Is size just personal preference?

[Salty_Breeze]

Planning for a future with a larger tank (running nano now) - is there are sweet spot in large tanks of having the most space humanely possible (ie whatever you can physically fit into your house) and manageability day to day?

Said differently looking for opinions on at what size do you get economies of scales working for you vs against you (like not being able to find equipment to handle it or just too deep/wide to be able to aquascape)?

 

[shanepike]

That's a great question. I've never gone large so I don't have a great answer, but there are two things I've experienced personally when choosing smaller tanks that apply here too.

One is lighting. Lighting comes in a fairly finite range of options. When you're choosing a footprint, you have to think about how you're going to light it. For instance, I was looking at a particular footprint at one point that I realized was going to be a challenge to light it effectively and economically. I eventually went with 36 x 18 footprint, but even that was a little bit of a challenge. A 36" light typically covers at least a 24" width.

Similarly, a 48" long tank might be perfect for finding lighting, but if you go to, say, 60" then your cost of lighting may go up disproportionately.

Two is depth. Working in a tank deeper than 24" is a challenge. Harder to keep the glass clean, sand clean, mount corals, fix anything that goes wrong, etc.

There are some great build threads here that might give you some great insight:

Monster Tanks (400g+)

humble.fish

 

[myvwrock]

A 8 foot 300 gallon is a good sweet spot size.

Lol, A 90,125 are good sweet spots

 

[Justin Ranke]

So I started with a nano tank and then jumped to a 150 shallow Reef. The nano was much easier maintenance wise, but difficult stability wise. The large tank was the opposite.

When something goes wrong, a waterchange is now a multiple day project (rodi fill, salt mix etc) instead of just the afternoon.

I will honestly never do a tank this large ever again, and probably just keep multiple 60-80 gallon systems. That seems to be the sweetspot in my opinion. 80 gallon(48×24x16) is perfect. You dont have have you arm shoulder deep if you need to take anything off the bottom, a ton of real-estate for coral, and a ton of options for stocking.

 

[jman930]

I have had sizes ranging from 75-450. Fish selection will often dictate size if you’re humane. I will say wider is better than taller. Length is determined on space and preference. I would pick 30” width over 24”.

 

[scuba steve]

Length and width are the most important dimensions. I don't like to go much over 24" tall because after that it's harder reach

 

[Mick]

I smirked at the thought of ‘Scuba’ Steve having a problem with deep water.

I agree with you - harder to reach everywhere and as soon as you get near the armpit you gotta start thinking about how much your corals are going to enjoy your Old Spice stick. Showering to clean your tank - adds a dimension of complexity and a raised eyebrow from the wife.

 

[ptreef]

My primary tank in my living room is 144”x30”x30”. It’s a love-hate relationship. But even at that size, I often feel like it’s too small for my tangs

 

[Salty_Breeze]

Awesome feedback! Sounds like more than arm’s length deep gets tough to manage (so in general ~24), a little wider at 30 is good, then length as big as you want but 4’ chunk might be optimal for lighting set-up

 

[shanepike]

Awesome feedback! Sounds like more than arm’s length deep gets tough to manage (so in general ~24), a little wider at 30 is good, then length as big as you want but 4’ chunk might be optimal for lighting set-up

I would agree with this, except I would expand the lighting piece to say really anything 2' or longer you have a lot of good options. Here's a price comparison with the ReefBreeders Meridians which are a good (and economical) light:

• 24" x 24" spread: $459.99 ($19.17/in long)
• 36" x 24": $799.99 ($22.22)
• 48" x 24": $1,149.99 ($23.96)
• 60" x 24": $1,499.99 ($25)

You would expect the numbers to get cheaper as you go up, and they really do. The 36" unit is really two 24" units. The 48" is three 24s. The 60" is four 24s. Depending on what coral you're going to do, you could get by with fewer.