what to choose

[rookie reefer]

so my birthday is coming up and my parents are getting me a tank in price reason, i've broke it down to 2 tanks a 50 gallon- 36"x18"x17"tall-$92
or a 65 gallon-48"x18"x17"tall-$121 considering price for equipment which would you choose. either one of these will maintain what i want.

[Phishnoob]

Originally Posted by rookie reefer

so my birthday is coming up and my parents are getting me a tank in price reason, i've broke it down to 2 tanks a 50 gallon- 36"x18"x17"tall-$92
or a 65 gallon-48"x18"x17"tall-$121 considering price for equipment which would you choose. either one of these will maintain what i want.

Pick the 50. Lights are cheaper, you can get by with a Remora or Octopus HOB with a MJ1200 and lower initial cost. Both are 18" deep which is important. I made a big mistake with a 55 not being deep enough.

[yellow submarine]

the price of a tank is insignificant to the cost of

1) a top-notch lighting system. to do reef right you need either t5's or MH's

2) a top-notch waterflow/filtration system (like a sump with a great skimmer)

i hate to tell you this.....but to do a reef right, we are talking like a min of $1,000 investment...prob closer to $2k

BUT! the key is to go sloooooow. going slow over the course of 1-2 years is the best.
research the HECK out of EVERY purchase b4 you buy.

going slow & researching stuff & buying with confidence to BUILD a nicereef over 2 years is 90% of the FUN of this hobby. if you built the perfect reef in 2 months, you'd lose interest prety quick IMO

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[rookie reefer]

i would go with a 175 watt mh, both will be reef ready, and i will be using koralia 3's perhaps 3-4 of them

[biowheel]

Bigger is better . I'd look at 75g tanks . Your so close it may be worth it . JMO

[bcrum51]

look used you may be able to score everything together for a nice price

[aquawolf]

I would definitely be checking out Craigs List for your area and looking for good deals on equipment, if not an entire setup, as well.

Other than that, those tanks you mention do have some nice dimensions to work with.

Good luck with your B Day present.

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by biowheel

Bigger is better . I'd look at 75g tanks . Your so close it may be worth it . JMO

I agree with Bio,but between the two,I'd say 65, it's bigger in volume and longer for fish to swim.It also depends on what type of setup you want?ex. FO,FOWLR or Reef?

[rookie reefer]

reef mostly sps