Shallow 6ft Tank Stocking

[E.intheC]

I am considering a new tank setup.. (still....:spin2

...On the table is a Rimless 6ft by 2ft by 1ft high glass tank. It's in effect the bottom half of a 180 gallon, and comes in at 90 gallons.

How should I lean toward stocking this tank? I know bioload-wise how it should be done, but what about in regard to footprint? Would fish that are listed as needing a 125 minimum (or a Tang that requires a 6ft tank for swimming room, as an example) be OK?

Obviously I'm not going to pick a large fish like a Unicorn Tang or a Sohal, but I'm looking for some suggestions.

Thanks

 

[E.intheC]

I also want to point out that I'm going for a minimalist look, so there will be lots of open swimming space.

I'm not opposed to a small shoal of cardinals or bartletts anthias, and would like to try a Naso tang, but won't push my luck if it's a bad idea.

 

[29reef]

I'm sorry but if you interested in fish for the tank why not just go with the normal 2' height? IMO this will be a much nicer display even if you only have a single layer of rocks. Above you can have bright fish and below coral. Seems pretty minimal and interesting to me.

 

[tcmfish]

Not to cause any problems, but I dont like shallow tanks at all, unless you are propagating corals.

Deeper tanks allow pelagic spawning fish to spawn, which is cool to have in your tank, and big fish look trapped or out of place in a shallow tank, to me.

Plus you are planning a shallow tank, and rimless, so that is basically a death sentence to most fish. Lots of fish jump, and some will always jump...

 

[E.intheC]

No need to apologize guys. I appreciate any and all feedback.

The reason why I can't go with a standard 180 is just due to overall water volume and size (I realize it's the same footprint)... 90 gallons tank volume is much easier and more practical right now. To add, I'm not special ordering this tank or anything, just considering a tank that's for sale locally. Pictures of it look great. I don't like DEEP tanks.. and much prefer a tank that's long and wide, but more shallow in height than deep front to back.

FWIW.. there's still mixed feelings about the 12in height. I have a cube that's 18 inches deep right now and feel like cutting off 4 inches would be no problem. 6 inches, however... I'm not sure.

 

[Windy Miller]

I have a shallow 18" rimless cube with 6" of substrate in places for seagrass.

I would suggest you would be fine if you ran bare bottom or a very thin layer of substrate. I have a Kole tang and it seems to be thriving. I also have a pretty open scape - one large branch and a couple of small rocks in just under three feet square.

The main concern is that you would probably want to run the water level near the top and as pointed out - without a cover it is asking for jumpers. I run a 1cm acrylic cover over my tank to combat this. It's a personal thing but I feel it fits in fine with the aesthetics of a rimless.

Edit - here is a pic of the cover:

 

[E.intheC]

Windy, thanks a lot for the answer. It is a good suggestion to add a cover. I've had fish jump before, but only at night. Do you guys think fish will be likely to jump during the day?

I've planned on using a very shallow sand bed, just enough to cover the bottom. I like the open look that this will allow.

 

[E.intheC]

OK, so I've been thinking about the fish stocking, and will be changing things up. Instead of larger fish, I've decided to keep groupings of compatible fish, such as cardinals (not Kauderns), gobies, and a small tang such as a Kole or similar. Should be a very fun tank.

 

[sedor]

Sounds good, I would stick to smaller groups of fish as well. With 2' in depth you should be able to create some cool aquascaping and have layers of little coves for shoals of fish to dart in and out of.

 

[E.intheC]

Sounds good, I would stick to smaller groups of fish as well. With 2' in depth you should be able to create some cool aquascaping and have layers of little coves for shoals of fish to dart in and out of.

Exactly. Should have lots of variations with flow as well.. I'm exploring the possibility of adding a few dragonfaced pipefish (hopefully a pair....).

All peaceful fish. I also like the fact that I'll be able to keep both high light and low light demanding corals, and aquascaping as well as maintenance will be easier with this tank.

 

[Liu14]

I have the same identical idea, just priced it out. 72x24x12. I may go up in height an inch.

to keep things in proportion I was considering:

Anthias
Cardinals
Basslets
Fairy/Flasher Wrasses
Gobies
Firefishes
Pygmy angels
Clownfishes

Only issue being many are jumpers...

 

[Windy Miller]

Only issue being many are jumpers...

Well, just invest in a 1cm thick acrylic cover. Mine was cut, polished and delivered for GBP40 (about 3 feet square). i just use cheap silicone stick on pads to raise it slightly and allow air flow.

It rarely gets any condensation issues - maybe very late at night if I have the window open.

It has also cut down my RO consumption dramatically.

It is really simple to lift off but I eventually aim to mount it with hinges.