How long in a 120?

[clm08k]

I have a pair of 4x2x2 120s which are my poly tanks, Granted my biggest poly right now is not a huge one, but my ornate is close to 12" and there's multiple dels that are 10-11" with him and a few smaller ones and the 4x2x2 works fine for me. I like the 2ft front to back better than my 125g which is 18".

All my tanks have been used when I bought them. Tanks like 90g,120g,6ft 125g usually are going to be fine if the seals look good and they are not real old. The biggest problem with most leakers are either that the tank is old (20 yrs or more) or they are big tanks that have been moved a number of times. For instance a 15+yr old 180g or 220g doesn't take to being moved around a lot. That's how a lot of those older big tanks pop seals. I found that out the hard way about 5 yrs ago. I bought a 7ftx2x30" 265g glass tank that was up and running for years with a guy in my club no problem. It was drained and then we carried it down the stairs at my house and it leaked. After that I swore off glass tanks for anything over 125g. Thats why I went with acrylic on my 240g. If you can afford it then look into a used acrylic, that way there is no worry about it. There's deals to be found on good used acrylic tanks. I picked up my 6x2x30" 240g acrylic a couple years ago for $450.

Does the acrylic scratch over time? I know it is a lot lighter, but is the material more sensitive to scratching. Also, Didn’t you make your 240g?

 

[Polyaddict86]

Does the acrylic scratch over time? I know it is a lot lighter, but is the material more sensitive to scratching. Also, Didn’t you make your 240g?

If you dont mind scratch its fine, they are easy to get scratches but some are not even noticable. The only thing on acrylic is they will last almos for ever without the worry of the seal coming off and leaking (damn i hate that word)

 

[Hao]

If you dont mind scratch its fine, they are easy to get scratches but some are not even noticable. The only thing on acrylic is they will last almos for ever without the worry of the seal coming off and leaking (damn i hate that word)

I agree. I bought my 5x2x2 acrylic tank brand new about 11 years ago. It's still looks almost brand new when filled with water! Just minor scratching is visible when there's no water. Just have to be careful around acrylic.

 

[jaws7777]

Yup the welds on an acrylic tank will last the test of time. It essentially creates one solid piece of acrylic where as the glass is still two separate pieces of glass held together by silicone.

Scratches are going to happen no matter what glass or acrylic. Once a glass tank gets scratched thats it. Those scratches are there. With acrylic you can buff out minor scratches. Ive done this will novus 1,2,3

 

[Steve_C]

Does the acrylic scratch over time? I know it is a lot lighter, but is the material more sensitive to scratching. Also, Didn’t you make your 240g?

I made the 3d background in my 240g but the tank itself is a factory tank I didn't make the tank.

Before I bought my acrylic tank that was one thing I was worried about was scratching because I always heard that acrylic scratched easily. To be honest though I have not found that to be anywhere near as true as I thought it would be. Yes you have to be more careful than you do with glass, a rock sliding against it and scratch or anything like that will do it, but that is about the only thing to be concerned with. I've heard people say not to use magfloats because sand will get trapped and scratch the panel etc etc. I use a magfloat right down to the substrate and no issues with scratching. I even use a 20" algae scrubber which has a pretty aggressive pad on the end of it for the stubborn green algae spots that pop up and that doesn't even scratch it. And I am very OCD so if it scratched I would know it right away.

So while it is true that acrylic does scratch easier than glass, it is not so easily scratched that you have to walk on pins & needles around it. Just some basic common sense like being careful with rocks and such and you won't have to worry about it.

 

[Polyaddict86]

I made the 3d background in my 240g but the tank itself is a factory tank I didn't make the tank.

