Fellow NEWBIES: VOLUME is ILLUSORY: Verify L x H x W pre-purchase; Measure INTERIORS

[LHotelUmbraQua]

Hi, fish friends, this is turning into LOADS of fun!

As a beginner speaking to beginners, I advise strongly that VOLUME, and Illusory VOLUME PERCEPTION, is something you must check out now, early, while thinking about a tank capacity and fish, and while learning how to build, cycle, populate a tank.

Volume perception and misperception may AMAZE you.

1. Volume hides itself in 3D space. Two tanks that appear very similar in size can be RADICALLY different in volume.

Add an inch to go a mile.

Since you are likely choosing your first or second tanks by Volume in gallons, and already have a space in your home in mind to install it, the actual interior water capacity, and the actual exterior dimensions, REALLY really matter right now. It's not something you can eyeball, or assume, or take someone's word for. Volume is far too illusory for that.

If you have not designed interiors, or worked with spatial math very much (it's easy), you may be in for a suprise.

VOLUME SUPPORTS LIFE. When designing my own tank, shopping for a custom tank, and planning for actual future fish, I spend a lot of time verifying every volume I can, and running the math very carefully.

In the thread that follows, you will find more details, as well as my own to-scale illustrations, to better show you how illusory volume is, and why many veterans (I am a newbie) advise to plan for more, rather than less, capacity in your first tank.

So, find your yardsticks, rulers, and tape measures, and get to work!

HAVE FUN! Comments are welcome!

The illustration below shows how suddenly, after 13 or so gallons, your capacity jumps much higher, exponentially, with every inch of dimension you add.

 

[LHotelUmbraQua]

Comparison of 4 tanks heights of 8", 9", 12" and 15", and NBA basketball

TO BEST VIEW ILLUSTRATION, CLICK AND ZOOM IN

The four tank illustrations below have H:L:W aspects of 3:6:4. Aspect ratio is important in tank design, plus, it accounts for the radical misperception of volume of objects of relatively similar heights.

For fish, VOLUME = LIFE. Measure all interiors of your tanks, by hand, to determine their true total capacity, and their capacity to support life.

Watch the volumes of these tanks increase greatly with a few added inches:

8" tank= 5.9 gal.
9" tank = 8.4 gal.
12" tank = 19.9 gal.
15" tank = 39 gal.

Now, see how the REAL "life capacity" changes after accounting for the volume of "Earth & Air" -- 1.5" of substrate, and 1.5" water level below brim:

8" tank= 3.7 gal.
9" tank = 5.6 gal.
12" tank = 15 gal.
15" tank = 31.2 gal.

I hope this is helpful to you as you plan for real tanks in real homes with real fish.

To help you get a true sense of the sizes you are looking at, included in my illustrations are common objects of universal sizes you are likely to have a sense of.

 

[LHotelUmbraQua]

Typo: Correction of tank size

TO BEST VIEW ILLUSTRATION, CLICK AND ZOOM IN

The four tank illustrations below have H:L:W aspects of 3:6:4.

8" tank= 5.9 gal.

Now, see how the REAL "life capacity" changes after accounting for the volume of "Earth & Air" -- 1.5" of substrate, and 1.5" water level below brim:

8" tank= 3.7 gal.

To help you get a true sense of the sizes you are looking at, included in my illustrations are common objects of universal sizes you are likely to have a sense of.

Correction:

The dimensions of tank #1 in the illustration are 8" H x 16" L and 10.7" W.