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This hobby is so addictive is all I can say. Especially coral for me
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HERBAL AIRE 2.1

Navarchus, with those photos are you trying to prove that shallow tanks can have good aquascaping? If so, personally I don't like the style of either of those tanks. Sure the corals are great, but I just don't like the look of them. I think they are boring (aside from the corals obviously). I just prefer taller tanks, with a nice big viewing glass on the front. :D It's all personal taste though as I said above:

That first one is obviously an advertisement photo for Reef Builders, you can tell it was just setup since there is no discoloration in the sand at all (even along the glass), and no coralline growing anywhere. It's too clean to be "real". Lots of nice corals though. :)

This is a cube I quite like, but I can't remember the dimensions. I find the style of this one much more interesting than the ones Navarchus posted. The tank is "crazy4acros" on Reef Central, he has a hournal thread on it if you want to search for it. It is fairly large though.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...razy4acros.jpg

just Teasing you :)

In my opinion, this is one of the questions where, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't! Bigger is better, but not always. For example, check out the Buy/Sell section. Tonnes of people dumping their systems! They are either upgrading to bigger ones because they started out too small, or just outgrew what they initially thought was "big enough". Or, they are getting out entirely because it is either too much work, they're bored, or whatever. My advice would be to get whatever your time and money can afford today since you are uncertain what your future reefkeeping endevour is going to look like.

Well 'm glad I posted and I'm coming away with a few things:

1) No centre oveflow
2) Go deeper with the tank to gain extra volume and make 'scaping easier
3) I have no idea what a good reef tank looks like lol

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and everything has pros and cons.

1. Center overflows minimize varying overflow issues that you have with corner overflows. For example, I have corner overflow and my sump levels rise and fall depending on whether my Wavebox and powerheads or on because they cause swells which are the greatest at each end of the tank. One of the best overflow setups for a cube is a center middle overflow (meaning right at the very center of the tank - 4-sided and bottom drilled) since this allows for 360 degree viewing.

2. Going deeper presents lighting penetration issues. Many people like putting clams on the sandbed, for example. You can forget it with all but the most powerful lights in a deep tank. This, in turns, results in having to use more powerful lights which causes heat issues and higher electrical usage.

It also presents aquascaping problems because it's a lot trickier and more work holding taller rock structures together. It's also much more difficult to reach things on the bottom especially if you're shorter. I find having a wider (i.e. front to back) tank helps more with aquascaping as you get a better sense of depth and perspective rather than a wall of rocks effect you can have with a tall, narrow tank.

Most fish prefer LENGTH to swim as opposed to DEPTH. That's why some people are constantly harping on having tangs only in 6-foot long tanks.

3. You decide what a good reef tank looks like - it is, after all, your reef tank. I personally love the look of long, shallow tanks.

A good reef tank looks however you want it! :)

If you go too tall vs the width then it will become trickier to aquascape. Since you're going for a smallish cube, I would suggest trying to find Tonga branching live rock, and use some zip ties, two-part reef epoxy, and possibly some acrylic rods (drilled in using a masonry bit) to create somewhat of a tree-like effect like the pic of the tank that I posted above. If you can't find branching rock, you can just use a bunch of smaller pieces pinked to eachother. Of course, this is just my own taste. Some people really like a rock wall look.

However, there is method to my madness!! :eek: If you create rockwork that has little rock touching the sand, and no pieces of rock touching any of the side panes of glass you create a VERY neasy tank to clean, and to catch fish in. The rock wall style...good luck catching a fish out of there, and just how the heck are you going to get detritus out from behind? With a tree style you can use powerheads to keep detritus from settling. This lowers your bioload, which helps to keep nitrate and phosphates in check. :D

Here are some different cube styles...try to see past the corals, and look at the rock. :)


The rock wall:
http://z.about.com/d/saltaquarium/1/...4greef_600.JPG



The tree (as posted above):
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...razy4acros.jpg



The pyramid (with a cave):
http://i26.tinypic.com/2i25ad.jpg