What size Reef Tank?

[robertfah]

I just sold my 155g FOWLR over the weekend and I am thinking of investing in a smaller, reef tank. My question is, what is the best size tank for a reef? I know it depends on what I want to do but I've heard so many people in this hobby say they are very happy with their 75g and it seems to be the right size.

I know I would definately not want to be limited to what I can do. I felt like that in my last tank because of the lighting (Power Compacts) so I would be looking at something with either VHO or T5 lighting. Metal Halides are out of the question because the room has 12ft ceilings and it will not look right with them suspended from the ceiling. I've been in the hobby for about 10 years and am finally looking to enjoy a reef setup.

Any advice you can give on tank size, lighting, preferences, etc. would be great.

 

[rive1404]

I have a 75 and I wanted a 150. We should have traded!

I guess it depends on what kind of fish you want to keep. Tangs need longer tanks and a 125 would be great for them. But smaller fish like clowns and such don't really need all that much space.

When you target in on a certain tank and give its specs., maybe more people will chime in with lighting opinions.

 

[melosu58]

I like the 125 gallon tank for a reef. Plenty of space and just the right height. I also suggest a 55 gallon tank and up to be good sizes for reefs. They can be smaller but water volume plays a big part to me.

 

[robertfah]

I have a 75 and I wanted a 150. We should have traded!

I guess it depends on what kind of fish you want to keep. Tangs need longer tanks and a 125 would be great for them. But smaller fish like clowns and such don't really need all that much space.

When you target in on a certain tank and give its specs., maybe more people will chime in with lighting opinions.

Thanks for the response. I know the question is hard to answer, especially since not a whole lot of info was given.

I loved my 155 but the maintenance was too much once my 3 kids came along. 40-50g water changes and 10g refills every 4 days (due to evaopration, yeah, FL sucks for that) got to be too much. But also my kids were interested in it and I thought if I got a smaller tank they may be able to participate more (feeding, cleaning, etc).

I guess I am feeling like I would like a tank big enough to make me look at it with wonder once it's filled with corals but not so big that the maintenace becaomes a headache and my wife (who loves the hobby as well) doesn't even want to help. As far as fish go, I'm not too big on larger fish....I like the smaller, more colorful ones (clowns, gobbies, blennies, pipe fish, etc.) I like all the crabs, shrimp, snails, etc....(I had 2 cleaner shrimp in my last tank and my 3 tangs thought they were lunch.....gone in abuot 20 minutes, LOL). I;d love to have clams, soft and hard corals (although I heard the hard corals are tough, so I may wait on those).......just some ideas of what I had in mind.

 

[robertfah]

I like the 125 gallon tank for a reef. Plenty of space and just the right height. I also suggest a 55 gallon tank and up to be good sizes for reefs. They can be smaller but water volume plays a big part to me.

I heard 55g are great if you can get them wide, not tall. The tall ones are too narrow (I heard) to make the reef look like it has "depth". I do recall my 55 looking pretty skinny now that I think about it. A 125....my wife would kill me....."That's only 30g smaller than the one you sold....why did you ever get rid of it then!:.....LOL.

 

[robertfah]

Here's a tank that I am going to look at tonight:

AMAZING REEF AQUARIUM TURN KEY

The 2 bottom pics are the same and the top two are different tanks (he has 5 tanks all together). I am thinking of the 75g and spoke with him last night. He seems legit, nice, very knowlegable and seems like he's not trying to hide anything.

 

[austinsdad]

Wow!!! 4 tangs in that tank and "very sick pair of clowns". Hmmmmm! Wonder why they're sick.

 

[robertfah]

Wow!!! 4 tangs in that tank and "very sick pair of clowns". Hmmmmm! Wonder why they're sick.

Yes I inquired about this "sick" pair of clowns and he meant that as in "very awesome, patterned, colors". He said they were pretty expensive and he's not too sure if he will let them go with the tank.

 

[robertfah]

This tank comes with VHO lighting and while I know it's not the "best" lighting.....it will work for 90% of what most people are looking to do in a reef setup, correct?

