New 55 gallon... MISC questions.

[iamtheone]

Hey guys, moving from a 24g aquapod that has been up for around a year. Thinking about moving to a 55 gallon. (corals, fish, live rock)

My first question:

WIDE VS TALL
I came across a Oceanic 58 tall. Which looked great and was only 36" wide which would save a little on lighting. After thinking about it, and this maybe silly. But I plan to add some nice bigger fish. My thoughts is that the fish would be happier in a wider tank than a taller tank? Make sence?

REEF READY VS NOT DRILLED
Some tanks I see have no overflow and/or drilled at the bottom. Would this become an issue? I would like to try to use the aquapod as a fuge. Couldn't I just run some PVC up and out? Your thoughts? Or would it be better to make sure to get a reef ready system and bit the bullet on a wet/dry system...

SKIMMER
I currently have a AquaC Remora skimmer. I should be able to reuse this right? I think it is rated to 90gallon.

Thanks guys for any information....

 

[cdangel0]

Wider is better IMO - your probably not saving that mich as you would need stronger lighting to reach the botom of the tall tank. With the wider one you could do less wattage and longer bulbs.

The fish would appreciate more swimming room.

I prefer drilled reef-ready tanks - easier, less chances of over-flowes I think (And I say I think becasue I have only ever had a drill tank)

Skimmer should be fine.

 

[rob28]

My 55 gallon tall wasn't drilled but the bottom was tempered so i had the back drilled and it works fine...Just went a little larger on the piping as i had an extra 90 deg. to deal with..

 

[rob28]

Oh ya.I bought all the rock in my tank from a freind that was moving away he had a 55 oceanic bowfront and the rock filled his tank where it's seems to be spread pretty thin in mine...The tanks have the same volume but mine seems to have way more room for bigger fish to swim around...

 

[iamtheone]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9791764#post9791764 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rob28
Oh ya.I bought all the rock in my tank from a freind that was moving away he had a 55 oceanic bowfront and the rock filled his tank where it's seems to be spread pretty thin in mine...The tanks have the same volume but mine seems to have way more room for bigger fish to swim around...

So, your tall tank seemed to have more swimming room?

 

[ReefNewb77]

Everywhere I've read, wider is always better than taller.

First of all, most fish swim horizontally rather than vertically.

Secondly, if you get a deeper tank, you will need to get a higher wattage light for deeper penetration. (if you want corals)

Just my two cents.

 

[rob28]

just the way the rock is in the tank,there seems to be more free space for fish.The bowfront had all the rock in a big pile and the fish were more out of sight behind the rock while swimming around...Personal preferance is the best way to go...Mine they seem to be in veiw as the rock is more spread out...Just my thoughts..

 

[Sepeku]

Repeat after me, "Wider is better". :lol:

Seriously, for all the reasons previously mentioned.

Also, you did not mention if you had a sump, which is what having the tank drilled for would help with. I'd go drilled even if you did not have a sump so that in the future, you could install one with no hassle.

Drilled tanks are just safer in that you'd have to install a siphon without the holes. And siphons have a tendacy to fail and flood the room the tank is in.

 

[iamtheone]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792110#post9792110 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sepeku
Repeat after me, "Wider is better". :lol:

Seriously, for all the reasons previously mentioned.

Also, you did not mention if you had a sump, which is what having the tank drilled for would help with. I'd go drilled even if you did not have a sump so that in the future, you could install one with no hassle.

Drilled tanks are just safer in that you'd have to install a siphon without the holes. And siphons have a tendacy to fail and flood the room the tank is in.

No, I don't currently have a sump but would like to utilize the aquapod as one... I should be able to do that correct? I know I would have to custom build a stand in order to accomidate that size of tank underneath but...... Either that or go with a wet/dry I guess. Have read so many mixed reviews on that my head spins...

 

[rob28]

just go with what u like...Your the one that looks at it....ENJOY IT...

 

[cyclops23]

i have a 55g AGA, i wish i had went with a 75g. it would cost more, but much easier to stack LR, more swimming room for the fish, etc.
i have a used 30g AGA tank i use for a sump, can't get much cheaper than that. i drilled a hole in the back of the tank for the overflow to the sump. it was pretty easy. although a reef ready tank would've been nice.

 

[cyclops23]

here's a pic, overflow is top right, return is top left. the boxes are made from acrylic.

 

[hndakd]

i used to have a 55 gallon and the width of the tank stunk bad. I upgraded to a 90 gallon and have much more room to stack the rocks and such. also the increased width of the stand gave me ample room to upgrade my sump and such. Definitely go with drilled!

 

[Z-Man07]

I can agree with pretty much all of the other posters here. Especially cyclops23.

I have had a 55 for a year now and I am REALLY looking forward to moving into a bigger tank. In my personal, limited, and humble experience, a 55 is difficult to aquascape. No matter how I tried, it was very difficult to avoid the commonly dreaded "rock wall."

A 55 has limited visual depth, front to back, in my opinion. If you are asking for my suggestion, it is to get a tank that is at least 18" front to back. Be it a 36" long or 48" long tank. Both have good visual proportions to me. All in all, at least look into a 48" 75g or 90g. You may be satisfied with that tank for a longer period of time than a 55.

FWIW, HTH, IMHO.

 

[jjclark22]

just my input i had a 50 gallon tall and i had to use way more lighting to get light to all of my corals i switched to a 55 long and the fish have more room to swim i can spread out my corals more and they appreciate the light since its not having to go so deep. especially my leather corals

 

[alexb518]

tall v. wide: seems like everyone agrees on the wide.

Drilled v. not drilled: if you don't buy one that is drilled with an overflow built in, then you're gonna have to buy an overflow box (looks ugly) and that whole setup. if you get one, for example, from AGA it will be predrilled and you'll just have to plumb it for your current tank as a fuge.

remora skimmer: i've never had one, but i've heard they work great...so, you probably know better than me.

55 gallon: my two cents, you're gonna outgrow that in another year. go with a hundred. it's a lot easier to take car of than a smaller tank too.

 

[iamtheone]

Yeah, I would like to go big, but man just the idea on how to fill this sucker the first time...... I don't want to use city water. The only option would be to use those tap water purifiers but I think those are probably junk. I would have to get me a RO/DI filter installed I guess.