Admit it, you want to upgrade your aquarium. We've probably all thought of doing it before, or already have done it. This hot topic discussion is all about upgrading to a different aquarium. More space, better dimensions, a custom installation, or just better equipment. There are many reasons for upgrading to a new aquarium.

What did you upgrade to, and how did you do it? What would you love to upgrade to? Share your experiences and goals for upgrading here.

I'm in the midst of up-gradeing from my 5gal to a 7gal minibow. I know.. I know.. Not a big change. If i had it my way, I'd be upgradeing to a 28gal bowfront... but a 5 gallon is hard enough to move 4 times a year (i'm in college)

reasons I am upgradeing:


1. more volume.. I know not alot.. but a little
2. glass vs acrylic.... my acrylic is getting quite scratched
3. i need a new hood for my old tank anyway because it's falling appart, so i might as well make a new one for a new tank.
4. I love the look of the mini-bow, and I already have the tank.

Mostly... I just need a change a fresh start...

The move will be pretty easy because all i need is a few more pounds of liverock. I'm useing my same lighting (70watt MH and 13watt actinic) but I'm adding one more 13watt actinic.

If anyone has seen my 5 gallon, I'm doing the same colors for the background, except more black, less blue.

I might add another neon goby or a clown goby to the new set-up. I'll have pics in probably 2 weeks!

i have a nono cube DX. its cool and all, actually i love it, but because it is a small tank, my water changes almost daily! now im addicted and want to get a 20L with a 150 MH. and thats my new years resolution, to get a bigger tank!!!

i went from a single 20H to two 20H's, and now i have a 40 breeder. it has the perfect dimensions, is large enough to keep most of the fish i want, and is small enough to move around every year till i finish grad school. then i'm upgrading to a 75 or 90.

2.5G->7G MiniBow: I was running out of room propogating Capnella and Xenia and I was given a Yellow Watchman Goby from a coworker so a larger tank was in order.

10G->29G: 10G was a xenia and GSP jungle and then the SPS bug hit me. I realized that the 10G wouldn't be able to hold everything so I upgraded to a 29G for more room and to be able to have a couple fish. Still have the tank today however I just purchased a 58G RR so it will be moving into that soon enough.

5 gal MB to 10gal AGA with a external overflow wich is the sump. (See CJerome's new posts on his tank, except overflow box is entire length and depth of the tank adds approx 2.5 gal) 2 MJ600 on wave time. Still need to install faux sandbed then will be complete. UTR protien skimmer in the rear, still looking to also install auto top off. 96w Power quad for light. I call it my Nano Rectalgular Box.

It Will replace my office tank in a coupple of months after I get the 65 gal wide going for the house.

In it I will be going all T5 Sunlight Supply Tek Lights, already bought(Live in deep south Texas, it is always hot), external overflow to sump, ocean motions little squirt from a external pump,mak4. Custom hood and stand.

Hopefully does't take forever to get going.

ah yes, i myself am in the midsts of an upgrade....and quite a drastic one at that. i have ditched the 5g eclipse hex (due to it's large amount of scratches and uncontrollability of the hair algae) and i am upgrading to a 7g custom cube. i'm building the tank right now, and i'm getting ready to go to that fish place next week to pick up the remaining supplys to get this project rolling.

reasons for the upgrade:

the hex was a pain to see around
glass vs. acrylic
upgrading filter from a hot magnum to a refugarium
turning a 20L (which is my tank at the moment cause the hex somehow started to leak before i had the cube built) into a QT tank, refugarium and frag tank combo
scwd flow system

basically i'm making my life a little easier by adding better filtration, and giving a little more room to work with.

the tank bug changes for me i go bigger and smaller. i started with a 10 then got a 5 then an 8 now i have a nano cube since i got it for free. i want something bigger but without any funds that is kinda tough. maybe with the new year will bring new money

I got plans for a 90g softy/lps reef in the backburner. I'll probably upgrade in a year. Although I might just make it a 90g fowlr and plumb my 15g into it.... either way sounds good.

i dunno why but instead of upgrading tanks, i tend to start new ones. for example, i have my eclipse 12....wanted some new corals, so i bought a eclipse6....wanted a place to grow out zoo frags so now i started a ten....wanted something more just cuz i got bored... so i'm setting up a 5.5 aga. best thing is that i have ZERO dollars for these new tanks but i'll still be doing them! lol.

for me i havent upgrade but i wanna.. dream tank would be a 24 x 24 x 24 inches. With internal corner overflow.

I will be upgrading from my 20L to a 60 gallon reef tank. I will be ordering a second 250W MH pendant for it. It will place me with 2 250W MH over a 60 gallon. I will be placing some where around 60 to 70 pounds of LR in there as well. This will take place some time next month, if all goes well.

current tank is a 20 gallon with 2x65 watt pcs. plan to upgrade to a 40 gallon breeder with 20 gallon sump/refugium and 250w mh with an internal overflow and manifold return. the reason i am upgrading is so i can have more space for more corals. also plan to upgrade my protein skimmer and pump.

