Aquarium Size Advice (probably beaten to death elsewhere)

[dleute]

Hey Everyone,

The point of this thread is to get feedback about the pros and cons of different tank sizes in one place. Just a few things to touch upon:

Ease of aquascaping.
Ease of maintenance.
Ability to safely house a large variety of fish species. (length to swim, etc)
Appearance (regular rectangle tanks seem a bit dull to me).
Depth vs width vs length to achieve greater water volume.
Practical things like where to put a sump if the stand isn't long enough (think cube tanks).
Stand height.
Rimless vs framed.
Anything else you can think of.

Basically, I'd like to hear the "I wish I had/hadn't gotten X in a tank because of Y" list that people have run into. And I know everyone wants a bigger tank. But why? What dimension would you change first? More length? height? depth? What are the benefits and flaws?

For example: I have been consistently drawn to a 93 Gallon rimless cube (30x30x24). But I don't like the corner overflow. And I wouldn't have room for a sump that I want in the stand. It's also pricier than standard tanks of similar gallon size. On the plus side, having 30 inches of depth for aquascaping seems really intriguing to me. And I just *love* the look of rimless cube tanks.

Thoughts? Why do you like or not like your various tank sizes?

Thanks!

--Derrek

 

[AUFishGuy]

I have a standard 90 gallon. My next tank will be 120+ gallons and at least 5 foot in length, preferably 6. Really looking at a 180 gallon. The cube really limits some of the fish you can get especially tangs and angels

 

[thegrun]

If you plan on keeping corals I would get a tank that is at least 24" front to back, if you go smaller than 24" you just run out of room too quickly.
Unless you plan on swimming in your tank I would not go taller than 24". Any higher and at a minimum you are going to have to put your shoulder in the water (assuming you are 6'4" or shorter) to maintain things deep in the tank.
A standard 120 (48" x 24" x 24") looks great proportionately, but I like the 48" x 30" x 24"tall 150 even more.
Research the types of fish you want to keep, that could drive you to go to a longer than 48" tank.

 

[sixpackgarage]

I love cubes, but for the money, rectangular tanks do have a lot of advantages such as room for equipment in the stand, larger sumps, and most lighting options are engineered for rectangular tanks and there are a plethora of options in 36" and particularly 48"

 

[Sk8r]

I have a 105 quarter cylinder that I have to use a painter's ladder to access, but I love it. 30" deep, one LED handles it pretty well, its sides reflect the rocks/corals in endless display, like mirror, and it's glass, which I insist on, having had an acrylic that began to bow and craze. The bad news is it weighs like mortal sin and the canopy takes 2 people to lift off: we plan to automate that some day.

 

[DrPheel]

I really like my 30x30x18 cube ! Was drawn to the look and style as everyone seems to have rectangular tanks. one of the draw backs is that the Marineland stand I got is not that tall , I had a few friends tell me about it but I enjoy it since its in eye sight from my sofa / kitchen table. They dislike it because they have to sit or crouch on the floor to look at it. The 93G with 24'' high would benefit from the shorter stand since you would have to get on a chair to reach the bottom of the tank. for the sump , its like going in a crawl space I'm glad I'm still young and flexible. I have a 25g tall sump , BP reactor and BRS dual reactors. I find it a PITA to service my sock filter way in the back so I will be looking into building a new sump and placing it parallel to the cabinet front door instead of perpendicular. 30x30 is HARD to light up , I think the hardest equipment decision I had to make was lights. I ended up getting a good deal on 2x Maxspect 120w and upgraded to 120deg optics (overkill I know) Unfortunately I am renting , so I can't mount my light to the ceiling. It kind of kills the rimless look and the overview but I still find it sleek with the mounting legs.

Hope this helps you make your decision ! feel free to look up my tank build in the sig and look in the blog section for many other cube builds.

If you have Instagram, the user @reefcubed was the final nail in the coffin that pushed me to make a move on the cube build :eek2:

Happy Reefing :beachbum:

 

[TimeConsumer]

I think a 93 cube is actually pretty cheap to light one compared to a standard 90g. A single 250w halide and a few t5 bulbs in a retrofit kit and you're done. SPS in the middle, low light stuff around the outside, and a good ring of sand between rock and glass. I know most people don't like halides anymore but they have their place in tanks like this.

 

[RocketEngineer]

To me a 40B is one of the best "starter" tank sizes as its readily available and cheap brand new, easy to light with a single fixture (at least to start), has plenty of width to it for aquascaping but is also only 16" tall so it doesn't need intense lighting.

