I moved from NJ about three years ago. I had a 28 gallon nano cube that fell victim to Hurricane Irene and Sandy. We built a new house in CO and the family wanted a big tank. I have structural steel in the floor, and plumbing run in the walls to the basement, and of course a ton of power.
Now I just need to settle on the tank. I have a niche in the house, 72" x 30" x 96", for the tank, I had been looking at a tank 72x30x36 (~340g).
When it was all said and done with the LFS, the project was going to cost $12-14k and $400/month for maintenance, plus another $2,500 or so for finish carpentry to build it all in.
As you can guess, I lost.
The tank itself was going to be a local custom tank (acrylic) but prices are on par with glasscages at around $4,700, plus stand, pumps, lights, rodi, etc.
I have been trolling craigslist and looking for a more economical way to get something up and running.
I see lots of options some in the 180-200g size and smaller that seem much more economical.
My experience is limited to two years of the nano cube, and I'm willing to learn more about the chemistry side to avoid the monthly servicing.
What are your recommendations for the next tank? Are there any guidelines, as in a 100g is easier to maintain chemistry than 30g, but if you go up to a 200g then you have x more dollars invested in livestock, pumps, etc.
Now I just need to settle on the tank. I have a niche in the house, 72" x 30" x 96", for the tank, I had been looking at a tank 72x30x36 (~340g).
When it was all said and done with the LFS, the project was going to cost $12-14k and $400/month for maintenance, plus another $2,500 or so for finish carpentry to build it all in.
As you can guess, I lost.
The tank itself was going to be a local custom tank (acrylic) but prices are on par with glasscages at around $4,700, plus stand, pumps, lights, rodi, etc.
I have been trolling craigslist and looking for a more economical way to get something up and running.
I see lots of options some in the 180-200g size and smaller that seem much more economical.
My experience is limited to two years of the nano cube, and I'm willing to learn more about the chemistry side to avoid the monthly servicing.
What are your recommendations for the next tank? Are there any guidelines, as in a 100g is easier to maintain chemistry than 30g, but if you go up to a 200g then you have x more dollars invested in livestock, pumps, etc.