What is Your Current Tank Size? Are You Happy With It?
- Thread starter Gumbies R Us
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OP
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Oh, wow!!! It's a nice looking tank!
Most recently I had a 120g AIO that I was fond of for a lot of reasons. It was correctly stocked and was doing really well until it sprang a leak.
I am waiting for my glass cages 210g to arrive (it’s in the mail) complete with 150g sump/refugium basement fish room which is all ready to go.
My thoughts on tank size as I have owned:
60g Cube (overflow). HATED IT. Cramped stand to work with on a 24x24 footprint. Oh, did you want a sump you could sctually work in? Ha! Rockscaping is difficult trying to get height and it isn’t very wide so you end up with lots of negative space above in the water column or just a pile of rock.
40g Cube AIO (IM Nuvo). The perfect tank if you have the space for someone just starting out or who doesn’t want too much fuss. Easy to rock scape as it isn’t too tall. Beautiful low-e glass. Stocking is limited to 3-4 small fish but it’s just easy to work with, easy to light. Lit with a single XR30 but if you don’t care about growth a single 360x will be pretty in form and shimmer.
40g Breeder: Great footprint. Great first budget tank. You can buy a kit to turn it into an AIO if you want. Easier to light these days with a single XR30.
10g standard: My first tank. With a 150w MH over it I could watch the water evaporate before my eyes.
10g IM Nuvo AIO: A great little tank but the single overflow and small size makes it a flood risk. If your expectations and stocking list are low, it’s a great little tank. Easy to light -although the Kessil A160 wasn’t enough for anemones which on a budget tank like this is disappointing; place the blame where you like but knowledge is power.
20g IM Nuvo AIO: Same as above but the double overflows reduces flood risk. Lighting this tank is once again, painful. I’m using an XR15 over it but the A160 caused significant shading.
120g IM Nuvo AIO: Beautiful tank. Thick Low-E glass. Great length allows for decent sized tangs to have room to run. Shallow so you don’t need a nuclear reactor to light it. It was a bit small from front to back so field of depth is noticeable. The back is easier to work with but you still have limited equipment selection. I was able to use COR-15 return pumps, KLIR filter sock rollers, and have a large refugium (large enough). It also fit the larger Tunze Skimmer which for the price and form factor is a great piece of kit. The back acrylic came off on this tank around year 2 and when I reached out to IM, they laughed at me despite it being under warranty. The tank eventually sprung a random leak.
My next tank is an 83x24x25 tall glass cages drilled tank- about 210g. It should be here in the next week or so. The design and layout, including a fish room below, is the culmination of 10+ years of reading, researching, and applied experience and knowledge. The dimensions were thoughtfully chosen but dictated by the area where it will go. I could have gone taller but even at 6’7”, I would need a step ladder to reach out the bottom. At 24” front-to-back, rockscaping to 36” tall would have also been difficult or left a lot of blank water.
I would have liked a deeper (front to back tank). I think 36” or so is the magical number to help you “lose” perception on where the back of the tank is but still not lose fish and things in the back.
More fish = more problems. I don’t overstock any more (made the mistake one time) so I don’t need more real estate for fish.
I am at the point where I’ve had all the different flavors of coral so I know my stocking list. I may want to “try something again” but I don’t treat them like Pokémon anymore. I know what I want, I have room for it and for it to grow out.
I am waiting for my glass cages 210g to arrive (it’s in the mail) complete with 150g sump/refugium basement fish room which is all ready to go.
My thoughts on tank size as I have owned:
60g Cube (overflow). HATED IT. Cramped stand to work with on a 24x24 footprint. Oh, did you want a sump you could sctually work in? Ha! Rockscaping is difficult trying to get height and it isn’t very wide so you end up with lots of negative space above in the water column or just a pile of rock.
40g Cube AIO (IM Nuvo). The perfect tank if you have the space for someone just starting out or who doesn’t want too much fuss. Easy to rock scape as it isn’t too tall. Beautiful low-e glass. Stocking is limited to 3-4 small fish but it’s just easy to work with, easy to light. Lit with a single XR30 but if you don’t care about growth a single 360x will be pretty in form and shimmer.
40g Breeder: Great footprint. Great first budget tank. You can buy a kit to turn it into an AIO if you want. Easier to light these days with a single XR30.
10g standard: My first tank. With a 150w MH over it I could watch the water evaporate before my eyes.
10g IM Nuvo AIO: A great little tank but the single overflow and small size makes it a flood risk. If your expectations and stocking list are low, it’s a great little tank. Easy to light -although the Kessil A160 wasn’t enough for anemones which on a budget tank like this is disappointing; place the blame where you like but knowledge is power.
20g IM Nuvo AIO: Same as above but the double overflows reduces flood risk. Lighting this tank is once again, painful. I’m using an XR15 over it but the A160 caused significant shading.
120g IM Nuvo AIO: Beautiful tank. Thick Low-E glass. Great length allows for decent sized tangs to have room to run. Shallow so you don’t need a nuclear reactor to light it. It was a bit small from front to back so field of depth is noticeable. The back is easier to work with but you still have limited equipment selection. I was able to use COR-15 return pumps, KLIR filter sock rollers, and have a large refugium (large enough). It also fit the larger Tunze Skimmer which for the price and form factor is a great piece of kit. The back acrylic came off on this tank around year 2 and when I reached out to IM, they laughed at me despite it being under warranty. The tank eventually sprung a random leak.
My next tank is an 83x24x25 tall glass cages drilled tank- about 210g. It should be here in the next week or so. The design and layout, including a fish room below, is the culmination of 10+ years of reading, researching, and applied experience and knowledge. The dimensions were thoughtfully chosen but dictated by the area where it will go. I could have gone taller but even at 6’7”, I would need a step ladder to reach out the bottom. At 24” front-to-back, rockscaping to 36” tall would have also been difficult or left a lot of blank water.
I would have liked a deeper (front to back tank). I think 36” or so is the magical number to help you “lose” perception on where the back of the tank is but still not lose fish and things in the back.
More fish = more problems. I don’t overstock any more (made the mistake one time) so I don’t need more real estate for fish.
I am at the point where I’ve had all the different flavors of coral so I know my stocking list. I may want to “try something again” but I don’t treat them like Pokémon anymore. I know what I want, I have room for it and for it to grow out.
Good question I have a 90 right now but I think it's time to expand. Maybe a 300 again, long story but at 1 time I had 2 300s and a few more got out of the hobby when my wife passed away. Then I made a mistake I went scuba diving in Thailand.
OP
OP
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300 is a good size!! Sorry about your wife passing away!
I have a RedSea Reefer 170 that I'll be setting back up this summer. But, I am starting to fantasize about getting a larger
tank like a Cade 900 Frag 900 or 1200.
Perhaps it is time to start dosing my wife??
tank like a Cade 900 Frag 900 or 1200.
Perhaps it is time to start dosing my wife??
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