A 75 in my hand or a 125 in the bush?

[LeslieP]

A year ago I decided to upgrade my 12 yr old 55 to a 75 RR, size being limited by my small house. I found a nice used tank and sump and my husband was going to build a new stand. I slowly bought most of the equipment I would need. Fast forward a few months and we are now in a new house where size isn't an object - the tank will be in a much bigger finished basement so weight isn't an issue anymore either. Would a 125-135g tank be that much more time/work than a 75?

Will a tank this size (more LPS than SPS) need a lot of supplementation? Once the tank is stable, I'm not usually one for weekly testing if things look good, nor do I do any dosing other than kalk top off and a little calcium.

Pros:
More room for corals to grow
less drastic swings if something goes wrong
Tangs!! I could get that purple or powder blue or others I've always dreamed about
My Avast Marine CS-1 skimmer is rated for 200g - even if they overstated that, it should still be fine for the job
it would have tons of things for me to look at

Cons:
I would need another light fixture - what I have on the 55 (2 Chinese LEDs) would work just fine on the 75
Not into lots of testing/reactors if supplementation is needed
I'd have to totally rethink the plumbing - which I barely have a handle on
Probably have to replace the Eheim 1260 return pump which I bought last year and have never used yet
Bigger water changes
I already have the 75; I'd have to buy the bigger tank and then sell the 75
Extra time to begin planning all over again - it's already been a year in planning - I want to get moving!!

Thanks for your thoughts

[Chihuahua6]

Hello, another lady reefer here : )
It's not much more time and work in my opinion. Just make sure you don't get the 125 and then shortly after regret not going bigger ; )
Lol on the plumbing. I hate it. That's when your husband can help you.

[sirreal63]

I had the traditional 125, and honestly I hated it, the depth (front to back) is too narrow which makes it hard to aqua scape. If you have room for a 125, you have room for a 180, and the difference is remarkable. You will have to get another Chinese LED either way, but the 180 is just a great size and the 125 isn't. The 1260 will still work for the 180, you may have to dose with either, and you can use the 75 as a sump, no need to sell it.

[Saltydrip]

That's what I am planing. I was thinking I would get a 125, then realized a 150 was the same footprint. Then I just found out a 180 is 7 inches more front to back and that extra 7 inches makes for the extra swimming space any tang you might want will need. It's an amazing tank. A little big but if your not planning another move, well.. ever. It's the tank to have.

[LeslieP]

We definitely aren't planning another move. Maybe I can find a nice used one. The 75 came with a 30 long made into a sump. I suppose that's too small for a 150/180. I'd certainly need help setting it up; my old tank wasn't a RR and I was going to do a herbie on the new one. Damn, back to the drawing board. The scope of this frightens me a bit although I've had salt for 25 yrs and this reef for 12. It was very low tech which I can't get away with at this size

[sirreal63]

You can make it as high tech or as low tech as you want. I actually find larger tanks easier and much more forgiving than smaller tanks. The parameters could probably be met with Kalk, which is all I am using at the moment and I am mostly SPS. If I had the space, I would be back in a 6', 180 or a 4' cube"ish" 240, no question about it.

[SpencerG]

I've been in the same quandry for some time myself, contemplating bumping up from a 75 to a 125. I built in a cabinet/wall unit that with some minor modification would easily accommodate a 125. Most of what I've read about a 125 though has been negative, with the biggest complaint that it is hard to aquascape. That issue, coupled with the utter ease of caring for a 75, has kept me from moving up to the 125.

I've concluded that if I ever were to upsize, I would go to the 180, which really is an awesome tank from all the feedback I've read. It would be a big change indeed.

You're doing the right thing by listing pros & cons. You should add more topoff water to the cons list. Is your RODI automated to your sump or do you carry and add water to your topoff reservoir? That alone could make a joy into a chore, particularly on a 180. You're also doing the right thing in understanding yourself and what you like and tend to do.

Good luck and please share your build!

[LeslieP]

Top off water definitely needs to be on the con list. I do need to carry the water around, but at least in this new house the tank is on the same floor as the water system and I can eventually hook something up to pump the water around. That's what I fear most on a 180 - way too much top off water necessary.

While 24" front to back would be awesome, 18" will seem like heaven after the 12" I've been dealing with for so long. I'll have to see some and even then my decision might be made for me if I find a really good deal on a nice used one.

Sirreal63, it's nice to hear that you are managing well with kalk only. I'd probably start that way and see how things develop. I really don't need super fast growth, just healthy is all I ask.

[LeslieP]

Top off water definitely needs to be on the con list. I do need to carry the water around, but at least in this new house the tank is on the same floor as the water system and I can eventually hook something up to pump the water around. That's what I fear most on a 180 - way too much top off water necessary.

While 24" front to back would be awesome, 18" will seem like heaven after the 12" I've been dealing with for so long. I'll have to see some and even then my decision might be made for me if I find a really good deal on a nice used one.

Sirreal63, it's nice to hear that you are managing well with kalk only. I'd probably start that way and see how things develop. I really don't need super fast growth, just healthy is all I ask.

[sirreal63]

With my old 125, the tank was far away from the RO/DI, so I cheated, I ran the output from the RO/DI with 1/4" ice-maker tube to the container I used for top off, and just coiled it up after use. Once a week I re-filled the can, topping off the tank was as simple as turning on the pump and filling the sump.

I really shouldn't say I hated my old 125, but I did hate the depth. It filled up too quickly and made getting good flow for the SPS very difficult. Other than the depth, it was a great tank. If I do go with another 6' tank, it would never be a 125, I lived it once, never again. The only direction the aquascape can go easily is up, and you end up with the rock wall effect, which I did, and it was less than appealing.

Depth is a great thing, and once you have it, it is hard to give it up. I have a 40x40 space to play in now, and I would feel limited if I went with anything less. I don't mean to suggest that you avoid the 125, instead I wish to point out the limitations of the size, and what my own experience with it was. It is not a bad tank, but it is not an ideal size either. :-)

[sirreal63]

Double Post.

[KafudaFish]

If it was me I would do a 120 vs. a 125 due to depth or jump up to the 180 like Jack stated.

I have never seen anyone who owned either of these tanks wonder if something was better later on.

Use the 75 as the sump and just like now add equipment.

Good luck.