# 90 gallon vs. 75 gallon



## sisonek (Sep 8, 2009)

I am looking at buying another tank. I have room for a 48in long tank. Up until this point the largest tank that I have had is 75 gallon. So I am wondering about the difference between the 90 48x18x24 and the 75 48x18x20. Correct me if I am wrong but in theory I donâ€™t believe that you can stock any more fish in the 90 as opposed to the 75 because the foot print for both is the same 48x18. So my question is, is there any advantage to having a 90 gallon instead of the 75. Just curious about others experiences with these two different tanks.

I am not 100% sure of the stocking yet but so far I plan on moving my acei (6) my socolofi (8 ) and my cobalt zebras (7) into the new tank.

Thanks


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

no you really can't house more fish. yes there are a few advantages to having the extra water

one advantage and the main advantage (IMO), is you spread the bio load of that same number of fish from a 75, over 15 extra gallons of water, which is one plus of a sump, extra water without the extra waste, also you dilute health issues as well

advantage number two applies to open water swimmers, so mbuna do not apply, if you were going with all peacocks i'd say go for the 90 because they'll use it, unless of course you build your rocks all the way up

disadvatage... requires a lot more filtration, costs more money to run


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## copasetic (Nov 26, 2007)

Acie are open water swimmers and stay at the top.. They would love the 90g over the 75g just for the added height. 
IMO the added 15g does not cost anymore to filter or heat..


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## natalie559 (Dec 6, 2007)

There were 2 really great threads with this exact same question not to long ago

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=

Having upgraded from a 75 to a 90 I can say a 90G no question- love it!


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

> IMO the added 15g does not cost anymore to filter or heat..


IMO, its simple physics so no, but not by much, the extra 15 gallon will cost more over the long term to heat, more energy is used to heat that extra mass/volume of water. An extra 15 gallon isn't going to hurt your filtration, unless the filtration is small to begin with

4X 15 gallon = 60gph more needed
5X 15 gallon = 75gph more needed,

if you have a high enough gph to begin with, the filter will cover the 15 gallons, most probably since most people are not stupid enough to go for lower gph


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I prefer the 75G. I like the lower profile. Water changes and algae scraping are quicker. And I don't believe it buys you another species...even acei. My other mbuna were up at the top almost as much as the acei.

The larger water volume gives you more stability, but I've never had problems with stability.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

*DJRansome*


> The larger water volume gives you more stability, but I've never had problems with stability


true, just keep up with the tank and it won't really matter


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

my acei dont swim in the upper levels...they do swim more in the open water of my tanks but never the upper levels. i guess if i stacked rock almost to the top the acei would tend to swim above them but my acei spend a good bit of time in the rocks too


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## D.T.M (Sep 10, 2009)

I have a 90 and with hindsight would go for the 75, its a real pain getting holding fish out with the extra height


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