Dimensions or Water Volume…

[i cant think]

Water Volume vs Tank Dimensions when choosing fish.
What’s more important to you?

Why do you think that?

I’ll go first. I personally think Dimensions as these can show how much rock actually will fit into a tank and how much swim room is there. For example;
If I were to ask a question like “What can I fit into my 25 gallon tank?” (If you don’t know I do now have this tank size I’ll be using in the example) We’d all assume it was a standard 25 which is I believe a 2’ cube - Please correct me if I’m wrong! - instead it’s a 3’x16”x1’ tank. Now, although it doesn’t have a sump I could still have a few larger fish long term in it such as the smaller Centropyge, Paracentropyge and several medium wrasses.
If the dimensions were stated then the confusion wouldn’t be there and we could be able to give more recommendations on what would fit.

 

[blaxsun]

For me it's "is it gonna jump?"

But I agree - tank volume can be somewhat misleading. A 100-gallon cube vs. a 100-gallon long or lagoon style tank are two very different environments.

 

[Zionas]

Definitely dimensions but I think if we do the math correctly we can strike a nice balance between the two eh? Like a 200-gallon tank I think 72” x 28” x 24” or 1.80m x 0.70m x 0.60m are great dimensions for a tank that’s slightly bigger than a 180. Equally good, given the room, would be a 84” x 24” x 24” or 2.10m x 0.60m x 0.60m.

I’m just not into weird tanks, and height over width is a no-go for me.

IMO I would prefer 24” tall, anything more than that at 5’10 would still be a bit of a struggle.

 

[Thunder_reef]

When I chose my tank , I went for square footage over depth. My tank is 4’x 2.5’ for 10 square feet. That’s quite a bit of room for rock and swimming . It’s 16 inches deep which is a tad shallow for some,but cleaning and maintenance is an absolute breeze!

 

[JumboShrimp]

I agree— if you provide me with the dimensions, I can get a much easier mental-visual on rock placement and swim room than just telling me you have a 75 gallon tank. (Ever see a 75 gallon hexagon, for example? Whole different ballgame. Lol.)

 

[Zionas]

Screw odd tanks. Lol.

 

[jdpiii3]

Definitely dimensions it needs to look aesthetically pleasing for the spot the aquarium's going to fit.

 

[jdpiii3]

Definitely dimensions but I think if we do the math correctly we can strike a nice balance between the two eh? Like a 200-gallon tank I think 72” x 28” x 24” or 1.80m x 0.70m x 0.60m are great dimensions for a tank that’s slightly bigger than a 180. Equally good, given the room, would be a 84” x 24” x 24” or 2.10m x 0.60m x 0.60m.

I’m just not into weird tanks, and height over width is a no-go for me.

IMO I would prefer 24” tall, anything more than that at 5’10 would still be a bit of a struggle.

But then again with a deeper tank you give the fish so much more unobstructed swimming room my 36 inch deep tank allows them so much room to open their fins and crank out the speed. I love watching them zoom around.