appropriate tank demensions

[volivier]

I'm looking at a 210 or 220 gallon tank from my LFS they want $500 non drilled or a drilled all glass for $580. Told the reef club member I couldn't buy his tank due to the height of it. My hubby is saying to keep my 135 which is 18" wide. I believe the 120 or the 90 is also 24" wide?

 

[LakeEd]

I personally like the added depth for aquascaping. With only 18" depth, any rockwork ends up close to your front glass, making it harder (for me at least) with things like maintenance.

My tank is a standard 180... so I have 24" depth. If I could, I would really enjoy seeing a 48" depth, but then my better half would string me up! *smile*

As for the 30" height, that would still work, but I would then ensure that I was using 400watt MH's, where with only a 24" tall, 250watts work well.

 

[bc_slc]

My tank is 60Lx22Wx30T. I like the look of the taller tank and sometimes it is harder to clean the bottom. I have 250w DE pendents and get plenty of light even at the bottom.

However, even at 22" wide, I totally want a wider tank next time. Hell, I would go 30 or even 36" wide if you can do it custom. Nobody ever looks back and says, wow, I wish my tank were skinnier. You would be amazed at how quickly you can fill it up.

Mat

 

[kevinpo]

Wider is better for a tank with SPS corals because they can grow out more. It is also at bit more expensive to light a deeper tank as you need 400W bulbs for a 30" or deeper to keep shallow water SPS colorful.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[volivier]

Wider is better for a tank with SPS corals because they can grow out more. It is also at bit more expensive to light a deeper tank as you need 400W bulbs for a 30" or deeper to keep shallow water SPS colorful.

Regards,
Kevin

I already have 3 400 Watt MH, with 2 actinic VHO bulbs for actinic.

 

[dnjan]

Personally, I wouldn't have an acrylic tank taller than 24". With acrylic, you need to use a plastic scraper blade, and it is just too difficult to get enough pressure to scrape off corraline when the scraper handle is long.

That said, I think that front-to-back distance is really important. As Kevin pointed out - many corals grow horizontally (a lot). Good front-to-back distance allows the colonies to develop real dimensions, instead of that bonzai-garden look.