Difference in 90 vs 180 gal

[mythesis]

About 8 months in on my first tank and I'm itching to upgrade.

I know this is the wrong audience to ask, but is this a bad idea?


Background: I started with a 90gal based on reading advice about stability etc. and figured it was a good size to get started.

We're still battling a small amount of dinos on the back wall, but otherwise things are pretty healthy. I don't have room for UV, so hoping phyto, pods, and time will eventually eliminate them.

I would love to upgrade and put a 6ft, 180 gal into the wall that separates my office & living room.

But, since I'm pretty new, trying to anticipate what I'd be getting into.


Our current setup works pretty easily. Change water 1-2x/mo (makes the dinos *stink* so I'm reluctant to do it). Clean the skimmer. Feed. Enjoy.

I check chemistry every week, but things aren't moving a lot right now.


Other than the ridiculously large cost of setting up the tank.... Am I signing up for 2x...4x...10x the work of the current setup?

 

[KrisReef]

About 8 months in on my first tank and I'm itching to upgrade.

I know this is the wrong audience to ask, but is this a bad idea?


Background: I started with a 90gal based on reading advice about stability etc. and figured it was a good size to get started.

We're still battling a small amount of dinos on the back wall, but otherwise things are pretty healthy. I don't have room for UV, so hoping phyto, pods, and time will eventually eliminate them.

I would love to upgrade and put a 6ft, 180 gal into the wall that separates my office & living room.

But, since I'm pretty new, trying to anticipate what I'd be getting into.


Our current setup works pretty easily. Change water 1-2x/mo (makes the dinos *stink* so I'm reluctant to do it). Clean the skimmer. Feed. Enjoy.

I check chemistry every week, but things aren't moving a lot right now.


Other than the ridiculously large cost of setting up the tank.... Am I signing up for 2x...4x...10x the work of the current setup?

I think an upgrade is a bad idea. You will do better to stick with the current 90 that has some age to it, but given time it should blossom beyond what you are currently describing.

Still, nothing I'm saying should discourage you from getting another larger tank. I would not go with a simple 2x upgrade. You clearly have the itch. Have you thought about adding a fish room onto the house? I see it in your future.

Possibility thinking! :face-with-hand-over-mouth: :cool:

 

[mythesis]

Just got back from GA aquarium a few weeks ago.... That tank with the whale sharks is *incredible*

 

[Twocorns]

Id only upgrade if you plan on getting bigger fish (tangs). But bigger tank and bigger fish = a pain, too. Big fish love to poop. I went from a 4ft tank to a 5ft tank. Wish i just stayed with the 4ft tank. But my big fish certainly are pretty.

 

[mythesis]

Id only upgrade if you plan on getting bigger fish (tangs). But bigger tank and bigger fish = a pain, too. Big fish love to poop. I went from a 4ft tank to a 5ft tank. Wish i just stayed with the 4ft tank. But my big fish certainly are pretty.

What do you regret about the bigger setup?

 

[Twocorns]

What do you regret about the bigger setup?

Just the cost. Had to get more lighting, bigger skimmer, more salt for bigger watwr changes, etc.

But my kids love the fish. So i just deal with it...for now.

 

[KrisReef]

What do you regret about the bigger setup?

More glass to clean, more water to change, more gravel to clean are the big 3 for me.

DO you think the whale sharks in captivity are hungry? I wonder how the aquarium can keep up with the feeding?

 

[billyocean]

You could throw a green machine uv on it temporarily or grab a jebao uv to use temporarily as well. Just pump from display and back i to display...it'll help with dinos.

 

[mythesis]

What do you regret about the bigger setup?

More glass to clean, more water to change, more gravel to clean are the big 3 for me.

DO you think the whale sharks in captivity are hungry? I wonder how the aquarium can keep up with the feeding?

Pre Covid we watched the show about how they fed/trained/cared for the animals. Was fascinating!

 

[fandaga]

I have a 47g for a little over a year and am planning on a major upgrade to at least a 200g, but I’m glad I started with the smaller. It’s been a significant learning experience. The biggest mistake was scratching the glass and then making it exponentially worse by trying to fix it. I still have a lot to learn before the upgrade.

