Thoughts?

[sparty059]

Hey all, I decided to pop in to pick everyone's brain. So, I decided to hold off on setting up a tank as I will more than likely moving back to the mitten in a year or so. So I plan on setting everything back up when we end up moving back. However, what does everyone think about the current tank I have? If some are new then for your information I have a 150 gallon tank. I can't recall the exact measurements, but I believe it to be 5'x2'x1 1/2'. I know I'm probably a bit off but that's the jist of it. As I had that tank up and running previously, I have all the items that are necessary to go with it so setting it back up would be a piece of cake. Just the cycle, rocks, and sand are the difficult parts. But, I was thinking... what is easier on the eyes in the opinions of the professionals ... I've always liked looking at a 150 long, rather than the tall that I have... but find it to look more time consuming and difficult/more expensive to get all the rock and sand as you have more ground to cover with the long. I also had thoughts of rebuilding a tank and making it an inwall tank. So again, would many think long or tall would look better? I could imagine a tall looks fairly nice as it would look similar to a TV sitting in the wall, but the long could have some boarder around it making it pop a little more. So personal opinion from all. 150 Long, or 150 Tall (currently own). I have at least a year to think this all out, draw up some diagrams, run it by the "boss", and research how difficult this in wall project will be.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparty059 http:///t/388890/thoughts#post_3432692
Hey all, I decided to pop in to pick everyone's brain. So, I decided to hold off on setting up a tank as I will more than likely moving back to the mitten in a year or so. So I plan on setting everything back up when we end up moving back. However, what does everyone think about the current tank I have? If some are new then for your information I have a 150 gallon tank. I can't recall the exact measurements, but I believe it to be 5'x2'x1 1/2'. I know I'm probably a bit off but that's the jist of it. As I had that tank up and running previously, I have all the items that are necessary to go with it so setting it back up would be a piece of cake. Just the cycle, rocks, and sand are the difficult parts. But, I was thinking... what is easier on the eyes in the opinions of the professionals ... I've always liked looking at a 150 long, rather than the tall that I have... but find it to look more time consuming and difficult/more expensive to get all the rock and sand as you have more ground to cover with the long. I also had thoughts of rebuilding a tank and making it an inwall tank. So again, would many think long or tall would look better? I could imagine a tall looks fairly nice as it would look similar to a TV sitting in the wall, but the long could have some boarder around it making it pop a little more. So personal opinion from all. 150 Long, or 150 Tall (currently own). I have at least a year to think this all out, draw up some diagrams, run it by the "boss", and research how difficult this in wall project will be.
Hi Sparty,
The long is better for the fish because of gas exchange, as always the more surface area the better....the fish like tangs have a longer swim area, making them happy. The tall looks better and we can always find ways to get oxygen to the critters and there are plenty of fish in the sea to select for your type of tank.
So the choice is yours.

 

[al&burke]

They way that I look at tall tanks is that when you are building up the live rock if the tank from front to back is narrow it is more difficult to get the height out of the live rock. My main reef is a 65 gallon that 24 inches high but only 18 inches from back to front, so getting that live rock up higher is more difficult if you are trying to keep the rock off the front glass, JMHO

 

[gemmy]

One added bonus of the long is it is not as deep as the tall. This makes cleaning and aquascaping much easier.

 

[xcali1985]

If you ever go reef it will be cheaper to go long as you won't have to penetrate as deep. I have a 240G and if I was to go with MH it would be a minimum 250 bulb. So what is your end game?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Tall or long? Hmm...
Assuming they are both drilled with overflows and have a decent sump:
Tall - good for LPS and soft corals with medium lighting requirements and small fish with maybe one centerpiece fish. The rock work isn't as tricky as it's made out to be. I personally enjoy tall take a whole lot more then long tanks.
Long - Good for SPS and LPS tanks and fish that need longer than average swimming distances. It also requires the lighting to be spaced out more than a tall tank...
The whole lighting thing:
A tall tank might require two 250w metal halides and a couple actinic T5s (at 4 foot long SPS dominate reef, this would be perfect) two 150w metal halides with a couple of actinic t5s would work well for an LPS and softie tank. Heck, a decent 8x54w t5 unit would do well for a 150 tall with LPS and softies as well.
A long tank (6 foot) might require one more metal halide than a 4 foot tank. I generally recommend putting one metal halide for every 2x2 foot area for the best lighting. So, it's a matter of what are you going to keep, and how much money are you going to spend?
The whole flow rate / O2 thing:
In either case, you will get O2 into the water with the sump flowing. An overflow gives the tank a lot more surface area and it will provide enough to keep anything. Plus, if you use a skimmer, I'm sure some would agree that it will also add O2 to the water. The amount of flow required in a tall tank is a little different then in a shallow tank, and the positioning of the powerheads in either tank is different as well... You just have to decide what you want and like. Not what we want and like. LOL!!!