Considering upgrading tanks after only a few months

[DustinDec]

We have a Fluval Flex 32.5, and we've enjoyed it quite a bit in the last few months. In the cabinet below, we have no space for a sump, and rather not do an overhang overflow anyways. We also store our digital media equipment (e.g. receiver) below the tank. I'm aware this is probably not the best idea, but it's all wired to that wall and it won't be the end of the world if it breaks. The existing cabinet fits snugs into the space at 62" wide and the spot can easily accommodate 25" depth. We've been having a blast with our tank, and we even just got a Blue tang that we absolutely love. Our Duncan and zoas are doing great. The receiver is 18" wide, 6" tall, 12" depth.

With that out of the way, to the point. We're seriously thinking about making our Fluval a QT, moving it elsewhere and upgrading to something like a Red Sea 525. Their cabinet appears to be just about the perfect size to replace the existing cabinet, and their tanks look amazing. I've seen a few in person at our LFS. I've read that the maintenance isn't too much more and there is enough space on the bottom right to build a little spot for the digital equipment and allow for an red sea ATO water canister, waste can for trident along with a board to mount/wire all my components.

What are folks thoughts on the above idea? Is there a better tank/stand you recommend to accomplish this? Thoughts on my idea in general?

Image of current tank:

 

[Biokabe]

we even just got a Blue tang that we absolutely love.

If you love that fish, then upgrading your tank is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. A 32 gallon tank is wholly inadequate for that fish, he will outgrow it and die early eventually.

The Reefers are a fine series of tanks, I have a 350. Some people will still consider the 525 to be too small for the blue tang - though I do need to ask, which flavor of blue tang do you have? There are at least three different species that are called "Blue tang", each with at least somewhat different care requirements: Atlantic Blue Tang, Hippo Blue Tang (Dory), and Powder Blue. Most people mean the hippo tang when they mention a blue tang and I assume that's what you have, but it's good information to know.

There are a few quirks with the Reefers that can be somewhat irritating. You may wish to mod yours slightly before moving everything over to take care of these irritations (and maybe later iterations of the tanks have addressed them, so it might be a moot point).

First and most obvious is the flow control valve on the drain line. I'm not sure what the exact name for it is, but rather than being a traditional gate valve it has a membrane that stretches or loosens to control flow into your tank. It's very temperamental to adjust, takes forever to scale up and down, and absolutely deafening when it isn't adjusted properly. Many people choose to replace it with a true gate valve; I personally wish I had, and patching it up with an actual gate valve is on my list of "Things I'll do when I'm not lazy."

Second, the ATO reservoir that comes with the tanks is usually woefully undersized for the tank. It's only 4.3 gallons for the 525, so definitely carry forward with your idea to ditch it and use a proper canister. I do think that the new Red Sea containers should be nice - I don't have one myself, but the dimensions look so much nicer than most of containers on the market.

Third, the plumbing is in mm (Red Sea is a German company), so if you need to do any plumbing work with the tank you can't just run to Home Depot to get piping or fittings. This isn't a big deal for the most part, unless you plan to replace the gate valve.

Finally, the equipment cabinet section would definitely be tight for your digital equipment, especially if you also want to accommodate tank equipment in there as well. Space in there fills up quick, and it actually gets quite warm in there. It should still fit, but if you can find another home either for the aquarium equipment or for the media equipment, it would probably work out better.

Overall though, if you can accommodate a new tank I think you'll be much happier. Just make sure to budget for things accordingly - supporting a larger tank requires quite a bit more money, especially in up-front equipment costs. But it's so much nicer being able to fill the tank with more corals, more and bigger fishes, and just generally not having to worry about size as much.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

a blue tang? I wouldn’t put one in anything under a 4 foot long and 2 feet wide tank, and that’s probably still too small. I think you need a 180g and above to properly house them.