Consensus on Tall tanks?

[SpikeAZ]

My wife hates the size of our 120, and so I was looking for a smaller tank, perhaps a 75.

I saw a real good deal on a 70 combo with an overflow, but it was a tall version.

I plan on doing a FOWLR with maybe a few shrooms, leathers and similar. I have MH lighting but it is waaaaay too much light (blows our circuit breaker), so I will likely be downgrading to VHOs (also this canopy is much shorter than the tall 120g canopy, so MH lighting won't really work.)

Is the tall not good enough? Should I plop down the extra 100 for a normal tank?

Thanks.

 

[lando]

Tall tanks do present a problem. Light penetration being one of them. They also have a dereased surface area and do not allow for as good of gas exchange. This can lead to Ph problems. Also, most fish prefer horizontal swimming space. This is hamppered in a "tall" tank. A standard 75gal would get my vote.

 

[Hara]

My first salttank was a 150 gallon cube. It was quite difficult to light. I had VHO bulbs across the top and the things on the bottom half of the tank never got enough light. The tank was 31 inches tall.

 

[SpikeAZ]

Thanks, I ended up with a standard 75g. Now to build the canopy (they wanted $800 for a nice one, screw that I'll build it myself) and somehow figure out how to do a trashcan sump.