# Best tank under 30 gallons



## JEden8 (Nov 11, 2010)

What is the best size tank to get under 30 US gallons and why? Thanks!


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## The Trigger (Apr 23, 2012)

The bigger they are, the easier they are to care for. Are you trying to do a nano tank or what?


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## corsair75 (Dec 21, 2011)

Depends on what you want to accomplish. There are any number of all in one cubes, and rimless tanks under 30G if you want something more dramatic than a standard tank. Fluval's nano line comes to mind for some wild looking stuff. The 20L is a nice long low shape great for high light on the cheap. That said, some of the nicest tanks I've seen have been plain ol' AGA 10 gallon cheapies.


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## JEden8 (Nov 11, 2010)

Well right now I have 3 tanks. Looking to get rid of my 55 and 5 gallon. My 5 gallon is for cherry shrimp breeding and in my 90 gallon my albino bristle nose plecos are breeding and the fry are outgrowing the breeding net. The main purpose of this tank is to use a grow tank until they become of size to sell or trade in.


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## corsair75 (Dec 21, 2011)

Unless 30 gallons is a firm limit, there is a 40 gallon breeder tank. Long, low and wide. The 20L would be a good runner up. You need surface area more than depth.


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## ilikeendlers (May 28, 2011)

I'm also breeding plecos myself and have a bunch of 20g long tanks.
For plecos, if you create a tank full of hideouts and caves, they really appreciate it and the tank doesn't seem to crowded cause they are busy attached to something or hiding.

Also, I have a 30g cube tank that it's short but full of room to work with and gives plecos more room to roam around.
Try a cube tank if you haven't already.


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## Derek (Apr 12, 2010)

I'm a huge fan of the 12 gallon long tanks. They are 36 inches long, but only about 9 inches tall. They make for some very dramatic and beautiful tanks.


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## MartialTheory (Dec 20, 2007)

20 gal long gets my vote! To me its easier to aquascape.


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## The Trigger (Apr 23, 2012)

20 long or a 30 long. 30 long is my favorite tank size if you don't wanna go huge or don't have the room for a 55 or up


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

As others have said, it really depends on what you're trying to do. My favorite tanks are my 2.5 gallon nanos. They can be put just about anywhere, maintenance takes little time, and I love the challenge of aquascaping something so small. 

The 20 gallon long is a nice size tank. Doesn't take up much more space than a 10 gallon, but has more stocking options. Nice footprint for aquascaping, and the height makes it easy to light adequately. The 29 gallon, which has the same footprint as the 20 long, also has pleasing proportions.


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## TarantulaGuy (Apr 15, 2009)

The Trigger said:


> The bigger they are, the easier they are to care for. Are you trying to do a nano tank or what?


This is wrong. Patently wrong. Maybe in saltwater it holds up, not in fresh though. I have a 10 gallon that is the easiest tank in the world I've ever cared for. And I've cared for tanks up to 600 gallons. It ALL depends on how you set it up. Sure, bigger tanks take longer to show negative effects because you have a bigger buffer, but once they do show those effects, you're in for a world of hurt. My tiny 10 gallon takes virtually no effort at all, and I love it. I top off water, and toss in massive amounts of food, end of story. Maybe do a water change every few months. It thrives under such care.

Back to the original question. I'm a fan of 20 longs. Nice to scape with, good dimensions. 10 gallons can also be pretty good.


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## The Trigger (Apr 23, 2012)

TarantulaGuy said:


> This is wrong. Patently wrong. Maybe in saltwater it holds up, not in fresh though. I have a 10 gallon that is the easiest tank in the world I've ever cared for. And I've cared for tanks up to 600 gallons. It ALL depends on how you set it up. Sure, bigger tanks take longer to show negative effects because you have a bigger buffer, but once they do show those effects, you're in for a world of hurt. My tiny 10 gallon takes virtually no effort at all, and I love it. I top off water, and toss in massive amounts of food, end of story. Maybe do a water change every few months. It thrives under such care.
> 
> Back to the original question. I'm a fan of 20 longs. Nice to scape with, good dimensions. 10 gallons can also be pretty good.


