Tanks Size

[captainhook]

I am just starting out as a fish enthusiast and what I had imagined starting with was a huge tank. Would it be a bad idea to start large, or as I've read would it be much eaiser to maintain? Another question is could someone convert gallons (50-80-100-150-180) to aproximate foot by foot measurements just so i could have a clue about what gallon tanks i can work with? Thanks

 

[Gabe]

From what I've been told, you should buy as big as you can afford and have room for. If you start small you will probably end up wanting a bigger tank. And it is easier to take care of bigger tanks rather than smaller ones. I can't help you with the measurements though. You will have to wait for someone else to come along

Oh yes, welcome to the hobby and the forum

Gabe

 

[Tanked]

I have a 55 that is 48" long, 13" wide and 20" tall. Standard size.

 

[Pufferpack]

There is a great calculator on this site fish orbust..net converter

 

[semper fi]

larger tanks imo are easier to maintain and less stress if you have to leave the tank for a weekend. i have a 180 that i clean about every 7-10 days. could go longer than that. you do with any tank have to make sure that you turn over the water atleast 2.5 times an hour for proper filtration. i go for 3.5 times. the way that you can tell if the pump will handle it is by the gph listed on the packaging. the pump that i have on the wet dry filter for it pumps 650 gallons of water an hour.

as long as you have good filtration would go for the largest size tank that you can afford. besides the bigger the tank the more fish you can put into it

semper fi

 

[cichlidmaster]

One thing to remember about the listed GPH rating on filters......the stated rating is for an EMPTY filter!!!

This means no media of any kind. Once you place media in the filter compartments/chambers the GPH goes down due to the water flow being restricted.

Filtration also depends on what species of fish your going to keep!! Large messy fish like oscar's need much more filtration....say at least 8-10 times per hour.

CM