Cube tanks vs Rectangular tanks?

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RTBS2221

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 13, 2025
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Texas
Any pros and cons of cube vs rectangular? What y'all's thoughts are on the subject? Whats your stocking on a 200 gallon cube and a 200 gallon standard rectangular tank?Thinking of a few ideas for mine but would like to hear what some one else has to say.
 
All depends on what kind of fish you are putting in them. Swimming fish would be better off in longer tanks. ( water volume is not as important as dimensions are. ) Non active swimming fish ( i.e Discus, Angelfish, larger sedentary cichlids, etc) can do nicely in a cube shape IF the cube is large enough and there is no other fish that will invade their space. For marine fish, most reef fish are not big active swimmers so they don't need the swimming space. Open(ish) water fish ( i.e. Larger Angelfish, Tangs, Surgeonfish, Moorish Idols, some wrasse species, etc) however would do better with more swimming length.
My personal preference is always length... the longer the better. (y)
 
Any pros and cons of cube vs rectangular? What y'all's thoughts are on the subject? Whats your stocking on a 200 gallon cube? Thinking of a few ideas for mine but would like to hear what some one else has to say.
 
Sorry forgot the dimensions are 48"×48"×32". Thanks I appreciate the input.
 
Same still goes regarding fish types. You would be able to put different fish in a tank 72" L x 24" wide x 32" H than the one you described even tho they are the same water volume. :unsure:
 
Yes that's why I said "Whats your stocking on a 200 gallon cube and a 200 gallon standard rectangular tank?". And not can I keep the same fish in a 200 cube as a 200 long. Was wondering what different people's opinions would be.
 
Well, freshwater or saltwater? Heated or cold water? What kind of filter are you using? What kind of maintenance will you be doing? What's your lighting? Do you like schooling fish or sedentary fish? Do you want one big fish or a lot of smaller fish? See, there is no standard " stocking list" for a certain sized aquarium. People's taste in fish are all different. The best way to figure is to pick out the fish you want THEN get the tank that best fits them. (y)
 
I could have been a bit more specific. Should have made it clear that this was opinionated topic. In the 200 cube I have tropical fresh water fish 1 Red Texas cichlid(got from some one that was getting rid of the tank), 1 bumble bee cichlid, 1 op cichlid (I believe is what it's called), 1 yellow lab, 1Johanni Cichlid, 1 red tail black shark, 1 bristol nose pleco, 1 red line shark( had 4 last one left they're hard to find and winter), 1 Synodontis catfish, 7 blue and red Colombian tetra's, 6 Odessa barbs, 8 golden barbs(probably gonna remove these guys seems like they're getting picked on), 8 or 9 corryes of a couple different species, snails filter is a 30 gal sump with the overflow in the center of the tank. Now I'm say this again as stated in the original post I'm not really asking for advice I'm asking if you had this tank what would you do. If you had a long 200 what would you do. I just wanted to see and learn about more and different fish. Thanks 👉 ps I did want to know why the 4' "circle"(call it 32" after accounting for corners?)wouldn't simulate a longer continuous swim that a 6' straight line?
 
I could have been a bit more specific. Should have made it clear that this was opinionated topic. In the 200 cube I have tropical fresh water fish 1 Red Texas cichlid(got from some one that was getting rid of the tank), 1 bumble bee cichlid, 1 op cichlid (I believe is what it's called), 1 yellow lab, 1Johanni Cichlid, 1 red tail black shark, 1 bristol nose pleco, 1 red line shark( had 4 last one left they're hard to find and winter), 1 Synodontis catfish, 7 blue and red Colombian tetra's, 6 Odessa barbs, 8 golden barbs(probably gonna remove these guys seems like they're getting picked on), 8 or 9 corryes of a couple different species, snails filter is a 30 gal sump with the overflow in the center of the tank. Now I'm say this again as stated in the original post I'm not really asking for advice I'm asking if you had this tank what would you do. If you had a long 200 what would you do. I just wanted to see and learn about more and different fish. Thanks 👉 ps I did want to know why the 4' "circle"(call it 32" after accounting for corners?)wouldn't simulate a longer continuous swim that a 6' straight line?
Yes, you should have been more specific that you already had fish in the tank. ;) You also have quite an eclectic groups of fish that do not really belong together. You have American cichlids, African cichlids, African Catfish and South American Catfish, Tropical fish and possibly some cooler water fish all together. I don't know how long they have been together but am surprised that they lasted more than a week. I assume your African Cichlids are still small which is why.
I learned a very valuable lesson with circular tanks vs rectangular tanks: When you force a fish to swim in a single motion, you cause the muscles on one side of the fish to be larger and stronger than the other. In the long run, that is not good for the fish. They should have a symmetrical physique. My former neighbor was a Koi breeder and his breeder pools were 15' and 16' diameter. He had to use different pumps to pump water into the pools so that the fish swam one direction with the current for a few hours then the opposite direction when the other pump kicked on and the first pump turned off. He showed me one of his older breeders that was not raised this way and the fish was horrible to look at. It looked like the Hulk on one side and Mr. Wimpy on the other. Since this was not a genetic defect it could still be bred but if it were a "looking" or selling fish, it was worthless. So in a cube or circular tank, unless you change the flow directions, your fish will usually swim with the current. In a rectangular tank, they have to turn around if they want to keep swimming. That exercises both sides of the body. (y)
As for my Opinion, you have more tropical fish than anything else so I would rehome all the none tropical fish and build from there. If you wanted the more colorful fish, Keep the African Cichlids and rehome everything else beside the Synodontis cat and build up your collection with the more colorful African Cichlids. The deciding factor however would be your tap water's pH and hardness levels. If you have a higher pH (7.8 + ) with a higher hardness level, that better suits the Africans. If you have a softer water ( low general hardness), that better suits your tropical fish. So " Opinions" alone are not always what's best for the fish long term. I use the water's parameters to form my decisions. (y)
 
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