I'm building a 24" cube monkey. Why would you want a corner overflow rather than one in the center back? It may be something I should consider.

I upgraded from a 72g bowfront =] to a 18gal via aqua reef =]. I did this because of lack of time to care for the 72g with 3 children 3 and under in age. In a couple years when I can build a new house I will setup a 180g in the wall reef and a 400g fw stingray tank.

Kelpie, can you post pics or plans for us.
Thanks

Upgrading from a 50 gal F.O. to a 10 Gallon AGA drilled (diy) reef with sump and refugium (diy). 6x13w pc lights (diy). Gonna be mushrooms and softies

Why?

Uhhh...Why not?

I knew if i started out with a nano I would want to upgrade VERY soon, so I decided to go with a 50g breeder. The only problem is I will want a 100g tank no to long from now

I upgraded from a 125 with corner overflows, 8 96watt pc and 100g sump with Clowns, wrasses, butterfiles, carpet ane. brains, leathers, mushrooms and a Maxima clam to a JBJ Nano Cube with a mated pair of clowns and some polyps.

Why smaller? No time to care for so much with training schedule for bike racing and a 2 year old who needs to see her father more than an hour a day.

Strange how upgrade means different things to different people isn't it?

Jeffrey Spahn

i started with 36g, 54 and 75 g all at the same time until i got tired of doing maintenance on all the tanks so upgraded to 125g until almnost a year later i decided to get a nano tank in addition. anyways lesson learned- always go for the big one, and another thing i ended up spending a lot of $$ upgrading my equipment so get the equipment that will be beneficial for the tank

Ugraded from 12g nano to 25g tall. 130W & Cpr Bak Pak 2r.

I started with a 3 gal nano, then moved to a 10g. NExt thing you know i'm staring at my 55g fresh set up and noticed that i had all the tools needed for a FOWLER, set the whole thing up for less than the cost of a couple anemones.

Well I am probably the complete opposite from everyone else. I downgraded from a 60 to a 10 custom acrylic (built for me by a local fish store, with a custom overflow), then realizing the 10 was not built to last, I then bought a Tru-Vu 10 gallon, and then finally I bought a 20 long.

I moved my 30hex into a 10gal with a 15sump last year and let my dad have the hex(It was to expensive to light !)Then this month i moved it all into a 40gal 48"Long with 220w CF 's
I think i am happy with the 40 as my tank for a year or two,but if i had all that money i spent on finding the tank i like!I'ed have alot more corals and things!!!wish i had all the money in the world to make up for it!@

I went from an eclipse 6 to a 10 gallon and used the eclipse into a fuge. Really glad did it. I wanted to upgrade the lighting and give a little more room for the fish. I also wanted to go from a plastic tank.


Carl

I would like to upgrade my alife7 to a JBJ nano 12 from
Nanocustoms, but savin for a 42 plasma first

26g. to a 40g. Big, but not to big and easy to maintain. Once I finish college i would like to set up a 60 g cube or maybe I should just admit that this hobby isn't gonna go away and go for the 90 cube.

nano-cube to a 37 gallon oceanic cube. Great tank.

I changed some of the filtration on my aquaclears. I added some more charcoal and took out the macro algae to see what differences occur. I am also looking at a new bulb for my coralife 96 watt fixture. But still haven't made up my mind.

UPGRADE?!?!?!
some of us on "nano-reef".com want to go smaller. I moved to a 20H from a 40gal, and I am loving it.

I went from an orignal Nano Cube 12g, to a Via Aqua 11g, and although its not a big downgrad I am happier. The Nano cube is still running fine, but I like the look of the Via Aqua, its very nicely designed. However, I am upgrading to a 90g tank soon, I want to keep some Angels, and Tangs in a large enviroment that's more stable and has a closed loop system with fuge, and sump, etc... try the big tank thing out.

I went from a 20H to a 90 gallon. THen I realized that the 90 was too big for my funding, and downgraded to my current 55. Once I graduate and I feel I've settled into a house that I'll live in for a good while I'll upgrade to a 180, and then if I ever outgrow that tank I'll go for a 48"x48"x30" cubish tank

Depends....... Do you want to do a weekly water change on a 12g or a 150g????? my bet is the 12g

Pinrod Urkish your pic is freaky.

I plan on up grading FROM the following equipment/tank, to the following equipment/tank:

Prizm skimmer-------->Aqua C Remora or BAK PAK 2R (already have the BAK PAK and might sell it)

130w PC----------->250 w MH Ocean Light

Acura heater------>Ebo or Titanium w/ digital display

AC500 fuge------>Aquafuge PRO sump/fuge

20H AGA-------> 40G Via Aqua or 37G Oceanic cube

Just upgraded from a 29 hob to 29 drilled with sump and refugium. Added better lights and better skimmer. I am sooooo much happier with the look, no crap hanging in the tank, much cleaner look and so much more flow.

