Full Circle...I think

Well, I've decided on a 120g again...I think. A 6' tank would be overbearing in the room I have picked out to put the tank in. We have two possible rooms for this tank: a downstairs office/entry way, or the unfinished downstairs den. If it were going in the unfinished den, the 6' tank would work, but the den would also have to be finished. Finshing the den is at least 2 years away.People say get the biggest tank you think you could want, or at least the biggest tank you have room for. Well, if I had room, I'd want a 180g tank, but I don't have room, so 4' 120g is the choice for me...I think.

The decision I'm dealing with now is either a standard or reef-ready tank. I'm planning a closed loop filtration system for this tank, where the intake for the filtration would be at the bottom of the tank. I had originally planned on purchasing a standard tank, and then drilling holes in the back glass, but now I'm considering getting a reef ready tank and removing the overflows. I think I'm going with the reef ready. The advantages are:

• Saves me from having to buy a $40+ diamond drill bit
• Removes the risk of cracking the glass and having to replace, thus increasing the cost
• If and when I resell this tank, it'll be easier to sell a reef-ready tank than a custom-drilled standard tank

The RR version is $120 more, but the savings from the drill bit plus the risk of cracking the glass is worth the money. And again, it'll hold more value if it's a RR tank. It's sound financial decision.

I'll still have to do a little work to it. I'll most likely remove the overflows, and then do some funking plumbing to get good intakes in the position I want, but most of that plumbing will be hidden by substrate. I'll discuss all that later.