Carey's Dilemna, 180g vs 210g Reef

[carey]

Sooo here I am again and it's tank upgrade time.

I just bought a six foot by 2 foot by 3 foot tall stand for my next setup. It will hold either a 180g, 210g or a 220g. I am totally stumped as to which one to get. The stand is 3 feet tall so its about 6 inches taller than a standard stand which will put the height of the setup well above my short self. lol

I can't think of any other bad reasons NOT to go for the bigger tank though, what do you all think? BUT then again, why go bigger if the extra 30g or so won;t make a difference as far as fish I can get or corals i can stock, the height is where the difference is so I wouldnt even get any tank floor real estate.

Whats' the consensus? Go reasonable of go a tad overboard? lol

Thanks for reading!

 

[herp_mommy]

welcome back, carey!

I say go big or go home!

I'm only 5' and I've got a 125 to maintain. The tank doesn't even start until my waist height. So here comes the step stool. I will say though, being eye level with a larger tank is a little bit more memorizing than having to lean, bend, or sit.

 

[manbeast]

The question i'd be asking myself is would the extra height be stretching the par value of the lighting I have available, unless of course your going with all new lighting for the all new tank

 

[carey]

Hehe Another short aquarist, it does have its disadvantages thats for sure. This tank will be light on the corals, nothing crazy that would require extra high lighting and would not require me to have my hands in the tank everyday like I did with a full on reef with sps and what not. I was constantly picking up fallen corals or dusting the sand off them, every single day.
I would love to have AI Vegas or the newer Ai model, which I cant remember the name of right now lol. But in reality i think the best I will be able to do is 3 led 120w adjustable ones. BUT I am still torn as to whether I am going with a canopy or not. I cant have one of those monster tall canopies either but if I get the shorter canopy I dont think i can hang lights in there.

I should have added this question to the original post hehehe.....Pros and Cons of a canopy

let me know what you guys think about that aspect

 

[AquaRick]

I went with a 220g @ 6'L x 30"w x 24"H. I can't stand tanks taller than 24/26 inches. Always end up with soaked armpits. I figured it was better to go wider than taller for what I wanted. Personally I'd go with the shorter tank for easier maintenance.

 

[AquaRick]

I should have added this question to the original post hehehe.....Pros and Cons of a canopy

let me know what you guys think about that aspect

I went with a canopy on my upgrade because I had lots of wood left over from making my stand. If I were to do it over again, I would have gone without a canopy and hung my lights from the ceiling for a nice look. I would also have covered the top with a DIY clear screen mesh to keep all the jumpers from carpet diving.

 

[carey]

Ahh ok, thanks so much! Its bad enough that i can't reach the bottom of the 125g without a step stool but if I went deeper I'd be soaked every time. lol I'm curious though, what is it that you dont really like about a canopy? Is it heavy does it get in the way? I had hoped that would keep jumpers in as well, I do still have 2 rolls of BRS screening material so i could always make a cover for it. I also wanted to hang led's most likely and my wall slopes right above where i am going to put the tank so hanging from the ceiling wont work for me.

The store I bought the stand from suggested i just use plant hangers from lowes or home depot and just mount that to the back of the stand so I could go open top. he even offered to sell me some he had left over for $10 a piece. lol

There is also the option of keeping the light fixture i have, its a nova extreme 12 bulb t5 light. All the rage about 3 years ago hehehe...I do need new bulbs so I also have to balance the money for bulbs vs. just buying 3 led panels. It's like $250 vs $450 alot but it would be worth it I'd think in the long run.

Whatcha think Rick?

