Tank decision imminent. 150 or 150??

[flatlander93]

I’m looking at either a 5’ sca 150 or an innovative marine 150. Same water but vastly different dimensions. The IM is 48x36x20 and the sca is 60x24x24. I want to add tangs and some other full size fish but not sure if the 4’ would be long enough. Will a 5’ tank really offer any improvement for bigger fish than a 4’ with really great depth? Just looking at both and trying to decide. Thanks for looking and any advice will help out.

 

[BaliReefBox]

i would go with the 6' as I hate not being able to reach the bottom of the tank easily...also I would imagine that the extra swimming length would suit fish better

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

What sort of tangs? If you want anything like Acanthurus I'd go for the 5', but if you just want the smaller species, I'd go for 4'. I love tanks with a really deep dimension like 3', they look glorious when done right. Tanks which are more than twice as long as they are wide always look a bit off to me, not quite right in their proportions.

 

[slythy]

I have a 180 so 6x2x2. I think id love shallower and deeper if it would fit in my house.

 

[flatlander93]

The 24” height worries me as I have a 16 now which is too short. The 20” IM would be about perfect. It’s also gonna be a lot more money for the IM. Also worried about the internal overflow of the SCA. Always had external. It sticks out 5” from the back. That’s quite a bit.

 

[Ef4life]

I’d choose the 48x36x20

 

[flatlander93]

Also does it make much difference to have that extra foot of space on the end vs having it on the back? My wife likes fish. I like corals. Everyone needs to be happy with this much money and water in the living room.

 

[MantisShrimpMan]

get whatever is the biggest you can. So it sounds like 60x36x24.

 

[Dburr1014]

I’m looking at either a 5’ sca 150 or an innovative marine 150. Same water but vastly different dimensions. The IM is 48x36x20 and the sca is 60x24x24. I want to add tangs and some other full size fish but not sure if the 4’ would be long enough. Will a 5’ tank really offer any improvement for bigger fish than a 4’ with really great depth? Just looking at both and trying to decide. Thanks for looking and any advice will help out.

Innovative Marine EXT 170, have you looked at that? 5 ft long just 20 extra gallons.
Also SCA makes external overflows if you go on there actual website.

 

[flatlander93]

Yea. That would be ideal but that breaks the budget.

 

[MantisShrimpMan]

Would glass cages fit your budget?

 

[flatlander93]

I had a 150 before and it was 30” deep and I loved it but was costing a fortune with halides and a basement sump. I still got scars on my arm. The guy who sold it to me said about big fish “Fish swim sideways too”. Didn’t know if that was a consideration. I do love the depth but this will be the last tank. Anyone know much about the big internal overflows of the sca?

 

[flatlander93]

The glass cages seemed kinda high. Back in the day they were generally the cheapest you can get. Keeps changing I guess.

 

[Rubymoon286]

I love my IM - I was a bit skeptical about 30" wide with a 4' length, but it gave me a lot more room to make a creative aquascape. It's a peninsula and I was able to do a good sized S shape that gave a cove on each side

 

[flatlander93]

That peninsula looks awesome btw.

 

[Dburr1014]

I had a 150 before and it was 30” deep and I loved it but was costing a fortune with halides and a basement sump. I still got scars on my arm. The guy who sold it to me said about big fish “Fish swim sideways too”. Didn’t know if that was a consideration. I do love the depth but this will be the last tank. Anyone know much about the big internal overflows of the sca?

Did you look on sca's website? Internal or external overflow is the same price.

 

[Ef4life]

If we do some trigonometry you get 5’ of length on the 48” tank on the diagonal. You get 5’ 4” approximately on the diagonal with the 5’ long sca. That extra 12” front to back depth really changes the dynamic

 

[flatlander93]

The 150 on sca is only a grand the external is 1300 then add the overflow on top of that is what I saw. I agree with the math too. Just wondering what I’m missing.

 

[Dburr1014]

$1295 Cy is what I see.
Yes, add the overflow.
Oh it is on sale!

 

[InsaneClownFish]

i would go with the 6' as I hate not being able to reach the bottom of the tank easily...also I would imagine that the extra swimming length would suit fish better

i would go with the 6' as I hate not being able to reach the bottom of the tank easily...also I would imagine that the extra swimming length would suit fish better

I think you missed something. Neither tank is 6’ between the 5’ and the 4’ the four is the shallower tank.