Whats a good Size tank for a First Tank?

[newland]

Hi all

i'm looking to setup a marine aquerium with Coral
Whats a good size startup tank?

How many gallons?
Any minium size in length?
Whats the best height?

I know that light is very important to a Marine setup with corals.
Thats why i'm asking about height.

As i'm basically looking for a space saving corner tank probably 24" tall. Bad idea?

 

[akitty6552]

It's always good to start off a little smaller for the first try at saltwater because it's a little easier to deal with. However, it's pretty much up to you what size saltwater tank you'd want, you could go anywhere from 30 to 200+ gallons depending on your budget and what you want to do with it. Also, corner tanks look really nice and work out with saltwater in my opinion.

 

[ess17]

I am certain that most people will tell you to get the largest tank you can afford because the larger the tank, the more stable the conditions are. I can tell you that for me, that size was a 29 GAL standard. I believe it is 18 inches (or 20) tall, 30 inches long, and 12 inches deep. I have been really happy with the size even though it may restrict you on types of fish you can have. It is large enough to stay reasonably stable, yet small enough for me to manage.

24 inches is probably your max for keeping good lighting. My LFS told me that light starts dispersing (right word ?) after 24 inches with compact lighting. Be careful on corner units only because of their awkward shape. If you are doing a sump, it may be hard to fit one in the stand, and standard lighting sizes may not fit it correctly.

One thing I will say is that if money is an issue, over estimate what everything will cost because things come up, trust me. I have had to replace my 29 due to a crack and a buy a new heater.

 

[parker313]

Check out the topics pinned to the top of the Marine & Reef Chat forum - there's even one that specifically addresses tank size! Marine Tank Size

It's always good to start off a little smaller for the first try at saltwater because it's a little easier to deal with.

Actually, the opposite of that is true, at least if you're talking about a 20g vs a 55g or so. The larger the body of water that you're dealing with, the more stable it will be. SW is considered harder than FW b/c the fish and inverts are so sensitive to ANY swings in the water parameters. So, the more stable you can keep your params, the more successful you will be. Therefore, the larger the tank, the better!

If I could do a full size SW tank, I'd go with a 55g or a 75g!

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..I'll second Parker's comment. If you plan on adding corals, less deep is better. These SW tanks are MUCH more sensitive than FW. SH