 

[T1KARMANN]

Get a small 2-3 step


Its no hardship its not like you need to spend hours on the thing

Get the biggest tank you can or you will regret it FACT





Sorry my tank is very cloudy I'm treating with prazipro

My tank is 8ft tall from the floor just get a longer gravel clean I have a 3ft long gravel cleaner

 

[AquaRick]

Ahh ok, thanks so much! Its bad enough that i can't reach the bottom of the 125g without a step stool but if I went deeper I'd be soaked every time. lol I'm curious though, what is it that you dont really like about a canopy? Is it heavy does it get in the way? I had hoped that would keep jumpers in as well, I do still have 2 rolls of BRS screening material so i could always make a cover for it. I also wanted to hang led's most likely and my wall slopes right above where i am going to put the tank so hanging from the ceiling wont work for me.

The store I bought the stand from suggested i just use plant hangers from lowes or home depot and just mount that to the back of the stand so I could go open top. he even offered to sell me some he had left over for $10 a piece. lol

There is also the option of keeping the light fixture i have, its a nova extreme 12 bulb t5 light. All the rage about 3 years ago hehehe...I do need new bulbs so I also have to balance the money for bulbs vs. just buying 3 led panels. It's like $250 vs $450 alot but it would be worth it I'd think in the long run.

Whatcha think Rick?

I think for me, I just don't like the look and functionality of the canopy. I'm starting to like the sleeker look of the open top (with clear screen) with hanging lights. Having a canopy restricts my space to work with a bit more than I would like. I'd much rather have a clear screen frame I can remove more easily to get where I need to in the tank.

To be honest, if I had a sloped ceiling above my tank, I would have totally gone with the hanging lights + screen. The hanging lights would look awesome against the slope. Also, all of your ceiling should be framed. It wouldn't be too hard to attach some anchor points into the 2x4s in your ceiling and hang the lights with wire. Are you still living in your apartment? If you are, I don't know if they'll let you drill into the ceiling. Just another thought.

If you want a cheap and easy method, you could definitely use the planted hangers to attach them to the back of your stand. Cheap, simple and easy...but I like the ceiling hanging more tbh.

As for lights, at this point I really do think it's go LED or go home. It just saves so much money down the road. There's a thread out there about "best light for your buck". It's gotten pretty long but a good read. The Taotronics panels are getting good reviews. The controllable rapidled fixtures are also something to look at if you have a controller etc.

Just my $0.02

 

[AquaRick]

Get a small 2-3 step
Its no hardship its not like you need to spend hours on the thing
Get the biggest tank you can or you will regret it FACT

Tank size is a personal choice. I had the option of getting a 260g tank. Same size as my current 220g but 30" high instead of my current 24". I'm so glad I went with the shorter tank. Reaching the bottom of a 30" tank with ease is incredibly difficult even on a stool. In the marine world, taller tanks don't do much for fish. It does however give you more vertical places to place corals. And at 30", you're going to need some strong lighting or optics with LEDs. In Carey's case I don't think the positives of the taller tank outweigh the negatives. Just my opinion of course

 

[furrymurray]

Just adding my 2 cents worth. Just set up my 210 last week. I am 5'5" and i still have to climb a three step stool and then bend over and get soaked up to my arm pits to barely reach the bottom. If I had to do it all over again, I probaby would have gone with the 180 just because its easier to reach things.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Why would you need to reach the bottom anyway apart from setting it up and you won't have water in then

24" deep is like a puddle

With a reef tank for sure you need more than 24" to build up rocks and corals

 

[carey]

Such contrasting opinions! Til now I also would have thought bigger is better but when it comes down to maintenance and working in the tank the extra depth might make me less inclined to work on it. lol But I really dont wanna regret going with one or the other. Noo mattr which one I choose I probably will have regrets. hehe I will say though I am leaning toward no canopy now, I was worried it would make life difficult with it being so heavy and so "there" in your face.

I run a reefkeeper on this tank so maybe the rapid led panels are the way to go. Gonna go try to look them up now.

My ride is on their way over to my house now to get me so we can go pick up the stand!! Very excited.

