What do you think the best tank size is?

[kangadrew]

Title says a lot of it but let me elaborate.

What do you think is the "perfect" size reef tank, as far as dimensions and gallonage go?

To me, I think gallonage should have a balance between large enough to remain stable, yet small enough to be able to maintain easily. (Of course, volume can be increased by a sump, and maintenance by automating the system).

For dimensions - I think 4 feet is okay, as is 5 - but 6 opens up far more opportunities for fish (most tangs, bigger angels, triggers, etc). Don't see many 7 foot tanks, but plenty of 8 footers - I'm not sure if jumping from 6 to 8 gives nearly as much of an advantage as from 4 to 6 though. Few fish that can't live in a 6' that can live in an 8'.
Height, I think 20-25" is a solid range. Shallower looks awkward to me on bigger tanks, and any taller will practically necessitate MH lighting - shallower, you get your choice.
Width, I worked with a 12" wide tank and it was not very fun. 18" would've been good, but 24" would've been better. 30" and 36" wide tanks are sweet looking, but they may increase gallonage to the point where it become far more costly and time-consuming to run the tank.

I think a Golden rule no matter what - is that the height should be no more than the width. That allows for good aquascaping, and the best gas exchange as well.

So what do you think to be the "ideal" reef size? So far to me it's looking like a 180 is as close to perfect as possible...
Drew

 

[dantimdad]

If you can stay to the same ratio as a 40 breeder. I think that is the most pleasing along with 2/3 height cube like 36*36*24 of 30*30*20. I am working on a 30*30*24 and like it but wish it was 20" tall kind of.

So if you went 6 ft long then it would be 72*27*24 that's the ratio to match a 40 breeder in a 6 ft. tank.

 

[jccaclimber]

I think that depends on how much maintenance you consider reasonable. In freshwater it's a 40b or 75 gallon. For people who are put less emphasis on fish I think those make a nice reef size, and a great place to hone skills.
For tangs I agree that a 180/210 is a good size.

If you are an equipment junkie under tank cabinet space gets tight at a less than 4' tank.

Honestly my 600 isn't much more work than my 5 foot 170 was, although the costs are roughly linear to volume in my case.

Edit, on larger tanks "ideal" is heavily dependent on the length of ones arms. I find tanks where I can lean over and grab something from the bottom without tings much nicer to work on than ones where I cannot.

 

[sghera64]

I wish I knew this before I got my 135 gal: should be as deep as it is tall.

My tank is 24” tall and 18” deep. I like 24” tall and wish it was 24-30 deep.

I first heard this on the BRS 52 weeks of reefing with their 160 setup. That extra depth allows more space along front glass for sand, fish swimming and bottom corals. And tank looks less “crowded “.

 

[kangadrew]

If you can stay to the same ratio as a 40 breeder. I think that is the most pleasing along with 2/3 height cube like 36*36*24 of 30*30*20. I am working on a 30*30*24 and like it but wish it was 20" tall kind of.

So if you went 6 ft long then it would be 72*27*24 that's the ratio to match a 40 breeder in a 6 ft. tank.

I agree - 40 breeders are beautiful tanks - bit on the small side, but great proportions.
I think the 2/3 cubes and similar sizes are very nice too, but they pose a problem if you wanted to keep tangs.

Assuming the average tang needs a straight-shot 6 feet to swim when fully grown, a 48x48x30 or 48x48x32 would give about 68 inches of space on its longest dimension (from corner to corner) - 51x51x34 would be the true size you'd need to provide 6 feet and stay within proportions. Those three sets of dimensions give volumes of 300, 320, and 385 gallons, respectively.
At that point, they become much more expensive to run - as you need to provide flow and lighting in such a tank. Adding volume via a sump gives you the benefit of not having to add extra lighting costs, extra flow costs, etc.
Further, the height is a problem in this tank because MH are the only lights that will give enough light to SPS kept near the bottom of the tank - so you're stuck either with MH lighting for a traditional aquascape, or you're stuck keeping your corals higher if you want to change your lighting.

One last note on the 40 breeder - how did you find the 72x27x24 dimensions? Going off the ratio of a 40 breeder (36x18x16), a 6 foot tank with those proportions would need to be 72x36x32, or 360 gallons.

I think that depends on how much maintenance you consider reasonable. In freshwater it's a 40b or 75 gallon. For people who are put less emphasis on fish I think those make a nice reef size, and a great place to hone skills.
For tangs I agree that a 180/210 is a good size.

If you are an equipment junkie under tank cabinet space gets tight at a less than 4' tank.

