Carey's Dilemna, 180g vs 210g Reef

[AquaRick]

+1 to Murray.

T1KARMANN, out of curiosity have you owned a saltwater tank before?

 

[carey]

I think I'm leaning more and more towards the 180g. All the other factors say get the 210 or 220 BUT I just keep coming back around to the ease of getting into the tank. I will have sand sifters so i won't be putting any frags on the sandbed this time around but I know i will still wanna move things, I'm not one for set it and forget it. lol Especially with my rock. I was just in the 125g today moving rock around and its been setup for a couple years.
I guess maybe I was just looking for people to tell me i was crazy for not going with the bigger tank and to convince myself of the same thing. For the most part, people have agreed with the issue of working in such a deep tank.

And also there is the issue of lighting a deeper tank. Depending on budget and how the wedding shakes out, I may end up having to use my 12 bulb t5 fixture for the time being on it. While its good for 180, I dont think it will cut it with a deeper tank. If I go with the Hydra's or the tao units they wont have an issue with the depth, but I just don't know if i can squeeze out that extra cash.
So many consideration! lol Planning is half the fun though, at least for me.

And thank you everyone who is responding, I sooo appreciate your help and opinions, it's really helping me.

 

[T1KARMANN]

+1 to Murray.

T1KARMANN, out of curiosity have you owned a saltwater tank before?

Yes I have a 30" cube

So your point is

You have many many options you don't need to buy a off the shelf size

I can order any size tank I want 24.5" tall if I want it

28" tall is perfect as then you still get 24" of water