Interested in upgrading

[mikeclarke]

Hi there,

I am new here. I have been having fun with my 20gal tank but I want something bigger. I think I would like something in 100-130 gallon range. I live in Fernie, BC but make it to Alberta fairly often.

Is jumping from a small tank like mine to something this size (I'd probably want to get coral too) much more difficult?

I currently have
-2 clowns
-2 azure damsels
-1 coral banded shrimp
-1 royal gramma
-5 hermit crabs
-5 snails

Any help or advice would be awesome.

Thanks,

Mike

[Snaz]

2nd mortgage would be my advice.

[Corbin]

2nd mortgage would be my advice.

Or marry rich.
But really, the larger the tank to more stable the chemistry. So it wouldnt be any more difficult, just on your income.

Sent from my LG-P500h using Tapatalk

[Madmak]

I'm upgrading from a 24G nano to a 200G with a 60G sump. It is interesting to say the least. Many extra items are required and many items change drastically in size and cost. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think it was worth it but do some research before diving in.

I likely should have ran a 50G to 90G for a while before moving to the 200G.

[Ginu]

I think its all relevant to how much you're willing to spend on tank maintenance.
bigger tank = bigger water changes, bigger additives, bigger lights, bigger pumps, bigger skimmer, bigger and more water pumps which equal to more power consumption and so on.

For example, I have a 34G and do a 5g water change every week (I think I should honestly change 8-10G a week to keep the nitrates down 12ppm atm) and honestly I cant imagine doing a large water change on a 100 gallon tank... so make sure you think everything through before committing to anything. 25G water change is costly and takes a ton of time :); with my 100gpd RO/DI unit it takes 6 hours just to gather 25 gallons and a few hours if not more to mix and match the temp of the water to the display tank (I normally like to mix my RO/DI water and let it circulate and mix over night)

[Faithinc]

I just started my 55g/20g sump up... and even at this size I was blown away by the cost.

Even if you do things cheaply, you are inevitably going to purchase some stuff new.

I went with premium equipment to give my tank the best shot at surviving and thriving, and even with a 55(75g) total system volume, I'm pretty close to $1500.

some prices not to overlook (that I completely overlooked)

If you want cleaned, cured and stable Live rock with good growth... and you don't know anyone who can provide you 100lbs cheap. Most people buy from their LFS. Well, at $7-9/lbs... thats almost 100$ and you've only got 100lbs. You can get rock a LOT cheaper on these forums, or kajiji if you're lucky. If you want to save, go with that option. I opted for the dented wallet because I was scared of bad LR. Hind-sight is I should have manned up.

another cost is: All the extras that go with this type of tank. Built in RO systems, Redundancy systems for your RO (so it doesn't flood... oh say your kitchen and living room. F%$#). QT tanks for your inevitably large live-stock. Spare heaters/power heads for your saltwater/Ro water curing units. The extra wiring required for large systems (anything over 100g I've heard it recommended that you go with 2 separate circuits rather than 1 dedicated--aka, a separate circuit panel for your tank).

In another thread I saw Grizz say that on dry months he'll lose 50%ish of his water volume in evaporation. So for a 120g tank, your top-off needs to account for stuff like this. A 5g top-off system will quite literally suck dry in a couple of days if its not refilled.

That being said:

With my little 55g I am completely in love with the hobby. I'm always reading more and more every day, researching, building, contemplating and at the end of it I get to see a little part of nature come to life in my living room. It is not only a great responsibility, but a fantastic honor, to be able to create something like that. If I had the cash, I would have gone bigger. But for now, with my little tank, I am not regretting a single penny I've spent on it.

[RuGlu6]

All of the above is correct, however do not get discouraged by this.
Get a standard used 48" 120 Gal tank buy Instant Ocean salt (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=mc-io200) two buckets will cost $80 free shipping combined with rocks from J&L.
$30+tax 300W heater (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=ht-eb300)

here is your good affordable base rock (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=cs-rrock2)
Add some of this "goby rock" (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=dc-jlrock)to get good landscaping shapes Dont buy too much it will restrict the flow just get enough for two piles, one on the right one on the left. 100lb will only cost you $250+tax+free shipping. Go with dry rock to keep the cost down and also to keep the hitch hikers pest out. You can seed you water with bacteria later easily, by getting some dirty water from fellow reefer in the area.

Here is a $150 light+shipping (http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Reef-Bright-p/56215.htm)
Here is a $130+shipping protein Skimmer (http://www.reefshops.com/bubble-magus-bm-nac6.html)+ $20 power transformer from 220V to 1120V that you will have to get (got mine 200Watt transformer for $10 on CraigsList)
O this one if you want a fancy cone skimmer (http://www.reefshops.com/bubble-magus-nac7-nac-7-cone-protein-skimmer.html) but i there is no proof that cones are better just claims.
If you want to get big and bullet proof as well as to skip on some water changes get this big $600+shipping skimmer (http://www.reefshops.com/2011-bubble-magus-hero-350.html) and you will be good to go for many years.
I got my Calcium Reactor, overflow and my protein skimmer from these guys and they are legit. ( i would NOT buy electronics from them though, just acrylic work like skimmers etc)

here is your $239 free shipping circ pump (http://www.goreef.com/Water-Blaster-HY-5000-Pump-1300GPH.html), silent, reliable and with 3 years warranty

If you don't over stock and just keep a few fish, your water will be stable. Keep light low and you will have no algae problems. Only keep fish that you absolutely mast have make a list of 6 fish (for example: here is my favorites and absolutely mast haves :# 1 Moorish Idol, # 2 Blue Face Angel, # 3 Sohal Tang, # 4 Purple Tang, # 5 Queen Angel, # 6 Zebra Moray Eel)
Get Ozone and $60 UV light (http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-UV-Sterilizer-36W-p/45013.htm) to protect your fish.

On your equipment only you are still at approx. ~$1300

You will be amazed at the reaction of people visiting you place who will see your fish. Fish will cost another $600 to $800++ but obviously you will not have to buy them all at once right?
So depending on how much you spend on used 120 Gal+stand+sump All in you are still at $2500 range

$2500-$3000 seams like a lot but the point here is that you do Not need a mortgage.
When i started my first 108Gal, I stopped counting after $7000!!!.
The reason was that i did not have a plan and i wanted everything.
Do Not buy cheap fish just because it looks cute and "one more fish isnt gonna hurt", This is the main "money waister" and also one small fish will generate waste that is expansive to remove. Stick to the plan !

If you think and plan ahead, combine shipping, know what you want and realize that you may get carried away for bigger better that may end up looking worse then 14Gal Nano tank. Stick to the plan and you will be OK and most importantly you will have time to enjoy your tank, because you have done everything right, from the start.
Just my 2c worth.

[sask]

So many people go from small to med (60-90) and then kick themselves later, wishing they had skipped the med and gone straight to large. If you can afford it and you have the space, then go big. You get so much space to aquascape, organize, decorate, re-arrange, etc. Things don't tend to go haywire as fast (if you monitor). I would also recommend BIO PELLETS. (IMO they are a wonder of wonders)

[mikeclarke]

Thanks for all of the advise. I still think that 100-120gal is right for me. The trick will be trying to find a tank with overflow and sump and then I can piece it together as I get money.

As for marrying? I think I did okay. ;)

Mike

[mikeclarke]

Where is a good place to buy an aquarium? Shoudl I go glass or acryllic?

[Aquattro]

Where is a good place to buy an aquarium? Shoudl I go glass or acryllic?

The best place to get a tank is right here. As long as you're not in a rush, a used system will come up and save you a ton of cash. Almost everyone uses glass, so stick with that.