75 gallon or 90 gallon

[tfrechette]

I'm looking to upgrade my 57 gallon to something larger. The difference between the 75 and 90 gallon tanks appears to be around 3" in height. I have a eshopps rs100 sump which I think will handle either. Cost wise seems to be less then $80 more for the 90 gallon tank.

Any pros/cons on either?

Also any recommendations for lighting? I presently have an Ice Cap Metal Halide. LFS suggested Current w/ 6 bulbs; not sure of the model he was suggesting. I thought he quoted price around $600.

Corals moving into the new tank:
Montipora
plate
hammer
torch
mushrooms
gonipora

Thanks

[dylan87]

get the 90 youll enjoy the extra height

[dzrtrataz]

You will like the extra height. Bigger always better.

[barjam]

I would say neither. Try to go with a 120. 75 and 90 are a pain to aquascape and both feel about the same size. A 120 feels huge in comparison.

[Wet Dreamer]

Go for the 90! As far as lighting goes, I have the 8 bulb t5 fixture on my 90 gallon and love it! I have the same corals you are planning on having!

[sporto0]

I would say neither. Try to go with a 120. 75 and 90 are a pain to aquascape and both feel about the same size. A 120 feels huge in comparison.

LOL, 120g? Why stop there? Go 180g 0r 250g! You are correct sir but it seems like he has narrowed his choice down to a 75 or 90 & I vote 90, it gives you those extra valuable height inches for the corals to grow.

[barjam]

LOL, 120g? Why stop there? Go 180g 0r 250g! You are correct sir but it seems like he has narrowed his choice down to a 75 or 90 & I vote 90, it gives you those extra valuable height inches for the corals to grow.

I suggest this because I started at 75, went 90 (huge mistake) then finally settled upon a 120. Aquascaping a 120 is a breeze compared to a 75/90 and it is a huge improvement over a 75/90.

And as long as you stock the 120 like you would a 75/90 the equipment ends up being the same. With a 120+ you are looking at more equipment.

[tfrechette]

Hi Barjam,

What do you have for sump/lighting in the 120? The dimensions of a 120 are 48 x 24 x 24?

Thanks

[aandfsoccr04]

I bought the 120 for my first tank as well. I use 2x250w metal halides with 20k XM bulbs with 2 48in. blue bulbs to supplement and bring out colors. I use an external bubble magnus skimmer and couldn't be happier with the tank size. The perfect tank size IMO. I bought a 75 gallon first and then sold it before I set it up because if you are thinking about going bigger then you are going to want to upgrade in a few months. A wise thing I read somewhere was:
In this hobby just buy what you really want the first time around and it will save you a lot of money because you won't have to buy things twice. If you want the more expensive stuff then just save up and buy it instead of something cheap.

[barjam]

2x250 MH, 2x54 T5, MSX 160 skimmer, 30 gallon sump, phosphate reactor.

This is the same equipment I had on the 75 and the 90.

[cody6766]

I'm sure the reason people are suggesting a 120 is because the footprint isn't really much different than the other two tanks and it affords you a lot more room to work with. If you keep your stocking the same, the same equipment will work for all three tanks. You may have to add a powerhead or two, but it wouldn't be drastic. Extra water volume does not mean you need more filtration. More critters mean you need more filtration. Also, the jump from a 90 to a 120 isn't as large as a 120 to a 150 or 180 because it's still a 4' tank, not a 6' tank.

I would go with the 90g out of the two you mentioned, but I'd get a 120 if I went shopping for me.

[Saadatski]

i would say go with the 120 if you can. but for someone like me whos house structure might fall with a 120, i went with the 75 for the following reasons.

With the 75, its a bit shorter, so you will get better light penetration, allowing you to put more light needy corals a bit lower.

in a 75, since iits shorter, when you use a powerhead, you can put it more in the center height, but with a 90, you must put it much higher because of the downdraft the power head creates so you dont ruin your sandbed.

Lastly, if your not ridiculously tall, like more than 5'10", the 75 would be good because those lousy 4" extra on the 90 can give you an uncomfortable reach. This also depends on your stand.

hope this helps, but still, if you can, go for the 120. a 75 and 90 arent really that big of a dif.

[tfrechette]

Thanks for everyone's input. I might try the 120 and act dumb when the wife asks why it's deeper than I told her.

[Vadimshevchuk]

good choice! I have a 90 and i dont mind it just a 120 now seems soo much bigger!