125g Reef Cube Stocking Questions

[CleverBs]

So I want to build a 125g Cube soon instead of a in wall tank because I am not going to have the money to do the wall build the way I want it for quite a few years. So I want to do a 125g Cube (36x36x24) Now Iv been looking at alot of tanks online and most the 125g cubes or 150g cubes are stocked with quite a few tangs.

I dont really understand how the cube is different for a tang. If I allow them to be able to swim all the way around the tank does this give them ample room?

Stock List:

Naso Tang
Sailfin Tang
Hippo Tang
Powerder Blue Tang
Pair of Picosso Clowns
Copper Band Butterfly
Group of chromis
Fox Face Lo

Now I have seen about 5 different 125g setups with those 4 tangs in it and they are all large and healthy

I think its nice for them to be in a cube beings they will have a constaint swimming area beings they can swim in a circle around the tank and now have to make tight turns and go back and forth. LMK what you all think

 

[Ingy]

As an avid diver I understand the need for the 6 ft tank for most tangs. I have "chased" quite a few and they do indeed sprint away from me, then stop and look back to see if I'm coming (or perhaps Dory forgot I was coming). In any case, they dont seem to dart at angles or zig-zag like many other fish on the reefs do. So I'm not sure a 3' square tank would provide the same 'space' that a 6ft rectangle tank would.

 

[CleverBs]

well that doesnt make sense to me beings if you walk up to a 6ft tank they will dart straight back into the glass 24" away. I dont get the idea that they need a 6ft long tank. Nothing i seem to come up with supports this idea. I really think its just a volume issue. Because tangs would be perfectly fine in a 240g cube and its 4ft by 4ft

 

[Ingy]

well that doesnt make sense to me beings if you walk up to a 6ft tank they will dart straight back into the glass 24" away. I dont get the idea that they need a 6ft long tank. Nothing i seem to come up with supports this idea. I really think its just a volume issue. Because tangs would be perfectly fine in a 240g cube and its 4ft by 4ft

well they would run directly away if they are skittish. And if the back wall is only 24" away thats where they will end up. The point I was making is they almost always dart away from me in a straight line when I'm diving and chasing them. Most other reef fish will zig and zag if I chase them.
As for the 6 ft requirements, that is what most professionals will recommend and what the 125gal requirement is based on.
But there are many out there that will tell you they are fine in a 20 gal tank too. But I would rely on the credible advice from professional sources.
My opinion is only meant as an observation I have made diving on reefs as to the reaction of tangs in the wild.

 

[CleverBs]

well they would run directly away if they are skittish. And if the back wall is only 24" away thats where they will end up. The point I was making is they almost always dart away from me in a straight line when I'm diving and chasing them. Most other reef fish will zig and zag if I chase them.
As for the 6 ft requirements, that is what most professionals will recommend and what the 125gal requirement is based on.
But there are many out there that will tell you they are fine in a 20 gal tank too. But I would rely on the credible advice from professional sources.
My opinion is only meant as an observation I have made diving on reefs as to the reaction of tangs in the wild.

well I am just making conversation. I am not discrediting you so sorry if i came across harsh or anything. I just always here the 6ft tank said right in step with them in the wild. However I am not convinced that a person can say that they need "6ft" this is some random magic number. Not all tanks are six foot long and I think the 6ft rule is because of the fact they do need a larger tank on the 120+ gallon side to house more then one and be happy. However I think that this 6ft rule came into play because 90% of the tanks out there are standard tanks. I have been trying to find how a cube changes this. because I know for **** sure that you could put alot of tangs in a 5ft by 5ft cube and they would have much more room then a 6ft tank. Just as i think that if you put them in a 125g Cube they will have alot more usable swim room then a 125g Long. (I may get flamed for this but I could really careless) I have a sailfin in my 75g, Hes not super big probably about 4.5" long maybe 5'' I watch him swim around the tank all the time because hes always active and I enjoy watching him and one thing i notice about him is he never paces up and down the tank. He swims all over the tank in a random manner because hes grazing. Tangs swim long distances in the wild because of how they eat. They just keep moving forward and keep eating. So this makes me feel that they would get better use out of a cube because of the fact theres just more room for them to move randomly instead of back and forth all the time.

I am sure that that many tangs in a 125g will cause some problems. I just want to see what people think about it that have experience with cubes. Because IMO when you switch to a cube you change the way the fish are going to swim in the tank.

All the videos iv watched of fish in cubes are almost like fish in a cylinder tank. They just swim in circles through the tank and take different paths and what not. were in a standard tank its always the same thing they swim one way then turn around and swim the other way there isnt a fluid motion that they can take while swimming in a standard tank and i think with the depth of the cube (If aquascaped correctly to achieve this) lets them swim a bit more freely. The way I would aquascape it is have multiple islands of rock and nothing against any wall of the tank allowing for a larger circle to be swam.