Honestly my 600 isn't much more work than my 5 foot 170 was, although the costs are roughly linear to volume in my case.

Edit, on larger tanks "ideal" is heavily dependent on the length of ones arms. I find tanks where I can lean over and grab something from the bottom without tings much nicer to work on than ones where I cannot.

I'd consider 20-30 minutes per day a good place to start as far as "reasonable". That includes checking everything out, making sure fish are healthy, feeding, cleaning glass, etc.

I would say that 40 breeders are my favorite of the small tanks, by far. It gives you some really nice options for aquascaping. My only problem with tanks of that proportion is that the volume goes up rapidly - about 105 gallons for a 4 foot tank, 210 gallons for a 5 foot tank, 360 gallons for a 6 foot tank, and an 8 foot tank at those proportions would be around 850 gallons. Rapidly increasing volume means rapidly increasing costs to run, due to flow and lighting - and tanks much over 24" deep are restricted in their lighting choices as well, meaning that a tank over 5 feet long with those proportions needs MH lighting.

As far as maintenance, I would think that the only things that take much longer on bigger than smaller tanks are water changes and glass cleaning, and the glass would probably only be noticeable going from tiny to huge - 4 to 6 feet is probably not much of a noticeable difference.

When my system is built, water changes shouldn't take me long at all, and they shouldn't cause any headaches either.
I will have two stacked tanks that are each 10% of the total system volume. The bottom one will be gravity-fed from the display, and water will be pumped back in via an external pump. The top one will have a water line feeding into it from a RODI unit, and it will have a few heaters and powerheads in it as well. Both tanks will have large floor drains - the top one draining to the bottom, bottom draining to outside.

Water changes will consist of filling the top tank, adding salt, letting sit 24 hours. Then, turn valve and shut off pump, so bottom tank is now cut off from the system. Drain it outside, drain in new saltwater from top tank, open ball valve, turn on pump, and 10% of the system's volume has been changed.
Much easier than lugging 5 gallon buckets around over and over again until everything's filled

Back to the main topic though - I agree on the thought of getting something off the bottom. From the tip of my middle finger to my shoulder is about 27 inches - so anything over 24 inches deep, maybe shallower, I'd better have something without sleeves on. I think 24-25" would be the maximum depth then, to allow me to safely reach the bottom of the tank without being submerged.
I don't imagine myself needing to reach the bottom all too often - but in the event that I need to, 24-25" depth will allow me to without donning a mask and snorkel

Drew

 

[kangadrew]

I wish I knew this before I got my 135 gal: should be as deep as it is tall.

My tank is 24” tall and 18” deep. I like 24” tall and wish it was 24-30 deep.

I first heard this on the BRS 52 weeks of reefing with their 160 setup. That extra depth allows more space along front glass for sand, fish swimming and bottom corals. And tank looks less “crowded “.

I agree! I love tanks that are at least as wide as they are tall, if not wider. I think a 1:1 ratio of height to with is great, going a few inches wider than taller is also nice - much wider and you're into a specialty tank size, I think.

Drew

 

[dantimdad]

If you can stay to the same ratio as a 40 breeder. I think that is the most pleasing along with 2/3 height cube like 36*36*24 of 30*30*20. I am working on a 30*30*24 and like it but wish it was 20" tall kind of.

So if you went 6 ft long then it would be 72*27*24 that's the ratio to match a 40 breeder in a 6 ft.

 

[dantimdad]

If you can stay to the same ratio as a 40 breeder. I think that is the most pleasing along with 2/3 height cube like 36*36*24 of 30*30*20. I am working on a 30*30*24 and like it but wish it was 20" tall kind of.

So if you went 6 ft long then it would be 72*27*24 that's the ratio to match a 40 breeder in a 6 ft.

I was being a dummy! LOL

 

[SashimiTurtle]

If you aren't doing tangs, 120. If you want tangs, 180. Don't forget, the room has a lot to do with what size tank you can get.

I have a 36x24x24 90 and I love it. The spot I keep my tank is just over 5' but my mantle sticks out a bit right at the top of the tank. A 120 technically would have fit, but I would have had inches on either side of the tank. Knocked a foot off of the tank and I have plenty of room on the sides for viewing and maintenance. Plenty of room for wrasse on the inside, which is my main focus.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I really like the 40 breeder but I think the 75 which is the same only a foot longer is great. Not to big to be overwhelming and not to small to make you want more (at least not for me )

 

[Michael Naegeli]

I got the RSR 180 gal. Absolutely love it. Perfect size. Perfect sump. Can’t go wrong w a 180+ in my humble opinion. I have smaller tanks too but I focus mainly on that one. Actually planning for bout double that w next build next year prolly. I personally wouldn’t go smaller than a 180 though. Got so many more options on just about every aspect. Including I find it the easiest to maintain proper balanced chemistry. Not as brutal swings in alk especially. For me anyway. I’m sure many would argue different. just my experience.

