Upgrading - 75g or 90g?

Well I'm going to be moving in less than a month and I will be keeping my current tank for the move, but I since my new house has a concrete slab and finished basement (No weight limit ;D), I want to upgrade to something bigger (Probably get it started within the month of May). I'm split between a 75g and a 90g, with the deciding factor being, some of my equipment maxes out at 75g.

I have a Remora AquaC HOB skimmer which maxes out at 75g, and I also have a 12 gallon sump which stated that 75g would be the largest tank it could support. Would going to 90g be such a bad thing with this equipment? I really do not want to buy another skimmer and sump for the upgrade if I do not have to. If anyone else has had a similar situation I'd like to hear their opinion, Thanks!

 

What type of lighting would you be running on your system? If you go with the 75g, with the shallower tank debth, your lighting would not have to penetrate as far to reach the bottom. But, the 90g would allow for a few more fish.

That being said. If you want to go the cheapest route, then I would go with the 75g. But, this is really a personal prefence and more your choice!

 

Here's the thing....If your equipment all says that 75g is the maximum that can be handled, you would need to run a very light bioload in your 75g tank. If you ran a heavy bioload, your equipment would be inadequate. So, I fear that if you want to upgrade, you may end up considering some equipment upgrades in the future as well (can be distant future as long as you stock your tank slowly).

This being the case, I always recommend to get the largest tank you can. No matter how big you make it, you will always wish you had a bigger one later on. I currently have a 90g, and I wish I had a 180!

 

Go with the 90 gallon! I was making this same decision several months ago and went with the 90 gallon because: the 90 can hold a few more fish; the 90 is big enough for a small-ish tang; and the 90 is taller, so it's more at eye level and nice for viewing. The bigger the better

 

ahhh decisions decisions. 3 inches taller or shorter. Depending on how slow I set up the tank I suppose I could probably save money for the few things I will need to upgrade. Just hate to sink another 2 grand into the hobby when I have 1 grand of equipment already.

Suppose having 2 fish tanks couldn't hurt


Oh my lighting is a 2 bulb T5. 1 is 10,000K, forget the other bulb(bluish hue) type. I have a FOWLR tank so I didn't think the light is super important, though with the new tank I would eventually be planning to add maybe 1 or 2 soft corals, but that's well over a year away.

 

Yeah, though I guess you could sell some of your old equipment as you buy new, although you will lose money in the transaction. Oh well, nobody said this hobby was cheap!