Best Tank Type?

fishy_fishy

fishy_fishy

Member
was just wondering what you guys would recommend for a 50-55 gallon tank
Bowfront?
Rectangular?
Hexagon?
And from my understanding with acrylics and scratches.. i will most likely be getting a glass tank.
Im looking for something that would be easy to clean and gives the best view of corals and fish. :happy:
 
stessman

stessman

Member
that is all a personal preferance. althoguh ahexagon is ahrder to light because they are general taller and not that wide. A bowfront costs more that rectangular but you can do a little bit more aquascaping in it because you have more room in the middle
 
fishy_fishy

fishy_fishy

Member
Originally Posted by stessman
that is all a personal preferance. althoguh ahexagon is ahrder to light because they are general taller and not that wide. A bowfront costs more that rectangular but you can do a little bit more aquascaping in it because you have more room in the middle
yes i like that idea of having more space for aquascaping due to the bowfront, so im going to go with that

thanx ladies/guys
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
Skip the bowfront and get a 58. They are 18"Dx36"Lx22"H PLENTY of room for aquascaping. Or you can go with the same footprint and get a 70 like I am getting. :D
 
fishy_fishy

fishy_fishy

Member
well i use to have a 20 and well i didnt like it cuz it was too small.. now im thinking of getting something bigger around 50-75 and use the 20 for maybe a fuge.
i am really hoping for a 70 but i might end up with something smaller like a 50-55.
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
70 is just taller. 55 actually takes up more room space. Go with 70! (Did I mention I really like the 70?) :D
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
but taller isnt better that just means you need better lights to penetrate deeper tank and you dont have as mutch swimming room. The swimming room is measerd leangth wise not up and down or front to back.
 
mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
The only thing i don't like about my bowfront is that when i was trying to buy lighting for it i had to pay close attention to the size of the light. Because a lot of lights will fit the width of your tank at it's widest point. But then the light would be hanging off the front corners. I have 2 pc's on mine. The 48 fits the lengh real nice. When i decided i wanted another i went a bought it, but never thought to think about it hanging off the front corners. I ended up having to return it and get a 36" for the front of the tank. Really not that big of a deal untill ya start to look at MH set ups. Something for ya to think about.
 
fishy_fishy

fishy_fishy

Member
snipe makes a good point about the legnth and tallness of the tank.. and mwaraxa makes a even better point about lights and the bow front..
gonna be a hard choice :notsure:
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
The 70 adds about 20% to your overall water volume(over the 58)... making stability easier. I like to pile my rocks up high on the back of my tank for a reefslope look so the added height is cool. But yes, it means more light is needed to reach the bottom.
 
caz

caz

Member
I've got a rectangular 55 (48x12x18 I believe?). It's a great tank... coming up on 2 months. I'm actually adding my 250w MH tonight. I've become somewhat addicted to this pretty quick... lol. IMO, if I could do it again, I would have done ATLEAST a 75, maybe a 125. The 55 is a good size, the 75 is just deeper (front-to-back). I don't care for bow's or hexes just because looking into them is kind of trippy. Anyways, my next tank will be quite large though (200+). Something to note, I didn't read everyones posts... but drill before you fill! It will save you a hassle in the long run. I should have done more research personally. Have fun.
 
fishmamma

fishmamma

Active Member
I have both a rectangular and a bow front tank. Lighting has not been a problem, but I am running a simple Dual Sattelite on both. I personally like the "look" of bow fronts, but they do have some distortion. It is a tough call, check out as many pictures of both stocked as you can, maybe that will help your decision. Also maybe consider what you want to stock. Clowns for example will utilize the height more than the width in my experience, but many other fish like the length for big time swimming.
 
fishy_fishy

fishy_fishy

Member
Originally Posted by fishmamma
I have both a rectangular and a bow front tank. Lighting has not been a problem, but I am running a simple Dual Sattelite on both. I personally like the "look" of bow fronts, but they do have some distortion. It is a tough call, check out as many pictures of both stocked as you can, maybe that will help your decision. Also maybe consider what you want to stock. Clowns for example will utilize the height more than the width in my experience, but many other fish like the length for big time swimming.
wow i did not even think about the fish
i did look at some stocked pics and well they both look great, but again i did not think about the fish's needs, thanx for bringing that point up.
Clown Fish and a tang maybe a Goby, what would be best for that? I'm guessing that due to the tang atleast a 75 right?
 
fishy_fishy

fishy_fishy

Member
bump
Clown Fish and a tang maybe a Goby, what would be best for that? I'm guessing that due to the tang atleast a 75 right?
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
:D IMO, the standard 120 doesn't cost much more to setup then a 55...If it were me I'd try to swing that.
 
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