 

[furrymurray]

Why would you need to reach the bottom anyway apart from setting it up and you won't have water in then

24" deep is like a puddle

With a reef tank for sure you need more than 24" to build up rocks and corals

Because I have corals on the sand bed that may need to be repositioned to a better location etc

 

[AquaRick]

^^^^^^ this

 

[carey]

I anticipate, like usual, that i will be mucking around in the tank for the first couple months adjusting rocks and corals. While I am not going coral crazy for this tank i will have some not to mention if I need to get in the tank for aipastia or anything like that. And razor blading the glass I can imagine would be alot more difficult in the deeper tank. I wish I could get a monster tank that was 8 feet long and not so high and still get to have the water volume. LOL I am sitting here waiting for my ride to go get the stand so it's in stone now. Whatever I get will have to fit on a 72 X 24 X 36 stand. I was looking at glasscages and saw some really awesome tanks too, in fact, for a couple hundred extra bucks i can get a rimless 180g!! So now I have to decide that option. I'm totally not sure I would trust a rimless 6 foot tank though. I worry as it is about my rimless 60g tank being stable and sturdy. Just another option to mull over I guess.

 

[redsea]

I anticipate, like usual, that i will be mucking around in the tank for the first couple months adjusting rocks and corals. While I am not going coral crazy for this tank i will have some not to mention if I need to get in the tank for aipastia or anything like that. And razor blading the glass I can imagine would be alot more difficult in the deeper tank. I wish I could get a monster tank that was 8 feet long and not so high and still get to have the water volume. LOL I am sitting here waiting for my ride to go get the stand so it's in stone now. Whatever I get will have to fit on a 72 X 24 X 36 stand. I was looking at glasscages and saw some really awesome tanks too, in fact, for a couple hundred extra bucks i can get a rimless 180g!! So now I have to decide that option. I'm totally not sure I would trust a rimless 6 foot tank though. I worry as it is about my rimless 60g tank being stable and sturdy. Just another option to mull over I guess.

Congrats on getting the stand! That means you are just that much closer to the tank and other goodies!

It's hard to decide as far as tank choices go. I suppose that the key is to go with something that is big enough for your wants, but not too big to the point where everything becomes overwhelming.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Because I have corals on the sand bed that may need to be repositioned to a better location etc

There are tools you can buy to grab things you know they are nothing new

Just making excuses for not wanting to pay more for the tank once you go over 24" deep the price shots up due to the thickness of the glass

You say 30" is to deep so why didn't you go 25 26 27 28" deep

Surely 26" deep would have been fine

The problem with 24" deep is you only get about 21-22" of water that's to shallow

I have no legs and I still maintain my 8ft long 6ft wide 3ft deep tank and have been for over 3 years so if I can do it I don't see why anyone with legs would have a problem

 

[carey]

ironically, price has not come into play for me. lol The quotes I am getting for the 210 are not that much higher than the 180g. So it's not a make or break issue, at least for me. This is most likely going to be my last upgrade, at least of this size so I wanna do it right and have the least amount of regrets as possible. lol

 

[furrymurray]

There are tools you can buy to grab things you know they are nothing new

Just making excuses for not wanting to pay more for the tank once you go over 24" deep the price shots up due to the thickness of the glass

You say 30" is to deep so why didn't you go 25 26 27 28" deep

Surely 26" deep would have been fine

The problem with 24" deep is you only get about 21-22" of water that's to shallow

I have no legs and I still maintain my 8ft long 6ft wide 3ft deep tank and have been for over 3 years so if I can do it I don't see why anyone with legs would have a problem

I dont trust using a tool to grab delicate corals. I would rather use my hands.

As far as making excuses for not paying extra for a 30 inch tall tank? I am not making excuses. I did get a 30 inch tall tank and spend over 7,000 on equipment and the tank and stand. So money was not the excuse. I did not give excuses. I gave my opinion over personal experience.

I am just giving my opinion, which is what the OP was asking about. Why are you so worked up over my personal opinion?