Which dimension do you find better for a mixed reef?

[FrankB1]

I'm trying to decide between these for a 180 mixed reef.


Standard 72 x 24 x24

or 60 x 30 x 24.

Both would be Euro-braced glass.

I'm also still considering acrylic.

Your thoughts?

Thank you.

 

[winterpeg]

A fast question is the 24 the height?

 

[ClownsRCoo]

I had to make a similar choice and decided on 60x30x22.

It was mainly due to space the room could support. The aquascape I want also would be much easier with the most depth possible. I'm able to go with a 48" LED Powermodule instead of the 60" which saves me money. If you want to pack your tank with tangs though I'm sure the 72" is a better choice for them. I don't know how tall you are but I am 5'9" and am worried about being able to reach the back of tank that is why I decided to reduce the height by 2". Plus get more power out of my lighting.

Interested to see which you pick and why.

 

[boostedvq]

While a 72 is a nice sized tank, as ClownsRCoo stated, the extra depth adds so much dimension to your aquascape

 

[FrankB1]

I'm 5' 9 also.

I want maybe a yellow tang, powder blue tang, flame angel and possibly a copperband butterfly as my centerpiece fish. Not really packing with tangs but would like a couple of them.

Yeah the 24" is height.

Thanks for your response.

 

[ClownsRCoo]

That's kind of the tang limit I want too. About 4 of them so I'm not worried about them being in the 60". I want to do 2 large island aquascape if I can so they will have plenty of open room to swim.

 

[CuzzA]

I would go with the 30" width. This will give you a larger area for aquascaping and letting corals grow to big colonies.

I am not a fan of eurobracing. IMO, it's a cheap and lazy bracing solution. I would prefer an anodized aluminum or stainless steel rim.

 

[chimmike]

yep, 60x30x24 for me. More depth for better viewing and aquascape. Sticks out a little more but doesn't take as much wall space.

 

[ca1ore]

I would not sacrifice tank length for greater back-to-front depth; but all things equal, greater depth is better. I also like a taller tank, though I appreciate the challenges of reaching the sand.

My current tank is a 265. I love the 84" length, have a love-hate relationship with the 30" height, and regularly wish it was 30" wide (rather than 24").

 

[mnkykng77]

I'm going with a 60/4x30x26 for my next tank build since I have some space constraints. Also this is going to be a peninsula/partial room divider so I wanted a little more swimming room. This is going to be a FOWLR too

 

[silentstorm]

If it will work, why not make it 72" x 30" wide x 24" ?? get the benefit of both?

 

[hobbzz]

Normally depth, but if you're dead set on those tangs I would opt for the longer tank.