First Reef

[intarsiabox]

I am in the process of setting up a new tank in my dining room and have similar dimension problems. I found a 30x20x20 with 2 overflows in the rear on this site that will suit my space requirements. I don't know if yours is going beside a kitchen counter (24" deep) but if it is you might not want your overflow in the middle of the tank. If you don't have access to all 4 sides then most of the back half of your tank will be more or less wasted space as you can't see it. I'm running a 20g reef tank right now and there is plenty of action and you can put tons of frags in there, but as they grow you'll probably have to start making frags yourself. And trust me, you can sink a lot of cash into even a small 20g tank!

[oolichan]

Yup, I would like to build it into the kitchen, hence the 24" depth.

Definately prepared for the investment. The good news is there seems to be a lot of people getting out of the hobby and some pretty good deals on equipmet. I plan to build slowly as stuff becomes avaialble used.

[Myka]

Imo, it depends whether you're more into fish or more into corals. If you're really into corals like I am, then working with a smaller space isn't an issue. You can always sell a few of your less liked corals to make room for new ones. That I was did with my 33g. If you're more into fish I would suggest you get a 4 or 6' tank instead of going with a cube since even though cubes may have a significant number of gallons, it doesn't have the same amount or length of swimming space that fish like Tangs need.

As far as your particular tank dimensions go, I prefer taller tanks as to shorter tanks as I find them easier to aquascape. I find shallow tanks have little upper swimming room for the fish once the rock is in there and you add some corals, not to mention when the corals really start to grow! I agree that you should go as big as your budget and space allow, but to stick to efficiency as well. By that I mean, decide on lighting as well, and you can plan the tank as a whole instead of just around one aspect.

For a cube using one light, the maximum efficient size would be 30x30x30, but that's quite a big tank. This is efficient because a single halide with a "special" reflector designed to spread the light (like a Lumenbright, Lumenmax, or Lumenarc) will spread the light to a 30x30" patch. It is also easy to light 30" depth with a halide light.

My personal preference for a cube would be 24x24x26", but I'm not a huge fan of cubes just because the aquascape is so limited. I like to use halides supplemented with T5s, so the 24" will accomodate that.

I would reccommend against the centre overflow since it really cuts out the space for aquascaping, and really distract from the look. I find they look more inconspicuous when they are in a corner, especially when the overflow is black and you paint the background black.

Really it comes down to figuring out what you like, and what you want out of it.

[oolichan]

Great post Myka.

I am mainly interested in corals, I have some pretty amazing FW fish and the real draw to SW for me is reef.

I'll think I'll stick to 24" long and deep because it fits my space perfectly and will look custom but I'll go deeper, over 20". Lights for a 24" length seem to be fairly reasonable as well and I have a buddy that sells T5 fixtures.

Definately won't go centre overflow, that's come through loud and clear.

[Navarchus]

well myka.....



No problem there.....



No problem there either

[oolichan]

That first tank is unreal. What size is it?

[Pazil]

With the aquascaping that I have done in my cube.... my 4 tangs never have to turn around like they do in a narrow longer tank..... They can just swim around the towers and continue along thier way.... I really think that the longer tank is better thing is not always true.