Fish Quality of Life - Tank Length vs. Width?

[Who me?]

I have to go with the longer. Once you're at 30" wide the extra few inches won't make much difference in swimming patterns. They have plenty of room to turn and weave in 30" or 36" of space.

2 extra feet of length however is ample space to create an entirely new zone of rockwork to explore.

 

[Awesome458]

I have to go with the longer. Once you're at 30" wide the extra few inches won't make much difference in swimming patterns. They have plenty of room to turn and weave in 30" or 36" of space.

2 extra feet of length however is ample space to create an entirely new zone of rockwork to explore.

Thanks for your reply. I’m leaning towards the 30” at the moment… A 14’ long by 30” high tank is 654 gallons… A 16’ x 30” x 30” tank is 748 gallons!

Either option, it’s a lot of room for them to swim around in… Of course, the rock work will impact free swimming room, but also add to the visual elegance of the tank. Decisions, decisions!
Cheers!

 

[Simo2004]

Not sure on size but wow be a nice tank

Are you doing a tank thread

 

[Awesome458]

Not sure on size but wow be a nice tank

Are you doing a tank thread

Hello,

I have not started a tank build thread yet, but I plan to as more of the details are finalised. I’m not sure how to do that yet (I’m still a newbie here), but I’m sure there is an FAQ on how to setup a build thread on this forum.

I’m thinking about an all Trigger fish tank, with one or two eels to round out the group. It’s going to be a stack of fun!

Cheers!

 

[JMM744]

I have a 6 ft tank and was investigating a 8 ft. Acrylic was my choice. I have a group of butterflies and for the most part they just browse around with the occasional dart or dash here or there. When I feed they swim all over the tank picking bits off but eventually they go back to browsing. My tank is 24 front yo back and it's a bit tight. 30 inches would add a lot of real estate and to go 16 ft in length would be very appreciated. What ever you decide it will be a show stopper. Enjoy your journey.
jim

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I have a very large French Angel (and adult Emperor Angel) who turns around fine in 24”… so your 30” would be fine— even better. I hope that helps.

Is this in a 60" long tank?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Correct.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for your reply! I’m on the fence at the moment, six inches wider or two feet longer? I know Triggers love to swim, but more width has its advantages as well.

I’m going to mock up some 1” x 2” x 8’ wood for both of the tank sizes to visualise how they will look and work in real space. After a day or two of walking around and looking at them, the answer will no doubt become readily apparent.

I got this idea to mock up the tank frames from a BRS video where the bloke mocked up his tank with PVC pipe to assist with aquascaping the rock features. After watching his video, I thought it should work for me to see how such a large tank would no only look in the available space, but how easy it would be to ingress and egress into adjacent living spaces.

This may well show that the front corners need to be angled, or that a bow front might work better than flat faces. The DT room is open to the gourmet kitchen (open concept type of construction) and will only have seating in it as the media/entertainment room will be in another part of the house. It’s going to be sweet cooking in the kitchen and being able to see the DT.

Cheers!

FWIW, here is an article I wrote on swimming needs of fishes. It tries to add some objectivity to the question, but there is still some subjective measures in it:

Estimating the Need for Swimming Space for Aquarium Fishes

This article explores required aquarium sizes for marine fishes

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Awesome458]

FWIW, here is an article I wrote on swimming needs of fishes. It tries to add some objectivity to the question, but there is still some subjective measures in it:
[URL was a very interesting read and was unfurl="true"]https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/[/URL]

Thanks for your reply and the article link! It was a great read that helped me with my size calculations. I will be happy to check out your other articles as well. Thanks for your contributions to the hobby.

Cheers!