What has been your perfect size for a reef tank and why?

[plancton]

When I started in the reefing hobby, I planned everything in advance and had a good functional setup. My only mistake was that it was a bow front tank (hard to clean) and not very wide. It was a 70 gal.

Everybody kept saying that bigger was better so I jumped to 200 gals and that's where the hobby slowly turned into a nightmare: electricity costs went crazy, winter came strong and had to have many heaters which would rise electric costs, this also caused black outs at times. Evaporation was huge and therefore had to feed the tank 5 gallons daily, sometimes, I didn't have anybody to help me and so I couldn't take vacations and water changes were keeping the corals really colorful but I had to do them so often to keep the colors nicely which was also a huge expenditure on salt.

Also it was 24" tall and it was hard to clean.

These are the mistakes I went through and that's why now I want to setup a 30 gal. cube but shallow reef about 12" tall.

What's your perfect/worst size and why?

 

[FullBoreReefer]

36”x24”x25” it’s middle of the road

 

[Playapixie]

I've only ever had a 34 gallon 20"X20" cube. If I ever move, I"ll probably bump that up to 60-75 gallons, but ideally no taller than 20". I really don't ever see myself running a bigger tank than that. Too much money and work.

Pros to small: less expensive to stock, water change, dose, etc. Easier maintenance.
Cons to small: it requires every bit as care to maintain as a bigger tank, but even more so, as the parameters are less stable, so you have to be even more precise. I didn't start having great success until I bit the bullet and installed an Apex and dosing pumps and ATO to keep it super stable.


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[tom obrecht]

I’ve had at least a dozen tanks through the years (a number of them custom) and by far my favorite is one of my current displays. It measures 96”L x 30”W x 20”H. Good depth and length for aquascaping and swimming room for fish yet easy to reach in for cleaning ect. If I could have gone longer I would have but other dimensions are about perfect for me.

 

[mcgyvr]

My 80g...48"x24"x16"...

 

[dattong]

My current tank 42 x 32 x 22H. It takes me only 2 minutes to clean 3 sides. It give great views on all three sides. Cost about $80 to run monthly.

 

[Indymann99]

120g 48x24x24

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[davocean]

Reason for my sig, many of us newish to hobby want an ocean in our living rooms at first, but when cost and maintenance hops in it can feel like the tank owns you instead of the other way around.
I do miss my 180's for being able to keep more tangs/fish, but right now I'm pretty happy w/ my 120g.
For me as long as I have that 24" front to back for easy scaping I'm pretty good.

 

[mrsixstrings12]

My first tank was a 38g and was very annoying due to it being very small depth-wise. My upgrade, which is my current tank, is a 120g. It is so much better but, to be quite honest, I REALLY wish it was about 8 inches shorter. Having to be armpit deep in water when trying to do something deep in the tank is really annoying. I'd much much much rather have a tank like the BRS160. I'm grateful to have a job that i don't mind the extra costs of owning a larger tank (i.e. water, salt, heating, etc).

I've really been digging the look of the red sea tanks. My LFS's show tanks are all red sea tanks and they look amazing but I still would like a more shallow tank...like 18" tall

 

[Trigger Tough]

My first tank was a 38g and was very annoying due to it being very small depth-wise. My upgrade, which is my current tank, is a 120g. It is so much better but, to be quite honest, I REALLY wish it was about 8 inches shorter. Having to be armpit deep in water when trying to do something deep in the tank is really annoying. I'd much much much rather have a tank like the BRS160. I'm grateful to have a job that i don't mind the extra costs of owning a larger tank (i.e. water, salt, heating, etc).

I've really been digging the look of the red sea tanks. My LFS's show tanks are all red sea tanks and they look amazing but I still would like a more shallow tank...like 18" tall

I love the fact that Red Sea has increased the length of their tanks without having to do an increase in water volume. This gives the tank the ability to have open water swimmers like Tangs in them without having a 200+ gallon tank

 

[manilaboy1vic]

my first sw tank was 30g.. easy for w/c ... my 2nd tank is 68g 35.5 x 19.5 x 21.5.

i dont think id want anything bigger just because the water changes might be a costly.. salt is not cheap..

 

[plancton]

How much do you think I could spend monthly on average for water changes (salt), supplements, and electricity on a 30g?

 

[mndfreeze]

I'm on a 24G aquapod now, started not liking it the second I got it set up. I was trying to do it simple and cheaper this time but all the little things bug me. I'm already planning to buy another like my tank 8 years ago. A starfire 40 breeder, drilled with sump.

 

[d0ughb0y]

based on your concerns (which I had similar concerns), the biggest you need to go is 45 gallon. 24"x24"20". You can do 10% water change with a 5 gallon bucket. heating cost would not be too bad. the 20" height should make it easier to maintain. and many options for lighting for 24"x24" profile. wider means you need to get more lights.

a red sea reefer 170 is slightly smaller and would still be a good option.

or 29 or 24 gallon all in one as others suggested.

 

[fishsuse29]

I love my current 150g 72x24x20 rimless peninsula but only because I have a fish room to support it. With out a fish room for storage I would say the ideal size is a 40 breeder

 

[sik_z33]

I have kept a 75, 20 long, 40 breeder and just recently jumped to a 180 (6x2x2) and am loving it. The only unexpected thing I experienced was my a/c struggled to keep my humidity under 60% so I had to buy a dehumidifier. 240 (8x2x2) is my dream tank but too big for my current space.

 

[ca1ore]

I'm firmly in the big tank camp now. My favorite size for a tank is the classic 180 - 72x24x24. Appreciate a tank this big is not for everyone, but it was just about perfect dimensions for me. Current tank is 96x36x30 - even better, though a little crazy.

 

[JTL]

I have had from 50g to 200g and I liked them all for different reasons. The 200g was fowolr back in the pre coral days. The size gave me the room for more aggressive fish.

Since I have gotten into corals my tanks have all been about 100g including my current 48x24x20. I would not want a tank any deeper than 20" even 18" would be good. Like someone else mentioned the 24" front to back is just about right for aquascaping. With my sump and refugium I have right at 100g of net water.

 

[reefmutts]

My dream tank size would be
48x28x20

Wide enough for great aquascaping an shallow enough not to get my armpits wet.
Only way to get this size tank is to go custom.

 

[FaithKlim]

I have an innovative marine sr-60 all in one... 36x24x16 and I couldn't be happier.