4ft or 5ft reef tank

[chemicals]

Hi,

in the coming month I’m going to order my first reef tank. However, I’m having a hard time deciding between the WB reef 130.4 or 180.5. They both fit my budget, although, I have a little more extra to spend on the 4ft one if I decide to go with that one. My question is, will I regret if i’m going with the smaller one in the future? And, does 1ft extra really make a huge difference?

lemme know what you think!

Thanks!

 

[agame2021]

Yeah you will probably want bigger in the future. Honestly the bigger the tank the more stable you can keep the parameters. It allows for more fish/corals honestly if you got the money I would go with the bigger I highly doubt you will be disappointed.
I went second hand with a 150 gallon tank and it’s an awesome tank but it’s really only meant for me to see how much I am willing to do and now I see that once I am in a house of my own I will be building a bigger 500+ gallon tank.

like I said if you got the money go for it. If you want to save some money I found my tank with a ton of extra stuff for around $900 on Facebook. And I have seen some deals for like $500 for a 220 gallon. Guess it depends on your area but it never hurts to look. Then you can upgrade the tech inside the tank for an even larger tank in your future. That is what I am doing with this one. The guy who sold it to me had over $3k into this set up and honestly haven’t had any problems. Yeah it’s not new but it’s given me the experience I need for when I go bigger!

last thought don’t think about this as your “forever tank” let’s be real it’s probably not going to be in your home past 10 years. People change and will either want bigger or smaller(most people who love fish go bigger to have bigger fish/groups of species) if you think this is your forever tank picture it lasting 5-10 years max. Make a plan and stick to that plan. It becomes fun to see it unfold!

 

[vtecintegra]

I'd get the five if money and space aren't a problem. Consider lighting though. Say you planned on radions. Two would cover the four foot tank, but you would probably need three for the five foot.

 

[chemicals]

I'd get the five if money and space aren't a problem. Consider lighting though. Say you planned on radions. Two would cover the four foot tank, but you would probably need three for the five foot.

I have certainly thought about that. I’ll start with 2 xr15s and will add one down after some time when I get into sps.

 

[tautog83]

A extra foot is great for swimming space ! I always like length over height especially when ya need to get your arm in the tank!

 

[Mywifeisgunnakillme]

bigger is better, 12 inches is a lot of real estate in a reef tank

 

[piranhaman00]

I’m not a fan of bigger is better mentality.

I have a 180 right now and when I move early next year I’m downgrading to 80 range. Bigger is more room, yes, more room to fill bigger w/c ect ect.