newbie marine tank size

[flossyfloofloo]

I know they say bigger is better but what shape is better i have 2 tanks about the same size and amthinking about doing my first marine tank in one of them, i also have a 8 gal tank that i an going to use as a sump/fuge type thingy :grinyes:

what i want to know is wether u thing i should go for a 24x12x12 or a 18x12x15 both bout 15 gals .

i will be running a closed loop system as well as the sump and maybe a cannister for carbon and other chemical media.

i plan on having the sump mainly to hold equipment in like heaters and skimmer

lighting will be 2 x t5 in a custom hood

 

[greech]

It depends a bit on what you'll be keeping in the tank but longer is generally better for fish. There isn't any difference between the two as far as depth goes so I would go for the longer tank unless you feel you need the height. The sump size isn't going to help much but like you said it will keep some equipment out of your display.

 

[krytan]

I'd use the longer tank just because it would give you a larger viewing area.
Is this going to be a reef tank or a FOWLR?

 

[Amphiprion]

I'd personally go for the one with the higher surface area, at least to start with.

 

[flossyfloofloo]

sorry those dims were LxWxH

i was planning to hopefully do a nano reef probably minimal fish to keep the bioload down for my first marine .

coral wise i just want the simple one shrooms and such i dont really have huge money to spend on this tank but i dont want to skimp on the equipment

 

[Fishfriend1]

I would still go with the one that has a larger surface area. Surface area = # of fish/inverts can go in tank.