UNS R90 or R120?

[jn72390]

Soon to be new to the salt community! After years of fresh water African cichlid tanks I wanted to switch it up and try something new.

Ordered an R90 but am starting to think I should just buck up and get the R120 because I don’t want to be limited to fish choices by not having a big enough tank. I’m still awaiting a delivery date so I may be able to call my LFS and upgrade (they asked me if I wanted an R75 that’s in stock due to shipping delays).

$1000 difference which is steep, especially with how much the R90 was in the first place but I don’t want to be chasing a larger tank down the road.

How much of a difference in equipment am I looking at from a 36in to 48in tank? I was planning for two lights would I need 3?

Thanks in advance for any tips, looking forward to getting started!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

It's up to you which one you would rather have; only you can make that decision. The general rule of thumb is that if you can afford a bigger tank, go for the bigger option. I will say the R90 is a good-sized tank to start with.

 

[jn72390]

It's up to you which one you would rather have; only you can make that decision. The general rule of thumb is that if you can afford a bigger tank, go for the bigger option. I will say the R90 is a good-sized tank to start with.

Appreciate the response - I guess the only thing that keeps popping up is Tangs - is it unethical to house a small Tang in a 36in tank?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Appreciate the response - I guess the only thing that keeps popping up is Tangs - is it unethical to house a small Tang in a 36in tank?

I personally wouldn't keep a tang in a tank that length. Some will say yes it's fine, but me personally I think a tank should be 4ft or longer for tangs

 

[slingfox]

If you can afford it, the larger tank would provide more optionally and you wouldn’t have to deal with upgrade FOMO as much. When I got my first tank I went straight to a 5 ft tank. I sometimes regret it due to how difficult the first year or two of the hobby can be

 

[jn72390]

If you can afford it, the larger tank would provide more optionally and you wouldn’t have to deal with upgrade FOMO as much. When I got my first tank I went straight to a 5 ft tank. I sometimes regret it due to how difficult the first year or two of the hobby can be

Ya the more I think about it the more I'm like.... I'm already in this deep whats the difference and then I'm not going back worrying about it down the road.

 

[RobynR]

If you can afford it, the larger tank would provide more optionally and you wouldn’t have to deal with upgrade FOMO as much. When I got my first tank I went straight to a 5 ft tank. I sometimes regret it due to how difficult the first year or two of the hobby can be

Ya the more I think about it the more I'm like.... I'm already in this deep whats the difference and then I'm not going back worrying about it down the road.

For what it’s worth, I just got the R90 and I wish I would have got the R90 shallow for the extra length as well as the extra lower equipment area, also I am short and the tank is taller than me, which has been a bit challenging. lol.

I was thinking about the R120 also, but I kind of feel like that would have been a bit too much tank as a restart after 15~ years away.

Overall I am happy with the R90, I’ve only had it set up for just over a couple weeks, the most challenging part was fitting all the equipment wiring into the very limited compartment, I would recommend having a separate cabinet for controllers, backup, dosing, etc.

There is absolutely room for basic equipment, but as soon as you add in any controller system, redundancies, and a backup, it leaves zero space for dosing. Even my backup is sitting outside the cabinet. So I will be looking for something unobtrusive to go beside the tank to make it work a bit better with the Neptune and any other equipment I add.

 

[jn72390]

For what it’s worth, I just got the R90 and I wish I would have got the R90 shallow for the extra length as well as the extra lower equipment area, also I am short and the tank is taller than me, which has been a bit challenging. lol.

I was thinking about the R120 also, but I kind of feel like that would have been a bit too much tank as a restart after 15~ years away.

Overall I am happy with the R90, I’ve only had it set up for just over a couple weeks, the most challenging part was fitting all the equipment wiring into the very limited compartment, I would recommend having a separate cabinet for controllers, backup, dosing, etc.

There is absolutely room for basic equipment, but as soon as you add in any controller system, redundancies, and a backup, it leaves zero space for dosing. Even my backup is sitting outside the cabinet. So I will be looking for something unobtrusive to go beside the tank to make it work a bit better with the Neptune and any other equipment I add.

Appreciate the insight - I guess its a no brainer to just bite the bullet and get the R120 if I can afford it, sounds like it will save me some time/money and headache in the long run! This is my first reef tank so I'm trying to just buy once cry once and set myself up for an easier start.

 

[mmorrison55]

Agree with the others who say go for the biggest your space and budget allow.

If tangs are your goal, and you can swing the R180, that tank would allow you to keep all but the biggest of tangs like the unicorn tang.

 

[mmorrison55]

What tangs are on your wish list?

 

[jn72390]

What tangs are on your wish list?

Honestly nothing crazy, I really have only looked at smaller ones like a Tomini since I was set on the R90 but now I’ll be looking into some others. I just called the store and locked in the R120, my space is like 50 inches so it’s a no brainer there was a 75g freshwater tank in the same spot.