Really!!? Any reliable source will tell you that is STATISTICALLY wrong. The more surface area and volume of water you have, the longer it takes for an imbalance to occur or show. This means better water quality and less partial water changes. The easiest tank I've ever kept was a 75g planted. Once it became self sustaining I didnt do a water change for three months just to see what would happen.....and....nothing. no algae, no dead fish....nothing. my 5 gallon I have to do weekly maintainance. Not as much as I used to but it still takes time. So nothing I said is PATENTLY WRONG.


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## TarantulaGuy (Apr 15, 2009)

Like I said, bigger is not better. It's a stupid perpetuated myth in freshwater, carried over from saltwater junkies that think they know better than freshwater people. I've never seen a bigger tank that was easier to care for than my 10 gallon, or my 20, 29 gallons. More surface area? I don't think so. More water volume? Sure, just means you can screw up more and not have to worry about it until it compounds to the point where you REALLY have problems because you have 200 gallons of water and all of it is bad. I can go a year without changing water in my 10 gallon, and have, the little guy thrives with just top offs. The only thing that matters is that you understand how to make a self-sustaining system with the only input being the food you toss in. Size is *totally irrelevant* for any decently set up tank. And you will not be able to convince me otherwise, as I've spent plenty of time around fish tanks, taking care of nanos up to 600 gallons plus. By far and away the most work intensive tanks are the large ones. Knowing how to setup yours system is what matters, not the size.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

I have to side with TarantulaGuy here. My 4, 5 and 7 gallon tanks look better and take much less maintenance than my 40 and 55 gallon tanks. The setup matters more than size. My easiest is a 4 gallon baby biorb, with dirt, gravel, plants, shrimp, and occasionally a pair or two of small fish - otos, white clouds or baby abns. No heater, no filter, top off every week or two and partial water change about once a year. Pure joy.

The best tank size is one that fits the location you have, fits the residents you want, fits your budget and your ability to care for it. In other words, there is no universal best tank, just a best tank for your current situation.


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## The Trigger (Apr 23, 2012)

And the one thing I absolutely agree with both of you on is that the setup matters more than anything else. I have never had a salt water tank in my life so I know nothing about caring for them. I'm a lifelong freshwater guy. So none of my oppinions come from being a salt water person at all. And I'm not trying to change your opinion on anything because...your opinion is your opinion....but I suppose we can go back and forth forever trying to say that this tank is easier to care for from this tank etc. but I suppose I can say my 75g was much better setup than my 5g. gallon. I'm cleaning out the filter weekly because it gets clogged up with crap so fast. On my current 29 gallon I'm cleaning my eheim once every 3-4 months, and when I do, there's almost nothing to clean. This has always been the case for ME. always had better success with larger tanks. Maybe it is a myth just like the watts per gallon rule supposedly still works. But my expiriences have found it to be correct in most cases along with many other people I know. My ten gallon also does great tarantulaguy. its been running for like 7 months and I think I've changed the water once. Anything lower than a ten I've always found to be more a pain in the a$$ than anything.


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## The Trigger (Apr 23, 2012)

Th real victim here is Jeden8.......he just wanted some oppinions on a good tank size to grow out his fish in......


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## aquaman555 (Mar 22, 2011)

I would agree with you both because I don't think either is wrong and a lot is personal experience. My 2.5g shrimp tank is easy enough. Even in reef tanks that is made to be more of a worry than needed to be these days with advanced equipment and quality salt mixes and heavy usage of live rock/sand. My brother kept a 12g nano SW and took care of it less than I did my 55g and his had easier to care for corals, but thrived very well and was a breeze for him to care for.

Anyway 20g longs are nice, back in the day I did do a 20 long low light simple plants for a short period and it's size and shortness gives it a stream type environment and can be aquascaped very nicely. As another person noted the 29g, are also nice and the same footprint as a 20 long, but more height. The petsmarts around here just started stocking some 25g tanks and I've kind of been wanting to switch over to one of those, they're 24" I believe. I think they have a nice look due to dimensions.


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