 

[ZoWhat]

The perfect tank size is the largest one your wife will allow in HER house



.

 

[kangadrew]

I think the general consensus is that 4x2x2 or 6x2x2 is the perfect size, depending on what fish you want to keep. If you need to go smaller, a 40 breeder with a big sump would be an excellent choice.

I think my ideal choice for what I ultimately want to keep (wrasses, a moorish idol, and perhaps a few other midsize fish) would be a display 180 gallon and a 300 gallon custom-built into a sump/refugium. It would add TONS of volume for overall stability, without adding the need for lots more flow and lots more lighting - in a great size display for keeping fish and aquascaping.

 

[PatW]

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

If I were keeping pipefish or sea horses, I would go for something fairly modest like a 40 breeder.

If I wanted to go with big tangs, a 12’ length would be what one would want. Smaller tangs are ok with 6’.

For frag tanks, people who raise corals tend to go with something like 8’ by 30” by 16”. Long, wide and shallow.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Imo 120g deep 48x24x24 is the ideal mid sized tank and a great starter size as well. Good length for viewing and swim space. 24" front to back giving enough room for good aquascape options. Dimensions make lighting simple. Provides a good water volume. Next would be a standard 210g 72x24x30". When I need to upgrade my 75g in about 5 years lol, I think a 120g deep will be what I go with.

 

[Neo Jeo]

I have a 4x2x2 I wish I had a 6x2x2

 

[Mavric]

I don't mess with big tanks, but for nano-sized there isn't much out there that beats the look of a rimless 30g long IMO. I never liked the look of "cube" tanks. Too deep for me.

 

[kangadrew]

It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

If I were keeping pipefish or sea horses, I would go for something fairly modest like a 40 breeder.

If I wanted to go with big tangs, a 12’ length would be what one would want. Smaller tangs are ok with 6’.

For frag tanks, people who raise corals tend to go with something like 8’ by 30” by 16”. Long, wide and shallow.

That is a good point - we didn't get into some of the more "specialty" tanks for species like pipes/seahorses. I agree, for the more fragile smaller species like that, a 40 breeder is probably the best choice.
In my opinion, a 6 foot tank is good for tangs that reach 10-12 inches long. There are a few Acanthurus that commonly pass this, and all of the common Naso species. 8 feet can handle the Acanthurus, with 10 feet needed for smaller Naso and the larger species needing 12'.
A 12x4x3 tank would be beautiful for the larger tangs - it would allow you to keep nearly anything you wanted. There is always an exception to the rule, though.

Imo 120g deep 48x24x24 is the ideal mid sized tank and a great starter size as well. Good length for viewing and swim space. 24" front to back giving enough room for good aquascape options. Dimensions make lighting simple. Provides a good water volume. Next would be a standard 210g 72x24x30". When I need to upgrade my 75g in about 5 years lol, I think a 120g deep will be what I go with.

I agree wholeheartedly about the 120 gallon - but I think a 180 is more versatile than a 210 for a few major reasons, like the height-width ratio, and 30" being a bit deep for many to comfortably work in.

I have a 4x2x2 I wish I had a 6x2x2

Thanks for the input - is that because of the fish you want to keep, or because you simply wish you had more length of tank to work with?

 

[hart24601]

40B footprint is my vote (3ft by 18") or something in that same range give or take. A 5g bucket makes for easy 10% w/c at that size and generally it's not too bad to fix a tank that size if something starts to go wrong. This is for a coral focused tank.

Of course if you want tangs IMO you want a fish system with coral then you need something much larger.

I have been by far the happiest with my reef tanks in the 30-60g range. Of course the American in me wants to say BIGGER IS BETTER, MORE MORE MORE but my experience my 120 reef was borderline too big for me and I was happy to downsize. I have a 120 and 180 FW tanks but that is a different world.

 

[madweazl]

A length that is twice that of the width is most appealing to me but isnt cost affective in some instances (e.g. my 150g would have been substantially more expensive if I'd gone with a 30" width (187g) over the standard 24" width). The added width gives so many more options for the aquascape. I like a max height of 24" until you go over 6' in length (e.g. 8' tank I'd push to 30" height but not over that as it becomes cumbersome to work on).