Aquarium size question

[FMike]

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question for everybody just to make sure that I will not do anything I will regret later

I want to start a reef tank but I do not have allot of space in my apartment, I live in the French alpes and my apartment is 30m2, and I have a relatively quiet space in my living room where I would like to place my aquarium.

Now I would like to build a tank that has the following dimensions, 30cm wide, 30 cm deep and 75cm high. This will give me about 30 gallons of water in the tank.

I will be building the tank myself from scratch with maybe a sump under it in a cabinet.

I have never had a tank before and I am a bit hesitant to have a small tank because of the fluctuations in the water parameters with small volumes.

Do you guys have any tips for me before I begin this journey?

And sorry if I made any spelling or orthographic mistakes I am a native Belgian living in France.

Have a nice day & Thanks allot!

 

[725196]

Hello. First of all welcome to the world of reefing! You sound ambitious and like you are going to have an amazing journey into the hobby. Take lots of photos to share.

The tank size isa good one but the smaller the tank the more fluctuate you can get. The opposite is true as well. The smaller the tank the easier to fix the the fluctuation.

What will be important for you is to have a good and reliable ATO (auto top off) to help keep the swings in salinity from going to high or low.

good luck and enjoy the process

 

[Billdogg]

Although I applaud your efforts, a tank of those dimensions will be difficult to decorate, difficult to clean, difficult to provide adequate lighting, and have very minimal oxygen exchange at the surface. I would rethink those dimensions (~12"x12"x 29" tall for all us americans) if I were you.

Let us know what you decide!!!

 

[BZOFIQ]

That's too small (footprint/surface area)/too tall a tank to do anything with. Go long or wide and not tall.

 

[725196]

(~12"x12"x 29" tall for all us)
Let us know what you decide!!!

I completely missed that. Good catch

 

[FMike]

Thanks for the response everybody.

The main reason why I wanted such a high tank is because I am a bit hesitant about putting fish in a tank that is too small for them and the water fluctuations that would come with a smaller tank.

It will be my first tank and as a beginner I want to be sure that I can keep everything in good conditions to keep everybody in the aquarium happy and thriving.

I could go 18 inch wide, 12 inch deep and what would be a good height too keep everything easy enough to handle?

Would adding a sump add up to my total water amount and keep the water fluctuations under control or do I count only the water in the main tank?

Thanks in advance everybody!
You guys are amazing

 

[neiltus]

Although I applaud your efforts, a tank of those dimensions will be difficult to decorate, difficult to clean, difficult to provide adequate lighting, and have very minimal oxygen exchange at the surface. I would rethink those dimensions (~12"x12"x 29" tall for all us americans) if I were you.

Let us know what you decide!!!

I agree those dimensions would pose a problem for most of us.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Thanks for the response everybody.

The main reason why I wanted such a high tank is because I am a bit hesitant about putting fish in a tank that is too small for them and the water fluctuations that would come with a smaller tank.

It will be my first tank and as a beginner I want to be sure that I can keep everything in good conditions to keep everybody in the aquarium happy and thriving.

I could go 18 inch wide, 12 inch deep and what would be a good height too keep everything easy enough to handle?

Would adding a sump add up to my total water amount and keep the water fluctuations under control or do I count only the water in the main tank?

Thanks in advance everybody!
You guys are amazing

Hi! So I have started out with a 29 gallon and the dimensions are 30 long, 18 tall and 12 wide. I don't have a sump but use a canister filter. I hope to upgrade to a 40 gallon in the future with a 20 gallon sump. This seems to be a popular size with a sump. Many people have smaller than 29 gallon tanks though!

Wish I were over there!!

 

[HeyJay]

I'll dissent a little and say you can be successful with a small tank like that, provided you have only a couple very small fish and keep up maintenance regularly. However, you might get bored with your limited options.

Also, that's really only about 18 gallons

 

[Cell]

Can't convert the measurements off the cuff, but 30 gallons is decent sized imo and not too small where you should have a ton of trouble finding stability. 10 and 20 gallon nano tanks are incredibly popular right now, for new and experienced reefers alike.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Would adding a sump add up to my total water amount and keep the water fluctuations under control or do I count only the water in the main tank?

Thanks in advance everybody!
You guys are amazing

Yes, the sump does add to total volume.

 

[Silent]

With space being a concern, I would build or buy a "all-in-one" type of tank. No under tank sump but with the sump in the back of the tank. It should work good for you.

 

[FMike]

With space being a concern, I would build or buy a "all-in-one" type of tank. No under tank sump but with the sump in the back of the tank. It should work good for you.

That would be a good idea but I think it will take away space in the tank if I did that, my space problem is that I can not go really wide or deep ( maximum 18" wide and 12" deep) but I have allot of space for a cabinet under the tank and I can go as high as needed. I will look into the all-in-one type of tank but I feel like it will take away space for the animals inside.

Thanks allot and have a nice day! (Or evening)

 

[FMike]

Hey guys,

So I have been thinking about my future tank size and I am not decided on it yet but I gat an idea yesterday that I have been turning over in my head so I wanted to pass it by you all.

Because I am a bit hesitant about my water fluctuations I was thinking that I could start a 7,5 gallon invertebrates tank, it does not take up allot of space.

This way I could get a bit of experience keeping my water at the right level and I will feel a bit more comfortable about keeping my fish (I really do not want my new companions to die) and then when I start my real tank I will have a tank that I could use for quarantaine or hospitalisation.

Could I keep a yellow clown goby in 7.5 gallons ? After I have established a stable invertebrates tank. He will stay there for maximum 8 months until I start the bigger tank.

Greetings and have a nice day!

 

[Billdogg]

You will find it very difficult to keep stable parameters in a tank that small. Even slight variations in the water level will dramatically change them. Not to say that it can't be done, it's just way harder, especially for an inexperienced hobbyist