Large sps tank or small sps tank

[reefsquared]

I am at a cross roads in my reefing. I am debating doing a large sps tank with lots of fish or a small tank with very few fish. I am thinking the large would be a 120 or the small just over 15 gallons but it would have a sump adding to the water volume. Thoughts?

 

[sucker]

120

 

[gcrawford]

Love my 120...

 

[gcrawford]

Many more possibilities with a 120....

 

[Rob.D]

Welcome to R2R!!!

I would go with a 120 over a 15 any day.

 

[maroun.c]

Welcome to the forum.
120 would be the common choice for most as it is easier to maintain and allow you to keep more fish and corals. Still smaller tanks have their own challenges and have advantages which is interesting to some.
I run a 400 and a 26G and I still enjoy my 26G a lot.

 

[hart24601]

I really like the 120 dimensions, but I am going to vote for the smaller tank. You can create a really cool tank and have it in a room and it won't become "the fish tank room" like it will with a large tank. It's more a RC thing, but there are lot of reefers that consider any larger tank a "upgrade" over a smaller tank, but small reef tanks can be really cool and you don't see quite as many that are well done.

 

[-Logzor]

Easiest decision ever, go with the 120!

 

[Kworker]

Definitely the 120.

 

[Maikoa02]

Go 120. You will eventually upgrade from the 15 so why not do it now.

 

[reid429]

Go 60 and below. Smaller reefs look better

 

[NanaReefer]

Is this a real question?! Seriously? J/K lol. Definitely a 120

 

[RedReefer]

Go with the 120 or you'll be selling the 15 soon to go larger. Why spend the cash twice?

 

[toothman]

120 without a doubt

 

[o2manyfish]

Title says 'large sps'.... Do some shopping and get something 240 or bigger. Bigger gives you more stability and if you have a mileage credit card by the time your up and running you will have enough points to go see where some of your fish and corals come from.

 

[macscale]

It honestly depends all on you.
We could all just tell you what we like, but it's not necessarily what you want.
I have found that the larger reef will cost tons more to fill up, how ever guests find it much more of a statement peice to say.
The 15 gallon will give you just enough room for coral but may leave you wanting more.
The old saying in the hobby is "the bigger the better", and if you can do it, then do it. But if you think you might find yourself struggling to fill the tank, then don't.

 

[reefsquared]

I already have a 220 so this would be my second tank

 

[jduck]

8x3x2

 

[hart24601]

I always say that I am downgrading when I go from a smaller to larger tank, mostly though that is just because it's my pet-peeve in this hobby everyone but me seems to find bigger is so much better and pretty much always an upgrade - it's like the SUV craze a decade ago, the bigger it was the better, nothing else mattered!

Like Macscale said though it's really what will make you happy! My old biocube was sweet, and like a bonsai forest, I was always pruning and trimming, getting everything to fit just right, and it was a frag producing machine. Was fun and different. It also SPS wise was much faster to make a dense coral scape since the area was smaller.

That being said my new 120 is my dream tank custom made and I don't really have the time for two tanks right now, so I sold my biocube 14... A 120 has, for me, the perfect dimensions of 2:1:1 - anything bigger or smaller is a downgrade to me - all what you like!

 

[Rob Top1]

Lovse the dimensions of a standard 120. To have 50% of the length in the tanks depth makes for a lot of cool aqua scape possibilities. The next option in standard tanks to get that ratio is a 300dd. Which would be great but not practical for all