75G too much?

[Bman024]

I currently have two 29G and a 10G fry tank set up. I wanted to get a 55G tank for my main and remove the 10g tank and replace with existing 29G for my fry. Well, after months searching on CL (I only do good deals..) I found a 75G that I was able to pick up for $200. This was way cheaper than any 55G I had seen. It came with tank, stand, light, plants, decorations (all fake which I won't use), two whisper HOB filters (prob won't use either). I sort of jumped on this because of the deal without measuring and thinking it through.

I finally got it home, broke down, cleaned and put in my basement living room. Now that it is there it it WAY big! Almost looks out of place. Plus, as I've had it sitting there for a couple weeks I've started to wonder if it's going to be too much work??

Is a 75G tank much more work than a 55G?

Right now I only have freshwater community fish (molly, guppy, GBR, Pleco's, Cory's etc.) I would need a whole lot of those to fill a 75G..
I hadn't planned on doing a different type of tank ie: Cichlids.
I don't want to do saltwater.
I am breeding Molly and Guppy.

Taking suggestions as what to do?
I was offered $350 for tank if I want to sell it to downgrade to 55G.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

55 Gallon 48 x 12 x 21
75 Gallon 48 x 18 x 21


Not much of a size difference but the bigger a tank the better quality of water you shoukd have

 

[Ian086]

55 Gallon 48 x 12 x 21
75 Gallon 48 x 18 x 21


Not much of a size difference but the bigger a tank the better quality of water you shoukd have

IMO it's just because the 75g is a lot bigger than your other tanks. It just takes a bit of getting used to!!. You could always use your other tank(s) for the fry, if you want to go down that route. 55g and 75g, as Andrew said, it is not much different, in terms of maintenance and is actually less care compared to the 29g's... It is usually the opposite for most people, myself included. We want bigger!!!. It is your tank and of course it is what suits your needs but if i was you, i would stick with it and enjoy. You also don't have to stock it to the max, under is better than over...

 

[Slade]

I agree. 75 is no more work than 55 and will keep water conditions more constant.

 

[Autumnsky]

I just set up a 72G and at first it seemed WAAAAYYYYY too big, but after a while it was just amazing. I think with your breeding you will be happy to have the extra room. Water should be easier to take care of being bigger.

[/IMG]

I haven't really finished aqua scaping that's what the giant bunch of plants are in the middle.

 

[Aski247]

Keep the 75, in a hobby that costs as much as ours does there is no reason to downgrade.

If you are worried about size as far as looks against the wall, you will notice none between the 55/75. It's 6" in depth front to back.

You may say you are content with your current stock.(for now) but down the line you will wanna change up. And that extra space opens tons more options.

 

[meegosh]

I find the 75g to be about the same amount of work as my 30g. It just takes longer to do water changes.

 

[Myfisheatsyours]

You got a great deal and everyone's right 75 is a great size, keep it, it's well worth the extra bucket during water changes.

 

[abrinn23]

I guarantee if you invest in a aqueon or python water changer and find out how easy it is too perform the water changes then you will end up wanting a even larger tank, at least that's what happened to me....

 

[jcolon]

IMO ... a 75gal is the perfect large tank size. Not too big that it takes up a whole wall like a 125gal, but large enough to give you a lot of stocking options. And yes, it does look large and daunting when you compare it to a 10gal and a 29gal, but once you start setting it up, you'll be grateful for the increased footprint. Those 6 extra inches in depth really gives you a bunch more space to create the illusion of depth in the tank.

 

[Autumnsky]

Agreed 6 inches in depth is no big deal. They are both 4 feet long right?

55 gal is usually only 12" deep from what I have seen, that is pretty narrow, for driftwood and rocks. Go Big!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I currently have a 55G and a 75G, and my preference is the 75G. It's the same length and height, just a little deeper from front to back, 18" instead of 12". Gives you more room to have some nice setups. The 55G is just a little too narrow for me. If you get the 75G, you will like it. And for maintenance, it's not much more than the 55G.

 

[huma-huma]

(for my freshie side) I went from a 10g non-heated guppy tank to a 72g bowfront heated tank. it never really looked out of place or too large. but that has a lot to do with 1) being on a slightly longer wall and 2) I have had a 6' 125 for awhile. id say not to make any rash decisions until you've given it decent time and thought. youll more than liekyl grow to love the 75

 

[Bman024]

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions!

I have decided to keep the tank. Not only keep it but go BIG with it! I plan to make it a project tank that I most likely won't even set up for a while.
Currently it is light wood colored. This is half the reason I thought it looked too big and stood out too much. I hate the color/look.(pic uploaded) I plan to sand down and paint the stand black for sure and most likely paint the tank edges black as well.
I would also like to put a 20-30 gallon sump in the cabinet underneath. It came down to a nice canister or building a sump and from research I see more advantages of a sump and really love the fact of your water level never changing. I know you must do it right and there is the back-flow concern if power goes out. Looking into possibly drilling tank but I am kinda scared to.. LOL
I am also looking into doing a small 3d background made out of styrofoam. I've been researching all over the internet and think they are very cool! (the extra 6" you've been talking about will come in nice for this!)

I plan to make this a planted tank but still far away from setting it up to know what type of freshwater tank I want it to be..

Hoping the weather gets nice soon and I can get this out in the non-insutlated garage to start working on it!

Still up for suggestions about what cool things I can do with this tank, what type of freshwater tank to make it and problems that might arise or different ways of doing these upgrades.

 

[Rodeo one]

Here s an idea..... Love this....good luck with your build, agree with the stand being black.

View attachment 157395

 

[Rodeo one]

Try again with the pic

 

[Autumnsky]

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions!

I have decided to keep the tank. Not only keep it but go BIG with it! I plan to make it a project tank that I most likely won't even set up for a while.
Currently it is light wood colored. This is half the reason I thought it looked too big and stood out too much. I hate the color/look.(pic uploaded) I plan to sand down and paint the stand black for sure and most likely paint the tank edges black as well.
I would also like to put a 20-30 gallon sump in the cabinet underneath. It came down to a nice canister or building a sump and from research I see more advantages of a sump and really love the fact of your water level never changing. I know you must do it right and there is the back-flow concern if power goes out. Looking into possibly drilling tank but I am kinda scared to.. LOL
I am also looking into doing a small 3d background made out of styrofoam. I've been researching all over the internet and think they are very cool! (the extra 6" you've been talking about will come in nice for this!)

I plan to make this a planted tank but still far away from setting it up to know what type of freshwater tank I want it to be..

Hoping the weather gets nice soon and I can get this out in the non-insutlated garage to start working on it!

Still up for suggestions about what cool things I can do with this tank, what type of freshwater tank to make it and problems that might arise or different ways of doing these upgrades.

Convict just re-stained his cabinet and it looks luxe!

 

[Bman024]

I just set up a 72G and at first it seemed WAAAAYYYYY too big, but after a while it was just amazing. I think with your breeding you will be happy to have the extra room. Water should be easier to take care of being bigger.

[/IMG]

I haven't really finished aqua scaping that's what the giant bunch of plants are in the middle.

I do like this tank!