Tank upgrade in your future? Here are some tips for going bigger!

Do you have plans to have a bigger tank in the future?

  • YES (tell us the size in the thread)

    Votes: 370 55.1%
  • NO not at all

    Votes: 141 21.0%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 139 20.7%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 21 3.1%

  • Total voters
    671
Maybe it's an age thing.....I'm 67 and have already gone through that "go big" phase. I recently picked up an AIO 10 gallon, and very briefly thought, "Wow, would this be easy." That thought quickly left my brain when I realized my fish stocking would be very limiting. I'm happy with my five foot 90.
 
1. When upgrading to a new tank what are some important things to plan for? Share a tip or two!
Lots of territories, stocking list of fish - corals - livestock you want to place into the aquarium. Double check to make sure things are compatible. Lights, and filtration. Also, making sure you are on par with required water flow. That needs dialed in first. There's so much and too much to list.

2. Do you have plans to go bigger and if so what size are you going up to?


Mine current aquarium is 112g this is the actual water capacity. I would like to get an aquarium around 300g for FOWLR. I love the large angelfish species. This is going to take a lot of planning and working out placement and space. Also, figuring out how to get it into the house. ;Yuck
 
1. When upgrading to a new tank what are some important things to plan for?
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Need wife APPROVAL
Happy Wife, Happy Life

I mean... it is HER house you're stinking up with an EyeSore. She just allows you to live there on a contingency basis


.
 
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No plans for a larger tank. I've spent 3 years buying equipment (and replacing equipment) for my 350. I've lost two MP40s, two SKimz S18s, and two 300 watt heaters in the last three years. I can barely keep up with the cost of replacing dying equipment. To their credit they were old equipment (7-8 years old) housed in cold storage (below zero temps in the winter) for 2 years. So, unfortunately they did not weather well.

That said, I'm on my final stretch of equipping my mixed reef with the final circulation pumps, controller, and redoing the sump plumbing to make everything easier to maintain. That's my winter project. Once this is complete, I will be moving on to planning out a much smaller tank for my stay at home office. Probably a 45 gallon AIO nano or AIO converted to sump. I'm hoping for maybe a planted macro algae tank with sea horses or some other theme tank I haven't thought of yet. (Zoa and Acan garden? Not sure.)
 
I have a 125 and would absolutely love to upgrade to around a 250-300 gallon tank. One issue is that the only reasonable place I have to put it is where my 125 is. I don't really want to put the effort into having to move my current tank out of the way to install the new one. I've not had much luck not killing things when moving tanks in the past.
Plus my wife was not a fan of the idea of upgrading. I keep going to glasscages website and put the dimensions of my dream tank in, and then I die a little inside everytime I close the website without buying one. Maybe someday when my kids get old enough to move out I can put a big tank in one of their rooms.
 
Have a bigger tank than the last one & it was supposed to be bigger.
After marking the floor I realized it had to be 6 inches less in width & even now @ 30" it is difficult to get to the back wall. & I have long arms, so big enough.
 
Didn't realize how much it would be to take on but I bought a 20x10 foot greenhouse that I plan to keep heated with fiberglass tanks in it. Thinking 5000-6000 gallons combined between "small" 500g 2 foot deep aquaculture tanks. Mainly so I can keep whatever I want and not worry about it outgrowing my system. Still saving my pennys to afford all the tanks, lights and plumbing but I'm getting there.
 
My 150 cube leaked at the beginning of Covid and I've been in a 150 gallon stock tank ever since. I'm picking up a 270 in 2 weeks. I like a 4x2x2 120 a lot, but the 270 will give my rabbitfish and gigas clam plenty of room for a long time.
 
For my next tank I’d like to be somewhere between 50-120 gallons. Kind of a broad size description but I still need to figure out what I want to do with it. A larger tank would mean I’d do a simple (we know how that goes) reef tank that is more geared towards fish. On the smaller end I would be more focused on the reef but I would still get a one or two of my favorite angelfish
 
So my answer is yes with a caveat... I just upgraded to a 70 and am in the process of aquascaping and moving corals and fish slowly over from my 5. It's not really in the future since I already have it running with 2 fish, a small CUC, and a couple of easy corals, but since the change over isn't complete yet, it's still kind of in the future?
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I currently have a Fluval 13.5 and would like to upgrade eventually to a flex 32.5, and from there gradually go bigger. I find small tanks easy to maintain, although when something goes wrong in a small reef, it can be difficult to correct. Also my female clown harasses my male in such confined space.
 
At one point I had 3 180 gallon tanks. I currently have just a 70 gallon tank and am quite satisfied with it so don't plan on going big any time soon. Bigger isn't always better.
 
I'm almost set on upgrading my 25g AIO to a CADE 1200- they just look so nice.



Just a couple months ago I upgraded to my Waterbox 180 and just plumbed a IM 25g Lagoon to it. Until I move in 3 years, I dont see a tank upgrade anytime in the near future. 20210718_210735.jpg
Did you have to drill anything? I was wondering if and how I could 'plumb' my lagoon into a bigger system in the future.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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