# best tank size?



## Moo (Apr 27, 2006)

I've been debating alot lately what tank size to get. 
Getting rid of my 55 gal because of it's narrow unpromising aquascaping potential, I now want something a little deeper from front to back.
I thought I had decided on a 65 gal. I was really trying to avoid buying new lighting. I thought I could build a nice hood and mount my two 24" 55watt CF lights.

The more I look at that 65 at the store the more I dislike it. 
It's 24" tall! That obsurd!
That taller than the 55 I currently have which is why I don't really want it.
So I've been trying to plan out my aquascape making some rough sketches everytime I think about the 65 gal dimension and think, wow that's going to be hard to find a proportional size of drift wood and wanting to keep this low light there's no way I'll ever find a plant that tall.

So, now I'm looking at this 50 gal. Yes smaller... but oh well. I like this size. Good depth, length, height. But now the problem is finding lighting.
With the 65 my 110watts of CF would have made for about 1.6 wpg.
With a 50 that makes it just over 2.0wpg! bah!
I just want an easy to aquascape tank. I'm doing a malaysian and would love to have a nice big branchy piece of drift wood.
As I mentioned I really want to do a variation of this tank 
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=333&c=1
mabey with some larger stones and taller thinner plants in the background to give some depth, but the same basic layout.
I was looking into crypts and anubias plants mainly. low/med light.

So my two questions are...
What do you think the best tank sizes are?
How would I go about lighting a 50 gal?

any "light" shed on this would be great..It's a little less than discouraging everytime I think I have it planned I decide I don't like something. It's been almost 5 months in the planning now.

anything?
thanks
-moo


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## SnakeIce (May 9, 2005)

What length are you going for? I find for most applications the standard 75 gallon tank is what the 55 is missing in floor space for the length. I agree with you on the poor dimensions of the 55.

A better "55" would be more along the lines of the following dimensions, 40x19x17 rather than the 48x20x13 it is.


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## Moo (Apr 27, 2006)

honestly I don't really care.
I like the 65 I just wish that it were the height of the 55 (18") or even 20"
Is there such thing as a 60 like this?


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## IUnknown (Feb 24, 2004)

I vote for the 75 gallon. Has the best ratio and there are plenty of lighting options.


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## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

IUnknown said:


> I vote for the 75 gallon. Has the best ratio and there are plenty of lighting options.


'Nuther vote for the 75-gallon. 48" is a really nice intermediate size. Easy to light, fits most places, not too expensive to outfit properly or fill with plants. Interestingly, I just saw a tank at my neighborhood fish store that was really nice and might be next on my list. It was an Oceanic 150-gallon with dimensions of 48" X 24" X 30" tall. The extra depth and height really made a huge difference and I could imagine all sorts of possibilities of unique aquascapes that wouldn't be do-able with an 18" deep tank like mine. And, it wouldn't take up any more real estate on the floor or require much more int he way of lighting. Might be food for thought. Good luck.


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## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

75 or 90 for me.....

jB


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## Moo (Apr 27, 2006)

hmm.. interesting to hear so many for 75. My family has one. It's a good size. I think I "may" be going with a 58 oceanic tank. If that doesn't work out probably going back to the 65. 
I like 75s but although im putting more $$ into this tank than my first Im still somewhat limited. And substrate just keeps getting more expensive. lol.

thanks for your posts!
-moo


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## arcflame (May 2, 2006)

I got a 65 gallon acrylic to replace my hated 55g about a month ago. I got it here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Acrylic-Aquarium-Sump-Tank-Fish-Tank_W0QQitemZ200006040327QQihZ010QQcategoryZ20755QQcmdZViewItem

Their tanks are not the classic, frameless acrylic tanks, but the price is right, shipping (UPS) is reasonable, and they still look better than glass tanks w/ a frames.

They shipped fast, too.


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## Rod Hay (May 6, 2006)

Moo,

I have a 75G, which I really like. I had many options for the lighting and good depth (front to back). I like it. HOWEVER, I've spent the last five month uprooting and ripping plants out!!! With my good lighting and pressurized co2 many plants just grow TOO TALL!!! 

I'm seriously planning to get a 65G as a second tank just for the extra height!
Perhaps running it low tech just so I can grow some of the rosette plants which I've had to tear out. 

I've removed all these: Echinodorus Ozelot. E. Red Melon, E. bleheri, Aponogeton crispus and lastly Barclaya longifolia.


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## Moo (Apr 27, 2006)

wow, thats great.
Hopefully I can't get that growth in my new tank.
Unfortunatly I think I may be leaning toward a smaller tank. 
Oceanic 50 or possibly a 37 gallon. I'm seeing more and more prices and since I'm starting college this fall I don't really want to risk the cash, since I'm going to need alot of it for books.
So I'm going price hunting again.


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## jstageman (Mar 6, 2006)

If you need to stay "smaller," a 50 gal is a great tank. Good dimensions to put a scape together, but not so big that waterchanges and other maintenance items get out of hand.

In terms of lighting, I am currently running 2 2x36W AH supply fixtures in a (crappily built) DIY hood. Each reflector is a little under 36" long and there is one bank across the front of the tank and one across the back. It's a little expensive, but the range of options in terms of providing varying intensities of light (including a "noon bust" effect, without metal halides) is pretty cool.


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## SnakeIce (May 9, 2005)

jstageman said:


> If you need to stay "smaller," a 50 gal is a great tank. Good dimensions to put a scape together, but not so big that waterchanges and other maintenance items get out of hand.


What dimensions is your 50g tank? I have a 50 that is just a lower 55, so based on that I don't see the advantages.


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## Tom Higgs (Mar 2, 2006)

I really like my 50 gal. I got it for the depth; the tank measures 36 x 18 x 18 inches. I am new to this, but with 18 inches of depth there is a lot of room to work with. There are plenty of light options available at 36 inch lenght. I am running 2 light canopies; 1 x 110 watt; and a 30 watt. I would like to get my lighting to about 3WPG, coming soon I hope.


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## Moo (Apr 27, 2006)

SnakeIce, Like Tom said the dimension are switched around a bit.
Oceanic makes thiers 30.5x18.5x21
There is also another 50g size. The size you were reffering to. And you're right lol, that would make much sense to get the lower one. lol. 
Yeah I'm looking for depth here.

And 3wpg! Bah! No way not for me. I just can't handle that. I'm staying superlow tech this time.
But would like to build a canopy. Makes lighting options wider..not to mention cheaper.


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## jstageman (Mar 6, 2006)

It's a 50 "Breeder," so the dimensions are as Tom stated: 36"x18"x18". Sorry I wasn't more specific; it's the only type of 50 gallon that I've seen or heard of, so I assumed it was the only standard size that is actually 50 gallons.

Whatever the case, I still think it's a great size for 'scaping.


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## Moo (Apr 27, 2006)

excellent size. I like more "cubed" sizes for scaping. :: shrugs :: dunno I just think it's more natural.


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## joemomma (Apr 7, 2006)

The eBay link in an earlier post is from www.glasscages.com

These guys are local to me (about two hours down the road) but I do not have any experience with them. I did read another post on here today about them but don't remember which section it was in. They do custom sizes as well, so you can "make your own" tank.


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