 

[mythesis]

You could throw a green machine uv on it temporarily or grab a jebao uv to use temporarily as well. Just pump from display and back i to display...it'll help with dinos.

Thanks i'll look into that!

 

[KrisReef]

Pre Covid we watched the show about how they fed/trained/cared for the animals. Was fascinating!

I'm going to have to put my nose into their husbandry. That's a lot of fish to feed and keep healthy. Monterey tried to keep Juvenile Great white's and I think they stopped keeping them.

 

[TeraHz]

I went from 40B to 180 6'. The initial cost is probably an order of magnitude more. Mostly because I've done a lot more larger-scale stuff like big saltwater reservoirs for NSW, big filters for making rodi, big pumps to move things around, automation of making all that water, a lot more redundancy in the system (it's way more expensive to lose 180G tank worth of stuff than 40). And I didn't have to reinforce the floor - you might have to :). You might have to run a second circuit for power... things add up. The ongoing cost will be double (salt, electricity, etc) as well, if not more. And expect to pay way more for fish and coral. 180 is EXPENSIVE to fill with coral :)

Maintenance is unlikely to feel like a lot more, in my opinion. Especially if your 90 is not fully automated but with the 180 you spend some time to automate things (like water changes and fresh water making, etc).

Since you've only been 8 months in the hobby, I also encourage you to stick with the 90 for a couple more years. Learn from it, test what works and what doesn't. Nothing wrong with starting to plan for a bigger tank though. As you perform operations on your 90, ask yourself how would you do it on the 180 when it's in the wall.

All that being said, I love my 180 and would do it again :)

 

[ReefED!]

I think 180g is the actual sweet spot for serious reef keeping.

I would not recommend my 5ft / 18inch wide ~120g tank - the lack of width really limits what you can do with an aquascape.

 

[gmcsonoma94]

I think 180g is the actual sweet spot for s...
Im looking to upgrade to a 5' tank from my biocube 32 next year. What width do you think would be appropriate? 18 seems narrow but would something about 25" would work for aquascaping and allowing room for swimming?

 

[ReefED!]

I think 180g is the actual sweet spot for s...
Im looking to upgrade to a 5' tank from my biocube 32 next year. What width do you think would be appropriate? 18 seems narrow but would something about 25" would work for aquascaping and allowing room for swimming?

Yes that would be great

It’s the width that is so important for your fish to have swimming space

My 18” is just so narrow that the aquascape is too tight - ideally you want the fish to be able to swim around behind and in front comfortably.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

You just have to ask yourself why you want the upgrade. Is it due to not being happy with the look? Or you really want a specific fish that requires a bigger tank.

If its just looks, then no I wouldn't. But if you have plans for specific fish or more and can't do it with the 90G. Then go for it! But I say get the biggest you can afford!

I totally understand the itch on wanting to setup a new tank. I've done 1G, 5G, 15, 20 and 25 now. Now I plan to remove the 5G and do a 7G with a sump lol. Its never ending on what I want. Probably because I want a 200G tank but don't have the space... :(

 

[exnisstech]

TBH I would run the 90 untill all the stuff you have to deal with on a new tank is past and the tank is cruising along nicely without a lot if intervention. Then set up 180 and move everything over so it's more of a tank transfer than a new startup. Any problems you have with the new tank now will most likely carry over to the new tank if not corrected first.

PS: A year ago I went from a 72x24x24" 180g to a 84x30x25". The difference between 24" and 30" from to back depth is a huge difference. Just something to think about ;)

 

[mythesis]

@ReefED! @exnisstech the width is my primary driver. Current 90 is 18" wide and it feels very crowded.

Plus, my original dream is a tank to separate the rooms.

From what y'all are saying, is expensive, but maintenance really isn't too different time wise. More water, more chemistry, more light, more flow, but potentially more automation.

Likely July/December before we decide to do anything, so thanks for all the information so far!

 

[hnav94]

I think it would be better to learn more with the smaller tank before jumping into a huge one like that, mistakes can be costly and you'll only multiply it on that scale. 90 is still a pretty large tank, good luck!