Big tank dimension decision.....

[jarrodsanborn]

Fowlr. No intent on coral at all. This will be a relatively low wattage tank.
130 x 25 x 24
vs
96 x 36 x 25

Minimal rock work (towers) with either decision. Bare bottom.

Typical tough decision between 2ft depth with rock along the back, vs 3ft circular swimming space with rock in the middle....

Im thinking blonde naso(or other naso...), yellow, tomini, and blue tang, and maybe a nice Miniatus Grouper....

If it was your cash, and cant afford anything larger, what would you chose as your "last big upgrade"


The only fish i would use from my smaller tank is the yellow and tomini.

ps: Im not a total noob(reefing 5 yrs), i currently have a nice mixed reef(140g total system) with smallish fish, but ive been given permission to go big. Electricity is expensive here, so the coral will stay in a small tank :uhoh3:

Thanks!

 

[Texas]

I have a tank that is 130" X 37"w X 31"t. I would definately go wider than 25" it makes aquascaping much easier. I like the added depth too for the fish. I know you said you could not afford anything larger but I love my tank.
Good Luck,
p

 

[Haffs09]

For the fish you listed, I don't think you can go wrong with either tank.

My preference is for the longer tank, though. The tangs will love the straight line swimming space. With creative aquascaping, you don't need the traditional layout along the back wall. The longer tank will also allow you to mix tangs of the same genus. In my experience, the best way to lessen aggression is to give the passive fish room to swim away.

 

[geaux xman]

are you going glass or acrylic?

i would do 30" tall for a FOWLR.

96x36x30 448 gallons.

 

[SDguy]

I agree, if you can swing a 30" tall tank, I'd do that.

 

[mattsilvester]

My opinion: a tank should be 6-8 times longer than its longest inhabitant, and should have a maximum length to width ratio of 4:1.

From this, I would infer that whilst a 10' long tank would in theory allow bigger / longer fish, I really would not like to watch a 15-20" fish trying to turn around in a 24" wide tank, so I would see no significant advantage in the extra length.

So I would rather the 96"x36" footprint which will allow big bodied fish much more space to turn around nicely, which much more ease and comfort, and natural behaviour. Moreover, I am a fan of the "circuit" style where teh fish can swim around the rocks rather than just past them.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I would go with the wider tank (front to back) 96 x 36 rather than the longer but narrower tank as it looks more natural to me.

I am curious why you guys prefer a 30" depth to 24/25" (top to bottom). I like to be able to reach to the bottom sometimes and that is much harder/not particularly possible with the taller tank. Do you just avoid any need for putting your hand that low?

 

[aleonn]

Although I'm generally a fan of longer tanks, I'd go with the 96 x 36 x 25 for the extra depth and more aqua-scaping opportunities (even though you're going with a minimalistic look).

 

[flfireman1]

I believe you can do a beautiful aqua scapping with a 25" wide aquarium. I have a standard 120g 4x2x2 and my aqua scapping is definetly not sitting against the back wall. I always read about how eveyone states that tangs love the wide open space for swimming, but my purple tang is in and out of every cave and crevice he can fit himself into.

 

[kelrn98]

having just purchased and set up a 96x24x31, I would have to say that I wish I had bought a tank more shallow and deeper. It is nearly impossible to reach the bottom of the tank without standing on the top of a ladder and submerging a least part of your torso. I think I would have preferred more aquascaping room. Yes you can do it w/ 24 in depth, but 36 would be better IMO.

 

[mattsilvester]

I would go with the wider tank (front to back) 96 x 36 rather than the longer but narrower tank as it looks more natural to me.

I am curious why you guys prefer a 30" depth to 24/25" (top to bottom). I like to be able to reach to the bottom sometimes and that is much harder/not particularly possible with the taller tank. Do you just avoid any need for putting your hand that low?

I too would prefer to see this tank is 30" depth, assuming it is for big fish.

