Upgrading to larger Tank - which one

[AquaDaddy]

I'm sure this has been asked numerous times, but I did search and wasn't successful in my quest. We have a 93 cube and would like to upgrade to something where the fish have more room and we can house more corals. Run out of room in the cube pretty quick! So, we could easily go to 5' tank and possibly a 6' tank. In gallons I'd ideally like to go >160 DT volume.

I have looked at COTS tanks and there are a few, but we really want to have something that pops. So, both Waterbox and Red Sea come to mind, I have looked at both and find them both to be nice products, I think possibly more bang for the buck with WB, but either would do. I'm not a huge fan of either of their sumps though.

Okay, so I can build a stand, no issue. I can tank a 75 or so and turn it into a sump and have no problems with plumbing, drilling, etc.... so what are my best options for what tanks to buy? I looked at Custom aquariums and they seem very reasonable and would ultimately save money doing it myself with one of their tanks. What are the others?

I really would like to hear some thoughts.
Thanks.

 

[Brew12]

I'm sure this has been asked numerous times, but I did search and wasn't successful in my quest. We have a 93 cube and would like to upgrade to something where the fish have more room and we can house more corals. Run out of room in the cube pretty quick! So, we could easily go to 5' tank and possibly a 6' tank. In gallons I'd ideally like to go >160 DT volume.

I have looked at COTS tanks and there are a few, but we really want to have something that pops. So, both Waterbox and Red Sea come to mind, I have looked at both and find them both to be nice products, I think possibly more bang for the buck with WB, but either would do. I'm not a huge fan of either of their sumps though.

Okay, so I can build a stand, no issue. I can tank a 75 or so and turn it into a sump and have no problems with plumbing, drilling, etc.... so what are my best options for what tanks to buy? I looked at Custom aquariums and they seem very reasonable and would ultimately save money doing it myself with one of their tanks. What are the others?

I really would like to hear some thoughts.
Thanks.

I am very pleased with my SCA tank. It was a custom build and the eurobrace has some cosmetic issues, but they don't show unless you look down from the top. I feel like I got a great value from this tank.

 

[AquaDaddy]

@Brew12 - just looked at those, will definitely keep SCA in mind. The 150 is really very close to what I'm looking for. While I would like the 180, not sure I'm willing to work in a tank 30" high! And really, the price of the 150 is pretty darned good.

 

[Brew12]

@Brew12 - just looked at those, will definitely keep SCA in mind. The 150 is really very close to what I'm looking for. While I would like the 180, not sure I'm willing to work in a tank 30" high! And really, the price of the 150 is pretty darned good.

I had a custom 187g built, drilled for a synergy overflow. Price was very reasonable.

I would recommend reaching out and asking for a quote for a custom build with the exact dimensions you want along with whatever style of overflow and see what you think. I will warn you that there is fairly big price jump when you go from a 5' tank to a 6' tank because of the thicker glass required.

 

[Tripptastic]

I looked at Custom aquariums and they seem very reasonable and would ultimately save money doing it myself with one of their tanks. What are the others?

I really would like to hear some thoughts.
Thanks.

I too almost purchased a tank from Custom Aquariums, their prices were fair for the work they did. They have a lot of great videos on their site that show off all the features of their tank and I love their aluminum frame option. Plastic will eventual break or rot, and eurobrace is not appealing to me.

The thing that stopped me from pulling the trigger was their shipping rates to FL. It was almost as much as the tank itself and that was a shock to me, but maybe the norm as I have never priced out tanks before.

 

[Scurvy]

Take a look at CDAquarium.com

Pricing is comparable to SCA I’d say. I have a 110 being built.

 

[AquaDaddy]

I'll take a look at CDA, funny about custom as when I looked, at least for the sizes I looked at there was free shipping, and you're spot on in that very much factors into the price!

 

[Brew12]

Take a look at CDAquarium.com

Pricing is comparable to SCA I’d say. I have a 110 being built.

I believe that CDA and SCA both get their aquariums from the same supplier in China. The tanks should be identical. The difference is in the stands, accessories, and customer service.

 

[Scurvy]

I believe that CDA and SCA both get their aquariums from the same supplier in China. The tanks should be identical. The difference is in the stands, accessories, and customer service.

I didnt know that but it makes sense. CDA seemed a little more customizable to me. Or at least they made it easy to select features and piece things together as I wanted. Not to say SCA wouldn’t do that but CDA made it easy.

 

[Brew12]

I didnt know that but it makes sense. CDA seemed a little more customizable to me. Or at least they made it easy to select features and piece things together as I wanted. Not to say SCA wouldn’t do that but CDA made it easy.

I've never used CDA but I enjoyed working with SCA. Having only used the one, I couldn't recommend one over the other.

 

[Forsaken77]

Have you looked into Planet Aquariums? They do excellent work for the most part. Of the two you selected, I would personally go with a Waterbox tank over a Reefer. I also don't know if you can order a Reefer without their stand. I've read a lot of articles where larger Reefer tanks have a bowing of the glass. That would make me extremely nervous.

Also, a 180 is "typically" a 24" high tank, not 30. That's normally the 210/220 range. 180's are usually 72" x 24" x 24". Obviously some places design differently, but those are the standard 180 dimensions.

 

[Adam Kuhn]

Glasscages.com built me a beautiful 34” by 35” lagoon tank years ago. It’s by no means a Red Sea but it was a fraction of the price and worked wonderfully for me. I knew I wanted to build my own stand and already had a sump, plumbing, etc I wanted to use.

 

[AquaDaddy]

I need to look at Glasscages and Planet, I had forgotten about both of them. Also, I'm sure I would chose Waterbox over the Red Sea. Ideally, I'd see if I could get a Waterbox without the stand or sump.... but I'm just looking now, will probably purchase in the month or so. oh, and the 180 comment was keeping it at 60" length. Really don't want to go to six foot or longer if I can help it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a 93 cube also and up to 360 gallons.
BIGGER IS BETTER GO as large as you can afford. I want larger at this point myself

93 cube:

360G:

 

[BestMomEver]

Glass cages did a custom 350 for me about 10 years ago. I loved the tank quality and the price. It was one wicked looking piece of acrylic.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Glass cages did a custom 350 for me about 10 years ago. I loved the tank quality and the price. It was one wicked looking piece of acrylic.

Ironic...... Mine Is Glass cages but made of glass

 

[BestMomEver]

Ironic...... Mine Is Glass cages but made of glass

Ha! Mine wasn’t. They told me it would be too heavy to ship if it was glass. Or at least I couldn’t afford to ship it.