Minimum Recommended Tank Size

bang guy

Moderator
People, the minimum tank size is not a magic threshold where all of your size problems disappear. It's the Minimum. That means you are going from insufficient water volume to the tank WITH THE LEAST CHANCE OF SUCCESS. Of all the scenarios don't pick the one that has the least likely chance of success. This makes no sense to me at all.

Please stop basing your stocking on what is the least likely to thrive. You are setting yourselves up for failure. Instead do all you can to set yourself up for success. This might mean not having a Tang in your display. In my opinion it is so much better to not have a Tang than to have a Tang that is constantly stressed and behaving erratically.

[/end rant]
 

deejeff0442

Active Member
I do see alot of new people get a 20 gallon or not much bigger. My 1st tank was a 45. Imo a 55 is a good 1st tank. But i would prefer a 90. People think its big at 1st but after they put a few things in it really isnt
 

geridoc

Well-Known Member
My first tank, more than 40 years ago was a 55 using undergravel filtration along with a Supreme Aquaking hob. At its peak the stock consisted of a alrge Volitans lionfish, a niger trigger, a queen angel, a spiny boxfish and a hippo tang. Nothing grew very much, but in retrospect I cannot imagine the stress the fish were under. Of course, at that time 30 day's survival was considered OK, and months was remarkable. Today I know why survival was so short, so bang guy is right, set yourself up for success by doing the largest system with the lightest bioload you can tolerate.
 

deejeff0442

Active Member
Yep mine had the under gravel filter and my skimmer was an air pump to a wood block. Which actually worked pretty good. Back then the only way to treat ich was to turn the temp up
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
My first tank was a 20g tank widh crushed coral, a seaclone skimmer and a cannister filter. I had CFL bulbs.
 
Top