Before I bought my acrylic tank that was one thing I was worried about was scratching because I always heard that acrylic scratched easily. To be honest though I have not found that to be anywhere near as true as I thought it would be. Yes you have to be more careful than you do with glass, a rock sliding against it and scratch or anything like that will do it, but that is about the only thing to be concerned with. I've heard people say not to use magfloats because sand will get trapped and scratch the panel etc etc. I use a magfloat right down to the substrate and no issues with scratching. I even use a 20" algae scrubber which has a pretty aggressive pad on the end of it for the stubborn green algae spots that pop up and that doesn't even scratch it. And I am very OCD so if it scratched I would know it right away.

So while it is true that acrylic does scratch easier than glass, it is not so easily scratched that you have to walk on pins & needles around it. Just some basic common sense like being careful with rocks and such and you won't have to worry about it.

I also use magfloat on my acrylic tank since the tank is tall and its hard to reach the bottom whn cleanning, sometimes sand gets on the magfloat but i dont see it get scratch. Maybe if the tank is empty with no water it will show?

 

[jaws7777]

I made the 3d background in my 240g but the tank itself is a factory tank I didn't make the tank.

Before I bought my acrylic tank that was one thing I was worried about was scratching because I always heard that acrylic scratched easily. To be honest though I have not found that to be anywhere near as true as I thought it would be. Yes you have to be more careful than you do with glass, a rock sliding against it and scratch or anything like that will do it, but that is about the only thing to be concerned with. I've heard people say not to use magfloats because sand will get trapped and scratch the panel etc etc. I use a magfloat right down to the substrate and no issues with scratching. I even use a 20" algae scrubber which has a pretty aggressive pad on the end of it for the stubborn green algae spots that pop up and that doesn't even scratch it. And I am very OCD so if it scratched I would know it right away.

So while it is true that acrylic does scratch easier than glass, it is not so easily scratched that you have to walk on pins & needles around it. Just some basic common sense like being careful with rocks and such and you won't have to worry about it.

Man i totally agree. I think its way blown out of proportion. I used to baby it thinking any little thing would scratch it. Like steve mentioned mag floats are a no no. Little grain of sand in there could cause scratching. I just use a soft foam sponege

 

[magpie]

I am so excited for you! Thank you for posting! This thread has also been super informative about not only buying a 125, but also poly stats over time. I’m also upgrading this year (finally).

Originally I was thinking 90. then 125 for the past 6 months, but now I’m like 180 (because of the 6 foot length and 2 foot width). ? Glad everyone is chimming in. I’m very excited for you to have lower jaws! May they all be super green

Awesome that you get to upgrade this year, Chelsea! Excited for you. Definitely go 180 if you can - think about how much your stocking options will open up! Since I'm assuming you're sticking with upper jaws, I don't think the 2 foot width is as important (120/150 vs. 125) but still you'll be psyched to have as much room as possible.

What other fish would you add to your larger tank?

 

[clm08k]

typed this the other day, but then it froze.

 

[clm08k]

Awesome that you get to upgrade this year, Chelsea! Excited for you. Definitely go 180 if you can - think about how much your stocking options will open up! Since I'm assuming you're sticking with upper jaws, I don't think the 2 foot width is as important (120/150 vs. 125) but still you'll be psyched to have as much room as possible.

What other fish would you add to your larger tank?

it's funny cause originally it was "I want a 90 for the polys." Then my boyfriend suggested that the 90g wasn't big enough. He wants to get a 125 long for them, so Pinky(the albino) can have enough room to zoom around the tank. We looked at 125s at Petsmart recently, I liked the extra width of the 120g 2X4X2 but not the height. He liked the 6 foot length of the 125g 6x18inx2ish. Needless to say, I'm considering a 125 or a 180 with a cool background like twentyleagues

As far as stock, haven't really looked into it yet. Maybe some more colorful dithers for the tank to get some pops of color. Discus? large barbs? bush fish? rainbobowfish? More polys? lol Probably. Right now I'm more concerned with getting the nitrates down and not having to change the water so much . I would want a leucistic gar or mbu puffer, but those would require at least a 300g and could not be kept with the team.

Do you have any fish tankmates that you would want to add with the LJs?