Which would you buy - 90 or 75 gallon?

[decoy50]

Alright, so I've been lurking around here for some time now without any discus - would've taken the plunge sooner, but the house I moved into was a MAJOR fixer-upper. Heating/AC issues are finally worked out & the spare room is finished except for painting. My plan was to buy a 75gal for 7-8(4in) fish from Hans. Been looking on CL for a tank and I had a 90gal basically fall into my lap. The reason that I'm hesitant is water change %. The most I could age & change at one time is 55gallons. That makes for a 70+% change on a 75, or a 60% change on a 90. I'm leaning towards passing on the 90 & waiting for a 75. Thoughts?

BTW, WC's would be daily & tank would stay BB.

[hedut]

the bigger the better :), meaning you could get more fish too :)

[decoy50]

Haha I was thinking along those same lines too. The only potential problem I was thinking about was if I noticed something being "off" in their behavior, 55gallons would be the most I could change. The first course of action I always see in the disease section is large % WC.

[joshvito]

+1 go 90, the extra gallons will keep the water quality more stable.

[hedut]

that's you should have extra hospital tank like 20 gln

[discuspaul]

Go for the 90.
60% wcs (approx. 55 gals) daily would be just fine- not great need for any more than that in a bb.

[namssab]

I have the same situation. I have a 90 gallon and age 60 gallons. I change around 80-90%, so whatever the difference is I just add tap with prime. It works well for me, I'm glad I went with a 90 gallon.

[ExReefer]

Remeber that WC's take longer on larger tanks. I would go with 90G, but since you are growing out 4" fish, I would suggest you keep the tank filled to around 50-60 gallons until the fish reach adult size. It will make WC's faster.

[CrazyAngels]

You also need to consider if the height of the tank will be an issue for you. I personally love the shorter height tanks.

[decoy50]

Thanks reefer - I hadn't thought of that. I agree w/ you Crazy, on tank height. When I cracked my 55, I bought a 60 instead(same footprint, just taller) & even though I'm 6ft its a stretch to get down to the bottom. I really like the size of a 75, but the thought of a couple more discus is beginning to change my mind.

[Rummy]

I have had both. I have a 90 set up now. I gave the 75 away, and do not regret it one bit. It is nice to have the extra water. It only adds 4" in height. From my viewing angle, I also find it better to look at the 90. The 75 always seemed a bit too short when I wanted to view the fish that were near the surface of the water. The discus seem to have more usable space with the 90 as well. I will also add, that the 90 is my upper limit in height. Any taller, and it will be very uncomfortable for cleaning.

[Poco]

Display tank 90g and hospital 20g.

[Second Hand Pat]

If it is a display tank, go for the 90. Growout, etc 75.

[decoy50]

Thanks everybody - looks like I'll be going for the 90. Just waiting on the pic from the current owner to see what I'm working with. Fingers crossed. Really kicking myself now b/c I've passed up a couple nice 90s in my search for a 75.

[BobDaniel]

I was in the same situation and decided on a 75. My home is built over a crawl space and the aquarium will go in a bedroom across from a bathroom. We lose power several times a month here so I felt a tank with a little more surface area per gallon would fare better. I only plan to keep six discus so this size will be fine.