Shallow or deep tank better? Your opinions please

[mort]

I'm considering which way to go for a new tank. I've always loved looking down at corals from above so want to make that a major aspect but can't decide whether to go shallow with more front to back or to go deep in a smaller foot print but cleverly scape so I have a massive overhang (like the picture below).
My only concern with depth is that I'm bored of sticking my arms in up my armpits to pick things up I have dropped but never had a shallow tank and very few people do. If you have either setup or an opinion please chime in. Pictures more than welcome for inspiration.

Or more like this

 

[stylaster]

shallow and wide is a lot easier to deal with. I wouldnt go deeper then 24" in depth. It makes it easier to handle stuff in the tank and you dont have to worry much about light penetration. Here is mine, its 20" deep and 5'x5'

 

[becks]

20" is the maximum depth I would go, I've had deep tanks and although you can create some great aquascapes, the novelty of a deep tank wears off.

Shallow tank all the time for me.

 

[hart24601]

I personally wouldn't own anything over 24" tall unless I got a fantastic deal and even then I would have to really think about it - I might use a "great deal" tall tank for something like monster FW fish where there is not much of any décor, and I am not even sold on that.

 

[don_chuwish]

I love that shallow tank photo - you can get a look down viewing box to float around when you want too. Sure looks easier to manage than my 4x2x2 120G.

 

[najer]

Shallow and deep / wide, I've always preferred the look.
View from my desk chair, 18 inches tall.

DSC04272 by sshipuk, on Flickr

 

[keddre]

I don't have one but my future tank will be a deep one because I want to recreate a rock swell environment. While a deep tank is perfect for this, there is some things that I'm sacrificing, mainly swimming space. With a shallow tank, I would say there is more pros then with the deep though

 

[Kyl]

My new tank is shallow, 16". It's an upgrade from a 12" tall IM fusion 20 nano tank. I kept it shallow as I view this tank mostly while seated, and it was initially to be lit solely by Kessil A160's.

 

[PatW]

My tank is 27” high. I am 6’ but getting at things on the bottom is a bit of a pain. It does make for a nice aspect ratio though. I would say that 24” would make for easier handling.

The tank is 36” deep or wide. The depth really gives one possibilities for interesting aquascapes.

And then there is length. If you want tangs, the longer the better. For most tangs 6’ is minimum and 8’ is better and 12’ is better yet. But at some point, just strap a tank on your back and jump off a boat into the ocean.

 

[Dsnakes]

I'm with the 24" crowd in terms of ease of reaching in when needed. That rockscape drop off in the first picture is awesome though! Makes me miss diving, seeing the intricate rocks walls and ledges covered in coral.

 

[Forsaken77]

If you look from the top, down... Then I would suggest shallow. Most people view through the glass panes. But you would want a short stand as well, which would limit equipment possibilities.

Also, a shallow tank, like the square you posted, will take up substantially more room. You basically want the tank top to be 4-5 feet from the floor, right? So you can walk around it, looking down into it?

If you go the traditional tank route (rectangular), I wouldn't go past 24 inches deep either. That's almost your arm up to your shoulder. Anything deeper you'll be leaning into the tank.

A 180 is a nice size normal tank. It's 24" deep, 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. To have a large shallow tank would have to be custom.

 

[mort]

Thank you all for the feedback. Perhaps I should have added more dimensions in the first post as for us in the UK a 24" is a pretty standard height so by shallow I meant somewhere between 12-18" or so. I don't see a whole lot of people doing that and was just wondering if it was because people went for off the shelf tanks or they found reasons not to go this shallow.
I understand it won't be some peoples aesthetic but I can't imagine it change flow patterns or functionality massively unless you go a foot or so.

My initial thoughts is for the shallow cube and low stand which won't be a problem (equipment won't be going under it), with a height of 16-18" depending on how I can plan the rockwork as that would give a good foot height minimum for the sps to grow into and i'm not going to keep staghorns. I'm not a tang guy so will tailor the dimensions more to whatever lighting I use so possibly only a 1x1m.

along the lines of Leonardo's reef. Sorry the picture aren't great they were thumbnails on google






But I really appreciate the input so please keep popping your ideas or if you want to argue for something else as it might help change my mind or someones elses, please give it a go. We also love pictures.

 

[Greybeard]

Mine is 60" x 30" and 18" tall. Rimless, peninsula, with a high floating light.

I like looking down, too

 

[rcdude]

i love the lagoon shallow look, i got a IM 20 Lagoon and love it, currently in the process of buying a house and my main concern is where am i gonna put my tank.
a reefer in another thread has a gorgeous tank that i want exactly like his!
hes running a 144x15x15
ugh its so great.
one thing that sticks to my mind is "fish swim left and right, not up and down.
i use to have a 120 tall... same issue with the wet armpit and cant reach anything.
im not doing any tall tanks at all in my future. definitly shallow and long for my next build

 

[BradB]

48"x48"x30" since 2008. I am 6 feet tall with long arms in great shape and this is about all I can handle. Might go deper, but this would be a lot harder. A 24" if I get feeble when I am old is more realistic for me than a 36" dream tank if I get rich. Definitely would recommend less height for anyone shorter who didn't have their heart set on a taller tank.

 

[mort]

48"x48"x30" since 2008. I am 6 feet tall with long arms in great shape and this is about all I can handle. Might go deper, but this would be a lot harder. A 24" if I get feeble when I am old is more realistic for me than a 36" dream tank if I get rich. Definitely would recommend less height for anyone shorter who didn't have their heart set on a taller tank.

I'm 6ft and skinny as well and am just bored of putting my whole arm in the tank if I drop something, plus if it's at the back it's much further. Had a 3ft high seahorse tank and that was great but a real pain to look after. Tried tongs but I want to be able to comfortably reach everything especially as I look to build a large polyp nps area which will need daily feedings.

A drop off tank would be great but it's a huge expense and I'd likely give the deep end less attention than the shallow bit.

 

[Waters]

Normally I would say shallow is better (at least shallow enough to reach the bottom) but that first picture you posted with the rock overhang looks really cool.

 

[Legal Reefer]

That over hang pic is niceeee!!! I used to prefer the neatness of the cube look. Having said that I prefer more of a shallow tank with a larger foot print per gallon ratio. I like having the width to be able to have a decent rockscape and still have fairly large open areas to lay out separated islands and larger sand bed areas to watch the gobies and other tank inhabitants play.

 

[Kamden Uelton]

I would say shallow, It'd take a pretty expensive light to be able to get decent par levels to the bottom of a deep tank.

 

[Charles4400]

Shallow is obviously easier to work with and because of that you will end up doing more with the tank as time goes on but if you can maintain a deep tank in the long run (I consider deep over 24") I think they are generally more impressive.

Lighting and proper circulation and the growth of unwanted algae in the deep will cause headaches. My deepest tank was 36" and i had amazing rockwork going on with it but as time went on and my maintenance was not as vigorous as it should of been and i got a gha and bryopsis outbreak, it was a ***** to manually remove from the bottom where most of it grew.

I think if you put in the work for it deep will give an amazing and always unique look but for long term ease of maintenance shallow is the better bet.

That said my current tank is 24" and though I miss the extra depth I probably would not get such a deep tank again.

Width is an easy choice, more width the better regardless of height.