Which tank to buy?

sbartel

sbartel

New Member
Hello,
I am a newbie to the hobby and am looking to start my first SW aquarium. I am mostly interested in having a reef tank. There are 2 used tanks for sale near me that I am considering and just wanted some input. The first is a 72 gal acrylic bowfront ... comes with stand and lights and thats it ... about $400. It was being used as a freshwater tank. The second is a 125 gal glass tank ... comes with stand, lights, sump, 3 powerheads, heater, protein skimmer, extra testing kits, salt etc ... $300. This tank seems a little more worn and has a small crack near the top where the light canopy hooks on. I like the looks of the bowfront a lot but I am nervous about doing my own plumbing for setting up a sump and it will need much more equipment that is already coming with the 125g tank. I guess what I want to know is that those of you that have bowfronts - do you absolutely love them? Is it worth it here or should I go for the deal with more equipment? I am also considering just waiting longer until another deal comes along.
Thanks in advance for any input!
 
A

alexmir

Guest
I love my bowfront and i really like the look of it, and i like the way the flow bounces off the curved glass. If the 125 is bigger, comes with everything, and 100 $ cheaper, i would go with the 125. I worry about the crack though, that could spread and become a disaster........
 
al mc

al mc

Active Member
Another thing to consider...Are they Reef Ready..meaning do they have holes predrilled in the bttom to allow for virtually unseen drainage from the tank and return to the tank of water to a sump that would be placed under the tank. This allows you to 'hide' all your heaters/skimmers/supply and return tubing and it allows you to have more overall water volume.
 
fats71

fats71

Active Member
125 gal glass tank ... comes with stand, lights, sump, 3 powerheads, heater, protein skimmer, extra testing kits, salt etc ... $300 this tank is so well worth 300 dollars in equipment honestly if the skimmer lights and kits are nice and new especcially The stand if nice is worthh 250 to 300 bucks depending upon what it is made of. Then you can find out what kind of tank it is oceanic ? awsome deal all glass not so much. They do however have warranties on them and if thhe glass was cracked due to a imperfection they replace and or fix it free of charge less shipping I would assume.
I honestly would maybe buy both if possible but thats just me.
I would take thhe 125 in a second though due to what it comes with. The tank can be replaced cheap enough if u just wanna use the one you will be getting to setup a QT in the garage or even sell it on another site or here ffor that matter.
Im a noob though but buying all the stuff mentionedd ffor tanks that are smaller I know thats a deal.
 
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bubba1984

Guest
i would go with the 125 gal because by the time you buy everything else that you need for the other one then you could probably replace the tank that has the crack it and you may have to spend just a little more but it sounds like a much better deal but thats just my opinion and im very new at all of this. I got a 55gal
 
morval

morval

Member
in salt water u have to buy the biggest u can afford. as the others said the 125 is worth $300 just for the other stuff...get it and buy a new tank if u have to
 
sbartel

sbartel

New Member
Wow, this has been awesome feedback - thanks!!! I guess I will be going with the 125 gal. Thanks a ton to everyone!
 
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