used 4' 120 gal vs waiting for new 6' tank??

somekindabonita

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Hi All! Hoping for some more experienced reefers to chime in on our decision. Found a guy willing to sell a pretty nice setup near us - a 4' 120 gal tank to upgrade from our current 40B. Obviously a huge jump and way more potential, but we're trying to embrace the one and done mentality.

If we went with this 120 gal, I know there are still some limitations on fish we could get but also lower maintenance vs something like a 210. What would we potentially be missing out on fish-wise that was a dealbreaker for you to get the larger tank?

My dream fish is eventually a mandarin goby which I know an older 120 setup can handle. Otherwise, I don't know what fish we'd want! Likely some larger guys as our clowns are awfully tiny to disappear in a 120
 

JoshH

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DCR

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Unless you want a large angelfish or a tang, I think a 4 ft 120 makes a very nice reef and manageable reef tank. Be careful about always wanting bigger and more.
 
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somekindabonita

somekindabonita

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If you're trying to embrace the one and done ideals I would say wait for the 6'. 6 feet opens the doors to a lot of larger livestock that 4 feet is just too small for, however there are still a couple tangs that can work in a 4 foot 120.

Extra viewing space and aquascaping room makes things nicer too. My dream fish is a mandarin as well and I upgraded to a 5 footer in order to make it happen, I might squeeze a tang in here eventually.
As far as aquascaping, I was always a little worried about how narrow some of the longer tanks are! It shocked me to see that our 40B is as wide as some of the 150 gal tanks places are selling.

Good luck with the mandarin eventually :)
 
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somekindabonita

somekindabonita

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Unless you want a large angelfish or a tang, I think a 4 ft 120 makes a very nice reef and manageable reef tank. Be careful about always wanting bigger and more.
Thanks for the vote! We're actually redoing our floor around this tank, so whatever we're going with is it for the long haul.

My husband got scared off of the huge huge tanks once he realized the exponential equipment cost associated
 

F i s h y

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6 footer... opens up lots of different fish, way more impressive setup, and depending on your reefing desires could be closer to your forever tank... unless your like me, I always dream of bigger...
 

DCR

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I think if you go with a 6 ft tank, it really needs to be 30-36" front to back to get the right proportions, which greatly increases the cost. To me most of the standard 6 ft x 2 ft foot prints (180/210) that I see all tend to look like vegetable stands.
 

CMMorgan

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Hi All! Hoping for some more experienced reefers to chime in on our decision. Found a guy willing to sell a pretty nice setup near us - a 4' 120 gal tank to upgrade from our current 40B. Obviously a huge jump and way more potential, but we're trying to embrace the one and done mentality.

If we went with this 120 gal, I know there are still some limitations on fish we could get but also lower maintenance vs something like a 210. What would we potentially be missing out on fish-wise that was a dealbreaker for you to get the larger tank?

My dream fish is eventually a mandarin goby which I know an older 120 setup can handle. Otherwise, I don't know what fish we'd want! Likely some larger guys as our clowns are awfully tiny to disappear in a 120
Wait for the 6'. Follow your heart.
 

uhgster1

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If your dream fish is a mandarin the 120 is a shoo-in. I’ve had a mandarin for over three years and she’s fat and happy in my 65 gallon. The important thing to have is a good refugium and you’re set. I fantasize about a 210 but the reality is that maintenance would be three fold on top of the fact that in a 210 you would barely see your mandarins most of the time anyway.
CAC3FC08-D4B2-433A-BC32-61DBDE63C34E.jpeg
 

1guydude

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I like displays with depth. The 120g 4x2x2 is a great tank.
I dont like long rectangle tanks. Has to be 24" tall. Lol
Or wider than standard.

Their wont be much diffrence in cost or equipment imo. Only the initial cost.
It would cost me the same to run both.
Hths
D
 
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