Info on a **BIG** Tank

[tervman]

My dear wife has agreed that we should get/could get a BIG aquarium. I am looking at glasscages.com for the tank. One of the questions I have - and I will have several before I ultimately get the tank - is with the dimensions of the tank. Is it better, or does it make a difference, to get a tank that is as wide as possible, as long as possible, or as high as possible?

For instance, glasscages has four 240G tanks listed. One is 96x24x25, one is 96x18x31, one is 72x24x31, and the last is 48x49x25.

I would probably opt out of the square one (even though my wife fell in love with a 600G hex in a LFS), because my house is just not set up for a square tank of this size. So, it would come down to one of the other three.

Any input would be most appreciated...pros/cons/experience/etc.

Thanks.

 

[OrionGirl]

I prefer tanks that are closer to square. Just like the look, and you can arrange rock and such much easier when you have more depth (front to back) to work with.

Also consider the surface area to depth (top to bottom) ratio, You want as much surface area as you can get, and this becomes more crucial as the tank gets deeper--harder to keep that much water well oxygenated and moving!

Other consideration will be your height and reach--working in a 2 foot deep tank can be tough. I'm 6'1, and can't reach the bottom of the 2 foot tanks without stretching a bit. Our 120's are on stands that require being on a chair to even attempt the reach--and that's a back breaking position to maintain for very long. Not often needed, thankfully!

I'd probably go with the 72x24x31 tank, if you have the space. Of course...What you want to put in there will be important as well. Some fish will do better in the 8 foot tanks than the 6 foot tank.

 

[Dale W.]

I am with OG on this one. I would also opt for the 72" tank. Keep in mind that if you run a deep sand bed (recomended) then you will be eating up around 5" making the depth of the 72" around 25". A cool thing to do when you are doing the stand is to set the tank down into the stand about 5" to cover up the sand so you are not looking at the front of it. The 72" tank will also be a little cheaper to light up.