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Buying a new 120 gallon aquarium locally?

EasyBay Newbie

EasyBay Newbie

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Hi,
I'm looking at getting into the reefing hobby after keeping a freshwater fish. I've watched the 52 weeks of reefing series twice and I have a general idea of what I want. I am thinking a 120 gallon tank would be great since it has a 48" length and a great amount of volume. While I can find many parts and equipment online, a tank+stand is large enough that delivery is either super expensive or very inconvenient (Drive to LA). Where do people usually buy their tanks from? I also have a few questions about the tank choice:
- Is 120 gallon good if I want a max length of 48"? Trying to maximize water volume
- I was thinking of doing the Beanie Animal overflow. Is that still the quietest and safest method?
- Do people generally prefer an exterior overflow box with back drilling or bottom drilling?

Thanks!
 
48" is fine for a 120, the "standard" size would be 48" x 24" x 24" which is a pretty good size, that said swing by some stores like Neptune and see what they have in stock, they might have a few "odd ball" sizes that will still get that 48" length but not be 120 gallons.

Bean Animal overflow is perfectly fine, it takes a little more to get it working as opposed to a simply pipe + emergency setup, but is quiet. Not sure I'd call it safest, any overflow is going to rely on the emergency down pipe working, and that can fail regardless of type if some large object gets in your skimmer box.

Back drilling is my preference, less likely to fail as there's less pressure there, and bottoms can be tempered where as backs typically are not. Plus with a bottom if you have any sort of leak in your overflow box the whole tank drains, on the back it only drains as deep as the hole, plus you don't need a box the entire height of the tank.
 
Welcome! Are you looking to buy a new tank or used? I ask because someone in Concord/Clayton was selling a really nice 120 at a steal of a price. I got a lot of other equipment from him and not sure if he still has the tank. Post if you are interested.
Check out the height dimension of a 120, I think it's 24". I am kinda short with short arms and that tank is too deep for me to reach in or especially back on the diagonal, so I got a 105g that is 20" high I think, which suits me much better. I was also limited to 48" length.
Where are you located in the EB? I am in Pleasant Hill.
 
Oh yeah, if you want to see empty tanks in person in the EB, I suggest All About Fish in Pleasant Hill/Pacheco because they have a bunch out you can look at including bowfronts. You can phone ahead and ask what they have in the way of 48" tanks on the floor.
 
Thanks for the replies! Really happy to have found this forum.

I'm in Livermore but have a minivan so I can travel to pick up equipment. Because I new to the hobby, I'm thinking about getting a new tank as I don't have confidence in assessing a used one. I'll check the LFS like Nepture and "All About Fish". Is there a directory of LFS and a quick summary on this website? I was looking for something like a Wiki with the kind of common questions I might ask :)
 
Welcome to BAR.
A 120 is a pretty good size, gives you plenty of room to work the aquascape, thinker with flow ideas and options in lighting. Check the build threads of Waterbox aquariums; couple guys ordered their systems and seems good reviews.
In the end will be up to you and what you want to spend on a system readily available or go full custom.
I think the external overflow is the best option, think of the Ghost Overflow and as wide as you can get it.
Now if you want to go full depth, Marineland has the Deep Dimension series, check Mike’s build, a 200g 48x36
Out in the Sacramento area, Keith Grandt makes awesome tanks.
As far as the cabinet goes, don’t get the already “in stock” cabinet; you will regret it later as they tend to be short.
 
EasyBay Newbie said:
Thanks for the replies! Really happy to have found this forum.

I'm in Livermore but have a minivan so I can travel to pick up equipment. Because I new to the hobby, I'm thinking about getting a new tank as I don't have confidence in assessing a used one. I'll check the LFS like Nepture and "All About Fish". Is there a directory of LFS and a quick summary on this website? I was looking for something like a Wiki with the kind of common questions I might ask :)
Click to expand...

Might need some updating. Too sad Aquarium Concepts in Dublin/Pleasanton burned down and they were not able to re-open.

http://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/google-map-of-lfs-fish-businesses.12345/
 
xcaret said:
As far as the cabinet goes, don’t get the already “in stock” cabinet; you will regret it later as they tend to be short.
Click to expand...
Any reasons why not? I know to look out for solid wood and if possible no vertical piece of wood between the doors so it's easy to maintain the sump. Most tank manufacturers insist you use their stands or the warranty is void?
 
