reef tank and I REALLY want to be able to have some smaller (or one) tangs like a tomini tang. So i'd be looking more for a 75+ gallon tank.

Thanks in advance!

Casey

If you want fully automatic WCs no mixing required, you can go with a custom build. Ive heard mixed things about Redsea, I like Waterbox personally

 

[Acros]

Start piecing together all the things you would need for a tank with sump and pumping, you will start to realize that a Red Sea or waterbox is not that expensive.

 

[Cool tangs]

Cade will do custom builds. I personally like DIY and I feel better knowing I did the build.

If you want to keep a few tangs get a 4ft and try go a good width.

My experience tangs need to be in groups of 3 or more to disperse aggression. I've also kept a few in a 4ft. I'd say stick with zebrasoma and Ctenochaetus. They will do well in small tanks. Add them together and get them small to eliminate aggression. They will grow pretty slow in my experience and you should be able to house them for some time. Tangs get massive in the wild but I doubt they would get that big in an aquarium especially those species in particular if you get them small. Ohh and if your housing tangs I can't stress enough, just QT to begin with including coral and cuc. In saying that the 2 I mention are hardy tangs vs other species.

Happy reefing

 

[Super Fly]

also here's a list of good aquarium brands for you to research/consider

150 gallon tank suggestions for 2022

Hi everyone. I’m new here but have been reading r2r forums for a long time. I‘m getting ready to upgrade from my current 75 gallon reef tank to a 150 gallon (60”x24”x24”). I’ve been in the hobby since the 90s but my current tank is 6 years old; so I’m not too knowledgeable about which...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[CaseyC33]

thanks all! after doing some further research I'm starting to like the Waterbox tanks.

My concern with a lot of these all in one Red Sea/ Waterbox tanks in the 75-90gallon range is the length of the tanks and wanting to keep tangs. Most of them are only 36 inches across. This seems like a challenge with the length of swimming space for the tangs. I don't intend on going larger that 90 gallons, so it seems like a 48in tank wont be possible.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

i went to a local cabinet maker that does high end kitchens.
They had a cnc machine and made my last 2 tanks for me out of acrylic sheets.
mine are 8 x2 x1 im gonna have them make 2 more that are 8x2x2 and use the shorter tanks under them as live sumps.

acrylic comes in 8 foot sheets.

 

[nereefpat]

thanks all! after doing some further research I'm starting to like the Waterbox tanks.

My concern with a lot of these all in one Red Sea/ Waterbox tanks in the 75-90gallon range is the length of the tanks and wanting to keep tangs. Most of them are only 36 inches across. This seems like a challenge with the length of swimming space for the tangs. I don't intend on going larger that 90 gallons, so it seems like a 48in tank wont be possible.

?
Waterbox makes several 4' tanks in the 70-90 gallon range:

AIO 65.4
MarineX110 is 80 gallon display
4820 Peninsula
Reef 130.4 is 96 gallon display

Technical Specifications

waterboxaquariums.com

 

[Acros]

i went to a local cabinet maker that does high end kitchens.
They had a cnc machine and made my last 2 tanks for me out of acrylic sheets.
mine are 8 x2 x1 im gonna have them make 2 more that are 8x2x2 and use the shorter tanks under them as live sumps.

acrylic comes in 8 foot sheets.

Out of curiosity, would you mind sharing a ballpark figure for such a build?

 

[Tdoan]

Standard 55s are bad tanks for a reef, because of the width front to back. 75/90 is a great tank. If you have the room, a 120 (4x2x2) is great, and it doesn't really require more equipment in terms of lighting and flow.

I would always buy a standard rimmed tank and drill it for an overflow and make my own sump. It's cheaper, safer, and I can do it exactly as I want. But most people apparently don't share my opinion on that.

I did exactly that with a 40 breeder. It was the way to go, because I have been able to learn a lot from it. I am now in the process of planning a bigger and much more expensive tank.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

I paid them $500 to cut it all and brought my own sheets. i thought it was very fair

 

[BZOFIQ]

There is also a NEW 60 Breeder from Aqueon which is ideal if you dont want to go to a larger size.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/aqueon-rectangle-aquarium-60-breeder-tank