What are some cool tangs you’d recommend looking at that would work well in a 4ft tank?

 

[slingfox]

What tangs are on your wish list?

Honestly nothing crazy, I really have only looked at smaller ones like a Tomini since I was set on the R90 but now I’ll be looking into some others. I just called the store and locked in the R120, my space is like 50 inches so it’s a no brainer there was a 75g freshwater tank in the same spot.

What are some cool tangs you’d recommend looking at that would work well in a 4ft tank?

If this is your first tank here are four recommendations:

1) Get a reliable way to measure salinity. This means the Tropic Marine Hydrometer or the VeeGee Refractometer. The VeeGee is expensive but extremely accurate/reliable and easy to use

2) Get some amount of ocean live rock or rubble

3) Plumb in a UV from the start. This will be very useful when the Dino’s come

4) Get a decent RODI unit

 

[mmorrison55]

Yellow, purple, white tail bristletooth, convict. But honestly whatever speaks to you when you look at them.

Rule is that you only want one of the same genus, but im sure others have been successful with multiple of the same genus.

Purple tangs are eye catching, but my purple tang was the biggest bully of my tank.

Ich and tangs are no joke. I lost my purple and powder blue tang from ich a few months after I got started. Buy prequarantined if you can, or set up a qt tank.

 

[jn72390]

If this is your first tank here are four recommendations:

1) Get a reliable way to measure salinity. This means the Tropic Marine Hydrometer or the VeeGee Refractometer. The VeeGee is expensive but extremely accurate/reliable and easy to use

2) Get some amount of ocean live rock or rubble

3) Plumb in a UV from the start. This will be very useful when the Dino’s come

4) Get a decent RODI unit

Thanks! I’ve got my RODI and salt mixing station setup, currently have about 60-70 lbs of dry rock curing while I await delivery of the tank. Great tip on the UV, something I should have plenty of room for with the R120 now!

 

[jn72390]

Yellow, purple, white tail bristletooth, convict. But honestly whatever speaks to you when you look at them.

Rule is that you only want one of the same genus, but im sure others have been successful with multiple of the same genus.

Purple tangs are eye catching, but my purple tang was the biggest bully of my tank.

Ich and tangs are no joke. I lost my purple and powder blue tang from ich a few months after I got started. Buy prequarantined if you can, or set up a qt tank.

Appreciate the tips, I’m certainly looking to avoid aggression coming from African Cichlids that I had for 4-5 years (so sick of watching them beat up on each other).

Any reliable pre-quarantined sites you’d recommend?

 

[mmorrison55]

https://drreefsquarantinedfish.com/...MIpMOvkcuCkwMV04NaBR2X4DiJEAAYASAAEgLlpfD_BwE
Ive had good experiences with them. He’s a member here at R2R as well.

 

[slingfox]

If this is your first tank here are four recommendations:

1) Get a reliable way to measure salinity. This means the Tropic Marine Hydrometer or the VeeGee Refractometer. The VeeGee is expensive but extremely accurate/reliable and easy to use

2) Get some amount of ocean live rock or rubble

3) Plumb in a UV from the start. This will be very useful when the Dino’s come

4) Get a decent RODI unit

Thanks! I’ve got my RODI and salt mixing station setup, currently have about 60-70 lbs of dry rock curing while I await delivery of the tank. Great tip on the UV, something I should have plenty of room for with the R120 now!

Cured dry rock can work but does not offer the biodiversity of rock or rubble from the ocean. Sand from the ocean can also work and is not as expensive as rock. I went with 100% dry rock with my fist tank. Around month 4 or 5 things started going downhill. I eventually did a tank reset at the 2-year anniversary where I swapped in 100% ocean rock. I wish I used rock/rubble/or sand from the ocean to start. Would have saved me a lot of money and hours of scrubbing.

 

[Fury808]

Soon to be new to the salt community! After years of fresh water African cichlid tanks I wanted to switch it up and try something new.

Ordered an R90 but am starting to think I should just buck up and get the R120 because I don’t want to be limited to fish choices by not having a big enough tank. I’m still awaiting a delivery date so I may be able to call my LFS and upgrade (they asked me if I wanted an R75 that’s in stock due to shipping delays).

$1000 difference which is steep, especially with how much the R90 was in the first place but I don’t want to be chasing a larger tank down the road.

How much of a difference in equipment am I looking at from a 36in to 48in tank? I was planning for two lights would I need 3?

Thanks in advance for any tips, looking forward to getting started!

Big difference! Get the 120 you won't regret it!

 

[dedragon]

too many light options for tanks rn, matters what you might want livestock and aesthetic wise. what store on LI? i live in nyc but am from the island

 

[jn72390]

too many light options for tanks rn, matters what you might want livestock and aesthetic wise. what store on LI? i live in nyc but am from the island

Aquarium Shop in Westbury, great guys over there very knowledgeable and super down to earth!