 

[pat8you]

I don't know what kind of budget you are looking at but they make some extra deep tanks that make fantastic reef set ups. I think Marieland has a series of them. You can also look at glasscages.com. They have a ton of tank sizes include some very cool square ones. I personally think that adding depth to a reef set up does wonders. It really allows you to do some more interesting/creative aquascape with your rocks. They are a little more expensive but i think it would be worth the price in the long run. They also have the really nice advantage of more viewing space on the sides. Allows you to really see your coral and inverts from all angles.

 

[ccCapt]

This tank comes with VHO lighting and while I know it's not the "best" lighting.....it will work for 90% of what most people are looking to do in a reef setup, correct?

It depends on what corals you think 90% of the people want.
Mike (Melosu) has VHO's over his 125 reef and it looks great.
My tank would not live under VHO's alone. I only use VHO for actinic supplementation.
So it depends on what kinds of corals you want to keep.

 

[Crepe]

I would personally build my own tank but that's just me. I'm stuck between constructing a 60g square tank or just saving some cash for text books and building a 15g nano.

 

[robertfah]

It depends on what corals you think 90% of the people want.
Mike (Melosu) has VHO's over his 125 reef and it looks great.
My tank would not live under VHO's alone. I only use VHO for actinic supplementation.
So it depends on what kinds of corals you want to keep.

yes, this is true. I am very uneducated in the areas of corals so I don't know which ones I would "want". Lighting is such a tough issue with tanks (for me). I guess I don't want to spend $7-$900 on this tank to find out "Oh VHO lighting? Na, you won't be able to do squat with it.....just fish....most corals will die in there".

I would personally build my own tank but that's just me. I'm stuck between constructing a 60g square tank or just saving some cash for text books and building a 15g nano.

The more I look at tanks and see the difference sizes, the more I am leaning towards a wider tank. I like the look and I think it adds depth to the tank.

I got $900 for my 155g setup and I would like to use that or just a tad more (maybe 1k tops) but in a smaller tank. So I think that's reasonable but still exploring all options.

 

[pat8you]

glass cages makes a tank 70 Square 30 x 30 x 17 Tall. I think this would be an excellent reef. This is shallow enough that you can put T-5s over it and keep a very wide range of coral.

 

[robertfah]

glass cages makes a tank 70 Square 30 x 30 x 17 Tall. I think this would be an excellent reef. This is shallow enough that you can put T-5s over it and keep a very wide range of coral.

I looked into this (was on this site last night actually). While their tanks are slightly expensive, it's all the other items that I have to buy that put me well into the 1500k range. The stand for this tank is 300, no canopy but T5 lighting would be about 300, then a sump, pumps, etc. would be another 3-500. ugh, decisions, decisions.

 

[Crepe]

Diy a stand lol. And instead of having a canopy, get pendant lights. Most large T5 fixtures come with pendant hooks. My 24" fixture even has them. However, if you're on a tight budget go with the 75. More money for corals.

 

[melosu58]

I could have most LPS and soft corals and some SPS corals with VHO`s. I have 4 160 watt bulbs across my tank. I just cant do High light corals.

 

[Jimbo7]

Deep and shallow is what I prefer. That 70 that pat suggested would be really sweet. I have seen people bend over strips of acrylic to hang pendants off of, and it looks really good.

 

[robertfah]

Well I went last night to look at the tank and the 75 is nice, but the cabinet/stand is WAY too big and will not fit where I want to put it. So I turned my attention to a 65g that he had; very nice. It had all the goodies in it and appeared to be in good shape. The only thing was the bulkhead connector was glued in, so in order to take the tank apart, I would have to break that fitting and then put a new one on once I got it home. Not too sure how dangerous that is to do but I'm not too worried about it.

We'll see what he says....he wanted $700 and I offered $500. Mainly for the reason it doesn't come with a light. Well, it does, but it's a PC setup and I do not want that. After reading several articles (some that you all have suggested), I think I'm better off getting T5's. He said he would need a day to think about it, but I hope he says yes. I believe it's a fair price and he'll know the tank is going to a good home, not to some bum who can't take care of his fish.

Here's for hoping!

 

[Jimbo7]

Is it empty or does it have rock and livestock already?