50 or 55g aquarium

[Awesomefazekas]

should I buy a 50 gallon or 55 gallon for my upgrade

 

[twiddlemuffin]

Bigger is always better!

 

[jwh0818]

Bigger is always better!

Not always. What's the footprint of the 50g

 

[Old Scales]

It depends Awesome,
What kind of fish do you wish to keep? Do you plan on having it planted with some hardscape? The 55 is taller and works well with centerpiece fish like Angels or Discus but it is only 12" front to back so it limits aquascaping room. The 50 is better suited to schooling fish and is wider front to back. It's shallower than a 55 but has more surface area and can hold more fish than a 55. It all depends on your plan and purpose. OS.

 

[josh7]

Go with the 55 the dimension are a lot better the extra foot will be great!
The 50 gallon usually is 36x18x18 I would much rather have the 48x12x21 you get with a 55.

 

[Old Scales]

Or look at a 60.

 

[jwh0818]

Or look at a 60.

Well since you put it that way you might as well look at that 500g

 

[Old Scales]

LOL Just throwing out possibilities. You know, devil's advocate. OS.

 

[tratcliffe44]

I have a 55 gal. I love it. You can put all different types of fish in it. But it does boil down to what you think looks the best. Then you will want think if the fish you want to stock it with.

 

[Karatepig]

Go with the 55 the dimension are a lot better the extra foot will be great!
The 50 gallon usually is 36x18x18 I would much rather have the 48x12x21 you get with a 55.

36"x18"x18" is a few decimal places from 55 gallons. I think I would still go with that footprint, it's about 72 square feet bigger. It's better for bigger fish I suppose.

 

[josh7]

I was saying 36x18x18 is a 50 gallon

 

[gilpi]

36"x18"x18" is a few decimal places from 55 gallons. I think I would still go with that footprint, it's about 72 square feet bigger. It's better for bigger fish I suppose.

I think you mean 72 square "inches" bigger?
So the 50 gallon is just like the 40 gallon but an inch taller? 40g are also 36x18x18. I have never seen one of those 50g yet. My favorite tanks for my space have become the 40g breeder tanks over the 55g because of the swimming area.

 

[jwh0818]

I think you mean 72 square "inches" bigger?
So the 50 gallon is just like the 40 gallon but an inch taller? 40g are also 36x18x18. I have never seen one of those 50g yet. My favorite tanks for my space have become the 40g breeder tanks because of the swimming area.

A breeder is only 13" tall if I'm not mistaken

 

[gilpi]

A breeder is only 13" tall if I'm not mistaken

I just measured it and it's 17" tall

So maybe the 50 is taller than 18"? I have seen 50 gallon long but it's basically the same as the 55g minus a couple of inches in height

 

[Karatepig]

I think you mean 72 square "inches" bigger?
So the 50 gallon is just like the 40 gallon but an inch taller? 40g are also 36x18x18. I have never seen one of those 50g yet. My favorite tanks for my space have become the 40g breeder tanks over the 55g because of the swimming area.

Yes, sorry, square inches. I was saying that the dimensions he listed was nearly 55 gallons. 40 breeders are 36x18x16.