Opinion: Do you like your tank long or wide?

[Sascha D]

As a community, we all have tanks of various sizes, shapes and gallons. So what do you like most about your tank, or what would you rather have more of?

I'm getting ready to buy a tank is May and I cant decide on the dimensions. I'm either going to go more wide with a 48L 24W 24-31H or I'm going to go long with a 72L 18W 24-31H. Its going to be a peninsula tank. What do you guys think?

 

[Scooterman]

I'd go either 4ft or 6ft long, no more than 24" deep to cut down on lighting needs & cleaning, so longer wider & not deeper!

 

[Myteemouse]

I like the wider instead of taller and longer for scapeing and open room
Plus what scooter said...
My 125 peninsula tank is 5'x24"x20"tall with coast to coast overflow on one end. I love it..
Much more room for rock work and cleaning..

 

[krisfal]

Don't go with only 18" wide, makes aquascaping tough while still allowing good circulation around the rock, you would likely end up stacking the rock against the back wall.

I have a cube now and do like it. If I had the room, I think I would really like a tank 5' x 5' x 24".

 

[scytale]

I have an 80gal (48x18x22) setup in almost-peninsula-style (it is viewable on 3 sides) and I would trade it for a wider tank, in a heartbeat.
Like everyone else has said, 18" wide makes rock-work difficult--esp. in a peninsula style--subtract 1-2" for cleaning-space off of each side, and you're really only talking about 13-15" for aquascaping.
It's very difficult to give your rock-work that good look of "depth" with that narrow of a strip.
(Unless someone was planning on building some very cool "pillars" or "islands" rock-work, from the start.)

 

[DonW]

I know its not in your list but I love shallow tanks much shorter than the norm. Everything about shallow tanks is easier from flow to lighting.

Don

 

[jake65]

I would prefer a wider and shorter tank if its going to be a peninsula just for a better viewing and accessability

 

[roscoe]

Wider longer and not over 24'' tall for me. I love the look of a wider tank. It makes it so much easier to aquascape. I'm setting up a 72''Lx36''Wx24''T.

 

[dailydriven911]

I love the shallow rimless tanks also...I prefer wider for aquascaping purposes. Hopefully in the future I can go that route...

 

[reedman]

I will say this....I went from a standard 75 gallon to an 80 gallon cube and love it. The extra depth makes all the difference in aquascaping. Personally I have found it difficult to tune the flow in the tank, but that can be managed. I agree with others that shallow makes a lot of things easier, but for me if I got another tank it would actually be deeper to allow for high light, lower light, and very low light specimens. I also believe this provides a better environment for the fish and reduces the chances of jumping.

 

[NC2WA]

My tank is more FO than coral, so longer is better for me..although I do have both length and width in my tank 8ft long and 3 ft wide.

 

[gotfish]

You asked me about this in my tank thread, but If I had it to do over again, I'd have gotten a 180g rather then the 125g. The 180g has the best dimensions for a mdium sized tank. 72x24x24, not too deep, decent width and a good length. It's the 40b of medium sized tanks.

 

[seattle989]

WIDE TANKS ARE AWSOME . who ever said a standard 55 gallon (48x12x20)tank would be the bestes minimum beginner tank should be fined.

ive got a 40x36x18 and i just picked up a 48x24x24 just love it

 

[Sascha D]

My tank is more FO than coral, so longer is better for me..although I do have both length and width in my tank 8ft long and 3 ft wide.

Great size you got there! I was thinking longer for the fish as well after reading a post by Lee regarding tangs and angels.

ive got a 40x36x18 and i just picked up a 48x24x24 just love it

48x24x25 is the 120 I'm thinking of buying. It is as wide as my arm is long hehe.

 

[Sascha D]

I know its not in your list but I love shallow tanks much shorter than the norm. Everything about shallow tanks is easier from flow to lighting.

I agree Don, I've read some of your posts to support shallow tanks and eventhough you're thinking around 15-18" shallow, the 25" is alot better than the 31" of my current tank. Trying to get your arm down in there to do anything is really bad and the light penetration is monsterous!

 

[NC2WA]

Great size you got there! I was thinking longer for the fish as well after reading a post by Lee regarding tangs and angels.

Funny..I plan on keeping 3 large angelfish, 2 tangs, and some butterflies..

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Deep tanks are way too much work to maintain and perform changes within. Have to agree with Don, 18" is my new water depth limit and would prefer shallower. Cubes sure do look great though! (None of the choices on the poll works for me.)

 

[Sascha D]

Deep tanks are way too much work to maintain and perform changes within. Have to agree with Don, 18" is my new water depth limit and would prefer shallower. Cubes sure do look great though! (None of the choices on the poll works for me.)

The more shallow I make the tank, the taller I have to build the stand. I'm tired of making my guests bend down to look into the tank, so I want the top of the tank to be about 65 inches off the ground.

24" high tank = 40" stand
18" high tank = 46" stand

The concern I have is that having the weight so high on the stand makes it vulnerable to tipping. Is the 24" base going to be wide enough? The tank will be viewable from 3 sides.

 

[Sascha D]

Quote:
Great size you got there! I was thinking longer for the fish as well after reading a post by Lee regarding tangs and angels.

Funny..I plan on keeping 3 large angelfish, 2 tangs, and some butterflies..

I'm wondering if 48" length is long enough for fish. The tank will have the LR structure in the middle so the fish can swim around 360 or atleast 270 deg, but they will not be able to get up to speed.

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

I prefer shallow, wide, long tanks, i'm in love with shallow cubes too such as: 24x24x16". I won't get anything over 18" tall i even traded my 55 gallon tank straight across for a 40 gallon long just for the 16" depth over the 20", it's still much too narrow though.