possible tank trade would love advice

[willie]

A buddy of mine is wanting to swap me my tank for his. Mine is a 90 gal starphire with a 30 gal sump and reef oct 150
his is a 360 degree 230 gal center drilled with a crazy insert covering the overflow. picture the faux reef like rainforest cafe, Looks pretty cool actually, a 50 gal sump and a reef octopus 250.
I am thinking about doing it but am not excited to do the work of swapping over my reef and livestock. My main reason for wanting to do it is to be able to have bigger fish like a hippo tang and a little more livestock. What do you guys think
his


mine

Im really torn here, my inner lazy doesn't want to mess with it but my deep desire to have a monster tank is really pushing me hard. What would you the reef community do?

 

[shortstack87]

Boy I'm really new so I'm not sure I'd listen to me but I'd prolly go for the bigger tank myself...

 

[snakeblitz33]

I'd keep what yah got. A 90g is a perfect size. Any larger and you run into flow rate and pattern problems and cleaning is a *itch. Plus, bigger tanks require more electricity to use pumps and lights. There's also a heck of a lot more maintenance involved. Decide if it is better to clean your tank or spend quality time with the family.

 

[willie]

Thanks guys, Seth I was hoping you would respond, you make some good points and you are probably right, I had been thinking about the stuff I would have to buy to get the tank to where I want it but hadn't really thought to hard on the cleaning, particularly glass scraping i think would be the worst. One of the things that I really like about the big guy is the access space under the cabinet. Mine is very limited and difficult to work with or on. The big guy has room for a 50 gallon sump, all my supplies and I could even put a scrubber down there if I wanted to. regarding flow, one of the cool things about the big one is that it is ran by a big Dart pump and that pushes the water out through the centerpiece in a couple of different spots so that some of the flow would be coming from the center of the tank rather than your traditional top down return flow.
I am still up in the air.

 

[acrylic51]

I agree with keeping what you got, but definitely disagree or more electricity.....Depending on how you want to "skin the cat" a bigger setup could easily be done electrically.....The Water Blaster pump is a perfect example of just that, and not a MagDrive or such on this planet will touch what it can flow and electrical consumption.....With that said and LEDs as well.....It can be done......

 

[reefkprz]

I dont think I could stomach looking at that faux centerpiece for eternity. nope keep it.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I dont think I could stomach looking at that faux centerpiece for eternity. nope keep it.
+1

 

[sweatervest13]

I would say that the offer of the trade itself can give you the answer. The owner of the big tank wants YOUR tank. He is basically saying to you that after all his experience with the big guy that he wants the nice 90g reef setup (I am not a fan of the faux insert). I say keep your tank.

 

[willie]

Yeah the faux centerpiece was a big concern of mine as well and the main reason I posted about it. Sometimes I need you guys to tell me what I am thinking. I really liked the idea of having all the drain and powerhead cords and whatnot hidden in the middle. But I hated the thought of something that wasn't real confusing the look of my reef, the natural look is after all a big part of the appeal. I thought about sawing off all the fake coral and gluing on live rock pieces instead but then just decided against the tank altogether. I still want a big monster tank but am going to wait for the right one to eventually present itself. That being said, I really appreciate you guys chiming in. You all made points that I may have overlooked in my big tank excitement.
PS that is a mighty fine sweater vest!