what tank would you get?

riche · Jan 18, 2019

I have it narrowed down to 2 set ups I have found

First one is a 72 bow front drilled with a glassholes overflow, comes with a simplicity dc skimmer, a home made 20 long sump, a bc-150 bio-pellet reactor and a 40 watt smart uv and some rock

Second is a standard 90 gallon drilled with center overflow Bubble magnus curve 7 skimmer bashea sump jebeao dc-9000 return pump and 2 -5 gallon buckets full of rock ( I will need to get a better return pump)

Here is my hang up, I like bow front tanks but canopy's are very hard to find and I might need one if the lights I get bleed to much in to the room as its going to be next to the tv

I like the first one as it comes with more equipment but I wont use the bio-pellet reactor

I like the second one as the sump is huge compared to the other one plus its bashea and there a local company.

Now aquascaping might get tricky with the bow-front being 12" deep on the ends and then going out to 18" in the center

Of the 2 skimmers is one that much better then the other?

Is a 72 bow front a decent tank for a mix reef and fish or will I regret it and wish I had something that was wider all the way across and the glassholes overflow is another question mark

There is only a $100 difference between the two set ups

Opinions are welcome and needed

Big G · Jan 18, 2019

Tough choice. Maybe this will help. Depending on the fish you populate your tank with, there's always the danger of jumpers. And it's amazing how small of a hole some have squirted through and ended up on the floor. A little tougher to make a fish proof top on a bow top. I'm sure it can be done but tougher to make the radius and then stretch the mesh, etc. so there are no gaps.
I have a 90 myself. Good tank. Just not large enough for bigger tangs and angels. Had a Jebao DC-4000 on the tank. Plenty of power/flow, just was too noisy for the living room. Replaced it with a RO Varios 2 which is completely silent. The Jebao is on my mixing station. Works great. Pumps water from th garage all the way into the living room 45' away.

PDR · Jan 18, 2019

I'm not a huge fan of bowfronts, biopellets or uv, and I would always go larger when possible, so I vote for the 90

LIreefguy · Jan 18, 2019

I honestly don’t like either tank

I would be patient and wait for a better tank to be available. There are always people selling tanks

The bow front is very hard to aquascape. 12 inches is very narrow. Plus as stated above very hard to find a cover for it that’s inexpensive ifyou have fish that jump.

Second the 90 gallon is only 4 feet long and very high.

If you have the room I would go with a 6 foot tank. More chooses of fish 4 feet tank your limited to what tangs you can put in and even other fish

Remember fish build territories left and right not up and down

But if you simple have to choose the 2 tanks listed above I would go with 90

Tankzombie · Jan 18, 2019

I vote for the 90!

riche · Jan 19, 2019

Well the wife pointed out a spot where she would like the tank to go since the lights will be hanging, and I have to get a 36x18 tank.

I'm going to buy the bow frt since it has all the equipment and I have someone with a 36x18 tank set up they want to trade for the bow frt.