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pitmam01

Blondie911
Joined
Jun 24, 2007
Messages
259
Location
California
I haven't been on for a while so I hope everyone is doing great. My tank (90 gal) is a little over a year old now and have recently decided that i no longer want it..........................I want a bigger one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything is looking great and am salivating at the thought of a 180 or a 220. I have one anenome that I started out with and has split 5 times now. I just don't have the heart to take any of them out of my tank as my clown fish seems to be in hog heaven!!!!

:oops::oops::oops::oops::oops:
 
Really think it through. Do you have the time commitment and the financial commitment. Many people go your route then pop back down to an even smaller tank than you have now ,or quit due to financial or time reasons-- But I wish you luck !!!

:)

Paul
 
Placks Correct! Make sure it Pencils out time wise Vs The pocket book. If you short Fund the tank you can end in a dissaster.

Plan out every detail.
Skimmer, pumps, and lights.

Happy reeffing! JUst take your time..... Mine took a year or so to build....had to eat top romen.lol
 
On the average, is there a huge financial jump (equipment wise) when you go from a 90 gal to a 150 gal?

:D
 
Everyone experinces the same thing, bigger bigger bigger but just look at all the people recently who are downsizing. I sold my larger tank about 4 years ago and went with a very simple, inexpensive system and love it. Once the novelty wears off of the bigger tanks they become a burden one way or another but hey...It's your decision and I hope you the best. Post your build we all love to see plan come together...
 
if you are lucky enough to get things used it won't cost as much...
go on craigslist and other fourms... i'm sure that someone within 100 mi, is getting ready to shift a 100+ gal tank...
good luck!!
oh, and will the floor support that much wait? remember 1 litre of fresh water is 1 kilogram. (2.2 lbs)
 
Busdriver, luckily, here in earthquake country, we don't do raised foundations. I'm sure she's on a slab, but good thinking!

The biggest issue we have here, Pitmam, is we pay more for electricity than anyone else in the nation. Obviously, I don't know where your power bill comes in each month, but consider that more wattage used will be pushing you into higher tier billing from PG&E. While we pay about 11 cents per kilowatt hour as a base, it jumps up to over 22 cents and even over 35 cents per KwH as you use more power than your baseline numbers.

A 180 or 220 puts you into a 6 foot tank, which means 3 MH bulbs. That's presumably 250w times 8-10 hrs per day, for that extra bulb alone. That equates to 2-3 KwH per day, which at top tier is $1/day, for that single bulb alone. Now add in the silent killers, all the items that run 24/7 (all those darned pumps!). Those Koralias aren't going to cut it on a large tank any more, unless you have a whole army of them. I wouldn't put any less than 6 of the K4's on a 220g. Luckily, they're low power. 6 of them makes only about 50w usage, but it's still non-stop.

A local reefer is considering spending $2K on a Bubble King skimmer just because it uses 300w less power than his current one. For him, that represents $100/month in savings, so it would pay for itself in 2 years.

Not to totally discourage you, because large tanks are AMAZING. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't overlooked the biggest hobby killer in our area. (plus, you still need to hop into the local forums, and meet up with locals, you know....)
 
Wow, you have done your homework and get an A plus from me. I was thinking more of a 120 gallon but don't think it will happen for quite some time. I enjoy things the way they are right now and don't wanna push my luck!! I really should meet more people here, for example, my anenome has split 4 times and I really don't need 5 anenomes!!! Thanks for the info!!

:oops:
 
large tanks don't have to mean MH! one just needs lots of T5s 4-8 will do depending on what you want to keep. My last tank (250 l 66 US gal 20" deep) had 3 T5s and i grew softies and LPS just fine... so you just feed your nem a lot and it grew? how'd you get it to split once is was big enough? or did it start walking and left the foot and the foot started growing...
 
I started out with one that was the size of a silver dollar. He grew and split. 3 months later, the 2nd guy split. While my fish guy was doing a water change, I had him peel the 3rd guy off so he coud take him out. He forgot about him when he left so the 3rd guy relocated to the other side of the tank. The 3rd guy turned into a 4th and a fifth guy. Who's on first?? Anyway, I have a total of 5 now. I will probably donate the three smaller ones although everytime I think of getting rid of one, I feel like bad and can't decide which one to get rid of, lol.

:p
 
It's the standard rose tipped bubble orangy looking anenome. The original anenome cost me $100.00 which I thought and still think, was steep but I was a rookie so I went for it!!
 

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