The reason, if you consider that a 12" fish would ty[ically be 6-12" tall, then it means they are practically sliding around on the bottom on their bellies ..... moreover, if it have two large fish swimming toward each other, they "prefer" to pass each other by swimming over / under rather than passing at the same height in the water column - they latter is seen to be a more aggressive / challenging posture - particulalry for tangs.

 

[jarrodsanborn]

Thanks for posting guys n girls. I agree that going with a 30" height would look good, but I always try to keep my options open. I still plan on no corals, but you know how plans change 2-3 yrs after the tank is setup. shorter is easier all around.

The more i think about it, the 130x24 tank would help with the bigger tangs, but there is something to be said for the front AND back swimming room of the 8x3. the 8x3 has more floor space overall for swimming.

When it comes to 16" fish turning around in a 2", thats tough.....but at the same time they might outgrow the 8' length of the wider tank......
Maybe i should stick to fish that stay 14" and under? Skip the naso and add 2 smaller tangs in its place? I dont want Any of the possible fish to outgrow the tank, and finding a home for a 16" tang is tough.

Ugh....its so tough to future proof yourself, and be responsible in housing the fish in a properly sized tank.

 

[mattsilvester]

Thanks for posting guys n girls. I agree that going with a 30" height would look good, but I always try to keep my options open. I still plan on no corals, but you know how plans change 2-3 yrs after the tank is setup. shorter is easier all around.

The more i think about it, the 130x24 tank would help with the bigger tangs, but there is something to be said for the front AND back swimming room of the 8x3. the 8x3 has more floor space overall for swimming.

When it comes to 16" fish turning around in a 2", thats tough.....but at the same time they might outgrow the 8' length of the wider tank......
Maybe i should stick to fish that stay 14" and under? Skip the naso and add 2 smaller tangs in its place? I dont want Any of the possible fish to outgrow the tank, and finding a home for a 16" tang is tough.

Ugh....its so tough to future proof yourself, and be responsible in housing the fish in a properly sized tank.

My personal rule of thumb is that the tank should be 8 times longer than the expected adult size. Expected is typically 60-70% of the wild adult size, as stated on fishbase.org. But this is preliminary planning guide - some fish such as blue regal tangs (hippos) or french nagels often reach their actual wild sizes ..... while other commonly kept, hardy fish such as yellow tangs rarely get anywhere near it..... so discretion is advised and required. Further discretion is required in that not all tangs are the same - despite similar sizes I would put a sohal in a bigger tank than a sailfin - the latter is more of a head down grazer than the cruiser sohal.

 

[jjk_reef00]

I'm with everyone else that says wider is better and definitely go 30" tall if at all possible. If I was setting it up I would arrange a peninsula style aquascape and have plenty of taller passages in the peninsula to allow fish to move to either side of the peninsula. That gives your fish 16' of swim length and gives them opportunity to somewhat avoid whatever large fish that may be heading towards them.

I use to have this setup in my 30' wide 300 and my Naso would swim diagonally across the tank and do figure eights. With only 24" wide you loose a great deal of aquascaping options. With 30" tall you can create taller caves and still have room over the top of the peninsula to allow fish more of an open water feel on the top 8-10" of the tank.

 

[jarrodsanborn]

Thanks to everyone who posted! Ive decided to go 8x3x2 and it will be peninsula style with a overflow at 1 end. Im going to pass on the naso for now, and research them more before going down that road.
I hope to have all the parts together and be starting a tank thread by the end of the year.

 

[geaux xman]

Thanks to everyone who posted! Ive decided to go 8x3x2 and it will be peninsula style with a overflow at 1 end. Im going to pass on the naso for now, and research them more before going down that road.
I hope to have all the parts together and be starting a tank thread by the end of the year.

Acrylic or glass?

 

[jarrodsanborn]

Im going glass. Sand + acrylic + me = lots of screaming....
If acrylic with glass front was possible, I would do that, but alas they don't glue together very well.

Man this tank will be heavy. Im glad its going in a walk out basement.

 

[Baxter]

AGE makes hybrid tanks, acrylic with glass front.