Tall or Wide??

[MNewman]

100% wide

 

[BSchaible]

I think it depends a bit on what your doing with it. At 24" wide if it's an in wall tank with just one side visible then definitely tall. You can use reinforcements and glue to make a tall aquascape in a narrow tank. If your doing something like a wall divider or multiple side viewing the wider tank will definitely look more realistic than the tall tank and gives more room for big fish and wide corals.

The tank will just be going in my home office. All plumbing and equipment will be in stand ... no fancy fish room or anything

I'd like to have a canopy housing the lights on top of the tank, but do you think this will make reaching the back of a 30" wide tank all that difficult?

 

[discocarp]

The canopy will make things more difficult with either a tall or wide tank. Either way you'll have less access even with a tall canopy. Basically I think that's a push between the two choices.

 

[Pete]

Height is a pain? Everything is a pain with this hobby. Go for the height, yes it is tougher to clean, but it adds so much more of a real "feel" of the ocean in my opinion. I have a 72x30x36" tall tank, if/when I move on, I will get a 96x30x48 tall tank. Im doing FO with only a few soft corals though,so lighting isnt much of a problem for me. Depends what you want. All comes down to personal taste. And $$$$.

 

[lil urchin]

what about both?
newb here so maybe it's a dumb question.
would the seams burst if you got a custom tank that was wide as well as tall?

 

[o2manyfish]

Urchin,

If the tank is properly engineered, and built with the correct size material, then bursting shouldn't be an issue.

Dave B

 

[dave.m]

If you are in a quandry and can't figure out what to do, there's a trick I've seen only a few people here use. Get some large cardboard boxes and cut them to size to represent the cabinet and canopy. Leave a gap where the tank will be. Take a look at it from all sides. This is the best way I know to help visualize what it is you are aiming for and what the results will be before you commit to anything.

Dave.M

 

[BSchaible]

Thanks for all the input and suggestions. Here's the next question... I had gone so far as back and forth discussion with glass cages . com and after reading some reviews on here, it doesn't seem like they are a good vendor to go with. Any experiences with them? Thoughts?

Any other vendors you might recommend?

Thanks again in advance!!!

 

[BSchaible]

Also, I'm in Houston as you can see, so any vendors near the area would be a plus!!

 

[KBzreef]

I totally agree with the others - go wide. Just did my first water change on my 32" tall tank. What a pain!!

 

[CHSUB]

I agree with both,....mine is 36" wide and 30" tall!!

 

[geaux xman]

Tall is nice, but at minimum, try to go for 30" wide.

96x30x25 or height anywhere from 25-30".

96x36x27 would be pretty sweet.

 

[jt48]

Sometimes i regret not going 96x36x27 for an even 400 gallons but i wanted
rimless so i was limited to 23" height for 96x36. So, my 96x36x27 has only 344
gallons but its rimless.

 

[KafudaFish]

If you are in a quandry and can't figure out what to do, there's a trick I've seen only a few people here use. Get some large cardboard boxes and cut them to size to represent the cabinet and canopy. Leave a gap where the tank will be. Take a look at it from all sides. This is the best way I know to help visualize what it is you are aiming for and what the results will be before you commit to anything.

Dave.M

You can also build the tank out of pvc pipe but don't glue it so you can return the fittings later to the store.

Add some newspaper for the rock and you can get a great image with little work.

 

[zakstrong]

i say go as tall as you can go while still being able to touch the sand without a snorkel, and then go wider then it is tall. i think people dont appreciate open sand in a reef tank. most tanks are nearly all rock clusters. i prefer maybe a third plus of the bottom to be exposed. you can place clams, mushroom rocks, etc. it makes it look more like a true ocean reef