Is a longer tank my best choice?

PteroisVolitan15B

PteroisVolitan15B

Large Fish
#1
Jan 9, 2009
127
0
0
Owensboro, KY
#1
I got my 125 drilled yesterday after finally tearing it down, and when I went to pick it up I got a deal on a 150 high that it is already drilled that I simply couldn't resist. Heres the the problem my wife is being silly about the whole deal and won't let me just put one in the bedroom so I must get rid of my 55 in it's place, which I can just use it to make a sump. My question is would the 150 be better for my salt setup? Ive always heard the bigger and longer is better, the 150 is 4' long and the 125 is 6' long but the guy at the LFS suggested using the 150 because of the additional water volume:confused:
So I just wanted to get some suggestions from hobbyists and not salesmen, Thanks in advance
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#2
Honestly, I've never seen a 4ft 150. Usually the 150s are just a taller version of the 125. I have seen a 4ft 120 which I don't personally like the shape of. Either way you go, you will have plenty of water volume. If you are planning on doing a reef I would recommend using the shallower 125 as lighting will be easier (you will need less punch to get to the depth of the tank); if you are planning to go fish only or fish with non-photosynthetic inverts I would say it is totally up to your personal preference, though fast swimming fish like your tang will enjoy the extra length. Ultimately, even if you are doing a reef, you might as well do whichever one you like the look of better. You can light the taller tank easily enough, it will just cost you more initially and probably in power as well.
 

BalaShark

BalaShark

Large Fish
#3
Dec 5, 2005
171
0
0
#3
"150 is 4' long ":confused:
That's not very long for a 150. My opinion is "bigger is better" *celebrate. The more volume you have, the less a disturbance will occur, fact of life. If a fish dies in a 29g and you can't find it, the decay will cause a much bigger spike in your balance then the same fish dying in a 150. Trust me, fish die and you never find them.
 

PteroisVolitan15B

PteroisVolitan15B

Large Fish
#7
Jan 9, 2009
127
0
0
Owensboro, KY
#7
I was originally leaning toward keeping my 125 salt anyways, even though as far as gallons its smaller it looks a lot bigger with that extra 2'. I currently have been running 4 Aquaclear 802 powerheads (antiques) compared to the new stuff I got them when I first set the tank up and I was curious about the newer stuff as far as what would provide a good water movement, prob wont be any reef stuff right away just LR . Ive heard a lot of good and bad about the Koralia so just wondering what a good suggestion would be thanks in advance
 

Chris_A

Chris_A

Large Fish
#8
Oct 14, 2008
615
0
0
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
#8
Another vote for the 125... Keep the 150 for fish only ;).

Yeah I've seen that style of 150 quite a bit actually... They are a real PITA to clean because of the depth (48x24x30... have fun reaching the back corner when something falls there ;) ). Plus as 1979camaro already mentioned lighting will cost more, both initial outlay and operating costs. IMO, you'd be looking at 250watt HID's at the minimum and 400's would be better to light the bottom (other's will have their opinion ;) ). Something like a Lumenarc would probably be a good idea too for light spread. Then again, I use a 150 HQI on a 20gal and a 250 HQI on a 12" deep 37 gal so take that for what it's worth lol.

Chris
 

S

strout

Superstar Fish
#9
Dec 21, 2008
1,009
0
0
#9
Well, here my 2 cents worth, make the 125 the reef tank with your fish in it, use the 150 to put alot of Live rock in and raise a bunch of frags that you can sell to us at a real good price.
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#10
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#10
ive been using using the koralias for well over a year now and other than them being big and bulky i have nothing bad to say about them! i mean ther are definitly better choices if u wanna spend more money (tunze,vortech) or if you wanna do the mods for about the same price u can get some maxijets.... but i can say for the prices straight out the box koralias arnt half bad ;) HTH!
 

M

MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#12
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#12
I have had great results with my Koralis. I have a pair of 1s, 2s, and 4s, and all are working very well. Depending on what you want to put in the tank, you may want more or less flow.

2400gph/125 = 19x

I have about 36x in my 50g (koralia 2 and 4). fish seem to like it there.

I have heard that (usually) there can never be enough flow. so start with a pair of koralia 4s and you can add more later.
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#13
It is, indeed, very hard to create too much flow. The amount of current movement in the ocean is so much more than what we can replicate artificially. You just need to make sure you aren't creating any crazy swirling effects which might whip fish around and also make sure you aren't stirring up a ton of sand, etc.
 

quaddity

quaddity

Large Fish
#14
Feb 25, 2007
641
0
0
Mesa, AZ
www.myspace.com
#14
TRe said:
ive been using using the koralias for well over a year now and other than them being big and bulky i have nothing bad to say about them! i mean ther are definitly better choices if u wanna spend more money (tunze,vortech) or if you wanna do the mods for about the same price u can get some maxijets.... but i can say for the prices straight out the box koralias arnt half bad ;) HTH!
Click to expand...
I've been running 3 #2 Koralias on a wavemaker in my 90 for the last 6 months and I have nothing bad to say about them either. The Ebay prices for them are cheap too compared to the LFS almost 2 for 1.
 

Chris_A

Chris_A

Large Fish
#15
Oct 14, 2008
615
0
0
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
#15
quaddity said:
I've been running 3 #2 Koralias on a wavemaker in my 90 for the last 6 months and I have nothing bad to say about them either. The Ebay prices for them are cheap too compared to the LFS almost 2 for 1.
Click to expand...
Just a small side note, unless they are the controlable ones on the Korillia controler, they will burn out prematurely. The regular ones aren't made for stop and start. I'm pretty sure they even say in the booklet that comes with them not for use on wavemakers. Even if you get a year or two out of them... I'd consider the life of a pump to be *many* years.

Chris
 

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