Confused which way to go for upgrade.

[piranhapat]

I see people upgrading to nice size tanks. I been holding out for my upgrade. Not because of room or money. What is bothering me is which way do I go. I don't know if I want bigger fish that's not reef safe. Or keep going with my SPS tank which is doing so great. I want the best of both worlds. But it's a lot of work to just keep up with my 90 SPS tank. So running two both is out. Beside I have two little monster I have to take care of too. So this is my problem. I was thinking between 150 - 210 gallon tank. Bigger tank most likely fish only tank. In between thinking SPS tank only. Anybody can persuade me which way you would go. Plus I always wanted to get queen angel fish. But coral tank is starting to blossom. What do I do.

 

[MikeC]

Its all about the sticks for me

 

[piranhapat]

Mike, I agree with sticks. Some fishes should be left in the sea. Unless the ones we breed. Like clownfish that can live over 15 years in our tank. But we gotten better in keeping fish live longer in our systems too.

 

[edd]

personally i would go with a 225 reef. 72x30x24. i have a 150.
its so rewarding to get a frag and grow it into a colony, and you can still have certain fish.

 

[ifarmer]

ask your self these questions.
do you have enough to maintenance big tanks
can you afford the maintenance expenses for keeping large tank

 

[Spsnut]

Why not do a larger tank done with softies? It's hard work keeping up with the ever increasing demands of an sps tank; I've heard the best say that after ten years when they sit down in front of the tank all they see anymore is more work. And when things in an sps tank unravel they really unravel. I came close to a great sps tank and lost it; I want to finish the deal. If I had nothing to prove to myself it would be very hard beating the size and movement of a full grown soft coral tank chalk full of small colorful fishes.

 

[reefs4life]

I would go with a 300DD, I think that's an awesome ratio in terms of dimensions. That's what I would love to upgrade to.

 

[thirty6]

if i had a 6'+ tank i would go fowlr. my someday tank is going to be a 300dd, ideally setup as a pennisula style dividing two rooms in my basement. if you were to go fowlr, it would more than likely be easy to switch into a reef if desired

 

[Reefcowboy]

To me its all about Corals And secondly fish. Fish only tanks kind of are boring IMO. I watch that show "tanked" where they have those really nice acrylic tanks with fish only and after 5 minutes get bored with them. The magic with saltwater for me are the corals.

 

[MikeC]

ask your self these questions.
do you have enough to maintenance big tanks
can you afford the maintenance expenses for keeping large tank

This probably the best questions asked and be honest with yourself
I always said I would rather have a killa 120 rather than a just ok 300.

And one more vote for sps I always consider it a personal chalanging and accomplishment as apposed to feeding fish in a glass box. Unless of course your PaulB and your fish are Spawning all the time now that's cool:thrash:

 

[Reefcowboy]

The reef tank hobby follows a variable curve IMO(joking LOl). As a tank goes
up in size(variable), enjoyment or time spent relaxing/ satisfied (variable)follows it. At a certain point, the size keeps going up and the enjoyment curve starts to shift down. That point to me is when there is way too many things to care/ watch for and we start working for the tank instead of enjoying it. At that point, the excessive $ spent in the hobby plays a strong role in less and less enjoyment.
Its important that each hobbyist understands where the two curves meet, so they can find the perfect size tank for them! Ive gone up to a 90 gal and thought all the maintenance was killing my thrill. I started to hate weekends because it reminded me of big WC's, changing media, etc...
Got out for a few years, recharged batteries and came back. After 2 years on a 20 gal long that has been very successful with very low maintenance, i now am ready for a slight upgrade and a 57gal will be my " dream tank".

P.s.- sorry if i bored all of yo

 

[MIKE NY]

Pat...do a search of John Coppolino(Copps on the boards) talking to him got me interested in keeping a larger species Angel in my reef, not the dwarfs..I got a Regal. All most all of them are nippers of LPS and Softies and some may nip polyps on SPS, but he is prove that it can be done. They do need a large tank...My Regal only occationally will nip Zoas etc..but doesn't touch any SPS.

 

[Paul B]

Ive gone up to a 90 gal and thought all the maintenance was killing my thrill. I started to hate weekends because it reminded me of big WC's, changing media, etc...
Got out for a few years, recharged batteries and came back.

I hear this all the time and I think I must be doing something wrong. I have a 100 gallon reef and hardly do anything except run a magnet/razor cleaner over the glass every few days, change a little water five times a year and feed. That's about all the "work" I put into it. The rest like changing the aquascape, making rocks, re glueing frags, and maybe cleaning the skimmer cup, I find to be fun. I don't have any media except my IPod and no test kits so I don't spend any money or time on that.
I do have to feed my white worm culture, but that takes about 30 seconds and they eat Cheerios so that cost me about a buck a year. I also hatch brine shrimp and that takes another two minutes but does cost about $20.00 a year.
If I really think about it, I still can't think of anything I would do, especially on a weekend that I would call maintenance.
I had better look closely at my tank because it must be crashing. OMG, what to do now.

 

[piranhapat]

Mike, I have to check that out. The biggest I would go be 300 gal. I would like to put a queen angel and just SPS. I don't like Zoe's. Sounds interesting...

Mike, this tank is beautiful. How big is this tank. I will do some research on him. I google him and lots of stuff. . Very good information thanks Mike

http://vimeo.com/13564370

 

[D1J8Z]

I personally love the idea of a large reef tank with large angels

 

[reefer4eva]

Mike, I agree with sticks. Some fishes should be left in the sea. Unless the ones we breed. Like clownfish that can live over 15 years in our tank. But we gotten better in keeping fish live longer in our systems too.

My clowns are roughly 18 years old

 

[Paul B]

And mine are 19. I think clownfish live forever unless you step on them.

 

[dacaptain78]

UPGRADE! If you have the room and $ I vote for an 8'x30 or 36"x24" tank. I agree with PaulB. While maintenance will take somewhat longer that servicing your 90 gallon it should not become an unbearable time suck. Running multiple stand-alone tanks would IME.

As long as you are aware of the limitations you may encounter when keeping larger non-reef safe fish like angels then it is fine to add. I had a blue face angel in my reef tank in the past. He decimated my zoa's but did not bother any of my other lps, clams, or sps from my observations.

I have a regal angel now and so far he has been fine, yet my tank is still in the restocking phase and i have only had him for a month or two so his behavior is still up in the air. Good luck with whatever you decide.