240 vs 300 vs 360 gallon reef tank - advice needed!

[Kreeger1]

thats me in the tank, cleaning it up

 

[tangers]

I wouldn't want to clean or stock a 36" deep tank. vote goes to the 300, I would do a 360 if the extra goes to depth as opposed to height. You can never have a deep enough tank!

 

[Kreeger1]

YEah, mean is 24 deep, 36 wide. That wide tank sure makes a difference

 

[jnarowe]

I have an 8' x 5' x 35" tank. It's a great tank to view for sure with the 5' of width but I feel that going 30" deep would be better for husbandry. As it is, I have to lay on a plank on top of the tank just to deal with stuff in the center or clean the front glass.

Either that or go very deep (to the floor) so you can get into it to clean it.

 

[Mr. Brooks]

I vote for 96x36x30 tall, with four 400 watt halides. SICK! That'd be two feet longer and a foot deeper than my tank.

 

[virginiadiver69]

I voted #2 only because 96x30x30 wasn't a choice. Go as wide as you can... but at 8' long, 30" height is your best option.
At 8' long a 24" tall tank will look unproportioned (long and narrow) and a 36" tall tank will be unreasonably hard to keep clean and you can forget the 250 watters, heck... you might even have to start considering 1k watters!
FWIW... I've been planning and researching every build log that's relevant to my future plywood build. Dimensions that I recomended are the ones I think are the best compromise that take all factors into consideration.
Just my humble $.02

 

[forddna]

I have a 30" tall tank and would NEVER do it again. I've also owned a 24" tall and currently own 22" tall corner tank, and I much prefer those heights. But...I'm also only 5'1" and have a canopy on the 30" tank.

 

[mcurtis]

All good points.. still trying to decide

 

[Phantom Phish]

Because of aquascaping options, and sense of depth, I would definitely go with 36" deep (i.e., front to back). I have a 36" deep tank, and I much prefer it over the 24" deep tanks (in fact I wish I had gone with a 48" deep tank).

As far as height, I'm not a big fan of 24" high tanks. Although they're easier to clean and light, to me the aesthetics of a 24" high tank are less appealing (looks more "artificial" to me, if that makes any sense). My tank is 28" high and that looks better to me, and I don't find it that hard to clean as I can reach all the way to the bottom of my tank, so I'd go with a 28 to 30 inch high tank. However, my tank is an in-wall set up, and I built the stand large enough that I can walk all the way around the tank and easily reach any point on the bottom.

Therefore, given the options you listed, I'd go with the 96x 30x36.

 

[forddna]

Must be nice. I can't reach the bottom of my 30" standing on a ladder, without putting a shoulder in, which would require removing the canopy..

 

[Phantom Phish]

Yeah, for me, the best decision I made was to make my tank an in-wall set up with the walk around stand. I also put my suspended lighting "canopy" on rails (like Steve Weasts), so I can slide it completely out of the way. Makes it very easy to work in the tank.

 

[Discustopia]

One thing to mention is long tanks have more optical distortion/compression than short tanks. Mine is 9ft long and only 21" deep x 24" high. Front glass is starphire but even with the starphire it distorts when looking at an angle.
All I have to say in this regard is:

if you regularly view the tank at close angles the 30" depth will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!

I find 24" height very manageable to work with. I set up two distinct islands and have more free swimming space in the middle of the tank than most tanks are long.
Keep it less than 24" high and only the bottom glass will have to be 5/8" or 3/4 - also keeping down the weight to move it!. Mine took 8 guys.