Up from that I would agree with thegrun that a 120g is a good mid-size tank.

Anything larger becomes a matter of preference and available space.

 

[dleute]

120 Gallon 48x24x24 is the top size on my list. Mostly because it's the smallest rectangular tank that is 24 inches in width. 18 Always feels small even when I'm looking at one that is 72 long.

My wife likely won't let me get a width deeper than 24 as she doesn't want it "sticking out into the room". The 93 Cube was an exception because it would actually replace a wood burning stove we don't use and fill the space very nicely. 24 tall is really the tallest I want (probably 3-4 inch sand bed)

I would love to do 72x24x24, but that is incredibly large. Technically, we have the space, but there is also a cost factor. I don't see a lot of manufacturer's making that in a standard size. It just gets pricey.

I am considering a 40 breeder to start. That would eventually become a quarantine tank or a sump once I build a larger system. The initial idea was to save cost, but I found everything else you buy ends up costing way more than the tank. So why not start with the tank you want.

What about things like low-iron ultra clear glass?

 

[TimeConsumer]

3-4" sand bed? Don't do it. I tried it out in my 75g and it honestly was just ugly once the tank started aging. I slowly siphoned it out until I ended up with 1/2"-1".

 

[dleute]

Interesting. Supposedly the reason for the sandbed is to help with the nitrogen cycle. Did you observe any side effects to pulling out that much sand?

--Derrek

 

[TimeConsumer]

Yeah, deep sand beds were all the rage for awhile for denitrification due to anaerobic bacteria deep in the bed. But really most reefers don't have nitrate problems enough to worry about it. We have phosphate problems more than anything. And deep sand beds have the unfortunate effect of trapping detritus and making the nutrient problem worse. I found running a shallow sand bed was much easier to keep clean.

I was having cyano issues personally due to detritus buildup. When I removed the deep bed and was able to keep out the detritus the cyano problem disappeared. But plenty of people have success with deep beds too. Another thing is that you'll see lots of different red and green cyanos striated in the levels of the bed against the glass. I found it ugly and detracting from the tank.

 

[Jimmer12]

I would love to do 72x24x24, but that is incredibly large. Technically, we have the space, but there is also a cost factor. I don't see a lot of manufacturer's making that in a standard size. It just gets pricey.

That is an off the shelf standard size for virtually every manufacturer, standard 180 gallon. But yes you are right, not cheap to operate a tank that size.

 

[dleute]

That may help on another issue. I like the 24 inch height in part because of the deep sand bed I was planning. If I go shallower, that opens up a lot of other tanks at the 20-22 inch height without losing space.

I found a lot of acrylic 72x24x24 but not so many glass. Marineland lists it in their catalog but I haven't been able to find it to buy. Also, probably not going with marineland since tanks of this size tend to cost similar to custom orders from reputable manufacturer's. (Thinking lifetime aquariums and the like)

--Derrek

 

[TimeConsumer]

Aqueon offers a 180g 72x24x24. Talk to your LFS they'll be able to get one for you. The 180g is easily in my top 3 of favorite sizes, if I could afford it. You can fit some of the bigger tangs to help control algae, lots of room for scapes and big coral colonies. Not too expensive to light. Don't need a 4ft tall skimmer. Really a great sized tank.

 

[Jimmer12]

I know it is a standard size for Aqueon (formerly all glass) as well as Miracles aquariums.

 

[dleute]

Yeah, my LFS hasn't been very responsive with pricing. I've been relying on online sources to get an idea of the tank costs.

I don't want to push them to hard until I'm ready to pull the trigger and buy all this stuff. I also have to convince the wife. She might make me do a smaller tank. When I started working on this she was thinking a 20 gallon tank with a goldfish. Not what I'm aiming for.

I'm also considering all in one packages like red sea reefer or cad lights artisan. I like the idea of things showing up ready to go. Both of those seam like you get a lot of bang for your buck. When I priced out ultra-clear rimless tanks with similar equipment, it always came up higher than their packages.

--Derrek

 

[dleute]

I haven't seen miracle aquariums yet. Checking them out.

 

[JaySchulz]

Go as big as you can comfortably afford and as big as the wife will allow. I'm working on tank 3 right now and the last two I've had feel too small after the first couple months. Also go at least 24" wide. Makes aquascaping a lot easier and creates depth.

 

[Jimmer12]

I haven't seen miracle aquariums yet. Checking them out.

Miracles is from Toronto, they do full blown customs but also have standard tanks as well. My dad has one of their standard 125s and it is better than marineland/aqueon etc for fit and finish.