Tank size question

[Shluffer]

My wife has decided my current 79 x 24 x 40 rank (work out to about 260 gallons b/c of a cutout in the back to accommodate a wall) in wall tank must be replaced when the new bathroom is built. The new in wall tank will be 72 x ? X 30. I'm considering going 30 with instead of 24 for the added water volume and increased swimming room. Does 280 vs 224 gallons make a significant difference in parameter stability? Will the added width be visually different? Does it impact the types of fish I can keep?

I have to figure out if the floor can handle it. Probably have to add bracing ....

 

[mdb_talon]

I am sure 280vs224 may impact water stability a bit, but i really doubt it would be noticeable. If you go 30" front to back it would be more evap compared to your current tank or your new one if only 24" front to back(assuming you dont use glass lids), but if you use ato again i doubt you would notice.

As for the fish i am far from an expert but i could think the extra 6" front to back would allow a higher stocking level. I have had a 30" front to back tank in the past and i loved the look of it and opens up a ton of options to add some sense of depth to aquascape. If you can access the tank from either the front and back i would say do that for sure. If you can only get to it from one side i would say go 24" max otherwise it is a huge pain

 

[Fiziksgeek]

The biggest difference will be visually. I would go at least as wide as tall.

 

[am3gross]

Make sure to account for the extra water that will be in the sump as well, might even need a bigger sump with the extra water volume.

 

[Shluffer]

Current sump is 60 gallons water volume, 120 gallon tank. New will be similar volume but set up differently. Possibly keep the current one and add a separate fuge.

 

[Shluffer]

The biggest difference will be visually. I would go at least as wide as tall.

Why at least as wide as tall?

 

[flagg37]

Why at least as wide as tall?

Really it’s just preference. The 50 gallon tanks are taller but they are so narrow that they are hard to aquascape. Tanks taller than 30” really make maintenance much harder (unless you’ve got inspector gadget arms). No hard and fast rule; just things to consider.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Why at least as wide as tall?

All personal preference, but I think its the aquascape options. With a tall but narrow tank you end up with basically a wall of rock. When you get some additional depth, you can create a more 3D aquascape.