Started with my 10 gallon reef which I had for 2 years completely stocked until it crashed due to my errors. During that time I got into coral propagation and had a 20 gallon rubbermaid and the 10 in my dorm room at Cal Poly. Then That summer I decided to upgrade to a larger scale propagation system for my house in Diamond Bar: 2 20longs, 15 gallon sump fuge. After the 10 gallon crashed in September I took a break and just sold corals from the prop system. Now I have the 3.5 gallon Truvu lit by a 20k 70w Halide. It keeps me satisfied and feeds my addiction.

I upgraded my office 2.5 to a minibow 7, because my employees kept urging me to upsize and also because I wanted higher quality lighting (I had 2x13w Bayco w/50-50s in the 2.5, and now there's 2x32w with better reflectors). The minibow has been up six months now and everything is growing like crazy! So now I think it's time for a 20 Long at home! I will always keep the minibow 7 no matter what -- it's such an awesome tank, though maybe a 70w MH is the next step???

I must be an oddball, but im "downgrading" not really, but I have a large reef, and I have been researching nano reef's. some of the most beutiful reefs I have seen are nano's, so Im really looking forward to starting my own. plus now I wil be able to keep a tank in my bedroom.

I think maybe i have the oddist up grade here i went from a 55gal fresh water cichlid tank with aqua clear filter, to starting a 55 salt water reef tank with a eheim pro 2 canister filter, right now for the cycling, for the dramatic change it has gone through Im using two very nice blue fin damsels and one lemon damsel with live sand and 40lbs of live rock (letting it cycle a long time and then adding corals) ive always been in to all kinds of fish and I scuba dive and have a degree in marine science but im just getting back into keeping salt water aquariums agian after a long time of just haveing fresh and brackish tanks. My next project is going to be doing a 10 gal hex with just sea horses.

I upgraded from a 15 gallon to a 24*24*18 cube tank, I went from 166 watts of PC lighting on the 15 to a 250 watt 14k DE HQI on the cube. I am now going to set up my "dream nano" setup, with an old aquaclear 500, my 2*28 watt PC setup, and some custom styrofoam/concrete arches and rocks that I made in the tank!

All I have to say is if you want to have a below the tank sump or refugium, install it before you have water and live rock in the display tank. It saves some hassle. And you don't have to spend hours working on getting the rocks just how you want them in the tank twice!

Started with a 20gal added a 27gal bowfront and am now setting up a 125gal reef ready.
I'm loving it!

Went from 2.5 gallon to AGA 65 gallon RR. I simply wanted to keep fish, I had a 3 ft section of wall next to my desk and that was the largest standard 3ft tank available. To do over, I'm not sure I would have done 24inches high, that is a long way down and it's too high to be able to reach in without elevating yourself first. Other than that, I love it! I did a Tek T-5 retro and love the results I'm getting on my softies, LPS, and Clams! Good luck to all of you in your reefing!

-Eric aka Calvin415

Well I have 4 10 gal nanos that are species tanks,so one of them I am going to upgrade to a 30 tall so i can keep more livestock

Started with ten, still have it but with 5 gal sump now.

Upgrading to 25-30 either in a few weeks or about 6 months.

Started with a 20 gallon featuring a Red Sea Prizm skimmer, Aqua Clear 300, 2 20w t8 bulbs, and 2 Maxi-jet 400's, then decided that was not enough so I upgraded the tank size and beefed up the equipment. The tank size now is a 29 gallon featuring a 10 gallon sump/refegium, Aqua C Urchin skimmer, Mag-Drive 500, CPR 300 GPH Over-flow, and a Maxi-jet 1200 for over-flow. Lights were also upgraded to 2 20w t8 actinic blues and 2 20w intense whites. I’m still using my other Maxi-Jet 400's. Over all I am very pleased with the turnout.

I have a question for you all...
why would a 12 gal nano be preferable to a 70 gal..beyond the stock purchase.....

-> 2.5gal "pico" not enough room, and dangit I wanted fishies!
--> 6gal Eclipse monster. Too much evaporation, looked too Frankenstein, almost caught the house on fire becasue of exposed bulb/connector. Too hot etc., etc., etc....
---> 16gal bow. Seems plenty for now! I keep wanting to add a sump, just because I've never had one before. I would like to make a "multi-tank" where there are two 5gal's flanking a 2.5g fuge. Or maybe a lava lamp pico w/ fuge/sump... hmm...

i can't count the number of tmes i've upgrades. the only think i haven't up graded is my fuge. i guess i got that right the first time. now i've just gone to buying exactly what i want and give up on dyi'ing my stuff. i do not have the means to do so in my doorm. i fugre i've dropped 2~3 grand in upgrades. not the last thing i want to upgrade is my skimmer i want to make it an hob style. mine takes up alot of space in my fuge..