Which Aquarium To Buy?

[senda_letter]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to all the fish keeping and I'd like some advice on a tank.
My bf has a pretty small tank with some guppies. Now we have moved in together we have decided to get a bigger tank and add some neon tetras in too. I've been searching to find a nice tank but every one I like seems to have people saying something bad about it. I've decided this is the best place to get some good advice.

We are looking for something bigger than 50litres but probably less than 100. The place we have for it could probably take the weight but I'm not sure we need something that big.
I really like the ones with the curved glass fronts but can't seem to see any that are small enough. He really likes the rectangular style, so long rather than deep so theres more viewing area. Ideally we'd like a tank that fits both of these criteria. Does anyone have any suggestions?

h

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome Senda_Letter. Most people find it easier to control the chemisrty and take care of their fish in a larger tank. As far as how many fish you can have, if you have two tanks with the same volume the longer wider one will hold more fish in good health than a tall one. The water's surface area basically determines how much oxygen gets into the water. If you have room, I would favor a tank no smaller than 75 or 80 litres. That is big enough to make it chemically stable but not so big that water changes become a chore. It is also big enough to hold a nice selection of fish.

 

[senda_letter]

Thanks for that information. The main ones I have been looking at are 80 to 100L but I prefer the look of ones like the Juwel Vision 180L tank. But I think 180L is a bit big for the space I have. Does anyone know of any tanks similar to this but of a smaller size?

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, excellent advice from oldman47 and I agree with it. Surface area is a significant thing that people don't think about much initially. I also may be able to give some insight in that I've had all types and many sizes of tanks years ago but now have been working with a new tall 28G/106L bowfront 2ft. wide tank for my young son. I too was excited by the curved front, thinking it would somehow allow me to "see in" better and see all the fish. After 6 months I have now come to dislike it somewhat as I find that is has an odd effect - it makes the tank seem much less deep than it really is and somehow thus takes away from the desirable sensation of "peering back into the underwater", which I think of as one of the pleasures of owning an aquarium. It just makes a fairly large aquarium seem somehow smaller and have less depth of interest (sorry if this description doesn't make complete sense but hopefully you get the drift.)

So, what I'm saying is that there may be several good things to consider about a flat-glass traditional rectangular shaped aquarium in that it has a "farther-back" visual effect looking in and also that if you keep it shallow - say a 20G/~80L long shape, which is pretty common, you will get a lot of surface area compared to the water volume. Yet another factor is that every 6 inches deeper you get makes it harder and harder to work down in the tank -- it doesn't seem like it at first but later you realize that with a deep tank (in my case I'm calling my bowfront at 17",18" a "deep" style tank) its hard to be in front looking at the base of your plants or your airstones or your decorations and still reaching over the side and being able to do things to them -- your arm with elbow over the rim is just not that long and so the whole process gets a bit harder -- not impossible of course but definately a bit harder I feel.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Colin_T]

You could always get a tank built for you. Get one that is 3ft long x 18inches wide and high. If that is too long then go for something about 30inches long x 18inches high & wide. If 30inches is too long then go for a 2ft long x 2ft wide x 18in high. You would have a good volume of water but it wouldn't take up too much space.
Have a chat to your local fish shop and find out how much it will cost to get a custom size tank. They won't be much more expensive than a normal rectangular tank and probably cheaper than a curved front.

 

[waterdrop]

I'm curious Colin, there is a particularly dimensioned tank, 55G I believe, that has been very standard I think in USA for many years, certainly was very available in the fish stores in the 70s (probably Metaframe aluminum framed) and I vaguely thought I'd been seeing a few recently. I was wondering whether you or perhaps oldman or another us person might recognize what I'm talking about. Seems like maybe this "standard" 55G had maybe a bit less depth, front to rear, than you are describing to have built and was maybe taller -- so overall a taller, shallower front to back but wide tank. Am I describing a well-known thing or have dimensions and capacities been "all over the place" for so long that a "standard 55G" is no longer a recognizable thing??

 

[OldMan47]

A very standard tank in the US is a 55, even today. They are 4 ft long which makes them popular because its easy to upgrade lighting in them. They are only about 13 inches front to back and that makes them rather tall. I belive its 20 inches tall but its not one I have right now so I can't measure one. Lately they have been making 75 and 90 gallon tanks that are basically a 55 that have longer side panels to regain some of the surface area without a noticeably bigger footprint or height. They are also 4 ft by 20 inches tall but run bigger front to back if that previous sentence wasn't clear enough on the differences.

 

[Davo86]

hey,

have a look at the Aqua Style 510 (75l) or Aqua Style 620 (90l) They are bow fronted and have built in trickle filters,

 

[rabbut]

I ran a Juwel Record 96 for many years with no issues. Nice tank to work, that ran well for "common trops" such as guppies tetras e.t.c. Easy to clean and maintain and cheap to run. All gear IME was very reliable and I highly recomend them. Without decor thay hold 96l, hence the model number, but with "adverage decor" they would be arround the 75-80l mark

HTH
Rabbut

 

[WillyRBeek]

I would say to go with the biggest size tank you can afford/have room for. Larger tanks are more of a task to set up and to get up and running, but once you get it cycled and get things running smoothly they are far less effort to maintain then a smaller tank. Also, obviously you have a much wider selection of fish you can put in a bigger tank.