OK...as you all know I got my 300 gallon last weekend. It is going to be a few years before I can set the thing up because I am going to wait until we buy a house and just the money I'm going to need to get this baby up and running is more than I have right now.

I want a 180 gallon to setup where i'm living now...here is my dilema and I know you are all going to slap me! haha! I have a guy who said he'd think about possibly trading his brand new 180 gallon tank, stand, canopy, glass tops, and lights plus $100 for my 300 gallon tank, stand, and canopy...his 180 is brand new from marineland (got it from fosters and smith) with dual corner overflows and looks great!

I love the 300 but having a big tank I could setup now is also appealing...what would you do? Just curious. The guy originally backed out cuz of his wife but now said he is still thinking about it.

I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of "ship the 300 to me...i'll use it!" responses! haha!

to be honest, with the 5 tanks i have now, with the 180Gl being the biggest, i know my 180 will have to go eventually, when i start a 300Gl.
So i can imagine if i could trade , I'd do it.
but that the other way around.
Keeping a 180 running is Quite a challange, and i'm not ready for an upgrade my self...

Thanks for the input. I admit I am worried about keeping a 300 gallon running myself...thats a big boy! haha! Plus it would be at least 2 years before it would be able to be setup which is the downside...thats because of room and money constraints at the moment. Hmmm...gotta think about it I guess. Like I said I do love it and would love to set it up but wondering if maybe a 180 would be a more feasible option since I have the filters for it already and everything...

ikkie78 wrote:

My 180 i takes me 1,5 hours of maintenance every week, i suppose a 300 would double that time.
That would mean one morning a week, and for me that's a bit much at the moment.
I get your point.
Plus the costs to get the tank running will far outceed the cost of getting the tank.
You know, background, gravel, pumps, tubings, heaters, bla, bla, bla...
btw my 180Gl has become so nice, that parting with it would really hurt.
My setup became perfect in my eyes.

Yeah a 180 was what I was looking for originally...just happened to come across the 300. Might have to seriously consider trading for a 180 possibly. I could easily setup a 180 in my room with my 90 gallon....plus I could run the two Rena XP4's I have on it as well so I wouldn't have to put as much money into it compared to the 300 gallon. I do love the look of your tank too...basically the size I was looking for to begin with.

mind you i got the Gar in there and if he grows too big, i will have to upgrade, but that's a different story then.

On the other hand, I'm Dutch and if i get a 300Gl I'll surely find ways to do a lot of things cheap or for free.
I didn't buy any of my tanks, i all got them...lol

one of the things id be thinking of is, whats the possibility of getting a 300 again? i.e when u have moved etc and have the cash to spare are you likely to be able to get such a big tank again, if not and ul want to have one dont trade or ul regret it. if yr likely to be able to afford one etc and/or you wont miss it then it sounds like a practical trade more than anything

oh yerah and btw...ship it and ill take it off yr hands lol

I have a similar thing on my mind. the misses has come around to a bigger tank finally. i knew if i didn't talk to her long enough it would work No all jokes aside she said 1 large tank. yes large meaning 450g+ or so, 10ftx?x? but I don't have room for my current 6x2x2. Like OFL said with very large tanks the cost becomes much more, and with a larger tank I will have more fish hence more water to change. then theres the layout for the tank. I just don't know myself let alone help you out.

Go for the trade.. IMO the 180 is going to work better unless you wanted real monster fish.

If the guy is going to trade the 180 plus $100 as you said it means you got a brand new 180 gal tank for $200. As you set out to get a 180 to start with and probably expected to pay a lot more than $200 you still have a amazing deal . I would go for the trade.

lol does the 180 have 17 holes that need to be plugged up ikkie?

i personally would rather have the bigger tank... because i got my eyes set on fish bigger than oscars lol...


but hey if your after keeping oscars... than a ready to run 180 and money does sound like a pretty sweet deal! lol i did pretty much what your buddy is trying to do, i traded a 120gal ready to run lobster tank for a 8x2x2 that was just a tank and stand. lol. in the long run im much happier with the big tank lol.