Most of the stands/cabinets that are mass produced didn’t have, whoever designed them, the minimal clue of what reefers want/need. Indeed that some will require you to purchase their furniture in order to give you a warranty (that warranty only covers the aquarium, nothing else, not your floor, livestock, electronics... just the glass box) Take for instance Marineland will give you the warranty if you purchase their cabinet which are priced $$$. I have a Marineland and built my stand to have the proper height that my equipment needs projected in my mind. I can squat under the cabinet easily to reach in and do some work. The stock Marineland are short in height, if you have a tall skimmer or reactor or X, you are, well , scr...
Another reason some of us decide on a custom either DIY or built to order is the viewing level at which the tank will sit. I’m short but I prefer to look straight to the tank than looking a bit down.
If you swing by, let’s say Petco to look at the cabinets, you will see my point; they are mostly designed for the freshwater market in mind; a canister filter and maybe some accessories to be tucked away and if you bring a measuring tape along, you’ll realize that many regular tanks we tend to use as sumps, might be a tight squeeze and/or limit you on extra equipment you might want to set inside like media reactors, dossing containers and a lot of toys that you’ll want to get as you progress in this wonderful hobby.
 
That makes sense. I guess I assumed if they only allow their stands for the warranty that they must be built to "work together". You convinced me to buy both the cabinet and the tank as separate items :) Do you put self-leveling mats on glass as an extra safety measure or that's only really necessary for acrylic?
 
I'd be on the lookout for a used one if you want to save some money. You said you don't feel equipped to be able to assess the quality of a used tank, but you do have experience with freshwater. You'd look for the same things. Just check the seams to see if it looks like there's any separation, and look for chips along the edges of the glass. You should always do a leak test if at all possible by taking the tank outside on a flat surface and filling it up. Leave it filled up for a couple days and look for any signs of leaks.

About the only difference between a freshwater tank and saltwater is the added plumbing for a reef tank. It's fairly rare that you find tanks with a tempered pane (because it's more expensive to temper it), but sometimes are. In which case you cannot drill that side. The bottom is the most commonly tempered piece, so doing an external overflow and drilling the back or side would be a safer bet.

If you're serious about the hobby, you should become a supporting member. People on here give away tanks fairly regularly, but they pretty much always go to other supporting members.
 
Thanks for the advice Flagg37. I didn't know about the "Supporting Member" status (I just joined yesterday). I sent my payment and I believe you should see my status reflected as a supporting member now. Apologies if I violated any rules by asking questions before paying.
 
EasyBay Newbie said:
That makes sense. I guess I assumed if they only allow their stands for the warranty that they must be built to "work together". You convinced me to buy both the cabinet and the tank as separate items :) Do you put self-leveling mats on glass as an extra safety measure or that's only really necessary for acrylic?
Click to expand...

Leveling mat would be for flat bottom tanks only; either glass or acrylic; plastic framed tanks do not need it as the weight rests on the perimeter of the cabinet.

Looking forward to the tank journal !!
 
I am definitely planning on making a tank and purchase journal so people can help me avoid mistakes before they happen :) Hopefully this will help other newbies who have made their homeworks but might be missing on the real world experience.
 
Hey EasyBay,

I changed from freshwater to saltwater about 6 months ago, keeping Tropheus was fun but I always wanted a Saltwater tank :). I think one of the challenges is experience and how handy you are (plumbing/carpentry/etc...). For myself, I had zero skills and and had no idea how the plumbing should be.

If you have zero skills like myself and have zero experience keeping a reef tank, maybe something already built might be a solution. I ended up with a red sea reefer 425XL (120g , 88g DT and something like 20g sump). Basically everything was there for you to put together (cabinet, plumbing, etc..). It just made things a lot easier. If I could go back in time, I would have gotten a 525 :).
 
You made a smart choice that probably saved you some money :) For me, 50% of the fun will be building, plumbing, component selection and general assembly. I realize this will create frustration and some wasted money but I like the idea of doing it myself. I did the irrigation in my backyard so I'm OK with plumbing.
I heard the biggest regret is to not have selected a big enough tank :) I think 120 gallon is a great started tank since it has enough volume to be forgiving while being able to run on mostly standard equipment.
 
EasyBay Newbie said:
You made a smart choice that probably saved you some money :) For me, 50% of the fun will be building, plumbing, component selection and general assembly. I realize this will create frustration and some wasted money but I like the idea of doing it myself. I did the irrigation in my backyard so I'm OK with plumbing.
I heard the biggest regret is to not have selected a big enough tank :) I think 120 gallon is a great started tank since it has enough volume to be forgiving while being able to run on mostly standard equipment.
Click to expand...

I think if I were to start over, I would probably do it myself also! Definitely more fun. When I was researching, the main thing that scared me off was the plumbing.
  • Sump overflowing
  • Sump making too much noise
  • Buying the right sump configuration (some equipment might not fit in the chambers)
Pretty sure there are quite a bit of tank plumbing experts on here for you to ask questions.
 
I'll call a few LFS this weekend and try to go see a few tanks. These are the two difficult items for me as they are either crazy expensive to ship or not available locally (From a Google search).
 
I ended up downgrading my requirements as the locally available 120 gallon aquariums were all premium with a premium price tag or had to be ordered and shipping on a basic aquarium pushed the price into the premium category.

So my first tank will be a 40 gallon breeder from Petco with a 29G sump.
 
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